C3 Fitness

Update!!!
Dung is still the best! I came back and asked dung to work with me after a year of being M.i.A. He invited me back with open arms.
I came back to train with Dung because he is the truth! Previously I trained with him for roughly 5 months and the results were amazing. I stopped working out for a year, & came back totally out of shape. My first week back training with Dung was the hardest. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t get easier but it does get better. Trust the process!
Overall Dung is great at what he does. He kicks your butt during your workout and encourages you to give it your all.
Love this man. If you want results, dung is your go to.

There isn’t much I can say about Dung that hasn’t already been said in these reviews. However, if you’re anything like me and are looking to break your weight loss plateau/​change up your work out routine, then Dung is perfect for you.
I’ve been training with Dung for just about 3 months now and I’ve already dropped about 9% body fat. Dung’s workouts challenge me in a way that I’ve never experienced before and he always changes things up to make sure things stay interesting. Dung also does a good job of tailoring workouts to help you attain your specific goals (since everyone has different goals). He will also prepare a nutrition plan specifically tailored to your needs, which was a huge plus for me since I did not know anything about nutrition when I first signed up.
Dung has made a huge difference in my life and he has already helped me build the confidence I never thought I’d have. He is extremely knowledgeable about fitness and I have already learned a ton from him about working out/​nutrition in an extremely short period of time. Most importantly, Dung cares about his clients and is passionate about what he does. I highly recommend Dung if you are looking for a personal trainer.

Kristin Soares has been amazing. She has helped me with my fitness and nutrition in so many ways. I was struggling to get motivated and understanding the nutrition side of health. I now realize how fitness and nutrition go hand in hand. It’s all thanks to Kristin. She was good with keeping it simple and easy to understand. She is ready and available whenever I have a question on anything. Always keeps a positive attitude and willing to help. I have lost quite a bit with her help and maintained a positive look on the process. I’m not where I want to be at yet but she’s there to help me with my struggles. I highly recommend Kristin for both fitness and nutrition, she will take step by step to keep you on track and keep you motivated.

It’s January 1^st & one of your many New Year’s resolutions is to sign up at your local gym & start working out. You go to the gym & sign up motivated, you can do this! It should be a piece of cake, right? First day comes, you walk in and you see the gym is packed. You get a little intimidated but you are still pumped. You glance at the treadmills, the bicycles & the elliptical machine but they are full. Great, now what? Finally after much waiting you get on a treadmill. You start walking for 20 minutes because that’s the maximum; gym rules. Then what? You see the weight section & start looking at the machines. You see the pictures & think ‘Can I do this? Will I get hurt?’ At the same time you notice people staring at you! You start hesitating & all your excitement slowly dies because you have no clue what to do. Then you decide to go home & don’t come back. Anything sound familiar? That was me many, many times in the past.
A year ago my friend invited me to give personal training with Kristin Soares a chance. At first I wasn’t sure about it. Will my past experience at the gym repeat? I had my mind set that if this didn’t work out then that was it for me. I was willing to continue my life style journey on my own; I had already started eating better on my own. When I met Kristin I told her about my previous gym experiences. One thing I liked about her from the beginning was her personality. She gave me good vibes. As we talked, I felt that she understood where I was coming from & wouldn’t judge me if I didn’t know how to do certain exercises. As the months progressed, I started noticing my body change. I had more energy. I felt stronger. One of my biggest accomplishments is that I can now jog without gasping for air! Remember those machines that intimidated me before? I have overcome that fear thanks to Kristin. She helps you understand the movements you are doing & how to do them properly. She pushes you to do things you think you are incapable of doing. She motivates you when you think you can no longer continue with a workout. She makes our workouts fun. I truly appreciate. Kristin has become more than my personal trainer, she has become my friend. I highly recommend Kristin if you have felt intimidated by the gym machines or the gym atmosphere in general. You won’t regret it!!!

Kristin has been my trainer for about a year now. When I first started, I wasn’t sure I’d like it or stick with it. She keeps my workouts fresh and is always having me work on new muscle groups or new exercises. She pushes my limits but not so hard I end up injured. My schedule can be crazy and she’s been super flexible with her time. She’s become a friend which makes me look forward to my gym time and makes the workouts fun. I’ve always hated gyms but a year later I’m still training with her!

I have been training with Kristin and she is absolutely AMAZING! She has really helped me get motivated to train and to stick with it. I feel like she really helps me to push myself. She really cares about everyone and it really shows! I have had an awesome experience training with Kristin and would highly recommend her to everyone!!!

If I may share a story with you, I used be the type of person who would go to the gym for two weeks then drop-​off for months at a time. That is until I started training with Kristin. Kristin is an excellent trainer, who has pushed me continuously and shown me what I’m capable of. I used to lose my breath while running, but now thanks to Kristin, I can run and sprint without dying on the floor gasping for air. I never thought of workouts as being something fun, but Kristin showed me that it’s not about mindlessly running or pumping iron. It’s about having a goal and achieving the fitness level you aspire to have. She not only makes it fun, but also makes going to the gym something you want to do. She also makes sure you’re there all the time and get your full workout. She’s certainly not afraid to put in overtime to make sure you finish. I’m more than proud to call her my trainer, and I hope others will be able to do the same too.

Dung is amazing!
I hated going to the gym. I am one of those people who would work out for a few weeks or a month and then stop. However, when I realized that I was about to turn 30 and was the heaviest I have ever been my entire life, I knew I needed a change.
I found Dung on Unilocal and noticed that he had stellar reviews. I contacted him immediately and met with him a week later. We discussed my fitness goals and how he would help me achieve them. I was skeptical at first, but I had nothing to lose so I decided to give it a shot.
On my first day, Dung had to give me candy because I almost threw up. His workouts are definitely not easy, but he really motivates you to do things that you never thought you would be able to do. I have been training with him for about 6 months now and I can definitely say that I am in the best shape of my life, even though I still have a long way to go in terms of achieving my fitness goals.

«Having or showing dogged determination not to change one’s attitude or position on something, esp. in spite of good arguments or reasons to do so»
If there was one word to describe Coach Dung, that word would be stubborn. But in a really good way :)
My group of friends bought tickets to Coachella and EDC and it was going to be my first time attending a music festival. I didn’t look up the venue or the artists, the activities or the food vendors. My first instinct was to immediately google EDC/​COACHELLA outfits and search #babesofcoachella on instagram. Lo and behold! Girls that attend music festivals show more skin than Miley on a wrecking ball. My second instinct was to look up those weight loss pills that I used to buy on EBay from a Chinese vendor (definitely not FDA approved) and have them shipped to me ASAP. After some frantic searching for this vendor and looking on Amazon, I came across articles that detailed reports of serious side effects resulting from the ingestion of these pills and even death! My THIRD course of action was to go on Unilocal and search for a miracle worker AKA personal trainer because if I wanted to look hot in an outfit made of floss then I needed some sort of divine intervention to make THAT happen.
The first week I trained with Dung, l was both scared and excited. Scared because I quickly learned that he does NOT buy any of my excuses. If I tell him I can’t do these certain lunges because I feel ‘excruciating’ pain in my quads, he’ll pause the workout and roll out that knot, then send me right back where I left off. Or when my alarm goes off at 5:30am for my 6 am training and I text him to say I’m too tired from work the other night he’ll respond with «you’ll feel better after a work out :), see you at 6!». Excited because even though it feels like I’m dying that hour I’m training with him, as soon as I finish that last set and Coach gives you that high five, I leave the gym feeling reborn. Each day is different and increasingly difficult. Dung always switches it up and keeps you on your toes. He’s constantly giving me new challenges (challenges that make me have this hysterical reaction at first) and each challenge that I’m able to overcome motivates me to set the bar higher. After 2 months of training with Dung I went from 5’1″ and 125lbs to 103 – 106 lbs feeling like 5’8″ confident model lol, boy was I ready to shop for my Coachella outfit! Haha: D Needless to say I’ve never felt as confident as I did at EDC and Coachella or ever in my life. All thanks to his perseverance with me and reminding me of what I set out to do, constantly uplifting me and pushing me to go harder every set. Thanks to coach for being stubborn, for not giving in to my excuses, for leading by example and showing me that with hard work and determination, anyone in any shape can achieve their goals.

I had a goal like most people for their 2014 new year’s resolution to lose weight., started at 173 lbs. I started off slow with walking, rock climbing and even T25, but none of those things really help me get to my goal of losing weight. It wasn’t until I meant Dung and decided to give his methods a try that I started seeing the most progress.
Even though I didn’t believe him at the time he told me I would exceed my initial goal of getting to 145 lbs. Slowly but surely I started losing lbs for the first few months in addition to gaining muscle, but eventually the weight lost slowed down. This didn’t discourage Dung in helping and pushing me beyond what I perceived to be my limits. From his nurtion guides to just personnel touches has heped me go further then I thought. By the end of 2014, I was down to 140 lbs which Dung’s statement held true, I definitely exceed my expectations.
It’s now been a full year with you and I’m down to 137 lbs, which is pretty close to my ending high school weight. My body fat is lower then I could imagine, my energy level his higher and my clothes bill has increase :). Dung never doubted my abilities, he encouraged and guided me every step of the way. Even when I wanted to cheat and didn’t follow his plan to the T, he just helped get me back on track and held me accountable.
When you’re ready to accept help and accept that you can go below you limitation Dung will help you get to your goals. Dung his helping me to my next goals and beyond.

I have gone through all of the programs Dung has offered.
The first one was the online program which was about 12 weeks long. I choose this initially because my schedule at the time couldn’t work out with his training schedule that he offered. It was great, I lost 11lbs the first 5 weeks and tried my best to keep in touch. The secret to this program is being accountable for yourself, you gotta check in with him and make sure communication is open. Dung did a great job checking in with me as well to see where I was in the process. I did this for my wedding prep.
The next program I decided to try was the One to One personal training. I wanted to try this now that my schedule was more open, I went down 8% body fat and was feeling great. Again, due to schedule changes, I decided to try the group training.
Group training is very similar to personal training, the only difference is you have other people doing the same thing. He might have maybe 5 – 6 other people training at the same time and we all do something different depending on our goals. My goal at the time (because I already reached my goal weight) was to train for a marathon. Dung insisted on ditching the cardio (which is something I was initially hesitant on because marathon training involves running — usually) But he set me up on endurance training. Lots of weight training involving more reps. I had NO idea what a difference this made, i didn’t really run until my actual half marathon and I ran a pace of 9 minutes. WHAAAT? Amazing! I beat my friends who have been running for weeks-​months. My new goal is to beat that! :D
Dung is truly an inspiring individual and who cares about his clients. He likes to dig deep to find out what your goals are, aside from your physical, because mental health tie in so much into it. Because of Dung I’ve gained the confidence in doing my training in gyms without feeling so insecure and I’ve got lots of nutritional knowledge. I cannot thank him enough for the tools he has given me.
Thanks!

Dung was my trainer about a year ago and I miss working out with him! (work schedule has gotten in the way or I still would be!). Dung is extremely professional and pushes you to do your best without the typical meathead trainer attitude. I got stronger and leaner working out with him and did it fast! I trained only twice a week, but those were 2 hours per week well spent! When we lifted heavy he was always sure to be protective of my safety and form, which I really appreciate. Dung is a great trainer and person, he will work you hard, but you will have a fun time doing it! I recommend C3 fitness and Dung Tran to anyone looking for a great and effective trainer– no matter what your goal!

5 starts is absolutely not enough to describe my last year working with Dung Tran at C3Fitness!
I was personally always one of those typical people who tried to get into fitness and eating well on their own, and it never worked. For months, for years, i would try to eat what i thought was better quality food and attempted to work out on my own to no avail. I would see minimal results, lost 5 pounds here and there, but my weight was always at a very unhealthy point. I would fluctuated between 280 and 300 pounds at 6 feet tall which is crazy to think about. Most people told me that i «carried my weight well,» but when it came down to the facts, i was overweight, i was unhealthy, and i was destroying my body from the inside out and most likely shortening my life span *reality check*
I started working out with Dung almost 1 year ago as of today (June 3^rd, 2013). When i first met dung, i was 280 pounds, 32% body fat, and was wearing size 42 pants. i looked like a disaster, and i felt even worse. The first day i got on the treadmill for a warm up jog and was winded after a couple of minutes and was pretty concerned about what i had gotten myself into…
Fast forward to today: I’m now 204 pounds, around 12% body fat, and i’m wearing size 34 pants (which are even a bit loose on the waist). never in my wildest dreams did i think i would be able to accomplish being considered «fit,» and this was all due to Dung’s coaching and persistence.
I know most folks are skeptical about spending money on a personal trainer… as long as you find the correct trainer, like Dung, it will be the best financial and time investment you could make. Dung’s methods have worked flawlessly for me and many other clients of his when everything i had tried in the past failed. He is a great coach and will educate you on the nuances of nutrition and working out and how it all affects your body. There is method and countless hours of proven research behind every recommendation dung makes to his clients!
If you’re looking to make the best positive change in your life, do yourself a favor, and give Dung a shot at training you. I promise you won’t regret it!

I had the pleasure of working with Dung while trying to get in Wedding shape. He pushed me to my limits every time and i have to say it paid off. Not only does Dung work on the physical, but he does nutrition and mental as well. Getting the nutrition down is key to losing weight.
Dung also does weigh ins to keep you accountable to the results you say you want. He even helped me be able to do a pull-​up which I could never do before. He truly cares for his clients and their results.
Thank you for helping me look amazing for my Wedding day.

I have always struggled with my fitness goals. Over the years my weight has fluctuated up and down, and I have never been able to stick with a fitness plan long term. This changed as soon as I began training with Dung. It has been 6 months, and so far I have dropped from approximately 22% body fat to 10.49%, with a gain of 11lbs lean mass. This is all due to Dung’s excellent coaching and nutrition plan. I am not going to lie, it was challenging in the beginning, especially the nutritional change. But if you are willing to commit, you’ll love the results. I cannot thank Dung enough for all he has done.

Holy bahjesus… is what I said after Dung Tran told me that I will lose 25 lbs in 1 month! I was skeptical yet fearful going into it. However, the cool calm confident demeanor of Dung Tran put me at ease and really put a sense of confidence in me! Below you will find a recap of what I experienced on my first month journey working with Dung Tran 2 sessions a week;
Day 1– intro on what to expect, signing papers, measurements of weight/​body fat, Before Pictures and 1^st workout
Week 1 – 2: diet plan review. He took time to go through it with me so I understood. In addition to that, he required me to take a picture of every meal that I eat; text it to him, to prove the fact that I know exactly what to eat. I found this very helpful and motivating as he tweaked my choices. By this time, I felt like there’s no way I could fail!
Week 3: now I’m noticing some real results. My clothes feel better, less tired at work, and my eating habits are locked in place without feeling hungry! Sneaked a peak at the weighing scale, and I already lost 17lbs! «What the… is Dung Tran’s prophecy coming true…» Absofreakinglutly!
Week 4: now I actually like going to the gym and kicking my own ass with Dung Tran! «Why would you like doing that Matt you ask?»… Couldn’t tell ya, maybe Dung Tran hypnotized me with his Mr. Miagi voodoo, but whatever if it is I Freaking love it!
So, was Dung Tran true to his word on his promise? Did he deliver the goods in 1 month… what do you think?! He is a man of his word. If you follow his diet plan and follow his exercises, then you can’t lose!
Thank you «Mr. Miagi» (Dung Tran), you were my only hope!

I would give a 6^th star if possible.
I have grown up chubby and fat my entire life. I always found comfort in food, and never really cared to take care of myself. I more importantly didn’t want to put in the work necessary to lose weight.
Around June of last year I started feeling very sluggish and I was terrified I maybe had neglected myself too long and had gotten diabetes. Luckily, tests came back stating I did not, and I decided I wanted to make a change right then and there. I am turning 30 this year, and I cant imagine how much of my life I have wasted being inactive and unhealthy and I wanted to change that.
My best friend actually started working out with Dung a few weeks prior to me making contact with him. I was always weary of personal trainers, obviously the time and money commitment, but more so I have the stereotypical jock/​bully from HS image of trainers in my head.
I started working out with Dung in the middle of June 2013. It was the most excruciating thing in the world for me at first. I couldn’t breath and felt like I was sitting more than exercising.
When Dung went over my nutrition plan with me, he really sat down and explained to me why he was putting me on the diet he was. He explained the science behind and just how exactly everything would break down into my body and the benefit of eating a particular way.
Dung, is not your atypical trainer, he tests you to know and understand your limits, but he continues to push you. I’ve worked out with him for 8 months and he constantly finds new and challenging things for me to do.
Where I find Dung to be an invaluable resource is on the nutrition side. He is always available for me when I have a question about something I’m trying to make or eat and has suggestions on how to make it healthier or why I cannot eat a particular thing and the affect it would have on my body.
Over 8 months, I have lost 100 lbs. I came to Dung weighing 321 lbs and now weigh 220. I never thought that would be possible, and honestly when I started I thought 100 would be my goal, and I would get there in 18 months. Now I am pushing for new and different goals. I’ve become very addicted to the fitness life.
I know its cheesy to say, but the best investment you can make is in yourself. For me, this experience has and will continue to be worth every penny. I am forever indebted to Dung for the impact he has made on my life and the change he has helped foster within me to make a better life for myself.

I’ve been training with Dung on and off for awhile, but I’m finally back and training with him consistently (2−3x/week). I’ve known him for a few years, and over the course of time, he has definitely become more knowledgeable with his skills as a trainer, and his understanding of nutrition. He’s very passionate about this career choice, and unselfishly informs his clients on how to meet their own fitness goals, and live a healthier lifestyle. Not only is he a fitness and nutrition expert, but his training sessions are 110% ENJOYABLE!
When I first started training with Dung two years ago, the focus was primarily on the work outs and training sessions with no real focus on the «diet.» Fast forward to today, and we’ve incoorporated the below into my daily lifestyle:
1) a nutrition plan to meet my personal fitness goals (I’m a girl who gets moody when I can’t have my sweets or carbs, but I’m currently on a IIFYM type meal plan, and it’s slowly, but surely working!)
2) high intensity interval training (I’m huffing & puffing with these intervals, but no pain no gain!)
3) weight training (I’m stronger than I’ve ever been… Sometimes, I feel like a super human when I hit my PRs.)
I’m only 99lbs, and I can do a max of 10 close grip pull ups, 6 wide grip straight leg pull ups, sumo deadlift 195lbs, squat 145lbs, and lift like I’ve never lifted before. It amazes me to see how strong I’ve become, and to see my body physically transform over the course of time.
Can’t wait to throw on my bikinis this spring break/​summer with confidence! WHOO HOO! Thanks for the constant motivation, and continuously pushing me beyond my limits, Dung! :)

In April 2013, I contacted Dung Tran with my fitness goal of losing 45 pounds and as of today, I’ve far exceeded that goal. After gaining weight over the past 8 years and being on high blood pressure medication for 16 years, I decided to take action. There were two things I was looking for. 1. — I wanted to train somewhere that I felt comfortable. Coming from a guy who could not do a push-​up and had only been to the gym a few times, the thought of training at a traditional gym with an athletic, more experienced audience was terrifying. 2. — I wanted someone who could teach me how to eat right. Many of my friends had personal trainers but weren’t achieving desired results because they hadn’t modified their eating habits. After days of research, I discovered that Dung provided both.
I lost 21 pounds in the first month; something that I thought was only possible on a reality TV show or at an unreasonably priced fitness resort. I followed both the exercise and evolving nutrition plans that Dung customized just for me, and when I saw these results, I was eager to continue. To date, I shed 60 pounds, reduced my body fat percentage by more than 20%, and lost nearly one foot off my waist. Also, I no longer take high blood pressure medication, which is pretty amazing. I am incredibly grateful for meeting Dung and having the opportunity to follow his program. Dung’s positive reinforcement, motivational approach, patience, friendship, dedication, and knowledge about health, training, and nutrition are remarkable. I look forward to what’s next!

My husband and I started training with Dung in July of 2013. I used to do TKB and bootcamp 4 times a week at 24 Hr. Fitness for about 7 months, it helped me lose the extra lbs but it didn’t help me in the toning dept.
We try to go once a week but sometimes is hard to make it out there!
In this short period that I’ve trained with Dung, I am already starting to notice that my body is getting tighter and my muscles are more defined. He uses heavier weights and he pushes you! Sometimes when people workout alone or take classes they tend to stay in their comfort zone. His workouts are pretty intense but the session goes by extremely fast. I do recommend Dung not just because he gives you results but because he is very caring. Some trainers think their are training military people! Which makes the session dreadful rather than helpful.

While I’ve continued to work with Dung on maintenance since initial weight loss in 2010, in February 2013 I made a goal to compete in NPC Bikini [bodybuilding] competitions and Dung designed a rigorous program for me to reach all of my goals.
Knowing that the back view is important for competition, I told him my first priority was Operation Booty, and now I call him the Booty Architect because he took my pancakes and turned them into layered cake! Operation Booty was in full effect within only 8-​weeks and right now in week 14 it is still solid.
So far I’ve gone through 2 programs he designed for my NPC goal (currently on the second one, Phase 2) and I continue to see results weekly. In week 12 I had my body fat re-​measured and it dropped from 24 to 15! I’m in week 14 now and just committed to a competition on August 10, 2013, 7 months sooner than I planned! :D I couldn’t have done it without his daily, yes DAILY, guidance, support and motivation.
Dung is a quality trainer who truly cares about his clients’ goals, but be prepared to WORK — there are no shortcuts, there are no secrets, there are no tricks — give him 110% in the gym and you’ll be amazed by what you see. He doesn’t send cookie cutter plans — each program he designs is specific to each client with every set and every rep in place for a specific purpose.
I can’t thank him enough for getting me here. Competing is something I’ve always wanted to do since I was a little girl (remember Kiana Tom? hehe) and I can’t believe I’m 10-​weeks out from competition!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Best trainer ever.