Maximum Results
Vaughn Hebron, the NFL great and founder of VMS Movement Specialists, uses consistency, intensity, and flawless technique to help clients rise to the challenge of improving their lives.
When Vaughn Hebron launched VMS Movement Specialists, he was driven by the same goal that spurred him to a career as an elite NFL running back: Work. Hard.
“I don’t change, and that’s my strength,” says Hebron, who next year will celebrate the 20-year anniversary of founding his lifelong-fitness enterprise. “I focus on consistency.”
Hebron’s professional football career began as a walk-on with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he signed as a free agent before moving on to the Denver Broncos, where he won two Super Bowl rings. After earning a head-coaching post with the Indoor Professional Football League, Hebron took his lifetime of athletic knowledge and returned to the Philadelphia area, launching VMS Movement Specialists in 2004.
“When I started this 20 years ago, people looked at me like I was crazy,” says Hebron, who has used the now-popular high intensity interval training (HIIT) method with his clients since Day One. “People hadn’t really heard of HIIT, and I was always focused on that level of intensity, so people thought I was pushing too hard. My goal is to build a method, a philosophy. And that philosophy evolves, but the true essence of that doesn’t change.”
One of Hebron’s first clients was George T. Stollsteimer, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Stollsteimer has navigated Hebron’s program alongside his career treating sports and workout injuries, so he has a special appreciation for Hebron’s safe yet challenging workouts.
“He has been doing the HIIT process for decades, way before it became a trend,” Dr. Stollsteimer says. “Training is an essential part of my career, and what I’ve learned is that HIIT is the best training for the body—including cardiovascular, pulmonary, and vascular health—but also for your mind. We’re constantly moving, which means there’s functional movement involved. We’re doing toe-to-head strengthening, including core and cardio work. You’re checking off every box.”
Lena Schardt, who has been training with Hebron for the last 11 years, agrees.
“Nobody else trains like [Hebron] does, and you get the most out of every movement that you do,” says Schardt. “His two priorities are making sure that his athletes are avoiding injury and making adjustments to do everything properly, and to challenge individuals to make sure they are reaching their maximum athleticism.”
In fact, Schardt’s entire family trains with VMS. Her student-athlete children have turned to Hebron for his athletic insight and guidance on mental fortitude.
“I’m grateful that my kids have been trained and conditioned by him, and can use his example growing up,” says Schardt. “There are no excuses; you go in there and do it and give maximum effort to get maximum results. There are times when I’ll be driving over with my daughters and we’re going, ‘Oh my God, this is going to be so hard. Why are we doing this?’ Then the whole drive home we are saying, ‘Yes! We did it! We’re amazing!’”
“I am big on technique and maintaining discipline, especially with the younger clientele,” says Hebron. “They want to go from zero to 100, and so my job with a younger client is to focus on consistency, staying focused, and continuing to challenge them.”
VMS client Jeff Clark has seen the results of that discipline in his three children, all of whom have trained under Hebron.
“The level of athleticism, the strength explosion, it’s unreal,” says Clark, who’s eldest children now play hockey and soccer for Division 1 colleges. “He keeps each workout harder and harder, so you are constantly training. My daughter was worried because she didn’t think she was getting better, until she showed up at her team trainings and was wiping the floor with everyone.”
Clark’s youngest daughter, 15-year-old Zoey, has been training with VMS for two years. A competitive softball player, Zoey believes Hebron’s hard-hitting workouts have given her a leg up on her opponents.
“Every time, before I go to see Vaughn, I’m a little nervous; I know I’m about to work,” she says. “Being fit and mentally prepared has evolved me so much as a softball player. He has taught me so many life lessons; we talk a lot about the mental side of sports and about how to navigate those challenges. And it has given me an edge over other players.”
Dr. Stollsteimer says Hebron’s techniques take an athlete’s approach to fitness—one that’s capable of producing championship-winning results.
“Vaughn’s workouts amount to movement and power that translate onto the athletic field,” he adds. “A lot of people I see in my career are paddling in a particular direction, trying to figure out how far they can run or how heavy they can lift. From a physical standpoint, Vaughn’s method is a safe and challenging way to exercise for the long term.”
Kim Clabbers, M.D., first came into Hebron’s sphere through Dr. Stollsteimer. In the 18 years since then, he has trained her through a pregnancy and a career in orthopedic surgery.
“I met Vaughn at a time when I just didn’t feel like I had time to do this,” she says. “But I thought I should just give this a try, and I stayed because it’s the most effective workout out there for the time spent. It’s a little bit of everything—cardio fitness, strength, intensity—which means I’m getting the most out of my time.
“I’ve gone through a lot of phases in my life with Vaughn,” she continues, “and he has consistently gotten me to where I want to be in my life. Our technique is never rushed, and we don’t focus on what’s popular in fitness; we focus on the best strategy every time.”
The value of HIIT workouts extends to much more than fitness, self-confidence, and mental acuity. Dr. Clabbers points to recent studies that show high-intensity aerobic workouts’ ability to suppress the proliferation of cancer cells in the human body. “I wear a variety of hats—mom, doctor, patient, client—so my perspective is certainly unique,” she says. “Vaughn’s knowledge and commitment is significant.”
Therein lies the true value of Hebron’s approach to fitness: intense workouts designed to keep each client moving, motivated, and working toward improvements in every aspect of their health.
“I want to keep people as healthy as possible, and that includes mental health and overall health as people age,” says Hebron. “My clients know that I do not change the goal. I am consistently motivated and consistent in my approach, and that’s why they keep coming back.”
VMS Movement Specialists
41 University Drive, Suite 107
Newtown, PA 18940
(215) 346-7916
www.vmsallday.com
41 University Drive, Suite 107
Newtown, PA 18940
(215) 346-7916
www.vmsallday.com
Photo by Nina Lea Photography
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life, November 2023.
