A Scottsdale-based trainer is offering his clients technology often only found among professional sports organizations. 

Spencer Tatum, a former Division I college football player at Ohio University, set out on a mission while in college and after obtaining his degree to better understand the human body and how it works relative to sports and everyday fitness. 

Tatum, who suffered several injuries ranging from a torn ACL, hamstrings and labrum in his hip that ultimately ended his playing career, found a gap in the return-to-play process for athletes coming off of injuries. 

While cleared by physical therapists to return to sports, there was often a mental and even physical block athletes dealt with when attempting to play again. 

Tatum and his team set out to fill that gap not only for athletes, but for those looking for motivation to get back into shape. 

“I spent a lot of time in physical therapy and everybody wants to get out of there healthy, but they may not be where they want to be,” Tatum said. “How do you get back being yourself again? I felt like there had to be a way to mold different strategies and put them together. 

“I wanted to get a sense for exactly where an athlete is mentally and to help them get that confidence back.”

Tatum moved to Orange County, California, and began training athletes. It was there he started to grow his portfolio of professional clientele.

 He moved to Scottsdale in 2008 and just last year branched off on his own and created THP. 

The 37-year-old has managed to continue building his portfolio of clients and now trains the likes of Arizona State University alum Jon Rahm, who is the top-rated golfer in the world, as well as NFL first-round draft picks, NBA stars and other athletes. 

But Tatum and his team also cater to those looking to gain a sense of confidence back. He said a large majority of his clientele are everyday people looking to get in shape. He also trains a variety of youth and high school athletes. 

Whether or not his clients aim to become the next great athlete, Tatum and his team approach them in the same fashion. First, they help them gain confidence as a human-being.  

“Before you can be an athlete, you have to optimize your human performance,” Tatum said. 

“You as a human being, you have to make sure you are resilient health wise, mentally, physically and then you can become a high-performing human or in sport. That’s kind of how THP came about. 

“We go to the ends of the earth to understand how all these different parts work together. Fitness, strength, mentality, nutrition, movement, all of these different facets.”

THP uses a wide variety of technology to identify where a client can benefit the most during workouts.

 Force velocity systems are used to understand how strong and powerful a person is while performing a certain workout. They also use force plates to measure the amount of power someone puts into the ground while hopping, jumping and running. 

A data analytics software is used to measure whether or not they are on track to meet their goals.  

Clients have the option to train virtually if they have a home gym, at another gym or at the THP facility in north Scottsdale. It’s there where THP has artificial turf, a slew of power racks and weights as well as other strength and cardio equipment. 

Tatum said on average, professional athletes will utilize the facility three to five times a week based on their schedules. Youth athletes and everyday gym goers typically workout anywhere from two to three times per week. 

No matter their athletic ability, everyone will use the same equipment. Where things differ based on experience is the training regimen as a whole. 

“Ordinary people or guys like Jon don’t need to be as strong as an offensive lineman,” Tatum said. “But he does need to be strong for the game of golf. We build an individualized training system for you. 

“Whatever your wants, your needs or your goals are, we want to make sure to help you stay on track and achieve those goals.”

For more information on THP, visit ignitethp.com.