Monika Tarkowska-Carter was born in Warsaw, Poland. She learned English as a child in Poland and perfected it in London, England where she completed the Cambridge Proficiency Course in English. She lived in London and Oxford for almost 2 years. She studied linguistics at the Institute of Applied Linguistics at the University of Warsaw. Her involvement in sports started at a very early age. She did yoga together with her mom at age 9. Over the years she was involved in many different sports: figure skating, skiing, horseback riding, swimming and biking but it wasn’t until her mom introduced her to aerobics that she got completely hooked. During her student years she worked as an aerobics instructor and a trainer at various weight loss spas and created and implemented conditioning programs for airline personnel of Polish Airlines. Upon moving to the United States in 1989 she decided to follow her true love and make a career change to become a personal trainer.

She has over 18 years of experience in the fitness industry. She studied at UCLA Extension and became certified by the most respected organizations in the industry.

Her special interest has always been in the field of nutrition and she has acted in the capacity of a nutrition consultant for her clients. She has taken extensive continuing education courses to further her knowledge in this fascinating field. It became even more important when she was faced with her own health challenges due to serious mercury poisoning from eating a “healthy” diet of fish and the resultant fibromyalgia. Her health and nutritional knowledge allowed her not only to identify both conditions herself but also to seek the appropriate treatment in which nutrition played a significant role. During that time she made invaluable connections with doctors from the field of environmental, functional, integrative and preventive medicine as well as various holistic practitioners.

Currently, she is pursuing a degree in Applied and Holistic Nutrition.

From 1993 to 1996 she worked as a training coordinator at one of the exclusive health clubs in Brentwood, CA. In 1995 she started her own business Fitness Science, Inc. and has been a full-time personal trainer ever since.

She has worked closely with the medical community in Los Angeles including general practitioners, cardiologists, plastic surgeons, holistic and integrative medicine doctors, physical therapists as well as other health industry professionals like nutritionists, massage therapists, yoga instructors and the like. Most of her clients come as direct referrals from the above sources.

Monika is a professional member of many sports organizations including ACSM, NASM, NSCA, ACE and IDEA – Health and Fitness Association. She is recognized as an IDEA Elite Level trainer.

She stays on top of the latest research by attending international conferences and fitness summits, personal training symposia and various workshops.

Currently she is involved in a new initiative started by the American College of Sports Medicine that educates doctors about the importance of questioning patients about their exercise habits as part of every visit. The initiative encourages doctors to write specific exercise prescriptions and to refer patients to qualified fitness professionals when necessary.

In her spare time Monika enjoys travelling, photography, gourmet cooking, yoga, hiking, swimming and reading anything from professional literature and fiction to articles on travel, wine, food and world affairs.