The Coach

Experienced teacher & athlete.

Ascend Sports Conditioning is owned and operated by Coach Gary Lombardo, certified United States Triathlon (USAT) Level 1, Spartan SGX Level 2, CrossFit Level 1, CrossFit Powerlifting and CrossFit Endurance coach and multisport athlete. Gary has over 16 years coaching experience, working with athletes of all abilities and disciplines. As a multisport athlete himself, Coach Gary understands through experience the training needs of multisport athletes. He has completed two Ironman triathlons, numerous half Ironman and shorter distance triathlons, obstacle course races (including qualifying for the OCR World Championships in 2014, 2015 and 2016) as well as many running and cycling events. Gary has also climbed numerous high-altitude peaks in the Himalaya of Nepal and India, the Andes of Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina, and the Cascades of the US northwest, and also rock and ice climbs regularly in the mountain ranges of the northeastern US (White Mountains, Green Mountains, and Adirondacks). In addition, he enjoys all types of skiing including alpine touring and backcountry and Nordic skate and classical skiing. Gary has a passion for adventure sports and brings this passion to all aspects of his life.

As a natural teacher and leader, one of Coach Gary’s greatest skills is his ability to motivate individuals to define and attain their goals, as well as communicate complex training principles into a simple, easy to understand strategic and tactical training programs. By focusing on a life balance for the individual athlete, as well as principles of specificity, and appropriate progression and overload in addition to attending tot he details of recovery, strength, flexibility, nutrition, mental training, long-term strategy and short-term tactics, Coach Gary designs programs that are personalized, effective, safe and achieve results.