Nick Althoff Bio - Owner and Founder
I Grew up in Yankton, SD, home of Lawrence Welk and Tom Brokaw, I was an exchange student in Tübingen, Germany, graduated from Notre Dame and masters from Georgia Tech.
I am married to my wife Jennifer and we have 6 beautiful children (Benedict, Ivory, Colette, Dietrich, Stefan, and Andreas). They do behind the scenes work with cleaning, organization, and they also LOVE to come work out when they can, too!
Some things someone may not know about me is I have over a dozen patents, have designed a wind turbine blade over half a football field long, was nominated and selected to carry the Olympic Torch for the summer olympics, and participated in the National Corporate Track and Field competition.
My fitness and health journey started when I was a 4 sport athlete and state champion in high school, and I walked onto the University of Notre Dame track team the spring semester of my freshman year. After getting injured halfway through the season, what I recognized is that every time I was in peak physical shape, injury occurred. During my biomechanics research in college, creating innovative tools on joint replacements for Zimmer Corporation. After witnessing the breakdown of human joints due to lack of proper movement, it solidified for me the importance of your body’s movement, and how it is absolutely is critical part of staying healthy and avoiding injury and costly joint and health problems.
As I aged, I dealt with knee surgery, severe back problems, and I struggled with diets and binge eating. And combined with life stresses, I found these fundamental truths…
- The same exercises we were taught to stay in shape when we were younger, like running, the elliptical, walking, going to the pool, simply don’t work the same when you are older and put excess wear and tear on the body.
- Time is hugely valuable. Make the most of it or you lose it.
- Having someone to guide you, motivate you, and hold you accountable is essential to one’s long term success and creating a healthy lifestyle. It's no surprise that a Virginia Tech study showed that you are 2200% more likely to stick with your program if you have that support.
- Aging is optional...If you do the right form of exercise.
- Quick Fixes ALWAYS set you back. Consistency is key.
- Nobody wants to waste hours at the gym every day or feel intimidated when they go in. Nobody wants to follow cookie cutter programs that work for their neighbor but not them. Nobody wants to risk injury by doing group exercises that are not appropriate for them.
Until now, there was no solution to address all these truths. And I observed my friends, colleagues, and parents dealing with weight gain, joint problems, mental health, memory loss, bone density issues, and my inquisitive mind asked how can I help them?
So I did years of research and put my expertise to work not only to design the latest in resistance training technology and science that is the most efficient, safe, and results focused system in the region, but also create a comprehensive program to address their mobility, strength, and nutrition. But the last thing we wanted to do is to sell a piece of equipment that sits in the basement collecting dust, and it is absolutely critical to have expert guidance that makes it fun and keeps you motivated, accountable, doing things safely…making it a lifestyle, not a quick fix. So I used my experience in leadership development background and running operations to hire and train the Best Staff in the Midwest.
I am a servant by heart, looking to see how I can help my friends, neighbors, and community become the best person they can be, physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. It’s why I created Northstar Fitness, to help people become the best versions they can be to be able to be the Northstars for others and build strong families and community. Because Northstars realize the Best is Always Yet to Come…
