meet the fAculty, BOSTON

Ted Bertini Academic Coordinator & Faculty Instructor

Robson Nascimento Faculty Instructor

Graham Smith Faculty Instructor

Ryan Sherman Faculty Instructor

BACK TO TOP Ted Bertini, Academic Coordinator & Faculty Instructor
Ted Bertini has been involved in the health and fitness field for over 20 years, and like our faculty members tend to be, he is a bit of a superman. We're still trying to figure out how he manages to cram so much into a single workday and still have the creative energy that he brings to every class.

Ted began his career with an undergraduate degree in Health Education, which he then followed with a graduate degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology. While he was a graduate student at Northeastern University, Ted worked as Lab Director for the university's outpatient maximal stress-testing laboratory. In this position, he supervised lab technicians conducting a full range of fitness and body composition assessments, including maximal stress testing, pulmonary function testing, underwater weighing, skin-fold testing, health history screening, and exercise assessment interpretation. Ted was also responsible for the instruction of undergraduate Exercise Physiology students conducting classroom experiments in the testing lab.

After finishing at Northeastern, Ted became the Physical Fitness Director for several area YMCAs, overseeing staff recruitment/training and wellness center expansions. During his time with the YMCA, Ted was also selected to be one of the first Faculty Level Instructors for the organization's newest baseline Fitness Instructor training program and was responsible for launching the program in the Massachusetts territory.

Today, Ted is an AAPT Faculty Instructor and AAPT Boston's Academic Coordinator, an AHA CPR Instructor, a YMCA Personal Fitness Director, Healthy Back Instructor, and Strength Training Instructor, a practicing Personal Trainer, the full-time Operations Manager for a tech company, and a family man. Ted specializes in fitness programming for special populations, including youth clientele, senior clientele, those with metabolic disorders, kidney disease, cardiac maintenance needs, and other special health concerns. Ted's favorite color is orange.

BACK TO TOPRobson Nascimento, Faculty Instructor
Robson Nacimento has been in the fitness industry for 34 years, and has been involved in athletics for even longer. He holds a Master's Degree in Human Movement, with specialization in Health & Fitness and Sports Medicine, as well as a Bachelor's Degree in Physical Education.

Formerly a Practical Skills Examiner for the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Health and Fitness Specialist (HFS) certification exam, Robson has achieved select recognition for his expertise in fitness assessment, exercise prescription and training application. Robson's expertise in exercise theory has also made him a sought-after presenter-he has lectured in Sweden, Italy, Brazil and the United States on topics relating to health, fitness and sports training.

Originally from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Robson's passion for exercise science began early as a youth soccer player. Robson describes spending hours upon hours in the library across the street, pouring over books on exercise science. His goal was to learn as much as he could to help improve his own athletic performance. The research paid off, and as a young teenager, Robson was already playing competitively for Brazil. His team won the World Championship in youth soccer, and Robson's soccer career continued into the professional realm. When it came time for Robson to begin college and choose a major, the choice was easy-he chose a Physical Education program at the University of Rio de Janeiro. As a new college student, however, Robson soon found that he didn't have the time for both professional soccer and school. Faced with the choice, he again chose school, and the rest, as they say, was history.

Today, Robson is an accomplished fitness academic, trainer and teacher. His passion still lies in the science of exercise, along with how that science translates into everyday application. His enthusiasm for the subject is infectious. Beyond teaching at AAPT, Robson works as a Master Trainer for Boston Sports Clubs, writes a weekly fitness column for a local Brazilian newspaper, and continues to play soccer in a local league of ex-professional players. His team made it to the league finals this year, and they won.

BACK TO TOP Graham Smith, Faculty Instructor
When Graham Smith set out to work in fitness, he set out to be the best. His inspiration has always been to help and motivate others, and his training style shows it. Graham's service mentality and focus on results has made him a leader in the personal training industry.

After completing his studies in Exercise and Sports Science at Fitchburg State University, Graham explored all corners of the personal training profession. He has trained for a myriad of establishments, from Gold's Gym to Renu Body Personal Training to Health Fitness Corporation and others, and over the course of his experiences, he has acquired a wealth of industry knowledge and training expertise. In addition, Graham's experience-based wisdom around customer service, sales, marketing and effective communication has made him an invaluable asset to his employers and students alike.

In all, Graham comes to AAPT with 12 years- and over 500 clients-worth of experience to share with his students. Everything Graham teaches in the classroom and on the floor has practical industry relevance, and he inspires his students to always approach training with a service mentality. In addition, he is a master in communicating the value of personal fitness and personal training, and by the time his students graduate, they are as well.

When he's not teaching, personal training, or carving out time for his own fitness regimen, Graham enjoys writing music, hiking and cooking healthy meals for family and friends. He also really enjoys an organic burrito from Chipotle on Summer Street, and has been know to journey miles on foot to get one.

BACK TO TOP Ryan Sherman, Faculty Instructor
With an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology paired with a graduate degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology, Ryan Sherman offers a hefty one-two punch when it comes to fitness academics. Combine that with his expansive professional background in both clinical and non-clinical training, and one might say that Ryan is the supreme model of "new school" fitness professionalism.

In the classroom, AAPT students benefit from the depth of Ryan's scientific knowledge and his thoughtful way of describing theoretical concepts. On the training floor, Ryan's practical expertise guides students in applying the science of exercise to real-life training scenarios

Prior to joining the faculty at AAPT, Ryan's career in fitness spanned from training in clinical settings (like Boston's Children's Hospital, the Joslin Clinic and the Sharp Hospital in San Diego) to training in non-clinical settings (like the YMCA and the Marino Center). Ryan still traverses both realms as a Clinical Exercise Physiologist in Boston Medical Center's Cardiac Rehabilitation Department, as well as a Personal Trainer at Fitness Together. The way that Ryan seamlessly blends the science and practice of exercise makes him not only a trailblazer in the "new school" of training, but also one of our heroes for Raising the Bar.