Athletes strive to be the best that they can be and to be the best competitor on the field. This takes hours of hard training and proper nutrition to achieve. Sometimes this may even mean relocating to a different area to be able to train with certain trainers that are known to improve athletic performance. Olympic and professional athletes will go wherever they need to to work with such experts. That is the willingness that they have to be the best that they can be. We should have that same willingness to seek out to be in the best health status that we can be in. We only show that same willingness when we get diagnosed with cancer or some seemingly incurable disease. If only we would have had that same willingness on the preventive side. Here at Orlando's Personal Fitness we feel that we are the experts when it comes to high performance health and wellness and we have been doing this for many years. We can proudly say that most individuals that have worked out with us have been among the elite athletes when it comes to health. We have seen individuals go from their 50's in age to now healthy 80's and they are amazing to see. These are what we call professionals when it comes to wellness. They are just like those pro athletes, only they are competing to be in the best possible health that they can be in. They have invested hundreds of hours throughout their lives working on this. Orlando's Personal Fitness is now branching out into the high performance athletic side of fitness. We have brought in an expert in athletic training by the name of Ken Coggins. Ken has been in the fitness industry for more than 30 years. He has worked with athletes such as Derek Fisher (NBA), Anfernee Penny Hardaway(NBA), Jason Whittle(NFL), and a host of many more professional athletes. His experience has taken him through a journey where he has the opportunity to work with athletes from all different sports.
He began his career in strength and conditioning in 1983 as a consultant at the Nautilus Fitness Center in Jackson, Miss.,where he help train NFL greats such as Walter Payton, Eddie Payton and Frank Sutton.
In 1984, Coggins also served as Student Assistant Strength and Condition Coach at Mississippi State. At MSU, he assistant Hall of Fame Strength and Conditioning Coach Al Miller, who has served as head strength and conditioning coach of several NFL Teams (Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raider,and New York Giants).
Coggins accepted the position of head strength and conditioning coach at Delta State in Cleveland, Miss., where he worked with all 14 sports from 1987 to 1988. After a one-year stint at Delta State, Coggins then ventured to Memphis, Tenn., where he accepted the position of assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Memphis (1988-90) in 1988. While at Memphis, Coggins served as strength and conditioning coach for football and men's basketball program, where he help produced NBA All-Star Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway. Also Coggins developed strength and conditioning program for actresses Cybil Sheppard and Raquel Welch.
Two years later Coggins would begin his first tour of duty in the Natural State, when he accepted the position of head strength and condition coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (1990- 1995) in Little Rock, Ark. Also during his tenure at UALR, Coggin help produce another NBA All-Star in Derek Fisher. Who is currently the head basketball coach of the New York Knicks.
To add to the list of his accomplishments at UALR, Coggins founded UALR's chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Then in the summer of 1995, Coggins became the head strength and conditioning coach at Missouri State (1995-1999) in Springfield, Mo. During his tenure at Missouri State, Coggins' Men's Basketball team made a NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance; Women's Basketball made a NCAA Tournament Final Four appearance and Baseball team won a NCAA Super Regional and advanced to the College World Series. Coggins was intricate part in development of Missouri State's weight room and plyometric room through his fundraising efforts in the local community. In addition, he help design and coordinate with Sorinex Exercise equipment to build a 7,500 square feet weight training facility.
Coggins returned to the Magnolia State in the summer of 1999 when he took the position of head strength and conditioning coach at Belhaven University (1999-2003) in Jackson, Miss. At Belhaven Coggins was responsible in creating the strength and condition program for the Blazers. Coggins then traveled crosstown and became the head strength and conditioning coach at Jackson State University (2003-2007) in 2003. He was the Tigers first full time head strength and conditioning coach and started the speed strength and condition sports for all of JSU's 18 sports.
In the summer of 2007, Coggins became the head and strength condition coach at Charleston Southern in Charleston, S.C., where he once again he charged with the task of being the school's first ever full time strength and conditioning coach.
After a one year stint at Charleston Southern, Coggins then ventured to the Peach State and became the head strength and condition coach at Georgia State University (2008-2013) in Atlanta, Ga. There Coggins was instrumental in starting the school's football program and was successful in building three weight training facilities with Sorinex weight training equipment for the Panthers' student-athletes.
For the 2013-2014 academic year, Coggins served as the Director of Athletic Performance working with grades from seventh to 12th grade at the Centerfield Baseball Academy in Atlanta, Ga. In addition, he also worked with inner city programs with local business and training youth in teaching families about training development for their children.
In the fall of 2014, Coggins became the head strength and conditioning coach at Savannah State in Savannah, Ga., a position, he held until accepting the head strength and condition position at UAPB.
This Jackson, Miss., native holds a BA in Fitness Management and Exercise Physiology from Mississippi State (1986) and did graduate work in Fitness and Exercise Physiology at Northeast Louisiana in 1987. Coggins has also studies abroad and has received degrees in the field of strength and conditioning from the Soviet and Bulgarian Science of Speed in 1988; The Lennin Institute of Physical Culture and Sports Science (1990) in Leipzig, Germany; a diploma from the Institute of Physical Culture and Sports in Sophia Bulgaria and studied and attended seminars on East German training in sports and weight lifting at the science of strength and conditioning in Berlin, East Germany in July of 1990. In addition Coggins has studied under Soviet National Weight Lifting Coach Gregory Goldstein at the New York Giants Stadium in Meadowlands, New Jersey in December of 1988. In May of 1990, Coggins studied under Speed Development Coach Dr. Ben Tabinak of the USSR National Sprint team at the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tenn.
Also Coggins holds master certification in speed and explosion from the National Association of Speed and Explosion in 2009 and served as the state director for the NASE from 2008-2016. In addition, he holds a Masters in sports science and fitness science from the International Sports Science Association (1991).
