The former Fairleigh Dickinson University athlete has been building his personal training company that he runs out of Spectrum Physical Therapy in Old Tappan.
He calls it "Progressive Movement Training."
"After all the injuries I had, one of my interests was helping other kids avoid those situations and know what is right and what is wrong and how to work it out," said Blackgrove, who creates personalized workout plans for his clients.
"I look at your gait and how you walk, the alignment of your knees and hips, your upper back, your neck," he said. "I try to hit every aspect of the body."
Blackgrove identifies areas in the body where there are strong muscles next to weaker muscles — "asymmetries."
Those are the areas where injuries are most likely to occur, he said.
For example, if an athlete's knees tend to collapse inward while walking, he knows Blackgrove needs to work on her hip strength to help her avoid injury.
"We would do exercises focused on her glute muscles to stabilize her knee muscles," said Blackgrove, an assistant basketball coach at Dominican College in Blauvelt, NY.
He has been adding clients to his practice at a steady clip, and hopes to eventually work with professional athletes.
"Being a pro is what I aspired to but I fell short," Blackgrove said. "It is very fulfilling to help people reach their goals.
"It is not about me it is about the people I am helping," he said.
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