Meet Franklin Pierce: PEAKFIT’s Corrective Exercise & Mobility Specialist in Arden, NC

TL;DR: Franklin Pierce is PEAKFIT Studio’s NASM Certified Personal Trainer and corrective exercise specialist, co-leading the training team in Arden, NC alongside head trainer Alex Zierhut. His approach starts with how you move, not how much you can lift — fixing the compensations and restrictions first, then building real strength on top of a body that works correctly. If you’ve been told to “just work around” a bad shoulder, knee, or back, this is what working through it actually looks like.

Table of Contents

• Meet Franklin Pierce
• What a Corrective Exercise Specialist Actually Does
• Franklin’s Approach to Training
• Who Franklin Works Best With
• How to Train With Franklin
• Frequently Asked Questions

Meet Franklin Pierce

Franklin Pierce is one of the two trainers leading the floor at PEAKFIT Studio in Arden, NC, working alongside head trainer Alex Zierhut to run the day-to-day coaching for the studio’s private, appointment-based clientele. He holds his NASM Certified Personal Trainer credential and has gone further into the discipline that shapes most of his coaching: corrective exercise.

That distinction matters more than it sounds like it should. A lot of trainers can hand you a workout. Far fewer are trained to look at how you actually move — where a hip doesn’t fire, where a shoulder compensates, where years of sitting or an old injury rewired the way your body solves a simple squat — and build a program that fixes the cause instead of just working around the symptom.

What a Corrective Exercise Specialist Actually Does

Corrective exercise is a structured process for identifying movement dysfunction — tight hips, a winging shoulder blade, a knee that caves on every squat — and correcting it through targeted programming rather than guesswork. NASM’s Corrective Exercise Specialization, the credential Franklin has pursued, trains coaches to assess posture and movement patterns first, then sequence a plan that releases overactive tissue, lengthens what’s tight, and strengthens what’s gone quiet before loading the pattern back up.

This isn’t a niche concern. CDC survey data from 2023 puts chronic pain at just over 24% of U.S. adults in any given three-month window, and that number climbs sharply with age — reaching roughly 36% among adults 65 and older. Most of those people aren’t being told to stop moving. They’re being told to move differently. That’s exactly the gap a corrective exercise specialist is trained to close.

At a typical commercial gym, a stiff shoulder or a cranky lower back usually gets one of two responses: avoid the movement entirely, or push through it and hope. Neither actually solves anything. Franklin’s training is built specifically to do the third thing — find out why the movement is breaking down and rebuild it.

Franklin’s Approach to Training

Franklin describes his own philosophy simply: movement is more than a workout, it’s a form of self-care. In practice, that means sessions built around two things happening in sequence — first, the body learns to move correctly through the positions life already demands of it; then, real strength gets layered on top of that foundation. He’s candid that he sees building lean muscle not just as a fitness goal, but as a visible marker of the discipline that goes into earning it.

For clients, that translates to programming that doesn’t skip steps. Before Franklin loads a heavier deadlift or progresses a shoulder press, he wants to know the joint can handle the range of motion and the stabilizing muscles are actually doing their job. It’s a slower start for some clients and a much shorter path to results for almost all of them, because strength built on a faulty pattern tends to break down — usually right when it matters most.

Who Franklin Works Best With

Franklin’s listed specialties at PEAKFIT cover strength training, athletic performance, body transformation, and corrective exercise — but the through-line in his coaching is movement quality. He tends to be the right fit for:

• Clients managing a stiff shoulder, cranky knee, or recurring low-back tightness who’ve been told to “just work around it”
• Anyone returning to training after an injury, surgery, or a long layoff who wants a body-readiness check before loading up
• Adults over 40 who want to build real strength without the joint wear-and-tear of generic gym programming
• Athletes and active adults who want their performance training to start with a movement assessment, not just a workout plan

That focus fits naturally inside PEAKFIT’s broader model. Every session at the studio happens in a private training station — no shared equipment, no waiting, no distractions — which is exactly the environment corrective work requires. Coaching a compensation pattern takes a trainer’s full attention, not a glance across a crowded gym floor.

How to Train With Franklin

If you’ve been dealing with a pain point that’s quietly limiting how you train — or you simply want a program built around how your body actually moves — a session with Franklin starts the same way every PEAKFIT relationship does: with a free consultation. From there, you can train with him through 1-on-1 personal training for fully individualized corrective and strength programming, or through PEAKFIT’s small group sessions if you prefer a community setting.

You can request Franklin specifically when booking, follow his training tips on Instagram @fitbyfranklin, or call the studio directly at (828) 620-7020.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Franklin Pierce at PEAKFIT Studio?
Franklin Pierce is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and corrective exercise specialist who co-leads the training team at PEAKFIT Studio in Arden, NC, alongside head trainer Alex Zierhut.

What is a corrective exercise specialist?
A corrective exercise specialist has advanced training in identifying movement compensations, muscle imbalances, and joint restrictions, then building programming that resolves those issues before progressing to heavier strength work.

What does Franklin specialize in?
Strength training, athletic performance, body transformation, and corrective exercise — with particular focus on helping clients move without pain before building strength on top of it.

Who should train with a corrective exercise specialist?
Anyone managing chronic pain, recovering from an injury, dealing with stiffness or limited mobility, or who’s been told by a previous trainer to just work around a problem area.

How do I book a session with Franklin at PEAKFIT?
Book a free consultation through PEAKFIT Studio’s website and request Franklin, or call the studio directly at (828) 620-7020.

Bottom line: A workout that ignores how your body actually moves is a workout that eventually stalls — or causes the exact injury you were trying to avoid. Franklin Pierce’s corrective exercise background at PEAKFIT Studio means the program starts with your movement, not just your goals. Book your free consultation and find out what training without pain actually feels like.