About Nexus Fitness

Get to know us

The Founders

It all started at the squat rack. Gina, a neuroscience graduate student, and Gil, a software engineer, bonded over their love of lifting.

One conversation became many, and together they dedicated their lives to fitness and health. Gina became a certified personal trainer and mindset specialist, while Gil earned a nutrition coaching certification. Pursuing their passions outweighed the safety of their current careers.

The more Gina dove into the science, the more she realized that they had to act NOW. Because health and fitness lead to so much more than a nice physique or fat loss: physical health has widespread effects on the mind, brain, and behavior. And the fitness industry forgets that the mind has an equally profound impact on the body. So together, Gina and Gil decided to pioneer a movement, in which humans are approached as the intricately integrated system that they truly are. And in which one's mind, body, brain, and behavior work together to enable self-mastery and a genuinely good life.

Gil Acevedo & Gina D'Andrea-Penna

Our Mission

When you're in a state of poor health, you simply can't function at your best in any area of life. The worse your health, the more you obey your habits, impulses, and desires: life runs you more than you run it.

Unfortunately, our modern environment is insidiously weakening higher-order willing and cognition - and we don't even realize it!

These effects compound with the rat race prioritizing money over meaning, productivity over purpose, and reaction over reflection...

But is that really a life worth living?

Luckily, there's a way out. With the proper knowledge and action, you can regain control of your health and your life. And that's precisely our mission.

We aim to empower everyone with the tools needed to optimize their health - so they can live with intention, purpose, and passion.

(We're entitled to "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness," after all...)

Us vs. Them

The mind and body are often approached as two separate entities. But such a short-sighted perspective is fundamentally flawed.

When it comes to health, your mindset matters just as much as your behavior. What you believe influences what you experience, a claim increasingly supported by science.

Similarly, your physical state feeds back to the brain and mind. It's a two-way street!

That's why our program addresses exercise, nutrition, sleep, stress, and mindset. We harness each component, creating mutually reinforcing behaviors that compound to support optimal health.

To build a solid foundation for sustainable change, we've developed a mindset reset to help you reflect on your core values, dreams, thought patterns, and beliefs. Once you understand why your health really matters, the how naturally follows. And we've got the how ready to go.

Core Tenets

Authenticity

Understand your true values and pursue what you find personally fulfilling. Meaning > Money

Intention

Be mindful of your actions, present in the moment, and purposeful in your efforts.

Balance

Find moderation in all you do. Even at the physiological level, we're designed to thrive in a dynamic balance. Too much of anything for too long is bad.

Connection

Learn to embrace connection. Between mind, brain, and body; self and other; us and the environment. In isolation we wither, but in connection we thrive.