Chris Carlsen

Chris is the founder of Iron Lion Performance and was born and raised in Astoria,NY. He is a former Division 1 athlete, and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (C.S.C.S).

In addition, he is a Strong First Girya Kettlebell Instructor (SFG, Beast Tamer) , and holds specialized certifications in Fitness Therapy (ISSA) , Functional Range Conditioning(FRC) and Pre-Post natal. He has also completed the Complete Olympic Lifting Workshop with national record holder Wil Fleming and continually searches out the best coaches to sharpen his craft. His articles have been published on Strong First (In-season Football Training) and Weck Method ( 5 Strength Exercises to Increase Speed). He has also been featured on Fox Five PBC Countdown Season 1, Episode 18, “Adam Kownacki vs Chris Arreola“.

Although Chris trained as an athlete, he quickly realized that many of his clients could not initially perform at such an advanced fitness level. More importantly, many of them had pre-existing injuries and movement limitations, both of which negatively impacted their workouts.

As a result, Chris figured that his expertise in strength training alone would only get him so far. In order to fully help his clients reach their goals, he needed to educate himself in the area of physical assessment. In his journey for information on movement therapy, Chris discovered Gray Cook and his Functional Movement Screen (FMS): a system for evaluating one’s flexibility and mobility. Chris learned the FMS assessment and purchased the entire “Secrets Series” by Cook, which was a gateway to the work of various strength coaches, including Pavel, Mike Boyle and Eric Cressey.

These coaches were, and continue to be, the leaders of a larger movement towards functional, movement-based training within the fitness world. Chris adopted their philosophies, combined it with what he already knew and created a training system that brought his clients myriad success. It’s a system that he has cultivated over the last fourteen years of being a professional coach.