Fitness instructor at Dimensional Training Studios in Garden City develops personal training method

Andrew O. McCreary, founder and owner of Dimensional Training Studios in Garden City, knows how much effort some people put into exercise. He, however, believes it’s best when thought goes into the mix.

“We don’t exercise. We train. Exercise is when you don’t put any thought into it. Training means you mark it, measure it and repeat,” says McCreary, of Franklin Square. “No one at Dimensional is unguided. We motivate people to do things they don’t know how to do.”

Certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine, McCreary trademarked and branded Dimensional Training, a method he developed as a personal trainer and has been teaching at his brick-and-mortar location since 2014. He drew on fitness disciplines including aerobic training, calisthenics, plyometrics, functional movement, strength and yoga to build his own system. Dimensional Training starts guided workouts by strengthening a person's weakest areas, followed by 40 minutes of high-intensity training to build stamina and strengthen muscles.

McCreary says more linear and “repetitive” workouts may not address the entire body, while Dimensional Training (with the slogan, “If it’s not Dimensional, it’s not all of you”) takes a targeted and holistic approach, including often neglected muscles and joints.

“Our signature format employs a 20/40 structure where we spend the first 20 minutes working on form and range of movement,” he says. “That is followed by 40 minutes of high-intensity interval training.”

McCreary works with seven other experts in the 4,200-square-foot facility that offers 41 classes per week with up to six people each, as well as private training in small groups through their Kqlub program in addition to personal training.

“Everybody is privately training,” says Liz Fernandez, 45, of Rockville Centre, a movement specialist and membership manager. “Every routine we do with them is tailored to their own needs.”

McCreary has had clients ranging from 10-year-olds to octogenarians, noting that many people begin training in their middle ages. “Most people who are not athletes come into fitness at those ages,” he says. “We allow every person to be connected with their body just as important as any athlete would.”

He and others at Dimensional talk about “FGLG” or “feel good, look good,” a kind of watchword for the belief that guided workouts can benefit mind and body.

“When you feel great, it shows. When you’re connected to your body, it shows,” he says. “You wear your suits and dresses different. Your clothes don’t wear you. You wear your clothes.”

Before starting his own business, McCreary worked as a personal trainer for Equinox in New York City from 2007 for a little over five years where he worked directly with celebrity clients. “If they requested me to meet them somewhere, Westchester or New Jersey, I would be there,” he says.

McCreary moved to Long Island and launched Dimensional Training at its current location using techniques he created about five years earlier.

“I opened my own facility when I no longer wanted to travel. I started a family,” he says. “I developed it because over my years in practice, I found that people wanted to work on the fun stuff. I worked on things that made them stronger from the ground up.”

Dimensional Training Studios, 42 Nassau Blvd., 516-485-8800, dimensionaltraining.com.