Chris Marino

I came to appreciate the value of Strength & Conditioning for improving performance at age 15 after being cut from the high school baseball team as a sophomore. Secretly, I vowed to never experience that disappointment again. I guess my folks felt my disappointment and around that time purchased me my first weight lifting set. That offseason I began lifting weights, hit 50-100 balls off the tee every day, and met with a Sports Psychologist to aid with focus. By my senior year, I was the only senior starter on a team that went to the State Championship Game.

Unfortunately, my story did not end like Michael Jordan’s. In college, I played intercollegiate baseball at Rutgers-Camden for a couple seasons. However, upon realization or maybe it was the acceptance that a career in baseball would not be in the cards I started to put more focus into education while continuing to train regularly because I liked how it made me feel both physically and psychologically.

Over the years I came to understand that I was dealt a bad hand when it comes to mechanics and recovery. Although I’m quite athletic, my body doesn’t appreciate it when I ask it to try something that places stress on my joints. Consequently, a combination of baseball-related and weight-lifting overuse injuries has forced numerous setbacks over the years starting with rotator cuff tears, neck strains, tendinopathies, and low back pain that all began in my early twenties.

When I turned thirty, I found myself getting a little bored with the routine of heading to the gym for 90 minutes to 2 hours 5 days a week. So, I decided to start running and once again I suffered from virtually every running-related syndrome or injury in the book. Let’s see, first it was plantar fasciitis, then shin splints, then runner’s knee, then low back pain. Can you relate? Consequently, I had to learn that running is more than just putting one foot in front of the other; that I could prevent these injuries by learning to run more efficiently AND ensuring I possessed the appropriate flexibility and strength to support my joints.

In 2009, I competed in my first Triathlon and became hooked on the sport. I wasn’t a swimmer, and although I could run and cycle, putting them all together in a competitive format represented one of my biggest physical challenges to date. My biggest accomplishment to date is having completed IRONMAN 140.6 Mt. Tremblant in 2014, the year of my 40th birthday. It was an incredible experience that I hope to be able to repeat in the future.

I opened Marino’s Fitness (a.k.a. Marino’s Body Shop) in Downingtown, PA on February 1, 2010. My goal was to provide members of the community with a trustworthy fitness resource, a training facility that provides individualized attention and goal-oriented programs, and to inspire my clients to set their goals high and to persevere until they’ve achieved them.

To better facilitate these objectives, I reached out to a colleague, Rachael Sokolic who joined me at Marino’s Body Shop in 2012. As a Registered Dietitian, she brought balance to my Exercise Science background and strengthened our ability as a team to deliver the most effective solutions to our clients. Our combined 50+ years of experience and education, along with our passion for persevering and learning to manage life and setbacks as we gain years affords us a unique ability to teach our clients to do the same; to overcome and continue to perform the activities that make them happy.

That’s what Marino’s is all about.


My wife, Denise and I currently live in Downingtown with our two children, Matthew (18) and Miranda (15).

Credentials:

  • 25+ Years Professional Fitness Experience

  • B.A. Psychology (minor Exercise Science) – Rutgers University, Camden

  • M.S. Exercise & Sport Science – University of North Carolina, Greensboro

  • Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT) - State of Pennsylvania #MSG014145

  • Certified Clinical Exercise Specialist (CES) – American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)*

    • Exercise is Medicine (EIM) Credential

  • Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) – National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA)*

  • Certified Golf Fitness Trainer - Level 1 - Titleist Performance Institute (TPI)

  • Certified IASTM (Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Manipulation) - FMT Blades / Rocktape

  • SFMA Certified (Selective Functional Movement Assessment - FMS) - Level 1

*Professional certifications are accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), meeting the gold standard for professionalism in the Fitness Industry.