MALKIE RASKAS
Certified Fitness & Aquatics Trainer
Weight Management Consultant
Malkie Raskas is a creative and much sought after AquaTread™ & fitness trainer residing in New York and Florida.
A vivacious mother of five and grandmother who has been described as a “hardcore diehard” exercise enthusiast, Malkie has spent more than three decades motivating women and girls to pursue a healthy and fit lifestyle. It is no wonder that the Baltimore Jewish Times featured Malkie in a cover story as one of nine “extraordinary young women to watch.”
Malkie founded the Sound Body fitness studio in Baltimore, Maryland. What started as a small, home-based business with a dozen or so clients, soon expanded into a new facility with a full service, state of the art, physical fitness studio that served hundreds of women and teenage girls. As the owner and operator of Sound Body, Malkie oversaw all programming and staffing and instructed both group and private fitness classes, including aerobics, gymnastics, yoga, cardio-kickbox, and special interest classes for teens.
To broaden the scope of options available to her clients, Malkie designed the AquaTread™ program, patterned on naval commando training routines. AquaTread, a comprehensive deep water, total body workout that provides great cardiovascular exercise with virtually no muscle fatigue or stiffness, now has innumerable devoted followers. The Baltimore Sun, in an article about Malkie Raskas, described the AquaTread program as “one of the most progressive workouts” in town. Fitness magazine called it one of six “creative ways to burn fat.”
Malkie also teaches Pilates, a form of strength training, integrating mind and body, to reach a level of fitness unobtainable in traditional aerobic fitness classes.
As a Certified Weight Management Consultant and Health Coach, she also provides personal weight loss counseling, combining a tailor-made exercise program with nutritional guidance for individuals.
Malkie is frequently sought out to conduct health and wellness programs for groups and organizations. She has been a consultant to numerous seminaries in Israel, where she ran group programs for the student body and provided specially tailored counseling for individual students. She has also designed and overseen fitness programming for many Passover programs, Kosher tour groups, conventions and retreats, and for a summer weight loss camp for young women. Malkie is frequently asked to lecture on health and fitness issues, and has been a featured participant in the Sinai Hospital of Baltimore Health Series.
In 2009, Malkie produced the unique audio fitness CD, Carpool KarmaTM, which debuted in the United States to great acclaim. Carpool Karma provides busy, multitasking “carpool moms” the opportunity to optimize their time in the car and achieve their full mental and physical potential with convenient and effective mind and body exercises.
Malkie has received certifications from the major organizations in the exercise field, including the American Council on Exercise, the Aquatic Exercise Association, Institute of Integrative Nutrition, the Exer-Safety Association, the International Kids Fitness Association and Yoga-Fit. She is also trained and certified as a lifeguard by the American Red Cross, and in CPR by the American Heart Association.