Our Story

How it all began: Once upon a time, Christina, who was an unhealthy television casting assistant, met Seth, a sincere and stoic personal trainer. They fell in love, and he taught her how to lift weights and eat more protein. Christina became strong, confident and fit. She quit her desk job to pursue a personal training career like Seth so she too could help others get healthy and strong. They rescued a couple of shelter dogs that inspired the name of their personal training business, Dogged Strength.

Seth Barkley has been a full-time personal trainer since 2004 beginning at the Spectrum Club in Los Angeles. He has been lifting weights consistently since the age of fourteen and has played college baseball. His no nonsense, realistic approach to training has attracted a diverse clientele of all ages, from high schoolers to people in their eighties. His passion lies in encouraging his clients to realize their own strength potential as they master the basic lifts. Seth’s ‘keep it simple’ strength training philosophy has garnered him dedicated clients that have built significant progress year over year. In addition to training humans, Seth enjoys getting his steps in by volunteering with rescue dogs in need of long walks.

Christina Barkley has had a love for storytelling since childhood and pursued screenwriting with a film degree from Cal-State University Long Beach. After working various jobs in the film industry and discovering a love for weight training, she changed her career path and became a personal trainer in 2012 beginning at Equinox South Bay in Los Angeles. She enjoys helping clients from all walks of life realize their physical potential despite any adversity. She is certified in pre/post-natal exercise and senior fitness. In 2020, she became a certified nutrition coach through Precision Nutrition. Christina volunteers through the ministry Revelation Wellness as a “Rev Fit” instructor for her local community and has had two articles featured in the Revelation Wellness Blog. In recent years, Christina has recently decided to fuse her passion for fitness and creative writing. She is an active member of the California chapter of the ACFW and writes fictional fitness stories to inspire readers to grow spiritually in their faith while improving their physical fitness through exercise. 

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