J+K Fitness Studio

I started training with Jae several months ago and have never looked back — my only regret is not starting sooner! Jae is well versed in his trade, always puts safety first, and he curates a challenging, well rounded workout every time. Beyond that, he is interesting and funny which makes it a joy to spend a couple hours of my week with him.
When I set out to find a trainer, I specifically avoided big box gyms (along with their crowds and their hard sales pitches!) I knew a boutique training gym would be better, but the comfortable and jovial environment I found here far surpassed my expectations. There is truly a sense of community at J&K, and it’s a huge part of why I look forward to coming in each week.
The studio itself is a great space — it’s very clean and well maintained. It’s also right at 16^th & Mission, which is very convenient for BART commuters like myself!
My honest advice: if you’re thinking about personal training (which you obviously are if you’re looking at Unilocal reviews!), DO IT. And come here, because they’ve got a special thing going at J&K. I’ve been super happy with my experience and have no desire to train anywhere else!

My fiancé (now husband) and I starting seeing Jae for training sessions in the spring of 2015, leading up to our September wedding. We both had started motivating ourselves to get healthy and fit in anticipation of the big day, but needed a solid push to truly get the ball rolling. Jae was exactly what we needed.
Though my husband and I have different workout regimens — I go to various workout classes and he goes for runs and lifts at home — Jae was able to tailor the hour of weekly workout time to both of our needs. As men and women see results at a different pace, we toned up and lost at our own rates, but tone up we certainly did. My husband lost 30 pounds, and I slimmed down so much that my wedding dress was way too big. People were complimenting us and noticing our hard work, and our training with Jae made us feel confident, strong, and in shape.
He has a fun-​loving humor and keeps the workouts light and spirited, but also takes you and your body seriously, making sure to check in on how you’re feeling, and never pushing you to the point of extreme pain or discomfort. He wants to see results, but it really feels like he’s on your side. Though the studio is located on a rough block of Mission street, it’s an extremely convenient location and a clean, well-​appointed, sleek space.
Go see Jae, he’ll give you the results you’ve been thinking weren’t possible. And, go a size down on your wedding dress before you buy it. You think you can’t lose the weight, but with Jae, you can.

I had both a skiing and running injury within six months of each other and my right ankle never fully healed from the first injury to the next. I trained with Jae for close to one year to get my right leg and ankle back to normal. Jae was excellent as he not only did what a good trainer should do, give you different and challenging exercises, but he also was very knowledgeable about the body, muscles and PT. I have since recommended Jae to others and all have come away with the same feeling that Jae is an excellent personal trainer.

My husband and I have been working out with Jae for over 3.5 and 3 years respectively, and he has been been the best trainer that either of us had by far. He personalizes the training based on your level, condition and fitness goals. He diligently keeps track of your work-​outs each time and makes sure to mix it up on every visit to keep it dynamic and fun. We have never felt as stronger and fitter as we do now, and we owe it big to Jae for that. If you’re looking to get back in shape or just be stronger, Jae is the trainer that you should go to. You will not regret having him as your personal trainer.

I’ve trained a lot of different places, and J + K is absolutely amazing. The workouts are custom to your goals, whatever those may be. Jae and Scott always made the workouts fun so I would look forward to getting up first thing in the morning, rolling out of bed and getting my pump on.

These guys were super helpful in transitioning from my lazy neckbeard days into the USDA grade beefcake i am today. The facility is clean and the trainers (Scott and Jae) were great and could answer basically every question i’d throw at them.

I have trained at several personal training gyms in the US and abroad. And I wish I could write the perfect review to help readers understand what an amazing personal training gym J+K Fitness is. I could tell you about the fun, approachable and knowledgeable trainers. I could tell you how Jae helped me continue to train while overcoming my shoulder injury or how Evan helped me build enough strength to do 3 pull-​ups (pre-​injury). I might mention that the gym is tastefully designed with great equipment and a relaxing environment. Or maybe it is enough that I would trust Jae to train my 62 year-​old mother who was terrified of working out (and she loved it!).
But ultimately, there is no one-​size fits all review. Each of us has a unique body and thus a unique reason for wanting to workout. The beauty of J+K Fitness is that Jae and the team of trainers will meet you exactly where you are and then support and challenge you until you get to where you want to be. And more often then not, you will arrive at a place that far exceeds your expectations.

I have been with J+K for nine months now and feel very fortunate to have found this studio. I work with Megan, Scott and Jae weekly — each of them has their own specialties and style and I love all three of them. Being able to with a «team» was a great, unexpected bonus that I didn’t realize when I first signed up. I have gotten much toner and feel stronger than I’ve ever been. Most importantly, I am motivated to keep up with the training because I have three fantastic trainers who picked up on the fact that I get bore with routines so they make a lot of effort to keep my sessions fun and interesting which I very much appreciate. I would highly recommend J+K.

Jae, Scott, and Megan were fantastic! They were thorough and paid close attention to my
form and progress throughout the sessions. I really appreciated their concern for my goals, abilities, and safety. Overall Major gains thanks to this team! I can’t recommend them enough!

So I had a cruise scheduled and I didn’t want to be that guy wearing a t-​shirt into the pool. Enter Jae. You’ve got three months to help me shape up, Jae. We got to work right away. I’m an independent guy and was never comfortable with the idea of a trainer. Why not just hire an unemployed barista to yell at me to do one more? Well, lots of reasons. Jae pushes me beyond what I ever do on my own. Just to my limit. But not yelling like that one woman on The Biggest Loser. Much more like that supportive, encouraging guy. Jae also educated me a lot on proper form and safety. I now realize why my years at the gym have not born much fruit. The number of different exercises he has up his sleeve is mind boggling, so I never got bored of plateaued. He also gave me suggestions for workouts I can do on my own. The gym is really well equipped, clean and stylish. Most sessions, there’s only one other trainer and client there. Importantly, Jae is an interesting person and takes interest in his clients. Whenever I’ve had a minor ache or illness, he texts me to check in. I most definitely saw positive results and spent a good part of the cruise sans t-​shirt. I may never achieve Mario Lopez’s physique, but I’m no spring chicken. I certainly now know what it’ll take to get there.

Jae is an absolute pleasure to work with! He is very knowledgeable about exercises and form and adjusts each work out to best fit your needs. He has a great balance of pushing you to work hard, but making sure it’s within your reach so it’s not too hard or too easy. As a recent mom, he got me back in shape and looked at the whole person to advise me on healthy habits from exercise to nutrition. In addition to all that, he is a pleasure to be around, very easy to talk to, flexible and eager for any feedback to optimize your experience. For example, after telling him that I used to play some sports, he incorporated some exercises related to basketball and soccer that I really enjoyed. And he just makes the work out fun, even though you feel it the next day!

Few months back I decided to try a personal trainer, to add onto my regular Muay Thai training and other sports activities. My goals were to learn how to bring my workout to the next level and new ways of pushing myself.
Mission accomplished!
I decided to give J+K fitness studio a try after reading all the great reviews on Unilocal,this was the best choice I made.
I work out with Jae and he is kicking my ass every time. He knows my limits and he is always able to bring me as close as possible from it, pushing me when I need to but always in a fun way.
I gained strength, speed, endurance, stamina which helped me in my muay thai practice. I lost fat and gained muscle and learned a ton! Definitely worth the time, sweat and money!
The other trainers are also really cool, even though I didn’t work out with them, I saw how they were training their clients… let’s just say that you will be in good hands no matter who you decide to train with!
Will continue working out with Jae for sure!

This is the place to come if you want focused, one on one attention to reach your fitness goals.
Each of the trainers here provide thorough teaching on proper technique, safe yet effective movement and appropriate nutritional intake.
But more importantly, each one of them provides motivation, accountability and an enthusiasm that quickly takes the workouts from routine to extraordinary. They provide the fuel that makes you want to show up and turn it up. They are thorough, and they push you to your highest level, but there is never any yelling, any macho, drill-​seargent posing or any degrading commentary. Instead, there is encouragement, motivation and even laughter. I cannot say enough about the integrity of these trainers and what they bring to each workout. There’s never any «do this while I surf on my smartphone» sort of training. Instead, they are fully focused on you and helping you get the most out of each movement and repetition.
I began my time at J+K as a middle aged couch potato with no history of regular exercise in nearly 20 years. 70 days later, I am feeling fit, energized, and have turned years of fat into muscle — or trimmed it off altogether. I have worked with Brian, Evan and Scott. Each of the trainers took into account my age, my level of ability and my lack of past training. And they worked with me to push and overcome, all the while making sure I worked safely and appropriately. I would also like to give a shout-​out to owner Jae Kim. He is gracious, accommodating, funny and makes sure that his gym is a top-​notch environment to spend time in.
I fully recommend J+K, and all of the staff that train there — I cannot say enough positive things about each of them. Do yourself the favor and give them a try.

This place is great and more importantly so are the guys who work there
I’ve been coming to Jae and co. for two years or so and have never regretted it. Initially I started to try and work out a knee injury, which everyone has been very sensitive towards, and now enjoy it as much to keep in shape
Overall the gym is really well equipped, spacious and never crowded, but the trainers are what makes it. The vibe is overall ‘strong but sensitive’, which is a happy balance. I’ve worked with Jae, Evan, Scott, Brian — each have their different styles but in common have a plainly thoughtful approach, and they keep things fresh with a mix of entertaining exercises. All are good company too, which always helps
Highly recommended!

Finding the right type of exercises when you have a number of chronic musculoskeletal issues (low back pain, plantar fasciitis, knee issues) is relatively easy, but doing them PROPERLY — not so easy! How do you know you’re doing them correctly without possibly aggravating your issues? So instead you stop working out, continue with the rest of your life… next thing you know: Hello 20 lbs!
I have been training with Jae for over a year now and have seen great results with muscle tone, core strength, and most importantly, knowledge on how to properly perform functional exercises to help and strengthen my entire body — SAFELY and effectively.
The gym is clean, well-​equipped, and most importantly, NOT a chain with douche bag trainers. The trainers here are caring and super supportive. They are ready to help you reach your health and fitness goals and meet you at whatever fitness level you’re at — the question is: Are YOU ready?

If you are struggling to keep yourself motivated to exercise or aren’t sure that you can exercise due to an injury, this is definitely the place for you.
I’d gone to gyms for my typical New Years’ resolution time period of a month or two before, but I’ve never managed to be a regular. Since I suffered a ruptured disc in my back, I gave up most exercise due to pain, but post-​surgery a few years ago, I started to come to J+K Fitness to work out with Jae 3 days a week.
Jae has been extraordinarily sensitive to my medical condition and has crafted exercises that strengthen me without triggering my previously-​common nerve pain. Now I’m largely pain-​free, 7 – 10 lbs below my 20+ year average weight, and enjoying my time at J+K with its nightclub beats and Jae’s quirky sense of humor.
As others have noted, the staff here is well educated in physiology and crafts routines for each person to uniquely address their needs and physical constraints. They are all also, without exception, friendly, funny, and genuine.
I largely attribute my ability to run around with my 5-​year-​old, climb the hills of San Francisco, and to live mostly pain free to Jae and J+K Fitness.

I can definitely say that I’m 10x more fit then when I started. My cardio and core are dramatically stronger. I started out w/​Jae and he showed me that technique is so much more important that # of reps. (it’s amazing how effective a 30 min workout can make you not want to walk for weeks afterwards).
Jae then introduced me to Scott, whom I’ve been working with for the past 9 weeks. He’s really been great w/​mixing up the workouts, monitoring my progress and creating challenging workouts for me to grow and get stronger.
I would HIGHLY recommend this company if you’re serious about your fitness results!

I can’t rate J & K Fitness high enough! If there were ten stars, I would have selected all ten. Theyr’e THAT good. I’ve worked with other trainers in the past who were okay, but did little to really help address my fitness needs. Middle-​aged, overweight, and not all that strong, I really needed someone to help me lose fat, build muscle, and get in shape. Evan, my trainer, has helped me succeed with all of those goals.
I wasn’t in shape at all when I came to J & K so Evan helped build my core. Along the way, he shared volumes of information with me regarding diet, nutrition, and training tips for when I’m working out outside of J &K. He committed to my weight loss goals as much as I did. Evan did what other trainers didn’t: he pushed me so that I could get to each new level.
The great thing was that I could actually see and feel the difference in my body. When I first started training with Evan, I couldn’t do a lot of basic exercises; those I could do, I could do for long periods of time or for many reps. After training with him for 6 months now, I can hold various plank positions for a full minute, do multiple squats (including ones holding free weights) for 20 reps at a time, and various other significant benchmarks. If you’ve always been able to do these things, these numbers might not sound like much. But if you’ve never done them before, you’ll recognize what a significant change that is! Plus, I’ve lost over 26 pounds, have more muscle, improved balance and posture, and increased energy.
Evan is a genuinely skilled, committed, funny, and sweet guy, as are all the folks at J & K. He doesn’t use a cookie-​cutter approach to training, but looks at my strengths and weaknesses and develops personalized trainings for me based on my needs.
If you’ve ever used a personal trainer before and it didn’t work out, give J & K a try. I can PROMISE that you won’t be sorry.

Jae makes me hurt in ways I didn’t even know were possible… and somehow he makes me love it!!! Jae has been my trainer for the past year and while I haven’t always been the best client, he has always been there for me and worked to keep me moving and motivated.
Jae Kim is funny, sharp, supportive, committed and well educated on fitness and the body. Somehow he knows just what to say and which area of my body to work.
I have degenerative disc disease which causes severe low back pain. Jae makes sure to always check in on how I’m feeling and is careful to never stress my back, yet he gives me a great workout and I love seeing the changes in my body. I’m looking better at 40 than I ever did in my 30s.
If you have the will and can swing the cost of a personal trainer, it doesn’t get any better than Jae.

As someone who is bitten quite regularly with the lazy bone bug, I’ve been reluctant to try my hand at a personal trainer, let alone shuffling into a vast, intimidating, testosterone ridden gym. After years of wanting to get into shape and perk up my tush, I decided to look for an experienced personal trainer to help guide me toward my goals.
Enters in Jae, owner and fitness trainer of J+K Fitness Studio.
Setting up a consultation was seamless. We went over my goals and realistic expectations and by realistic, you mean I can’t grow my booty out just like Nicki Minaj’s? Pssshhh. That shows you how far off my radar is regarding muscle growth and development. Thank goodness for Jae and his know how. X-​ing the mutant pumpkin sized buns off my resolution list. *soft cries in disappointment* I blame the media for all this butt envy, by the way.
When you meet Jae, you notice that he definitely looks the part (his arms are massive!), but his friendly demeanor and encouraging attitude quickly puts you at ease and gets you motivated to reach your full potential. What you find in Jae is a trainer who guides you in a well rounded approach concerning fitness and health and takes into account your lifestyle, nutritional habits, current health condition, and physical stamina in order to reach a personal tailored program.
I found Jae to be extremely knowledgeable in his craft and an amazing individual who will push you to no end only to help you achieve your desired outcome.
Although working out is no walk in the park, Jae makes the workouts intense and fun at the same time. Jae demonstrates true competence and professionalism and I highly recommend J+K Fitness for anyone looking for great results.