ABOUT

OUR STAFF

Edward Wiethdolder

CSCS

Ed Wietholder is the founder and President of Strength Fitness and Speed, Inc. which opened in 1998. Previously Ed consulted for Workouts by Wietholder from 1990-1998 while a Perfusionist at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Ed has trained thousands of clients from the Pittsburgh area. In addition, many have benefited from his routine design and consultation across the United States.

I have been involved in the acquisition of knowledge regarding the enhancement of athletic strength, conditioning, and other attributes for over 20 years. One might say that it is a passion of mine. I have perused literally thousands of journals and books for new information that may be applied to enhance my client’s results. Routines that I design are the end product of this knowledge combined with common sense application. 

During much of this period I was a Pre-Medical school candidate at the University of Pittsburgh. I graduated cum laude in 1988, was accepted at the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine, and promptly decided that I didn’t want to spend most of my life inside the hospital. I spent 1 year doing research for the University of Pittsburgh Medical School and subsequently decided to learn how to be a perfusionist.

A perfusionist works in the operating room running heart lung bypass machines that keep patients alive while a surgeon performs open heart surgery or heart/ lung transplantation. I had the good fortune to work with a gifted Perfusion team and many outstanding surgeons while at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. I also saw many miracles taking place under the auspices of many gifted and talented individuals.

During this time, my passion towards fitness, strength, and athleticism was satiated by writing for fitness magazines, reading medical and health journals such as the Journal of Applied Physiology, and designing routines for individuals on a freelance basis. I also obtained certifications in Personal Training through the American Council on Exercise and Strength and Conditioning for Sport through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. 

In 1998, I decided that I needed to pursue my passion all out and began taking steps to start up Strength, Fitness And Speed. I was a Perfusionist by day and a Strength and Conditioning Coach/Personal Trainer by night. I was also on call for emergencies and transplants 24 hours per day, 7 days per week every other week during this time. As the business grew, I was running out of time and energy. In March 2000, I left the Hospital to devote the necessary time to expanding the business and to fulfill the pursuit of my passion. That is my story. Let’s train.