Joan Pagano, a Phi Beta Kappa, cum laude graduate of Connecticut College, is certified in health and fitness instruction by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), whose credentials provide the very best measure of competence as a professional. She has worked as a personal fitness trainer on Manhattan’s Upper East Side since 1988, providing professional guidance and support to people at all levels of fitness. Through her work, she has created hundreds of training programs for individuals as well as for the community at large, addressing the needs of a wide range of groups, fitness facilities, schools, hospitals and corporations.
Formerly the manager of a one-on-one training facility, Joan now supervises her own staff of fitness specialists who work together as Joan Pagano Fitness Group. For many years, she served as Director of the Personal Trainer Certification Program at Marymount Manhattan College, where she remains on the faculty as the instructor in fitness evaluation techniques. She is also a nationally recognized provider of continuing education courses for fitness trainers through both the American Council on Exercise (ACE) and IDEA Health and Fitness Inc., organizations that support fitness professionals worldwide with education, career development and leadership. Joan is an expert spokesperson for IDEA on women’s fitness.
Joan’s expertise in women’s health issues evolved naturally from her work. Women trust Joan to guide them through periods of physical transition, such as pregnancy and childbirth or when fighting a disease. As fitness consultant to SHARE, a support group for women with breast and/or ovarian cancer, she has worked with breast cancer survivors since 1992. Their concerns about menopause prompted Joan to study how exercise could help manage the side effects of this stage in life, and in particular, how exercise could help defend against osteoporosis. Now Joan is recognized by the industry as a leading authority on exercise strategies for strengthening bones and preventing fractures.
Joan is the author of Strength Training for Women (DK, 2004), 8 Weeks to a Younger Body (DK, 2007), Strength Training Deck of Cards (DK, 11/06)
