Sachem Alum Whipping People into Shape

I walked into Ralph Gazzillo's Holbrook home anxious for my physical training session. Hoping for a tune up to my normal isolated muscle routine, I let Gazzillo, a former Sachem football player, teach me the basics of power training.

By the time I left an hour later, my legs felt like someone stabbed them a 1,000 times. Four days later they're not much better. The rest of my body took well to the physical exertion, and at the very least I realized Gazzillo knows what he's doing as a physical trainer.

Taking the time to educate me, while easing me into a new full body workout was the key. He demonstrated each move, spoke about its benefit and critiqued only moderately since I had half an idea of what I was doing in the first place.

From the Sachem, Delaware and semi-pro football helmets lining his television cabinet to the Blue Hens shirt he wore during the workout, Gazzillo wears his colors proudly.

As one of Sachem's all-time greatest linemen, he was All-Division, All-County and All-Long Island as a senior. A three-year varsity player for the Black & Gold, Gazzillo graduated in 1997 and was a junior on the 1995 Suffolk County title team that narrowly lost to Lawrence in the Long Island championship.

His football career ended prematurely in college when he developed ulcerative colitis – he has the scar to prove it. His bug for football kept him rooting on as a fan and he eventually strapped the pads on again, playing in the North American Football League, where he won a national title in 2005 with the Harrisburg Piranhas. He currently plays for the Brooklyn Mariners.

A benefit to Gazzillo's training is that since he works full-time for the Town of Brookhaven Highway Department, he doesn't have a huge client base or uncomfortable walk-in traffic when he is working with clients. It's generally a one-on-one feel that helps with maintaining intense concentration.

At Sachem, Gazzillo lived in the weight room. He benched 305 lbs. by his senior season and admits fitness is a lifestyle choice for him.

My workout combined strength, speed and power movements that affected every muscle in my body.

-Hip dominant

-Knee dominant

-Horizontal push

-Horizontal pull

-Vertical push

-Horizontal pull

What that means is a lot of exercises that affect the legs. Trust me. It felt like more legs than anything else. He was upfront that he challenged me with a bit more advanced workout so I truly see the benefit, which I do now.

I flipped tires, pulled tires, did the usual bench press, took part in free-form squats and finished it off with more squats that involved a light shoulder press at the very end upon lift off.

Try it more than once and you'll see results. That specific workout was meant to trigger all muscle groups, but Gazzillo, who has been a certified athletic trainer since 2003, can also work with anyone from power lifting Olympians to high school, college and semi-pro athletes.

"It's my passion," he said. "I see people transform before my eyes. It's one of the more gratifying things if you see someone drop a couple sizes. If I can help people become more healthy in their lifestyles, to the point where they make healthier life choices it helps me sleep better at night."

He takes people from 4-9 p.m. Monday-Friday. Call him at 631-682-0996 for rates (almost half the going rate by the way) and check out his Facebook page for more info.