Personal trainer Ray Hernandez turns tragedy to triumph

Photo: Taelar Pollmann · The Sentry

Ray Hernandez works in the Lola & Rob Salazar Student Wellness Center.

How a car crash changed his life

To Ray Hernandez, setting goals and working hard to improve oneself is everything, and he dedicated his life to helping others do just that. Hernandez, a junior at the University of Colorado Denver, works in the Lola and Salazar Student Wellness Center as a personal trainer motivating his fellow students to overcome adversity and improve themselves and their lifestyles in the form of fitness.

Hernandez began his personal fitness career in high school after becoming inspired by a Metropolitan State University alumni who aspired to become a personal trainer herself. He took a course to become certified and soon found that helping others reach their personal fitness goals was a great way to earn some extra spending money and still be able to have ample amounts of time for other things such as school and a social life.

“I was not a very fit individual and I wanted to work on myself more,” said Hernandez.

Hernandez specializes in corrective personal training to help those with past injuries to regain their strength and correct any issues with mobility.

Hernandez himself is no stranger to adversity. On November 1, 2016, Hernandez was hit by a speeding car while riding his longboard home from work. Hernandez was awoken by a stranger on the street and rushed to the hospital. There, he discovered that he cheated death, walking away from the accident with only a hairline fracture in his tibia and a small, brain hemorrhage. It is that incident that Hernandez accredits to changing his overall mindset and inspiring him to live his life to the fullest.

Hernandez now spends his days studying in hopes of earning a dual bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology and working at CVS Pharmacy to get a jumpstart on his career in the Neuroscience field.

Despite juggling travelling plans, a full time job, and an academic career, Hernandez makes ample time to ensure that his clients and those around him are making the progress they need to be in order to achieve their goals.

“The improvements that you make are relative to the intensity that you pursue. You should live to challenge yourself in any domain and the more you challenge yourself, the more keen you will be as you move through life. You should continue to strengthen yourself because in the time that you are not bettering yourself, you are deteriorating,” said Hernandez.

For those looking for an inspirational personal trainer, Hernandez can be found in the Wellness Center. Sessions range from thirty minutes to an hour and are for twenty five dollars per hour.

“Just come into the Wellness Center and say you’re interested in seeing Ray Hernandez for a personal training session and the team here is awesome they will be able to set you up. I can also be reached via email at fitnessrayy@gmail.com or DM me on Instagram @Internationalray and I’ll be more than happy to help put you in the direction to make a long term change.”