Fitness is a career for S.B. local entrepreneur
VERONICA YANKOWSKI Personal fitness consultant Angel Tortoriello of South Brunswick works on a client using special muscle activation techniques.
Angel Tortoriello shares new muscle technology
SOUTH BRUNSWICK — Some businesses still make house calls. Just ask personal fitness consultant Angel Tortoriello.
Tortoriello, 46, of South Brunswick has been traveling to people’s homes to keep them in shape for more than 10 years now.
"It is a great feeling to help someone with pain get back to their activities," Tortoriello said Tuesday morning at the New Jersey Gym in East Windsor.
Tortoriello, a former ballet and ballroom dancing instructor, said that she has always been interested in the human body and fitness.
"I’ve always worked for myself," Tortoriello said.
Although she continues to teach dance, Tortoriello began to study fitness and exercise. She turned that into a personal fitness consultant business in 1991.
Tortoriello now works with about 30 people a week in either a gym or home setting.
"There is a lot of time spent driving," Tortoriello said.
She said that she has gotten many clients because they liked the way she works with people.
"They would see me working differently than other trainers," she said.
The number and frequency of her sessions with clients varies depending on the type of program that they are trying to complete. Tortoriello said that she charges between $55-$75 per hour depending on what the client needs, and how far she has to travel.
One of the things that makes this consultant different is her willingness to continue her own training. Tortoriello started learning about a new muscle activation technique developed by a professional sports trainer in Denver.
Muscle Activation Technique (MAT) uses an evaluation process to determine which muscles may be causing pain in the body. According to founder Greg Roskopf, most muscular pain is caused by the tightening of some muscles that end up causing others to over compensate.
Roskopf, a professional trainer for several professional sports teams, studied how muscles react within the body and how they are connected to others. Since then, he has developed a system to help the body relieve pain by treating the root of muscle tightness. Tortoriello is one of 50 students currently serving as a muscle activation trainer in the program and has completed the course work to become a therapist. She will soon be tested to get her certification in MAT, according to Roskopf.
Tortoriello first discovered the technique while attending a convention in Houston. After experiencing a session, she was sold on the process.
"I felt it, and was hooked," she said.
There is only one other person in New Jersey that is trained in the techniques used in MAT. Tortoriello said that while it may look like simple massage therapy, there are several differences.
"We test the muscles to find the weakness first and go right to the point of origin," she said.
Tortoriello said that the techniques are not substitutes for massage therapy or chiropractic care, but another piece of the puzzle.
"Sometimes massage therapy is hit and miss," Roskopf said.
Tortoriello said that by using the new techniques, she has helped many people. "It has been quite successful," she said.
Roskopf said that two more classes of interns are starting soon, and there will soon be about 100 practitioners. Each of the training sessions last about eight to 10 months and require classroom study and hands-on training. In addition to her time in the MAT program, Tortoriello also works with clients each day from about 5-9:30 a.m.
"I really have no down time," she said. Anyone who would like more information on Tortoriello, or MAT, can reach her at (609) 395-1867.
— Charles W. Kim