Faiczak Food & Fitness | Connor Faiczak

In this episode of At Home in Waterloo Region, Cher sits down with Connor Faiczak, the owner of Faiczak Food and Fitness, a personal training studio with meal prep services focused on building healthy lives through education, movement, and nutrition. Connor shares his inspiring journey from a teen athlete facing injury to combining his passion for kinesiology and culinary expertise into a thriving business that transforms the lives of his clients. 

In this episode you will hear:

• [02:20] Connor shares his heartwarming story of helping his great uncle lose 65 pounds and regain mobility, emphasizing the power of small, consistent movements 
• [06:39] An overview of Faiczak Food and Fitness, including the private gym environment designed for personalized training and open, judgment-free conversations 
• [09:48] Connor explains how his culinary background and passion for food led to offering meal prep services alongside personalized fitness training
• [14:34] Connor shares his fitness philosophy: simplify movement, integrate activity into everyday life, and focus on fundamentals for sustainable results
• [17:50] He discusses balancing fitness with lifestyle, allowing treats in moderation, and creating habits that are achievable and enjoyable
• [24:05] Connor emphasizes individualized exercise programming, combining strength, mobility, and rehab exercises tailored to each client’s needs
• [27:47] Nutrition strategies: creating sustainable food habits, simplifying choices, and making small adjustments for healthier meals without deprivation
• [34:13] Guidance on making mindful choices when eating out, balancing enjoyment with nutritional goals, and managing stress for overall health
• [42:41] Raising children with positive relationships with food and exercise, setting a strong example without imposing rigid rules
• [48:55] Connor talks about opening his gym, the early challenges, and the strategies that helped him attract and retain clients
• [50:12] The value of education and personalization in fitness, creating accountability and long-term lifestyle change for clients
• [55:09] Balancing culinary creativity with healthy meals, including modifying restaurant-style dishes for better nutrition
• [01:00:29] Connor shares his vision for expanding into schools and community events to educate children about movement and health

Connect with Connor:

Instagram: @faiczakfoodfitness

Let's Connect:
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Website: www.athomecompany.ca
Email Community: https://athomeco.myflodesk.com/podcast
Contact: hello@athomecompany.ca

Thank you to our Sponsors:

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello and welcome to the At Home in Wirley Region podcast. I'm your host, Cheryl Getz. The purpose of this podcast is to shine a light on what makes this region special: the people. We will hear from inspiring locals and business owners, their stories and their goals. Whether you are born and raised here, are new to the area, or something in between, join us as we get to know who is part of making our home in Waterley Region so wonderful. Today on the podcast, we have Connor FAZAC, the owner of FAZAC Food and Fitness, a full-service personal training studio with meal prep services helping to build healthy lives grounded in education. Connor has always known his career would be in the fitness industry since his heartwarming origin story with his great uncle, but truly found success when he married it with his inner foodie. His clients received the benefit of Connor's vast education and experience as a registered kinesiologist and specialized chef. With both his designations, his business focuses on personalized plans that educate clients to help them build the confidence they need to enjoy the life they want to live. Welcome, Connor.

SPEAKER_02 1:08

Thank you very much, Sherry. Excited to be here. This will be fun. You're the first boy. That's what an honor.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

Isn't that crazy?

SPEAKER_02 1:16

It's been so long for you and not one boy.

SPEAKER_00 1:20

There you go. It's been over a year. It's wild.

SPEAKER_02 1:22

We love the successful woman in the community, though, eh? Like to have a year's worth of content with just successful entrepreneurs. It's so true.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

It's so true. Yeah. Yeah. That's so fun. Maybe you being here though, the men will be less scared and they'll reach out. Exactly. You know, they'll be like, Connor made it out alive with Cher.

SPEAKER_02 1:43

Breaking grass glass ceiling.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

You're breaking the glass ceiling for men on this podcast. Good job.

SPEAKER_02 1:48

Exactly. Someone's got to do it.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

So brave. Okay. Listen, in the bio, it said something about a heartwarming origin story with your great uncle. And now I need to hear more about that. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_02 2:00

I don't get to share the story very often because it's uh it's hidden deep in my website. But my website's got a lot of words, and not a lot of people like to read all the words on the website, which is one of the critiques off the start. But I was like, nope, gotta stick with it. This is me, this is my story. I'm a lot of words. I only want the people that want to read it. So um yeah, no, I was uh growing up, I was a big sports guy, big athlete, and I had uh terrible knee injury in my grade nine year, and so it was pretty heartbreaking for me. I didn't really, you know, know who I was anymore without that athlete piece. And so uh my grandmother, of all people, took me out to Alberta just on a trip to get me away, stop me from thinking about it, kind of get me out and get me some different viewpoints kind of thing. And we were staying with my great-antuncle and um with them. They were talking a lot about this trip that they were planning to go on. They were looking forward to it for years. They had planned this cruise and this hike. And my grandfather, my my uncle was maybe 70, 75 years old kind of thing, and maybe 80 pounds overweight and you know, living his best life kind of thing, doing everything, but kind of shared with me behind the scenes that he was, you know, he was worried about the hike. He was like, that's a lot of exercise. Like, we're gonna be pushing it for hours to make it up this hill. My wife's fit. I don't know if I can keep up. And I'm like, man, that's like a year and a half away. You got time to move. And I was only 14 years old at this time, and so we just started, we only had a week and a half together, but we started uh doing little things. He's a big Red Sox guy, so we bonded over baseball and a big baseball guy as well. And so he watched every single Red Sox game during the summer. So I'm like, that's 162 games a year that you watch during the summertime. That's 162 days. We're just sitting on the couch for three hours. Instead of sitting on the couch, let's just move the bike beside the couch. Why just sit on the bike? If you get a couple pedals in in the three hours, you get a couple pedals in, but let's just remove that barrier kind of thing. Have that be that transition. And over that baseball season, we got them to lose 65 pounds through the baseball season just by sitting on a bike and getting some pedaling. It was like, I did it maybe five minutes of the three hours, but I sat on that bike, and then next thing you know, a month later, I was able to do it for an hour. And then three months later, I'm doing it for the whole game and I'm enjoying it. I'm like, man, I'm looking forward to the bike ride this afternoon. And his wife's like, Who are you? Like, what are you doing? kind of thing. And he was swimming laps in the pool. He couldn't swim laps in the pool when we started, and that was what we'd do in the morning. We'd just get up in the morning, I'd be like, Okay, Uncle Bert, let's go to the pool. And he'd just kind of saunter over and we're just hanging out. It wasn't uh an exercise, exercise thing. He wasn't hitting the gym, it was just let's get out and let's move. Let's not overcomplicate things. Let's just move. You want to do something that's cardio-based, let's start doing some cardio-based things. And then eventually I was able to do the hike with his wife, and he was like, Man, you have a real talent for this. And I was like, What do you mean, talent like? This is just moving. This is just who I was as a kid. But it was kind of a unique thing that I didn't realize at the time. But as you grow older and people start to get more sedentary, I was always moving and wanting to move and being like, Oh, like, why are you guys playing video games? Like, let's go play some street hockey kind of thing. And nobody really wanted to do that as I got into like that 16 to 20 year old range kind of thing. Everybody's habits kind of changed, and I was still like, go, go, go on this. Let's keep moving, let's just keep having fun, kind of thing, because it it builds on itself. Once you start moving, you enjoy it, you feel good, and it just breeds that positivity. So it wasn't until I was part way through my university career where I was like, okay, that original goal of, you know, oh, my surgeon helped me so much, I want to be a surgeon. I was like, uh, maybe this kinesiology thing is for me. Because I went to McMaster University shortly after that to study kinesiology just because I loved movement. That was the thing for athletes to do was to study kinesiology. And so that kind of got it all started was just my uncle being like, I want to do this hike. And I'm just like, let's just watch some baseball and spin on the bike, like simplify things. We don't need to hit the jam, we don't need to set all these goals, it's just sit down on the bike, pedal it out, and next thing you know, you're hiking up a mountain with your wife, 60 pounds lighter and living your best life. So it's uh it's been a real inspiration to me as I keep going because it's it's never too late to do something. But it's one of those things where the earlier you start the better.

SPEAKER_00 6:30

But it is truly never too late, which is so important for people uh to hear for sure. Um so what were you let's talk about the your gym for a little bit and the services. Yeah. Uh, and then we'll get into like the path that led you there. So um you're located, you know, in the amazing plaza with Bauer Kitchen. Chris and I always joke that it's like one day we were walking up and we were like, what if we just accidentally went in Bauer instead of instead of the gym?

SPEAKER_02 7:03

That's how I get people on my Saturday morning. I'm like, oh, the cafe opens at eight, so you've got to come here and get the gym from seven to eight. So you can be the first ones in line at that cafe. And and that's the busiest time slot. People line up for that.

SPEAKER_00 7:16

Yeah, it's a good one. Um so yeah, your gym is there. It's a private gym. So, you know, when when I'm in there, when Chris and I are in there, no one else is in there.

SPEAKER_02 7:25

It's just us and us working on what we need to work on, kind of thing. And that was something that I kind of brought from the other gym where it was a small gym, but there was a couple trainers in, and you'd be having these personal conversations, and it's better than the big box gym where there's, you know, maybe some other people around, and you can't have those close conversations and get to those nitty-gritties and figure out what makes someone tick. But that personalized space, you don't have all those outside noises to kind of stop you from being yourself. So it really lets people get down to business with why they're there, what's going on in life, and what we want to work on moving forward.

SPEAKER_00 8:04

Yeah, I love the privacy aspect for sure. Um, it just allows you to talk about anything and everything. Um and I find that so important, you know, especially at our age and things start happening. You know, I've had kids, so um, you know, I can talk to you about the pelvic floor physio appointment I just had, you know. And so important. You can use your kinesiology brain to like help me, you know, through that.

SPEAKER_02 8:36

We can build on it.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

Yeah, yeah. So I I love that part of it. And you can literally talk about anything in that, in that gym. I once said something in Chris's like, I think you just passed a boundary and you were like, no, never any boundary.

SPEAKER_02 8:50

Never in the gym. I've heard it all there. And and that's one of the important things too, and something I've realized is everybody goes through the same thing. We can't be scared of having these conversations because if it's not, you know, my mom or my sister going through it, it's my friend or my you know, partner going through it. And everybody's going through the same thing. So it's, you know, if you have something to say or something that's going on, somebody's probably got a solution to it. And opening up about those things, it it helps a lot.

SPEAKER_00 9:14

Yeah, for sure. Well, and even, you know, as someone who's had kids, like I remember when we first started working out, I was like, oh my God, I'm gonna pee my pants. I have to like go to the bathroom. And you were like, yeah, that's that's normal. That's fine. And so it's a very safe environment, which I appreciate, and I think like any woman would appreciate, or any man who you know isn't a gym bro. Exactly. Yeah, for sure. And so talk to us about the the path that led you to this private gym.

SPEAKER_02 9:48

Yeah, it was really interesting how it came up because I was working at another private gym kind of close by in the downtown kitchener there. And uh a lot of my clients, I was kind of making my own food at home, doing the fitness thing, living the best life kind of thing, doing my meal prep on the Sundays as I've kind of done for years. And I would bring some food into the gym, and the clients would be like, Oh, that smells so good. Like, I wish I could make food like that or have food like that. And then one of my clients one day was like, Oh, I'd so buy that off you, man. And I was like, there's a business idea. Let's run with that. So, me and my partner, we've been foodies, all of our travels are around food kind of thing. If we plan to go somewhere, it's not, oh, what attractions are we gonna see? It's oh, what restaurant are we going to? When are we gonna do it? And and that's how we plan our trips around. And so then it was okay, what are we doing with it? And then we got an opportunity to go to culinary school and a private culinary school, Top Tukes Culinary Institute in town here that nobody's ever heard of, but it's a great little private school. We're able to go to night class. I was able to still work full-time. My partner was able to still work full-time, and we're able to kind of create the business. And the location was actually crazy. I we stumbled upon it. I was almost set on a place at the Walper Hotel, but we couldn't get the shower in there. And the the owner of the building was like, Oh, it's fine, you don't need the shower. And I was like, I got a business, a lot of business guys. There's a lot of other small gyms around that don't have a shower that I was trying to work out of, and I was like, this doesn't work for my clients. You got to know what the clients need, kind of thing. And for those trainers, maybe they didn't have the clients that needed it. But I knew for the clientele that I needed and the clientele that I wanted to attract, I needed the business guys to come in in the morning, dressed in their suits, change out in a nice space, have that shower, go right back up to work, or even come in at the lunchtime hour, kind of thing, make myself more accessible to people and remove that excuse of, oh, I'm at work, I can't do it, I'm in the suit, I can't sweat. It's like, bring a change of clothes, hit the shower. There's no excuses here. So sadly that opportunity fell through, but then the opportunity at uh Bauer there just opened up. And I had driven by it a couple times because I lived close by and I was rollerblading by it one day, and I was like, this could work. Like, why am I looking around? Like it's right here in front of me. And uh and it was a good time to get into it. And so we started the renovation process. And next thing you know, there's a beautiful gym put together. And one of my good friends that I had known, gotten to know through just ordering his takeout food. He was nice enough to let me get into his kitchen and use his kitchen. So um, just a lot of the connections of being in the community, helping out in the community, being a part of it, and not just being the bystander, but being an active member and making those connections kind of got me in there, got me started with the food. And everybody's been so great helping me get to the spot where I am. All my clients come from different backgrounds. So if I need some help with uh with some plumbing or something, I've got some plumbing clients. If I need landscape help at the house, I've got some landscapers. If I need business help, I've got some business guys that I can go to. And everybody wants to lend a helping hand, everybody wants to support each other here. So it uh it was a real team effort to get it going. And um, it's been it's been a blessing and being in that location is all the clients that I want to help out. A lot of retirees come to there and are biking around, and so getting to introduce them to posterior chain exercises and things to help out is uh is pretty cool. And everybody coming by just sees the sign that says food and fitness. Food and fitness. I like those things. I like those things too. So it's great to just have people come in and talk, have those conversations and start to educate the people around, educate that small little community because that is a really tight little community out there.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

Yeah, for sure. KW in general is definitely can be a very tight. Such a small place. Yeah. Now you talked a little bit about, you know, let's remove the barriers, remove the excuses. So I'd love to get into your philosophies. Um, and we'll divide it up between fitness and food. Um I've learned so much over wow, how long has it been now? A year?

SPEAKER_02 14:04

It's over a year now. Over a year now. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:07

Uh working out in your space, eating your food. That's crazy. Yeah. Wow. And just like, yeah, asking you tons of questions. The best part about working out with you, as I know Chris definitely takes advantage of this, is asking the questions. Like while we're working out, ask so many questions about like how to make the right decisions or how to simplify something. So I want you to have the opportunity to talk about your philosophy. We'll start with fitness.

SPEAKER_02 14:34

The fitness philosophy for me is really easy. It's just keep it simple kind of thing. Like my uncle, uh, like all the busy entrepreneurs like yourself around there, they got so much going on, so many things to do. It's like simplify it. If you can, if you're already doing something, how do I take that something that I'm already doing and add some fitness to it? How does my uncle take this baseball thing that he loves to do that he's normally like, I can't do anything in the afternoon because I'm sitting down playing, watching baseball? I'm like, what if we change that up? What if you weren't sitting down on the couch? What if you're just sitting on the bicycle right beside it? Removing those barriers, simplifying things, not being like, oh, you have to go out of your way to do this. It's like you're already home doing this. Just, you know, stick your leg out a little bit, do a little bit of something, raise your knees if you're sitting down, get some of that extra core work. There's so many things that you can do to simplify life and to add some exercise in. It's not, oh, I'm in a rush to work kind of thing. I have to get there and park right away in that first spot. It's, you know, you can take that extra two minutes, park far away, get that extra thousand steps, walking up to the front of the building, and then be ready or park across the street, kind of thing, if you have that ability. Walk to work, take the public transit, being on your feet and standing for the bus kind of thing is so much more exercise than some people are ready for it, kind of thing. So um keeping things simple is the real base to fitness kind of thing, working on those fundamentals. If you get into the elite levels of things, it's no longer doing all these crazy things, it's just perfecting the basics. You hear baseball players all the time is a great example of what do the best players do? They practice the fundamentals. It's not about doing all these crazy things. They can do those crazy things and all those impressive things because they practice those fundamentals for so long. And it's simplifying. If you don't have time, but you all you have time for is a little walk with the kids. Well, maybe instead of walking behind the kids, run up with the kids. Do that extra step. If the kids are playing at the playground instead of sitting there watching the kids play on the playground, take a turn on the monkey bars. They'll fail the first couple of times, but three, four weeks you'll be doing the monkey bars with the kids kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01 16:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:50

Um, so it's it's finding what you like to do and not sticking people into that cookie-cutter formula of, okay, you want to do this goal. Well, we gotta hit the gym three times a week. It's like, well, if we can hit the gym, that's great. But if life's preventing that, what can we do to work around it and simplify that approach and not add things to the plate, but make it work the way it is kind of thing. Understand that life happens and kind of be kind, be simple, take it easy.

SPEAKER_00 17:19

Yeah, I I honestly do appreciate like how you emphasize being kind to yourself and giving yourself grace. You're definitely not a trainer that, like, you know, it's black and white, these are the rules, shame if you don't follow them. Like, what's wrong with you? I remember when I told you that I was going from every like I like my treats. I like my baked goods, right? With my uh vanilla latte. And so uh I would always like have a coffee and have something with it, like a scone or or like a muffin, or because I go to so many events, there's always opportunities to have treats. And I remember how ecstatic you were when I told you I'm only gonna have a treat every other time I have the opportunity. And you were so stoked when like a lot of other people would be like, well, why not just not have the treat? You know? Yeah. It's like, well, that's not what life's about.

SPEAKER_02 18:17

Exactly. Right? Finding that balance. And that right there, like such a simple, easy thing to do, cut that right there. It cuts out 50% of your calories, kind of thing. 50% of the extra calories that you consume that you don't need. And it's just every other time you still allow yourself that treat. It's not like you're forcing it away, kind of thing, but it's being kind. It's allowing yourself that, but also understanding that we're trying to get somewhere. So we gotta show some restraint, but we gotta still live life, kind of thing. It's a long journey and we gotta enjoy the journey while we go. So uh it's it's those little things that those make me excited. Like when that light bulb starts to switch, and it's like then people get excited, then it all starts to turn around.

SPEAKER_00 18:56

Yeah, yeah, for sure. And I find also your philosophy is fun. Like it sounds like as you're talking, it's like, let's also try to have some fun and not make everything so hard.

SPEAKER_01 19:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:08

But one perfect example of simplicity is when you told me that I think it was two and a half minutes. Like if I skipped rope for two and a half minutes, if I like hit a treadmill like really hard, I can't remember what parameters you use, something about like your heart rate or something, right?

SPEAKER_02 19:27

Yeah, it's the heart rate. As long as you get that heart rate up to a certain level and you're putting in that high intensity effort, that high intensity interval training or that hit training that was kind of talked about for a long time, and then I got swept under the rug. That is kind of that gold standard of if you're busy and you don't have a lot of time, just those quick two minutes on the skipping rope. Even if you take a little break in there, that two and a half minutes, 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, that's it. That's all you need. You get into that routine, it may build from there, it may not, but that's enough to get that heart rate up, and that's all you need for the weight loss kind of thing. And then if it builds, you get that every day, and then hopefully it builds from there. But that's the part that you really need to get, because that's gonna get you the strength benefit that you need. It's not just the cardio, you're building the strength if you're pushing that intensity. And as you're building that strength, you're losing fat because you're losing strength, but then also because that heart rate's high. So it's the best of both worlds, with if that time's really the constraint, with as little effort as possible. And so I got to be a part of some cool studies at McMaster where I did my undergrad. And so they really kind of hammered that home to us and showed us the first world examples of if you do it this way, it happens, it works.

SPEAKER_00 20:38

I think I think it's just crazy because we're so brainwashed. I think it's just crazy to think that two and a half minutes a day of skipping a rope and you can lose weight, you can lose fat.

SPEAKER_01 20:50

Yeah. That's that's all it takes.

SPEAKER_00 20:52

Right? But like, is that not mind-blowing because of how brainwashed we are?

SPEAKER_02 20:55

Everybody's like, you gotta go for an hour, you gotta go for an hour, three times a week, every day, kind of thing. You gotta hit that Jim Bro schedule, hit your splits kind of thing. It's like simplify it. That's that's way too much kind of thing. If you're starting from nothing, especially, that's way too much off the start. Even if you've been doing it for a while, even myself, I don't always follow that thing. I have to be kind to myself. And sometimes I'm like, I've got too many clients, I've got too much on the go right now. I don't have time to do all this crazy extra stuff, hit an hour workout. Sometimes I just have to hit the skipping rope for two minutes and be like, I'm happy with that today. Like, I got some movement, I got that heart rate elevated, I got those feel-good endorphins, I'm done and I'm happy. I'm not gonna harp on myself and be like, oh, I'm so terrible. I didn't get my hour-long workout in today. It's like I didn't have time.

SPEAKER_00 21:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:42

But my goal is I'm gonna get it tomorrow. If tomorrow it doesn't happen, I'm getting it the next day. And that mentality is always there. So when I'm ready, when life allows it, when everything around me slows down, simplifies, and I can get back to my regularly scheduled program, that's great. But in the meantime, I've got something to keep me there. I've got something so that I'm not gonna. Balloon up and in six months be like, oh man, I really let myself go there that last six months. I don't know what happened. I have that little bit to just keep me accountable. Be like, okay, today was a busy day, end of the day. I'm gonna go to bed at 7 30. It's 7 28. Boom. Hop on the skipping rope, or I'm gonna go for a shower, quick, work up a quick sweat before I shower. Boom, done. Make it simple, make it easy.

SPEAKER_00 22:22

Uh you brought up your bedtime, which I tease you about all the time. You go to bed at 7:30.

SPEAKER_02 22:29

7 to 8, 9 at the latest, because I've got clients starting at 5 a.m. So if I can get there before them, get my workout in, get it out of the way, then I don't have to think about it. Some days I work late because I try to squeeze in extra people and I can't get up for the early one and then I have to do the skip. But if I can control the schedule a little better as I'm getting more into the business thing and working on the balance, I'm getting better at, okay, I gotta get to that seven o'clock. I can't push that eight. I for sure can't push that nine. Works on the social life a little bit. You gotta work that balance and it's tough to maintain. But then when you do go out, you have an even better time because it's been so long. So it is finding that balance. But if you enjoy the exercise like I do and enjoy what you do, it's uh I'm looking forward to every morning and everybody else comes in, dread the day kind of thing. But by the time you leave, you're feeling so much better. Even if you come in with this ache, this pain, this whatever, by the time we're done working out, because it's not, like you said, it's not push, push, push, it's not give it your all every time. It's understand yourself, understand what you need. Work out based on how you feel that day. You'll always leave feeling so much better. And it's so much easier to work out that way.

SPEAKER_00 23:35

Yeah. And you bring up a great point I wanted to touch on today is you're someone who you're a trainer that you can work out with while you're injured. Um, that's huge, especially for um, I mean, I don't really have injuries, but Chris definitely is just a walking disaster. Like that poor man has has really been hard on his body, right? Like in his 20s.

SPEAKER_02 23:58

They're hard on themselves or the job's hard, or sometimes it's just you're born that way, kind of thing. But that's the kind of personal side where everybody's got something different. And that's the background of kinesiology that I have is very different from your classic personal trainer where I can understand why you got to this point, where you want to go, and how that pathway to get there looks like. Because it's not always that linear. Oh, just hit some squats, hit some bench press, you'll get there. It's okay. We got a shoulder thing going on, so we're not gonna hit the bench press, but man, let's do a little cable action instead and not use the muscle in that way, and then slowly work on those kind of physio-esque exercises, do some stretching, do some mobility. We're not just strength training, we're not just mobility training, we're not just weight loss training. We're getting the best of both worlds depending on what we need that day, depending on where the goals are, because the goals constantly change up. So it's it's really treating everybody as the individual and not putting these cookie cutter, follow this, follow that together. And it's really interesting when I have new clients. I don't just send them like when you go to a physio, they just send you, oh, here's a picture of somebody doing this exercise. And that's what everybody expects when I send them, you know, the stretches. But it's actually a video of me doing the stretches, talking about, okay, your shoulder moves this way, so you should do it this way, as opposed to kind of the classic just doing it that way. And those little things really make the difference and can get you there a lot smoother and a lot safer and keep you on that train instead of just pushing that shoulder till that shoulder breaks, and then you have to take the injury time and take the rehab time and take all that extra time away from working on yourself. It's like, no, we'll just avoid it, slowly work on it, and then it'll join up when it's strong like the rest of the chain, when we get it up to the same standard as everything else. But if it's not there, that's okay. There's lots of other stuff we can do. So many other body parts. That if your arms hurt, we got the legs. If the legs are sore, you got some arms. If it's all sore, we'll stretch it out.

SPEAKER_00 25:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:55

We'll feel better at the end.

SPEAKER_00 25:56

Aaron Powell Yeah. And I've brought people with me to like work out in your gym before. And you know, they've had like a back issue that you've worked through. I've had like one knee that just like some days doesn't want to hold the weight that I want to hold. And then yeah, like Chris's shoulder, but like no matter what, like we're still there and we're still moving our body. And it just depends on you know what's going on in our body, but it's helped with the longevity at least, because like Chris's shoulder is so messed up from tree planting. And so like he has stopped and started and stopped and started so much because it hurts. And then he's done in appointments to try to fix it, where this is the perfect, it is like going to like a physio for an hour while working.

SPEAKER_02 26:43

While working out on everything else at the same time. And so that's what I try to get people really into is this is really a lifestyle way of training. This is no longer just you're hitting the gym and doing everything at once. This is starting to understand and starting to educate people on, okay, you feel this, then you should be doing this. And if we can do it, not even in the gym, but if you can recognize this feeling while you're at work, if that shoulder starts getting cranked up at work, just hit a little stretch or something like that. Give it a minute, and then you'll start feeling better. And those things, they they don't happen right away. It takes a long time to develop the lifestyle habits, but as you keep coming, as you keep that consistency up, these habits start to build. And then one day you look back at and you're like, you'll watch a video of how you used to look or how you used to squat or move, and you'll be like, Oh, what the heck was I doing back then? I didn't know anything. And you're just like, I know so much more now. And that knowledge is really the power to make the changes that you need to do to see long-term results.

SPEAKER_00 27:42

And what are some of your philosophies around food?

SPEAKER_02 27:46

It's very similar to the fitness and just keeping things simple. I'm not like a lot of other trainers where all I'll push supplements or I'll push certain diets or certain things like that. Of course, I know about everything, and so again, the focus there is on education. So a lot of people, if they go to the gym, they think right away, okay, I'm hitting the gym, I need protein powder, I need creatine, I need pre-workout, and it's like maybe you do, maybe you don't. It's it's not the black and white that everybody likes to think it is. It's there's a whole lot of gray area. And if you understand the reason why you should take it, you can try to apply that to your life and be like, are those the results I'm actually looking for? Or is that actually working against what I'm trying to work out for? And if you're just taking supplements to take supplements, maybe you got the budget and can do that. But a lot of people, especially today's day and age, have the budget constraint. It's like if you can do it either naturally or just through healthy eating or through things that you're already doing, then why bother with that extra step of spending the money to do something that you might not need? So while it's not always the case that they're bad, it's not always the case that they're good and helpful either. So it's educating people when and why and how to do things and with the food keeping it simple. Like you said about the treats, starting to create little rules to just have those healthy habits. Every other time you're offered a suite, say no, and then enjoy it every other time. It makes those times where you can't enjoy it, you're looking forward to it a lot more, and then maybe in another year, maybe you're like, I'm gonna do it again, and then it's every four times you're offered a treat, and it just keeps on building. As it becomes part of the lifestyle, you want to keep challenging yourself. You want to kind of keep pushing every time you get into that, oh, life's busy, you go back to that maintenance place. And then every time you're like, I'm ready to hit that goal, or push that extra little bit, add that extra little lifestyle bit onto there, ask someone like myself, what's the next step that I can do here to start getting myself in the right direction, and then slowly start getting the food organized to be there. But just like the the fitness is simplify it, start to make little habits, and slowly over time you'll change it. Because the exercise you can kind of change a little bit faster, you can get into that routine, but the food is a comfort thing, it's very emotional for people. So it usually takes a lot of effort to change the food habits and to stop connecting it so much to the emotional eating and those kind of things. So it's very hard. And so, again, trying to simplify it as much as possible, just eat the whole foods. If you're eating whole foods all day, every day, you're gonna be a healthier person overall, no matter the quantity, the amount, if you can simplify it, eat the whole foods, drink more water, those kind of things. Those are the small things that will start to add up, and then you can start to get more specific with it. But off the start, in general, as you get more advanced with it, the simpler you can keep it, the better it'll be.

SPEAKER_00 30:38

Yeah, and you made a good point where you know it is harder to work on the food than the fitness. And I started just taking the pressure off of myself uh a while ago to have it all figured out. And I was like, I'm gonna do one thing and I'm gonna exercise at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays with Connor. And like that is it. I am not going to clutter my mind with anything else. I'm not gonna change my diet. I'm not gonna say I'm gonna go for a five five mile run every day. I'm literally gonna do one thing. And then it becomes like second nature that I do that.

SPEAKER_02 31:14

That's just part of the routine.

unknown 31:15

Right.

SPEAKER_00 31:16

And I can't. Yeah. And then I can see it because I add it to my workouts. And then I, you know, I'm still not doing anything at home from working out. So we have to get there.

SPEAKER_02 31:25

But we're a second time a week already.

SPEAKER_00 31:29

Yeah, exactly. We're a second time a week. And then on top of that, before exercising at home, food is getting better at home.

SPEAKER_01 31:38

Right.

SPEAKER_00 31:38

So it's just like having those conversations of like, hey, like I feel like I have the capacity now to consider what should I be eating for breakfast every day? Like, what are some ideas, you know? And yeah, it's just one step at a time. Like have capacity for one thing, start doing it when it feels like second nature and it doesn't take any mental load, add something else. Yeah. When like the gap of capacity opens again, right?

SPEAKER_02 32:04

Exactly. I love that the gap of capacity, it's a great way to put it because that really is what it is. You try something new, it takes a lot out of you, like it takes a lot of energy to implement something new into the life. It's just like the business that you're running, kind of thing. If you're an entrepreneur, it's like if you implement something new into the business, it takes a while to fully implement that to get everybody on board. But eventually, or like the iPhone new updates all the time. Everybody hates it at the start. It's like that's so hard, but then eventually it's second nature. Nobody even thinks about all the last update kind of thing. And you just get used to it. And it's exactly like that with the food, with the fitness. When you have the capacity to do a little more, introduce it. It's gonna be challenging. Work through it, wait till it's second nature, then you're ready for that next habitat. Love that.

SPEAKER_00 32:48

Just a quick break to thank the sponsors that make this podcast possible. Amanda Walchuk, also known as Saltbox Mortgage Agent, with a level two license at Dominion Lending Center's National Limited, FISRA 12360. Amanda is a passionate mortgage professional on a mission to educate clients about mortgages. She ensures her clients benefit from trust, confidence, and the security of knowing that they are getting the best mortgage for their needs. If you've got mortgage questions, Amanda's got the answers. Be sure to check the show notes for her contact information. Welcome to Den 1880, Uptown Waterloo's premier, boutique, co-working, and event space. Step into a workspace that fuels ambition and sparks connection. Den 1880 offers a variety of memberships with everything from hot desks to private offices. They've got the perfect setup for freelancers, entrepreneurs, and growing teams. Think beautifully designed spaces, curated programming, and all the amenities you need, including unlimited coffee. Need to host? Den 1880 sets the stage for meetings, workshops, and unforgettable events. They even have a fully equipped podcast studio in a vault. Come see the benefits of working in a community. Explore the memberships or book a tour at den1880.co today. What are your tips when uh when we're eating out?

SPEAKER_02 34:12

When you're eating out, it's it's different depending on what the reason is. If you're eating out for fun and it's not something that you do all the time, then it's enjoy yourself. You're eating out once a week, enjoy that meal. You're going out, you worked hard all week, enjoy it. Make the best choices you can. But if once a month you want to be like, oh, instead of going for the steak and the salad, I want the steak and the fries. Have that steak and the fries. But also in the back of your mind, think, okay, we might hit the treadmill for an extra 10 or 15 tomorrow if you're already in that place. If you're in the place of, okay, it's always a steak and fries every time I go out, get the steak and salad. Start making those little changes. And so it depends on where you're at with it, kind of thing. And if you're someone that eats out for business all the time and you're like, I have to eat out because I'm going out for business meetings, then it's then it's no longer that you have the ability to choose that thing that you want. Then it's okay. Then we got to really tighten up, then we've got to pre-look at the menus, then we got to really pick that healthiest thing on the menu and really try to portion size and be like, okay, if I get this big salad, it's a big salad. How many calories actually is in that salad? Because some calories will get you up to 1,200, 1,400 calories still for a lunch-sized salad. And then if you go and have a dinner at home, your partner, you might cook up maybe another five to 800 calorie dinner. And if you have any snacks in between, between that lunch and dinner, that's already 2,200 calories. If you didn't work out that day, that's already above the average 2,000 that someone should eat in a day. So you have to be careful. Maybe it's we have the salad because it's the healthiest option, but maybe we only have three quarters of the salad. Maybe we see, okay, there's a lot of high-calorie nuts in that salad. So maybe I'll just not have the nuts and have everything else around it, kind of thing, and start to, again, make those smarter choices. We can still enjoy it, but let's start making the smarter choices. And it depends on how often you're doing things. If it's just once in a while, enjoy it. Nothing bad about going out to enjoy a good meal once in a while. I love to do it all the time, but it's something that I'll do sparingly. It's something that I'll do every two weeks. I'll go out and I won't care about what I eat, kind of thing. But it's every week I like to go out and celebrate, but it's every other week, then I try to pick a healthy option, kind of thing. And I don't go out for that, oh, I'm not going out for fried chicken every Friday. It's every two weeks, maybe I get some fried chicken, but it's every other week, maybe I pits pick something healthier, like maybe I go get some pho, or maybe I go get uh a little soup or something like that instead. And I get something that I can treat myself, but I don't go that above and beyond of this is gonna throw off my entire day of eating, or this is gonna throw off everything. It's like, I'm gonna enjoy myself still, but we're gonna be within reason. And so it's taking a look at yourself, at your eating patterns, and starting to look at, okay, what is that healthy choice that I'm gonna make? Is it that I'm gonna enjoy the food and I'm not going to raise that stress level? Because just raising the stress level and not enjoying the food that you go out to eat, if you have to go out to eat, if you're celebrating your kid's birthday and you're there not enjoying that meal and resenting yourself for eating it, then you're gonna increase that cortisol and you're gonna store that food right away. It's gonna get turned into fat. But if you can lower that stress and just enjoy it, the cortisol is not gonna happen, the body's gonna be in a better place, and you're not going to feel as bad afterwards, whether it's actually from the food or whether it's just mentally. So it's understanding where you're at, being honest with yourself, and then making the best decision for where you're going to, if you're on the goal, if you're just trying to live through that maintenance phase, then just enjoy it. And when you're ready to make that healthy choice, make that healthy choice.

SPEAKER_00 37:53

Yeah, I think people downplay the effect of stress on the body when it comes to like everybody just thinks of food and fitness, right? But it is so important to manage your stress as well if you actually want the food and fitness to do anything eventually. So I'm so glad that you brought that up. Okay, so I have like options in front of me.

SPEAKER_01 38:18

Beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 38:18

And I have all of these nutritional labels in front of me.

SPEAKER_01 38:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:21

The nutritional labels have the ingredients, the calories, the protein, the fiber, the sugar.

SPEAKER_01 38:28

Beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 38:30

Which how do I pick which one to eat? Is it the lowest sugar? Is it the lowest calories? Is it the highest fiber, highest protein? If you had to pick one thing, it would be.

SPEAKER_02 38:39

That's such a great question. If you had one thing and you just wanted to be as absolute as possible about it, it's really hard to get the amount of protein that you need in a day. So I would say always go with that highest protein option. You'll never go wrong if you choose the highest protein. It's usually going to coincide with the higher calorie option. It may even coincide with the higher fat option. But if you're getting that extra protein, ingesting that extra protein by itself will increase the rate of the fat metabolism. So you will lose fat just by ingesting more protein. So the higher protein option is actually always a good option. But it's then also taking that personal approach to it and saying, have I had a lot of calories today? Maybe we went out for lunch and maybe we're thinking, oh, I've had a lot of calories today. I need that low cal option. I need that 20 calorie drink option instead of the 400 calorie peanut protein bar kind of thing. And so it's understanding where you're at in the day. Maybe you're about to go for a workout and you haven't eaten all day. So maybe you're like, I don't need that low calorie option. I actually need something like a banana to get me some quick energy and go through it that way. So the high protein option is always great. We always want higher protein, lower sugar, higher fiber. If we can aim for the highest protein option, that's gonna be the go-to limiting the sugar. If there's a zero sugar option, we always want to take that and then simplifying it, being like, okay, what have we done today? What's the rest of the day going to look like, especially if it's early on in the rest of the day? Maybe you look ahead and you're like, oh, I'm going out to eat later on today. That's gonna be a high calorie thing. So you pick that lower calorie option. It's really starting to be more thoughtful and more purposeful behind everything. It's not just making that choice out of necessity of making a choice, being like, oh, I'm in a rush, I have to grab this and go. It's okay, here's how today's gonna work. This is gonna be the best option for what else is going on today. And if we can get more protein, we're always looking for more protein.

unknown 40:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:43

And that's why we eat Reese's peanut butter capsules.

SPEAKER_02 40:46

That's why that is if you got the option between all the chocolate bars that you can have, I think the Reese's peanut butter is the best protein option. So you gotta always go with that high protein. It's good for you.

SPEAKER_00 40:59

It's so good that you said that though, because there is a phase in life when I was postpartum where it's like, I discovered my anxiety was so linked to sugar. And so like what you said, like we'll know who you are and know where you're at. And so I had to prioritize no matter what, calories didn't matter. It had to eliminate the sugar. Um, so always picking that lower option. And now I'm in the season of like prioritizing the protein and also prioritizing ingredients because we're trying to like, you know, eat a little cleaner.

SPEAKER_02 41:35

Keep it simple, keep it clean. That's the thing, is the simpler the food gets, the better those macronutrients get always as well. The higher protein you'll have, the lower sugar you'll have. The calories will always depend because sometimes you do get the higher calorie option with the more natural food, but the body will process that a lot better, too. So there is always that, as long as you can pick that whole natural food, get your protein in, you'll always be making a good choice.

SPEAKER_00 42:02

Okay. We talked a little bit about how brainwashed we all are. And uh you don't have kids, but you might have kids one day. Uh you know my kids, and I it's like, what should we be doing to not end up where like we were when we were growing up? I don't know what it was like, you know. Neither of us, I don't think, like had toxic families or anything like that, but it was still the messaging in in the media that like men should look a certain way, women should look a certain way, you know, all of the diet culture. What do you like, what are your tips for like raising kids with healthy relationships with food and fitness?

SPEAKER_02 42:44

It is so hard, kind of thing. That is one of the jobs that I do not look forward to because it is so challenging to give the kill kids the tools they need to succeed. But that really is it, kind of thing. It's not making the child feel or react with emotion or creating a certain emotion around things. It's allowing the kid to be like, no, I'm not hungry, I don't want to eat that today. Okay, well, what do you want to eat kind of thing? If they want to eat butter noodles, then they get to eat butter noodles kind of thing. And eventually, you know, if you're sitting there and you're enjoying a nice uh taco bowl or something like that, then they'll be like, Oh, what is that that you, you know, keep being like, oh my God, that's so good. And they'll want to try it and they'll open up to all these new experiences. And I was a horrible eater growing up, but now I like to try all these new foods, and my grandmother still can't believe it. But it does get better. And so just being that positive example is really all the kids look for. And it's if you're that positive example and you're the one that's eating all your vegetables on the plate, it doesn't matter if you tell them whether or not they have to do it. If they see that you've done it and they see that you're able to do everything, they'll try to mimic that. They'll be like, without even thinking, they'll start trying to act and mimic that same thing. So it's setting that positive example, letting the kids be kids, and not. Making them feel bad for their choices, not making them feel bad for this and that, and for having fun with exercise, like going out with the to the park with the kids and doing little things like that and going for the family bike rides and those little things, doing things that the kids will enjoy. Um, I enjoyed swimming, so my dad started taking me to the pool with him whenever he would go swimming in the evenings, kind of thing. And, you know, even through the winter time when I normally wouldn't get to swim because my buddy's pool wasn't open. It was still, okay, well, you can come just swim with me. It wasn't we were going for exercise, we were just going for a night in the pool.

SPEAKER_01 44:34

Right.

SPEAKER_02 44:34

And we happened to do a couple laps during the thing, and I would just tread water and have fun as a kid. And I when university, I wasn't at the gym for the first year because I was, you know, having fun doing the first year thing. But then it was I would go to the pool at night because I'm like, the least I can do is do something that I enjoy. And they had night swims. I was like, let's go hit the pool kind of thing. We'll have some fun and those little things, they make such a huge difference. And so letting the kid be a kid, have fun, do the kid things, be active. Kids just want to run around and have fun, let them do that. If kids ever come to the gym and just like, we don't try to make the kids do exercise or whatever. If they want to do the exercise like mom and dad, that's great. They can try it. They usually do two reps and then are on to the next bouncy ball that they can find. But it's getting them used to, okay, you know, this is what you have to do. It's fun. We look forward to coming here. We get to have fun. We're always in there laughing and having a good time. And it's showing kids that it's not the scary place that everybody makes it out to be. It's not, you know, being scared of gym class and like, oh, I have to go to gym class and I hate the gym. It's like, no, the gym's actually a fun place if you do what you want to do and you make it your own and you don't listen to all that other stuff. You just go in and have a good time. And so that's really my philosophy with the kids is have a good time, enjoy yourself, be that positive role model, and everything will work itself out in the end.

SPEAKER_00 45:56

It's funny, I didn't even realize. So I thought it was great that like the girls can sometimes come to the gym, uh, you know, when schedule forces it. It's not something it's not something I'm obsessed with doing. Uh ruins my time a little bit. A little bit. But I was like, you know what? It's great. Like they see that this is like part of my routine. Yeah. But you made a good point to say, like, we're laughing in there. Exactly. We're having a good time. I'm not like dragging my feet going. I'm not miserable when I'm there. I'm not miserable when I leave. Like certainly positive role model. Yeah, like they're probably picking it, picking up that like mom's more energized afterwards. Like, well, mom's working out, but she's like laughing with the trainer. Like, this is fun. Like, we just do this, you know what I mean? Yeah. Um, nobody's doing it out of obligation. So they're probably picking up on those subtle cues that I didn't even think of. I just thought, like, oh, this is a good example. I'm showing them that like I work out. Yeah. You know? But yeah, they probably pick up on those subtleties as well, which is probably helpful.

SPEAKER_02 47:01

Kids are sponges, they absorb everything, they absorb all those little micro aggressions or micro things that happen in a day. So if you can create that positive environment and show them, like, okay, you know, mom might be a little bit more tired, and mom might notice the tiredness after the work, but the kids say, Oh, she actually had more energy all evening, kind of thing. Like, we had a great evening after the gym, and they now look forward to Tuesdays kind of things. They're like, oh, we can do all this fun stuff afterwards, versus, you know, mom's not too tired out and just has to relax and needs that time and space. It's we got a little bit back and now we're able to share that energy around, kind of thing. So it's so true that it gives back so much more than you think.

SPEAKER_00 47:38

Aaron Powell Well, and we'll openly discuss stuff around food, Chris and I, with each other, kind of in earshot of the girls, you know. So we'll actually talk about, you know, like, oh, how can we get more protein like in our breakfast? What if we tried this? Or, you know, we're plating dinner and we'll be like, oh, girls, like you don't have, you know, any protein on your plate. Remember, we always want to include some protein and you always want to include a fruit and vegetable. We talk about like food for fun and food for fuel. Yeah. And how like there just needs to be a balance. So if you want a fun food, let's have a fuel food first, or else it makes your body feel crazy.

SPEAKER_02 48:21

Exactly. You can't have too much fun hanging out in there. You gotta have some fuel to keep that engine running smooth.

SPEAKER_00 48:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:27

Such a great tool for the kids.

SPEAKER_00 48:29

Um, okay, I want to get into like the more business side of things now. So look at you, you're an entrepreneur.

SPEAKER_02 48:37

What a cool experience that has been. Wearing so many different hats at once, kind of thing. It's it's crazy to get started.

SPEAKER_00 48:44

Yeah. When did this gym open?

SPEAKER_02 48:47

This gym officially opened to the public. Not last summer, but I think the summer before that. So we are coming up on that two-year mark now.

SPEAKER_00 49:03

Crazy.

SPEAKER_02 49:03

And uh yeah, I think it's August 2nd is the date. And it was kind of interesting because I opened it up to and the clients that I had previously, and so I had a long time, maybe a two-month period where I kind of set the gym up, kind of got it going, made sure I had my processes and and everything like that, all the equipment I needed. And then I opened up to the public and the clients in August. So we're coming up to that two-year now, and it has been a nonstop journey of just learning so much and getting so much advice and taking some of the good advice, and then I'd be like, oh, maybe we'll go with some other ideas with some other advice. So it's been it's been such a fun journey, though. Very, very rewarding.

SPEAKER_00 49:47

What do you attribute to the success that you have had honestly, even in your first year? We're coming up on two years, but like I've been with you for over a year. You were incredibly successful even when I started over a year ago.

SPEAKER_01 50:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:00

What do you attribute that success to? And not just your past clients, like all these new ones too, that like are drawn to you, hire you, and stay with you.

SPEAKER_02 50:09

It's a really interesting question, because I think what it comes down to is just that ability to simplify things. And clients really like that approach of okay, how can I do this and make it work for me? That personalized approach is really what everybody's looking for. Because now, you know, in that late 2010s, uh the messaging coming out with respect to kinesiology and health was, you know, get healthy so you can prevent all these diseases. That's great. People know that they need to be healthy, but now, okay, I have a shoulder injury or I have diabetes or I have a heart condition. How do I exercise with this? Because everybody says, oh, now be careful. Right. It's like, well, okay, but I need to do it. How do I do it? And so that's where kinesiology is so interesting and that I can understand why that happened and understand what you need to avoid to make sure that we don't further make the diabetes or the heart condition or anything like that worse, but then also understand what level we need to work at to make sure that we don't let this thing get any worse and that we either stop it in its tracks or reverse what's already happened. Um, so it's been a great journey for it. And I love that uh that I can help personalize everything and make things make sense to people. Because, like yourself, people come in with a lot of questions. And so even what I like to tell people as they're coming in brand new is just use me as a sounding board. Just be like, I heard this. Is this true? Like, what is going on with this piece of information? And the education, the learning, the personalizing, that's what people keep coming back for. Isn't you know, the workouts are great and everything, but it's that ability to be open and to learn and to make better choices all the time. People just come in with that general goal of, oh, I want to live healthier. Well, what does that mean to you exactly? The definition is different from everybody else. And so taking that personalized approach really helps people feel seen, helps them feel heard, creates that sense of accountability, like, oh, I I can't, you know, not do these stretches. Connor's looking forward to seeing me, it's gonna progress me. I gotta keep things accountable for him and helps people to get where they need to be.

SPEAKER_00 52:25

Yeah. And, you know, stay accountable to Connor, not from a place of like shame or fear, but very much of a place of like, I want to learn more.

SPEAKER_02 52:37

I want to see what else he's got for me.

SPEAKER_00 52:39

Yeah, yeah. Like we're excited, you know? And it's like we Chris, I would be like, this is what makes Connor so proud. We can't wait to tell Connor we did this.

SPEAKER_02 52:48

Those little moments I live for because that goes show me that you're thinking about these things outside of the gym and that you're making those lifestyle adjustments. Because it's one thing to think about them in the gym, but then it's another to be like, okay, I don't just rely on Connor for getting the meal plan kind of thing. Or, you know, if Connor says eat, you know, three egg whites and you know, sourdough toast and avocado, I have to do that. It's like, well, what do you want to have for breakfast? How do we get more protein into that? What are you gonna actually enjoy? Because we want to do what's best for you. And that's not always what is the easiest, or you know, the easiest way to get protein is just cut up a chicken breast and eat a chicken breast. Well, nobody really wants to just do that. So what are you making? And how can we, next time you make that meal, sub out the mayonnaise in your tuna salad for some cottage cheese instead, increase that protein, keep the creaminess. It's those little things that make the difference.

SPEAKER_00 53:44

Yeah, you actually want stuff to still taste good. It tastes good and you respect that, which is great, you know? Um, one example I have of that is I want things to if I could just like I love it's I don't know who I am because I love eating, but I also would love to just not have to eat like and fit that in my day. I find it so annoying to like have to fit in my day. And so I'm always looking for like the easiest things that I can do. And so I remember I brought you this like it was like this instant overnight oat package. So it was like, you know, overnight oat recipe, like delicious flavors already packaged. So all you had to do is like pour it in a jar with some milk, put it in the fridge. That's it. You didn't have to do the measuring cups and like the ratios or anything. And I was like, what do you think about this? And then you were like, okay, just cut it in half. Yeah. Like because the serving size they have it on you, like it was too much something. Yep. They're like, cut it in half, and then on the day that you like have the energy, put an egg with it.

SPEAKER_02 54:50

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 54:50

Yeah. Yep. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 54:51

Keep it simple. Keep it simple. It's not, you know, it's not just make that substitution, just have a little less of it.

SPEAKER_00 54:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 54:57

That's still good for you. If that's if that's going to get you to eat breakfast, more than happy with that.

SPEAKER_00 55:02

Yeah. Yeah. So what challenges have you faced in the last couple of years starting your own business?

SPEAKER_02 55:08

It's interesting. There's a bunch of different challenges kind of thing. Like I face that challenge every week of keeping the food interesting yet healthy, kind of thing. Because, like, okay, everybody wants to go out and, you know, have all these great things to eat, but it's can I recreate that dish that I enjoyed at the restaurant that I went to on my trip? How can I recreate that but in a healthier way? The example that I love is a risotto. And so if you go to a restaurant and you get a risotto behind the scenes, you may not know how much cream, how much butter, how much cheese they put into that. The amount of fat in a risotto is just outstanding. But if you break it down and realize what you need out of a risotto and do the math on the macros, you can make a beautiful risotto. If you get a chicken stock, do a beautiful bone broth, get that collagen, get something that is nice and thick, then it can cook down and actually become a beautiful risotto and get the texture you're looking for with extra protein added to the rice from that chicken broth or stock, whatever word you want to use for it, bone broth. And um you can still get a beautiful risotto from it and still enjoy that restaurant style of food, but with the healthy twist. You add some chicken to it, you add some vegetables, lots of mushrooms, lots of peas, lots of good stuff, limit the amount of rice, and then you've just got this nice creamy mixture of good quality food with this beautiful bone broth. And so you can still enjoy all these great foods. And so I love with my partner go to try different ethnicities. And so we'll pull in, you know, it doesn't have to be an Indian curry with all this heavy cream and ghee and all this stuff. You can do a beautiful lentil curry with some nice paneer for a little bit of healthy fat in it, get some cheese going in it, and allow yourself these things. You're like, oh, I can't have cheese on a, you know, if I'm being healthy and doing this. It's like, well, if everything else allows for it and you have a low-fat meal otherwise, and you need to have some fat with that meal, have something that you'll enjoy with it. Go to that other culture, experience what they have, because every culture has, you know, that dish that they used to eat when they were poor, kind of thing. And it uses very simple ingredients, but they learned how to elevate it, how to use those spices, how to use, you know, an orange to vibrate the whole thing or make it vibrant. And using those little techniques. And so that was one of the cool things about going to culinary schools, getting all of those tools to showcase how simple food can be, how delicious it can be, and how you can still eat what you want to eat just within reason. So it's been a real challenge to be like, okay, I want to do uh a taco bowl like Chipotle. I want to show people what the portion size really should be. So the next time you go to Chipotle and they give you that whole huge bowl, maybe you're like, oh, I don't need to eat this whole thing. Half is what I should be having for a reasonable portion size, because I know from Connor that's about the same size that I get in the container. So um it's then how do I make that into a healthier thing? So you make that easy choice of swapping out the beef for the turkey and using the vegetables, pickling things so you get that good um fermentation for the gut and doing those little things, looking at the micronutrients, having that, you know, green and yellow and red and different colors mixed into the same dish. So that's a real challenge for me is how to keep people interested in the same foods and trying to pull from all these cultures and keep it interesting while still healthy and helping people to achieve their goals. So that's kind of a fun challenge that I have with the business is getting to create the menus every week and do foods that I want or that my clients want. You know, I ask you all the time, it's like, oh, what are you making for food next week, Connor? I'm like, I don't know yet. I haven't put together. What do you feel like I have? And it's like, oh, I had this great uh recipe at the restaurant. You think you can make something like that? And I don't know, we'll see what I can do, kind of thing. And a lot of times there is a way to do it that healthier way, and you can figure it out. And uh so it's a it's a fun little game that I can play with clients too to keep everybody invested and keep everybody uh intrigued into okay, how can we do this in a healthier way and keep educating people on you can have that fantastic restaurant risotto, but you can do it in a smarter way and get the macros where you need them to be.

SPEAKER_00 59:27

Yeah. I love your pulled pork. I love your shepherd's pie. Like they're so, so simple things.

SPEAKER_02 59:35

And they're just meat and vegetables. And that's the thing that I love about it. Everyone's like, oh, how'd you do that? And it's like, I cooked some meat, I cook some vegetables, I put it together.

SPEAKER_00 59:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 59:45

I don't I don't know what to tell you. It ain't rocket science here, but it's it's that simple home cooking that we kind of got out of touch with. Like, you know, the simple cooking that your grandmother used to do. It's just pulling the ingredients from the gardens, from the farmers, keeping it as simple as possible, and just using those little techniques of knowing the temperatures, knowing how to season things, knowing what process to use. And so hopefully we'll be able to kind of share all that in the future. It's it's so fun to get to create.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:15

Yeah. Looking forward for you sharing those in the future. It's been an ask for sure. Um, okay. What are you most excited for for you or for business in the next one to five years?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:29

Uh I'm really excited to just get the opportunity to continue to expand kind of thing, continue to make these connections. Because it's only been, you know, a little over a year for me now, coming up on the two years. It's it's a crazy short time when you kind of think about it and reflect on it that way, that I've been able to get into so many different charity events and so many different community events and partake in so much around and be a part of so many interesting opportunities. Like in Victoria Park during COVID, they actually opened up a little fitness area for parents to work out in while their kids are playing on the playground in Victoria Park. And so I had the opportunity to kind of showcase that to the community and do a little event with the city of Kitchener. And so seeing the need and the want of everybody in Waterloo region, really, because I've got clients that come in from all the way out in Puss Lynch kind of thing that see the value of that kinesiology service. Like we said, they kind of have some injuries, some things to deal with, and need that person that can be like, okay, I see that you have that shoulder injury, but let's still do some rear foot elevated split squats. Let's still do some exercises that push the parts of the body that can be pushed while taking care and getting that weak link of the chain up to the standard of everything else. So um, yeah, it's been uh it's been good. I really enjoy that aspect of it.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:50

So potential expansion.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:51

Yeah, potential expansion and and really getting into a little bit more of the schools kind of thing. Like we were talking about with the kids, is you really see for yourself how you didn't learn all that much or fall into love with exercise or learn all these things that you're now learning as an adult. So it's getting into the schools and teaching kids that, you know, up to age like five or six, if you ask any kid to squat down, they got a beautiful squat. It looks fantastic. They just innately know how to do these things. But then after sitting in chairs for years of elementary school and sitting in cars and looking at screens and doing all those types of things, it it takes a toll on the body. And around that high school or late elementary school, they start to develop these bad habits. And so starting to get kids to have fun in gym class again, starting to teach kids, you know, the proper form and technique for how to pick things up from the ground and how to, if you're moving houses, how to pick up that box and move it properly, engage the core. So a lot of people are just, oh, do a pull-up, do a plank when you're, you know, 10 years old and 50 pounds. It's easy to do those things. But it's how do you actually engage those muscles? What does it mean to actually do a plank? What do I have to squeeze and engage? And so I would love to get the opportunity to get more charity events where we do things around moving and educating the community, educating the kids in schools, that kind of thing. Um, and that's really where the passion re comes is how can I get this message out now to as many people as I can, especially as the schedule fills up and I'm having trouble fitting in new clients. It's like, okay, how do I still help all these people and continue to help more people? I don't want to just close the doors and be like, okay, I've got a full client load. I can't help anybody else. It's okay. Now my clients can go out and teach their families and teach their coworkers, and I can get out in the community and do all these events and help all these charities. And so I do a lot of work with the food side and help out all these different charity events kind of thing. And um yeah, expand that way and kind of really get into the community and and help out and in any way it can get people into movement more.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:06

Yeah. I don't think Ray would hesitate having you at her school. I think I mean she'd be running it with you.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:13

It would be so fun. And and that's what you want to see the kids doing is looking forward to these things. It's not, you know, like gym classes. Oh, I have to go to gym classes. Like, oh, we get to go outside and play in the yard and learn all these cool things. It's that's how you get the kids into it. And that's what kids remember for for years on end, kind of thing, is you know, that positive experience in the gym. And then when they get the opportunity to do it on their own, they're not nervous or they're not lacking confidence to it. If they're like, oh, I know what to do in the gym. I know I've seen mom do these things. I've done these things as a kid. I learned how to row and do all those movements, and they just keep fine-tuning that into a lifelong journey. And I kind of find myself in that as well. And it's always a constant, there's always stuff to learn kind of thing. So I really enjoy that about every time I meet a new client, and it's like, okay, you're dealing with this. Well, let me let me look into that because that's got its own kind of limitation, its own stuff going on. So I get to review some exercises, learn some different things that I'm like, oh, that exercise could actually apply in this way to this other person. And so it kind of keeps me invested in the game and keeps me interested in finding other things for other clients too, and not just sticking to that pattern of okay, bench, squat, row kind of thing is okay. Do some interesting things, help people out in other ways and find new research because things are coming out all the time, like the new research coming out about creatine helping older women with uh cognitive abilities. It's like I never once recommended creatine to anybody over the age of like 25, kind of thing. But now it's like, well, if you're you know above the age of 50, maybe do think about taking some creatine. So it's uh it's really interesting to stay up to date on the research and see where things go. And uh hopefully we can teach the kids how fun it is. To stay fit and enjoy the life that you can live, kind of okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:05

My famous last question, it's one of my favorites, is what are some local businesses that you love?

SPEAKER_02 1:06:11

I'm a big food guy, obviously. So if me and my partner are going out to uh have a nice meal, we we did a beautiful trip to Spain two or three years ago. And uh coming back to town, we're like, oh, we need to find this tapa's way to do things. Yeah, it's just beautiful to have those small meals not feel like you're overstuffed from a restaurant. And so public restaurant in Kitchener does a beautiful job of that. They got a fantastic tapa style menu that changes frequently. Because that's the other thing is as a chef, it's like, okay, I had it once, I know what it's like. Show me something new, be creative, do something interesting. So they change up their menu all the time. I always love trying out the new things they have there, but there's still the old classics that you go to, like Nuri Village and University of Waterloo area there, the little University Plaza. Um, they do a really great Korean food. And so they got a bunch of different soups and stews that I like to go to for my healthier options kind of thing. And they still have some great options for everything in between. And uh there's a new place that just opened up at King in Northfield called I think it's Golden Delight Rice Noodle Roll House. And they do a fantastic job with everything they do there. The rice noodle rolls is it's one of my favorites, and some that I you need some specialized equipment to do it, so I can't offer it to my clients, but it's one that I wish I could do because they're just so good, so simple, so healthy. And you get some good things like just some shrimp and lettuce in there, and that's all you need to make it a delicious thing. I think they're only like $750 or something like that, too. And they'll fill you right up. So I love the food places, and then going out to the active place, like Activate in Cambridge, is more of a chain place, but they it's just so much fun to take the family out to and have fun with. Um it's uh it's one that me and my partner go to all the time just to keep active in the evening. Like, okay, maybe we went out for a good meal kind of thing. Let's go work off that fried chicken we just ate, spend an hour to activate, get a sweat on, kind of thing, and then go home and feel good, have a nice night, get right to bed.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:16

Get right to bed at 7:30.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:17

Where we're ready for the next day now. So those are some of my favorites. And then there's a bunch of local places in town that I used to work at to kind of gain some experience. And there's this place that I went called Sunbeam Center that's always looking for new volunteers. Um, they would do a lot of great things with adults with disabilities in the area, especially developmental disabilities. And so that really kind of got me out of that white and black of okay, if you squat, it has to be this way. It's like, well, with certain disabilities, it's like you just do what's best for the person. And so that really changed that mentality. And so, Sunbeam Center, if you can do anything with Sunbeam Center to help volunteer and help them out, they do some really good work and are just such great people, kind of thing. So I always love to give a shout out to them anytime I can because they're they really help me a lot and they just have fun with people, and that's what I'm all about. So I I love the stuff they do.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:09

I love that. Connor, thank you so much for coming on. I know you're very high in demand for your time. So we very much appreciate it. Uh, I will make sure to link all of your information in the show notes because I'm sure people are gonna be really interested more about your gym and its philosophy and being looking out for your expansion. I'm stoked for it.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:33

It's uh there'll be some good stuff coming in the next couple of years. It's been it's been a fun time and there's lots more fun to come. So yeah, if you're ever in that Vincenzo's uptown Bower area and you need to talk some food and fitness, I'm always open for a good conversation if I'm not with clients. So that's that's a tough artist to find me without. But it's yeah, it's here and there. You can still get me and talk about some good things. So we'll have some fun and keep it all going.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:58

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:59

Thank you very much, Sherry. That was a pleasure.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:01

Thank you for tuning in to the At Home in Waterloo Region podcast. It's been a pleasure sharing another incredible story with you. If you've enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a review. It helps us reach even more people who love this community as much as we do. To stay up to date on new episodes and everything Waterloo Region from the housing market to community events, follow at Home Co. on Instagram and join our email newsletter community, both linked in the show notes. Until next time, take care of each other and let's keep celebrating the stories that make this region home.