How to Bridge the Gap Between Rehabilitation and Performance with Sarah Zahab

Sarah Zahab is a movement professional with over 25 years of experience. In this episode, she shares her journey from dance to kinesiology, her approach to bridging the gap between rehab and performance, and her expertise in women's health, walking, and the impact of emerging technologies like AI and GLP-1s on fitness.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to the show, everyone. Today I am joined by a guest who truly defines what it means to be a movement professional in our industry. Sarah Zahab is a registered kinesiologist, a clinical exercise physiologist, and the co-founder of Continuum Fitness in Ottawa. With over 25 years of experience, she has built a reputation for bridging the gap between clinical rehabilitation and high-performance strength training. She is a former international fitness competitor and a nationally ranked racewalker, which gives her a unique perspective on how to take a body from injured to elite. She's also a published author of the book Walk Your Way Fit and a sought-after presenter at major conferences like CampFit Pro. Sarah specializes in helping women navigate the physiological shifts of pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause through strength training. Sarah, I am so grateful that you have joined me today. How are you? Welcome to the show. I'm great. Thank you so much for having me, Lindsay. Of course. So I have a notebook of questions that I want to dive into, but I always like to start off by let's um let's give a little context of your background. How did you get into the industry? Where did you start? Tell us your life story.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Well, I was a dancer as a young child and a teenager, and I competed. Like dance was my life throughout my teens. And it was just a no-brainer to transition into kinesiology. I mean, when it came to like, what am I going to study? What is my path going to be? And it was just, it was movement and it was helping people, and that was it. I mean, I just I fell in love and uh yeah, it was amazing.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

So dance really is what stemmed from like loving the movement and building confidence with your body?

SPEAKER_01 1:41

Yeah. So dance was, you know, sort of all-consuming at that time. And then, you know, from dance, I transitioned to fitness competitions. And um, you know, this was all happening sort of concurrently with my studies, my university studies in human kinetics. Um, and it all just seemed to sort of fit and work and uh all come together.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

It was, yeah, it just felt right. So let's talk about continuum fitness, because you that's your business. And continuum is such a strong word because in the industry, we often treat fitness like a sprint. So we have six-week programs, but the word continuum is lifelong evolution of fitness. So talk a little bit about that word and why you chose that word for your business.

SPEAKER_01 2:25

Well, when we were ready to branch out into our business, it was my husband and I. Um, he's since changed careers and he still helps me behind the scenes. But for the first 10 years of um, you know, our business evolution, it was the two of us work home together, and our kids were very young at the time. I remember they were like six months old and maybe three. And we were on a long drive and uh we were just sort of brainstorming, like throwing out words. And I'm gonna have to be completely honest. My husband is the one with all the creativity, and he's the one that has most of the great ideas. So I'm not gonna take credit for the word. It was his idea. You take action. I take action, yes. Um, and it just it landed, and it was like we were like, yes, like we really wanted to emphasize them, the continuum of that, you know, we are gonna bridge people's gaps and we are gonna help people move forward along their continuum wherever it is their starting point is. So if they're starting, you know, here in the middle, towards the end, we're still helping people move forward along that continuum wherever their journey is gonna take them. Um and then we are gonna help them sort of, you know, progress in the right direction along that, along that continuum. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 3:37

How do you define the bridge between rehab and performance?

SPEAKER_01 3:42

Well, after the first few years, it was really clear that this is where we wanted to land. I mean, this was um, I felt it was a big gap. You know, we we needed more of that in between. People were done with that physio, but they weren't able to run a 5K, get back to CrossFit, do a heavy deadlift, get back to their sports at the competitive level that they they wanted to be at. And so, you know, we were we were seeing these silos, and people were sort of lost in that drift of like back and forth between physio and sport and re-injury. And so, you know, for us at Continuum, it's really about sort of evaluating where they're at and how can we sort of take take a sense of where their end goal is, and how can we sort of break that up into the little parts and pieces that are necessary to help them sort of build back up and fill in the cracks of the foundation and fill in the gaps so that they can sort of move holistically overall cleaner, better, more confidently, stronger, faster, you know, where whatever it is that they want to achieve.

SPEAKER_00 4:45

Yep. And I was gonna save this question for later, but you know, it's kind of on the topic. Where does pickleball, the sport of pickleball, fall in this continuum? Because this is a sport that has completely changed, you know, our sense of performance because they are, you know, sedentary people going and jumping on the court. They're typically older population. Do you see a lot of pickleball players?

SPEAKER_01 5:10

Actually, do only in the last few years, uh, to be honest. But yeah, I mean, it's just taken off. And I and I love that people have found something that they resonate with, they enjoy. I mean, I personally don't play pickleball, but I don't think as a great practitioner, you need to play all the sports to really understand what's required. People still get injured doing, you know, that type of sport, and they still need a high level of agility and stability and power and um, you know, overall good uh, you know, patterns, clean patterns. And I mean, these are multi-directional athletes. They need to move well in all different directions. So we need to sort of program accordingly and meet them where they're at.

SPEAKER_00 5:55

Yeah, for sure. You know, I would because my husband and I created a pickleball certification, a pickleball training certification for fitness professionals to prepare people for the court. And the gap really is it's always moving because they start out and they're fine, but then they get more competitive. And so their brain, their brain-body connection gets faster, but their their body can't keep up with the the skill, the improvement of the skill of the game. And so it really is finally a sport that kind of exposes the need for that type of training for general population for anybody. So I love, I love the sport. I don't play as much anymore, but it's just such a great sport to get the general population involved and moving. But there definitely needs to be more education on the training aspect so that they stay healthy because it there's a 90% injury rate with pickleball. So if you play pickleball, you will eventually get injured, which is nuts. Yeah. So, okay. So I want to talk a little bit about the the whole picture. Practitioners, can you go over each one? And we can start with the registered massage therapist. What is their role and how can a trainer, because the audience here is personal trainers, how can they work with each one of these roles to better position their athletes, their clients to make sure that they are progressing and staying healthy?

SPEAKER_01 7:24

I love that question because we, I mean, continuum fitness is a multidisciplinary clinic. We have uh, you know, six or seven different uh types of practitioners that all work together. And many of our clients will see one, two, three, a different practitioner depending on their needs. And so, you know, it I mean, it really sort of depends on what they're looking for, but I really think it's important, you know, as a coach to refer out. And this was something we sort of identified early on was that, you know, we are not, we cannot do all the things. We have to work within our scope of practice. And so it's really important to sort of, you know, send our clients out to the appropriate individuals who can provide that complementary care. And that in turn just shows that as a coach, you're really showing that care, that holistic care for your client. And they end up coming back and they end up referring you, you know, over and over because you know, you're they're you're just providing that overall high level of care. And so in our clinic, we have registered and slash therapists who provide that overall tissue care. If they are experiencing tight muscles, even if they're just looking for that nervous system down regulation, if they're just looking to care for their fascia, if they have overworking areas, our RMTs are the ones that really care for that. We have, of course, um uh registered physiotherapists. And these can be your first line referrals for when you have a client who is injured. If you suspect an injury, a planar fasciitis, a you know, knee pain, back pain, as fitness professionals, we cannot diagnose injuries. And so it's really important to sort of worker out to those individuals who can. And our physiotherapists are, you know, that first line. They can provide that diagnostic, sort of, you know, the the clinical sort of big picture, and also provide, you know, exercises that come back to you. And you can work those exercises into your movement preparations, your warmups, into the workouts if applicable. So I really see that sort of coordination happening as well. We also have certified athletic therapists on our team and our ATs, I mean, they're the ones that are like on the football field, they're the ones that are like first to rush out if there's an injury. You know, they also can provide you know that hands-on care for specific injuries as well. And we have, you know, registered acupuncturists who can provide cupping and who can take care of more sort of organ-related issues, sleep, headaches, digestion. And we also have our mental performance consultant who, you know, can really help with breaking down barriers to, you know, various, various issues, whether it's consistency with exercise or, you know, whatever those barriers can be, just having someone uh to talk to, you know, from a fitness-related sense, um, can be super, super beneficial as well. And then of course we have our fitness uh team, our kinesiologists and our clinical exercise physiologists who can work with special populations and um provide that complementary care. I mean, we work as a team, we work as a unit, and and every individual on the team is is equally important.

SPEAKER_00 10:43

That's amazing. From a from a business perspective, how is the communication between all of the parties? How do you guys stay organized in communicating? And, you know, there's there's so many moving parts. I mean, it's beautiful, it's unbelievable, but how do you how do you stay organized?

SPEAKER_01 10:59

Well, it just takes some time at the beginning, but we have that sort of system down pat. And I remember early on in my career, before opening up a business, um, you know, feeling really isolated as a kinesiologist. People would come and bring their physio notes and I would reach out and it would be hard to connect. And, you know, that was one of the primary reasons why I wanted to create a multidisciplinary space where everyone can be under the same roof. Um, and so being locally in the same space really helps because, you know, on our breaks, we can sort of connect, you know, when we see each other, we could talk about individual number one, two, and three. We also have, we use the Jane ab and so our charting is always up to date and thorough. And so we have our chart notes that can be accessed by all practitioners as well. And sometimes, you know, when we're seeing the individual, if they're working with me, our physio will come in and just spend a few minutes, or I'll walk in and spend a few minutes just sort of updating, talking together, working together as a team. So there's many different layers of opportunities for communication, but um, yeah, we make it work.

SPEAKER_00 12:00

So, how what would advice would you give to a solo personal trainer that isn't part of this type of community to network with practitioners in their space? Do you have any recommendations on like first step if a personal trainer is listening? And I think we're all moving towards this holistic approach, but it's that gap. How do we bridge that gap and get trainers to actually start making making those um connections? And I believe that for a sticking point for me, when I was training, it was hard to find a practitioner who trusted me, or you know, it was just hard to make those connections outside of my my space, which was just you know a lifetime or a YMCA. What advice do you have for those solo um trainers?

SPEAKER_01 12:48

Yeah, and I think it's important to build your network, and that can sometimes take time. I mean, book the appointment, see this practitioner, see how they operate, see if it sort of bides and resonates with how, you know, do they does it sort of, you know, fall in line with your sort sort of beliefs? And also I think it's very important to refer out and connect with the practitioner that is open to communicating back with you. Um, I mean, I early on stopped referring out to physios that did not want to get back to me. And I would send these own emails and send out these calls and saying this is what I found. And so, you know, when you have that mutual respect, you know, that can be a great indication of, you know, this is someone that you're gonna put in your back pocket, someone who, you know, trusts in your care and um, you know, respects what you do as a coach. I mean, coaches, fitness trainers are critical, a critical, you know, everybody's life. I mean, without trainers, we're just we're we're we're not helping people get healthy. I mean, we're just it it's just a it's a no-brainer to me. Why wouldn't you want to um, you know, communicate and collaborate and build those networks? I mean, so it takes time and a little bit of sort of back and forth, but it's worth having, you know, a handful of those practitioners as part of your referral network so that you can go, okay, this is the person for you, this is the person for you. I know they're gonna get back to me. I know we're gonna work really well together uh to help you move forward.

SPEAKER_00 14:18

Yeah, absolutely. And I think I think we are transitioning to the more holistic approach, but there is still a gap with trainers of the entertainment versus the, you know, the movement portion. And you see some trainers still stuck in the not assessing their clients, you know, favoring the sweat over the actual movement patterns. Do you still see that or do you feel like that's starting to phase and people are are respecting movement patterns over just sweat?

SPEAKER_01 14:46

I mean, I think, I think we're seeing a shift. And I think a lot of, I mean, I'm always impressed each year when we go out and run our courses or, you know, did when I connect at conferences. People, the coaches are just more and more educated. They want to learn, they want to be able to help their clients. And I think when they're seeing that their clients are experiencing these aches, these pains, these recurring injuries, I mean something has to change, right? And so the evaluation and the assessments provide an opportunity to identify, you know, root causes can be happening. How can we make those changes? And I think, you know, when you're doing this well, the eval can take a little bit of time. But going forward, those corrections can happen in the warmup. They don't have to really take away from the workout if it's sort of done, you know, done well.

SPEAKER_00 15:36

Yeah. And also, you know, trainers get frustrated when their clients hit plateaus, but most of the plateaus are based on alignment issues. And so I think it's very important that they're knowledgeable about this. And if you don't do an assessment in the beginning, then you're just, you're just guessing. So yeah, no, I definitely see the the shift as well.

SPEAKER_01 15:55

Yeah, and I think, you know, my assessment is is 90 minutes. I mean, it takes a long time, but I find that I need that time. And about 30 minutes, the first 30 minutes is just talking. There's so much that can be obtained from just understanding someone's history, their injuries, accidents, surgeries. Have they had concussions? What do they do in their day? What is their what is their what are their goals? What do they want? What do they not want? You know, a lot of my clients are coming in telling me what they want, but they're also telling me, like, I don't want to age like my mother, you know, and I don't want to have this happen to me. Understanding all of those things, what type of learner they are. And then, yes, I mean, alignment is a big piece. And so are other, you know, low-hanging fruit, things too that you can easily sort of access, you know. Sometimes it's breathing mechanics, sometimes it's alignment, as you're saying, and sometimes it's like patterns, movement patterns, sometimes it can be a motor control issue, or they're just compensatory patterns. I mean, when we're taking the time to really look at all of these things individually, when we're not so myopic, we can really get a sense of we can you know, we can make some positive adjustments here. And it's it's not always linear, like sometimes it's undulating, but having a really solid understanding of, you know, our physiology, our anatomy, and thinking outside the box, not being afraid to try different things can, yeah, can really help us to to move forward in the right direction.

SPEAKER_00 17:22

Yeah, and to your point of, you know, your assessment part most of it is talking, you have to find the balance between what they want and what they need because they might tell you what they want and they think they they might need something, but it's that's not the case. So I also think being a coach that there's a strategy and a skill of understanding that part where, you know, you do have to give the person what they want, but also educate them on why they need to, you know, why we need to assess and they'll appreciate in the long run. I think sometimes we get stuck and we want to entertain them and we want them to enjoy that first session. But if you really take the time and educate the person and understand what they want so that as you're explaining things, you can touch upon what they want with what they need so that you're keeping them happy, but you're also giving them what they truly need and they'll they'll feel it. And you just got to hold on to knowing that you're doing the right thing by doing the assessment and taking the time. You're you're actually making a difference in their movement. And sometimes it's hard uh to not be the entertainer just because of how we've been exposed with high intensity and so hard, so hard.

SPEAKER_01 18:33

And it's I mean, it's such a difficult. Yeah, and and but you're right. And the education piece is so important. Like when you are able to explain to your clients why you're doing what you're doing, then you have buy-in. And I think when you have buy-in, that trust is there. And I still like to give the candy. I mean, I will give the candy whenever I can, you know, we get through the re the reconditioning parts, the the corrective stuff. A lot of times it'll be in the warm-up, the first few exercises. Give a little bit of the candy when you can. And, you know, sometimes like we'll we'll try pushing, but oftentimes they will realize, like, oh, you know what, that was that was too much. We, you know, it's a little bit of a back and forth. That's why I was mentioning it, it undulates a little bit because we, you know, we try to push, we take a step back, we take two steps forward, but I mean, you don't want to keep people in that rehab phase forever. I mean, we can't, like, you're not gonna be doing bird dogs and bridges and mugs forever. I mean, we need to get people on their feet and we need to progress. It's just, you know, what is gonna be the right dose and the right timing? And that is gonna be different for everybody. There's no one formula.

SPEAKER_00 19:37

Right. And I think that's the exciting part of being a coach is like it's a it's a puzzle and everyone's different and you learn as you practice. And I just it's it's a great time to be a coach and and just this holistic view. I love it, and um, there needs to be more of it. I want to shift gears a little bit and talk about um your women's health across the lifespan. I'm super interested in this. I haven't taken any courses on it, but I'm very interested in the phases from pregnancy to postpartum to menopause. I feel like I might be going through some pre-menopause right now. So when you're in it, you're like, and as a coach, you really want to understand your body. So talk to me about your work with women's health.

SPEAKER_01 20:23

Well, early on, when I was pregnant with my first child, I realized that all of the, you know, back and back then, I mean, my oldest is almost 18. And so back then it was like DVDs, like we were watching videos, you know, and it was, I was seeing like prenatal yoga and prenatal cardio classes. And I was like, why, why aren't there any like prenatal strength, you know, videos out there? And so that was like my driver. I created years ago, 17 years ago, a prenatal and a postnatal workout DVD. And it was all strength-based because again, there was that gap. Like no one was really talking about it. We weren't really following the guidelines that were out there. People were afraid to train pregnant women. We were telling them not to exercise, you know, don't get your heart rate high, don't, don't start anything new in the first trimester. And these guidelines have all shifted and changed, like up until 2025, last year. We've been, we've had some new updates because the science is evolving. So that was really my sort of foray into, you know, women's health. Um, and I took a keen interest in pre- and postnatal exercise and learned everything I could about um, you know, these populations, especially as I was going through pregnancy number one and pregnancy number two, and diastasis and pelvic floor and all of those issues. And then transitioning into perimenopause and now postmenopause, you know, realizing that there was this also gap. Like the majority of our clients are women, and many of our female clients are in this peri and postmenopausal stage. And this was also. The impetus for Connie Bolier and I to create our women's wellness course, our fitness and lifestyle certification, where we cover everything we need postnatal to parent, post-menopause, puberty, even like understanding what women are going through. And uh, you know, just even that understanding as a coach can be hugely valuable. Like, what does it mean? And how are we able to sort of support our female clientele fully during these life stages, understanding the science behind it, you know, and and I mean, this is it's been so groundbreaking in the last few years where we're finally seeing more and more research. I mean, women were not really mandated to be included in clinical trials until 1992. I mean, that really wasn't that long ago. And so we did have some science early on, and there's a lot of research out there, but we're really seeing some super interesting data come up where we're seeing some strong sort of support and research, some clearer guidelines. And we know now for pre and postnatal women, I mean, exercise is critical. Women who exercise have babies that are born with healthier hearts. I mean, we know that just exercise is non-negotiable unless you've been told specifically contraindication to exercise, the majority of healthy pregnancies, women should be exercising. It should be strength training. And even in the postpartum period, we just recently had updated guidelines where traditionally we were waiting the six-week mark, and then from there we were getting the green light. And then it was, you know, now we have the guidelines to support exercise earlier on. I mean, if someone wants to wait six weeks, absolutely that's important. And that's we need to support whatever new mom is experiencing and feeling and feels ready for. But if she feels ready to start exercising sooner, we know that there are going to be better health outcomes with movement, especially early on, better psychological and mental health, better physical health. So when there is that overall support, you know, I think just understanding the science, understanding the updated guidelines, how can we support, support these women? And right now there's a big, I mean, there's a lot. Menopause is a huge trend right now, which I love because, you know, 15 years ago, we weren't really talking about it. Like we weren't even talking about periods. Like I ask all my female clients about menstrual cycles and menopause. And, you know, I think it's important to sort of understand that there was a time where we just were ignoring it completely or just like not talking about it. Um, and so I think women are just finally feeling seen and heard and understood and supported because we're having these conversations and because we're sharing the data and the research and the science. Um I mean, it doesn't have to be, you know, we know there aren't massive differences between male and female physiology. We're not going to be training people outrageously different, but we may be making some slight tweaks and some modifications and even just understanding like what is endometriosis? Does your client have PCOS? Are they in perimenopause? Like how understanding what that is and providing the support that they need to be able to get through their workouts is is so important.

SPEAKER_00 25:04

Yeah, from yeah, from a psychological standpoint too. And I I mean, if you're training women, it's a non-negotiable to to have this education because it's such a big, it's the whole lifespan of a female. Exactly. And like, you know, it's funny because you see at a at a gym, I go to a gym called BFT. It's an awesome community, and there's a pregnant woman there, and she must be nine months pregnant and she's doing the back squats, and you see like five-year-old being like, Why are you doing that? And then you've got like me being like, That's amazing, keep going. And so it's funny how there has been such a shift over the last decade of of the expectations. And um, you know, it's just funny that it used to be that they didn't exercise at all or gentle movements, but not anymore. And I I think that's that's yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:57

I mean, if we're telling our healthy pregnant client not to exercise, I mean, we're we're it is a it is a disservice to them. I mean, we we really need to be encouraging any type of movement that feels great for them and supporting them. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 26:11

Now, so when it comes to that type of education, because obviously they're gonna listen to their doctors, they're going to listen to their gynecologists. They always seem to be more on the conservative side. Do you run into that where they are a little bit more conservative than, say, someone who's trained on this type of movement for pregnancy?

SPEAKER_01 26:30

I mean, if we're dealing with an at-risk, a high-risk pregnancy, then I do definitely see more of a conservative approach. But I mean, I'm not sure about the American health care. With Canadian health care, I find that many of my clients are coming to me who are pregnant and saying, Yeah, my doctor said just go for it, do what you want. Like, no real restrictions. I had one client that said, uh, my doctor said just don't go climb a mountain, like do what I want. I don't, I don't really, I'm not really hearing unless it's a high-risk pregnancy. A lot of my clients are coming in actually with very little guidance from their doctors and healthcare providers with regards to physical activity. It's more of a generalized, like, no restrictions, go for it. Unless there are some particular issues that that need to be addressed. But the majority of the time I'm seeing the general support for movement, they're just not being given specifics, if you will. Yep. Yep. Connie Bolier and I have a women's wellness specialist certification. It's our fitness and lifestyle certification for women. It is a hybrid course where we have an online component. There's about 10 to 15 hours, and then there is a full in-person uh course where we're covering off all of these sort of issues, female physiology across the lifespan. We're covering a coaching, a mindset, physiology assessments, movements, and it's all there. So yeah, activatefit.ca is the website. Click on the women's wellness uh link and find the details there where we're gonna be next.

SPEAKER_00 28:00

Awesome. I love it. Um, and I'll put that in the show notes so people can check that out. Okay, now let's talk about walking. So you literally wrote a book, Walk Your Way Fit. Tell me, like, tell me about your thoughts on walking.

SPEAKER_01 28:14

Well, I got exposed to walking in my early 20s when I was working in um uh corporate fitness, and I remember an instructor taking a group of like 30 engineers out on a walk in the middle of the day, and it was a power walk, and they were out moving fast and enjoying, and everyone came back like happy and invigorated and refreshed. And I thought, like, this is this is genius. Like you're getting outside, you're taking a break from your workstation, you're socializing, you're getting a workout in, there's no gym space required. And so from there I just learned everything I could. I started teaching power walking classes, and then I started racewalking. I joined a racewalking group and started racing as well, just sort of fell in love. I mean, at the time that I was racewalking, I had just transitioned from fitness competitions where I'd been to Miss Fitness World four times, uh, you know, made the top 20 three times, and my body was just like, you know, it was it was really hard on my body. And so that transition to walking was just right for me. It felt right. Um I could still challenge myself, but it was easier on my body. And I just I fell in love. I enjoyed it, uh, started leading more groups. And then last year, uh, published with human kinetics my book, Walk Your Way Fits, Your Guide to Better Health, Wellness, and Vitality. And just wanted it to be, you know, that that all-around walking guide where, you know, we have everything, everything in there from warm-ups and cool down and different walking workouts and injury prevention and anatomy and some strength stuff in there as well, and stretches and um, you know, gear and terrain, and like anyone who loves to walk will find, you know, something in there for them.

SPEAKER_00 30:04

Yep. And now you do a gait analysis. That that's part of your toolbox. How can a trainer watch a client's gait and how can that help them potentially diagnose a misalignment when they're doing assessment?

SPEAKER_01 30:21

Well, I mean, if you're taking a look at a static alignment, we want to also see how that alignment is transitioning to movement. So if you're finding that they have, let's say, forward shoulders, forward head, what happens when they start to walk and move? Are we seeing an amplif amplification of these misalignments? Um, are we seeing new postural imbalances when they're moving? So, you know, taking what we know already and getting them to move, you know, and understanding are we seeing any differences or changes? And then, you know, I early on I remember taking a lot of sort of gate analysis type courses and workshops and really trying to understand. I mean, use what you know and you know, intuitively, does this make sense to you? And don't be afraid to make tweaks. Like, I'll, you know, throw out a couple of things, like, hey, can you make your stride smaller? How does that feel? Can you, you know, drop your ribs a little bit? How does that feel? Like, try different things and see if, you know, that works well for that particular client. But I think a lot of a lot of coaches are really, you know, afraid to sort of take a look and try different things and but like just trust your intuition and your instincts because oftentimes they're right and they're good. Um, and you know, you just need to sort of throw it out there and see, you know, see, see how it feels.

SPEAKER_00 31:38

Yeah. That's great. That's great advice. How would you sell walking uh to a client who feels like they need to be dripping sweat, that high intensity? Because you know, people say walking, oh, it's just recovery. It is great recovery, but it's it's so much more than that. How do you, how do you get someone to really have that aha moment about walking whose mindset is like, I need to sweat? Well, I feel like walking has a place for everybody.

SPEAKER_01 32:02

It just depends on what their goals are. Like for that client who wants to, you know, go and sweat, walking is gonna be that recovery tool. It's going to be helpful for your fascia, your muscles. It's just going to be that thing that's going to help you recover from workout to workout. Also, maybe that person who's like rah, rah, rah, sits at a desk for 12 hours a day. Maybe that evening walk is just going to help them with the circulatory lymphatic. Maybe that person who has some metabolic issues, that after dinner walk is going to help them with their, you know, regulating their blood sugars. And honestly, Lindsay, like I know the American and the Canadian guidelines are the same. They should be obtaining 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week. And we know that the majority of Americans and Canadians are not hitting these targets. Like, I feel like sometimes we're in a little bit of a little bit of a bubble in a silo because we see these active individuals and we assume that everybody is like this, but really they're not. And so many of these individuals know they should be exercising. I mean, they're it's stuck in that pre-contemplation stage. Like they know they need to move, but it's hard. And so walking can be that literal first step for people. It's easy, it's accessible, it's convenient, it's cost effective. And we have so much data on walking. Like walking is probably the most researched form of physical activity out there. Uh, you know, resistance training is probably a close second, but walking is well researched and well established to be healthy. People who walk live longer. They are gonna experience less disease. I mean, it's just it's clinically proven. And so it can be that easy sort of foray into exercise when we're trying to get people to do more. So walking can also bridge the gap. And for some people, that's all they're doing, and that's okay. But we can sort of make sure they're doing it consistently, then we can make sure they're doing it more intensely, then we make sure we can add in and intersperse some other variables like resistance training. I can go on, but I mean it can be, it can just be, you know, it can be everything.

SPEAKER_00 34:09

It can be all the things. It's a great entry point, uh, like you said, and that brings up my next thing. There's two big, there's two big rocks that I wanna I wanna talk to you about. We've got the GLP ones and the the AI. Those are two big topics that are not throwing wrenches in the the wellness industry, but there are changes. Yeah. There are changes that we as professionals have to adapt to. So we'll start with GLPs. I'll tell you where I'm at with GLP ones. I actually believe that it's a great entry point for people. I know a lot of people on GLP ones that have never moved in their life. They've either have always had a hard time losing weight and they still moved, or they never moved at all and they they can't lose weight. I think it's a great jump start for someone to get that quick win to get them to a place where they are moving, they are changing their habits. But the caveat is there's not enough, and I don't even see information, but the collaboration between professionals and people who are taking GLP ones, there needs to, there's a gap that we need to fill, shoes that we need to fill as health professionals to get people to take the GLP ones, but you know, educate them on how to actually change their habits. What do you think about GLP1s?

SPEAKER_01 35:29

Oh, yeah, it's interesting and great question. And, you know, last year, uh, I feel like every year there's a new big trend, you know, that we're sort of talking about. Last year was the weighted bests in creatine and the year before, I mean, there's always sort of something. And I feel like this is the year that we're talking about the peptides and the GLP ones. And I do have a number of clients who take these medications. And I fully support them taking it, especially since I have seen them struggle with weight loss. They're doing the workouts, they're doing following through on their nutrition plans, and especially for post-menopausal women. I mean, this can be a huge challenge, seeing a little bit of that metabolic resistance, not being able to see the changes that they want. And so when we're able to introduce a medication where it's prescribed safely and effectively, you know, we can see our clients experience that success. The clients who already have been working hard and now can see those changes. And I and I think that the, you know, the GLP ones are going to be so, so important in connection with the gyms, the personal trainers, and the fitness centers because their doctors are telling them muscle is critical. Like you cannot lose muscle. We need to be strength training. It is a non-negotiable for any of our clients on GLP ones. They need to be maintaining and building that muscle as best as they can. It is just crucial for them. Um, and so I really see this like future of these concurrent medications and the training happening at the same time to support this overall metabolic health and longevity, sort of long term. I mean, do I think everyone needs to be on it? Absolutely not. Do you, you know, do you need to take a low dose just to make a small change? I'm talking about people who are really struggling. And we often see after a while, people are able to move better and cleaner, and a lot of their pain and discomforts go away or get minimized. And then we're able to push these clients to a higher level. So, you know, I fully support it when and where it's work, you know, and I fully believe that there is a place for it. Are we maybe overusing it, over prescribing it, maybe, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:46

Yeah, I mean, that's that's anything, you know, in life when there is trends, there's always going to be um abuse. Yes, I I fully agree with that. And there there is there is that um opportunity for fitness professionals to be able to support those people that are on GLP1s, which is very exciting for the the fitness industry. And now on the other spectrum, AI. So AI, every time I I have a guest, I always ask them, how does AI fit into their practice and what are their thoughts and future of fitness with AI? So tell me, tell me where your your head is at.

SPEAKER_01 38:22

You know, it's interesting, Lindsay. I distinctly remember 15 years ago, a client um who was huge into technology at the time, maybe it was more than 15 years, came to me and she had just come back from this conference and she was telling me, she was like, Sarah, these wearables are gonna take off. Like you were gonna see, she was talking about all these wearables, and I was just like, okay, like I had no idea. And then shortly after that, everyone was wearing the Fitbits, and I feel like that was such a pivotal time in the fitness industry for technology. And from there, I mean, it has just sort of taken off. And, you know, now we have a chance to integrate this technology and we have AI. I use it. I think, I do think for the next couple of years, there's gonna be some blips, you know, because I already have clients coming to me saying, you know, I plugged my symptoms into AI and this is what it told me. And I feel like now individuals are feeling like it's gonna replace fitness trainers. And I think there's gonna be a little bit of this up and down for a short period of time. And in a couple of years, or however long that timeline's gonna take, I feel like AI is going to, people are gonna understand that it doesn't replace, it just complements. It is gonna complement fitness coaching. It is gonna be a wonderful, amazing adjunct to what we're already using, in addition to all the tech technology that we're using as well. I feel like there's a little bit of bumpiness right now, but I feel like soon it's gonna, it's gonna clear up and we're gonna see the clear path of how AI can be super beneficial and just enhance coaching overall. Yeah.

unknown 39:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:58

I mean, that's that was spot on. I love that. And it's either it's gonna expose coaches. So, you know, if you aren't a strong coach, AI will expose that. And clients are gonna expect AI as um as part of their uh part of their service. And we can use AI to do the things that we don't necessarily want to spend time on. We can have more interaction with our clients. And I the data that it can pull and interpret from these wearables are incredible. So I see a bright future with AI. I think right now we're in this wild, wild west and and the learning gap, and things are coming out so fast that it gets so overwhelming. And so I think you're right, that it's just like we kind of need to let it settle. The best thing you can do is educate yourself and not on the tools. The tools don't matter. It's the foundation of AI, how to communicate with AI that fits fits in your practice. You don't have to do what everyone else is doing. Figure out, understand AI so that you know how to implement it into your space. And it's an exciting time. And um, I'm very heavily involved. And you know, there's there's two ends of the spectrum. There's the coaches that are like, I'm gonna be replaced, and there are coaches that are like, this is this is going to extend. It's it's like um, it's it's an extension of your own brain. So it's it's an exciting time.

SPEAKER_01 41:20

But I love that um and I'm excited to learn more. You know, I know that you have a course out and I saw that, and I've I'm gonna register and and take it and learn. And I think that, you know, all coaches, if they're gonna be using it, should really um, you know, educate themselves so that they can use it to to their, you know, get the most out of it. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 41:39

All right. So last two things that I usually do. We're gonna play a game. Okay. I know I didn't I didn't tell you about this. So it's blind ranking called blind ranking. And so I'm gonna give you five fitness trends or habits one by one, and you have to rank them from one to five, one being your favorite and five being your least favorite. Okay. But the catch is that you don't know what the next item is. So once you pick a spot, you're stuck with it. Have you ever played this game? No, I've seen it though.

SPEAKER_01 42:11

Okay, I've never played it. Yeah.

unknown 42:13

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_00 42:14

All right. So are you ready? Blind ranking. Okay. I'm gonna give you five finished trends or habits one by one, ranking them one to five. First one, 10,000 steps a day rule.

SPEAKER_01 42:27

So I'm gonna put this lower in the ranking, even though I talk about it in my book. Four. Because yeah. Okay. Yeah, okay. Wow, you know, because if if you're someone who walks 2,000 steps a day, 10,000 is gonna be too much. And if you're someone who already does 10,000 steps a day and you're very active, it may not be enough. It just, I feel really, I don't love absolutes. So I'm yeah, four. Let's see what else is out there. Or I might regret it.

SPEAKER_00 42:54

Okay. I know. I was like, you've clearly never played this game before. Just kidding. Because I'm gonna throw some curveballs at you. Uh-oh. Number two, verbal tech for recovery.

SPEAKER_01 43:04

Okay, now I wish I moved my 10,000 day either.

SPEAKER_00 43:08

You can. Okay. Oh, okay. It can be a great tool. High intensity interval training. High intensity interval training for women in metapause.

SPEAKER_01 43:20

Okay. Okay. This is hard. Okay. I'm gonna put it at two because I mean, we lose those type two A fibers. We need women need to be doing power training. We need to be doing intensity work.

SPEAKER_00 43:32

You may not be healthy enough to do it right now, but you need to work towards there too. Love it. All right, number four, social media exercise. So doing squats on a bosu ball while holding a kettlebell and doing it. Oh five, five, five, five, five, five. There we go, there we go. And the last one, which I think you're sp you have uh did you do your number one spot yet? No. So this is your number one. The traditional bodybuilding split. So chest day, back day, leg day. Okay. I wish I put that number four in my 1000 setup.

SPEAKER_01 44:03

Number one. I think a lot of people just do not have time to do splits. I think there's just so much value in doing full body days, especially if you're working out two or three times a week. If you have a chest back day on Monday and you do legs on Friday, I mean you're only hitting each body part once. And we know that those multiple hits are important. So in my perfect world, I would switch my number four with my number one. I don't know if I can do that, but I know I can't, but that's what I would do.

SPEAKER_00 44:29

But now we know where you stand. Now we know where you stand. Okay, we're gonna go one, go one more. I feel like this this is actually like a serious one. Like I'm not gonna throw anything silly at you. I really want to know your opinion. So same thing, five ways trainers try to build their brand and authority. So rank one to five, one being your number one, uh top five being your your least. So how trainers try to build their brand and authority. First one, a before and after photo transformation.

SPEAKER_01 44:58

I mean, I I used to do that very, very, very early on, but I just think there's so many other variables and outcome measures for health other than aesthetics. I mean, I moved away from aesthetics a long, long time.

SPEAKER_00 45:10

Okay. Four writing a book or presenting at uh major conferences.

SPEAKER_01 45:14

I mean, I have done this, but I really don't think that is uh critical or key or important at building your brain. Like, oh, three. Because I feel like there's something else coming that might be a five, but three.

SPEAKER_00 45:26

Now you're getting the hang of it. Number three, niching down. Nitching down your your avatar, your clientele. Oh, let's say two. Okay. Uh giving away free value on social media.

SPEAKER_01 45:39

I mean, I I don't think it's necessary, but I do think that this is very helpful for coaches and traders. Um, yeah, I'm gonna say one.

SPEAKER_00 45:50

Okay. And the last one, which is your number five spot? The referral partnership. Oh my god. That would be my number one.

SPEAKER_01 46:00

Okay, it it would be my number one for sure. I clearly do not play this game very well.

SPEAKER_00 46:06

We always try to throw in some funny ones at the end, but when you start playing, you know, and then you start strategically numbering them based on that. So no, those were really good answers. Okay. Really good answers. Thank you. Before uh we head out, can you just tell us where uh the audience can find you? What's your social media handles and your website?

SPEAKER_01 46:27

Okay, thank you. Yes. So uh I am at continuum fit on Instagram, and our website is continuumfitness.ca. And information on the women's wellness course is activatefit.ca. And my book is available at um indigo, Amazon, and um human kinetics website and uh check your local bookstores.

SPEAKER_00 46:51

Very exciting. I'm gonna go get it at the bookstore. Are they at Barnes and Nobles?

SPEAKER_01 46:55

You guys have Barnes and Nobles at um I think you can order it through Barnes Nobles. I've sort of checked online, but yeah, I would check first just to be safe.

SPEAKER_00 47:04

Well, Amazon. I I could get it on Amazon, same-day shipping. Well, Sarah, thank you so much for joining us today. And if you are tuning in, make sure to give Sarah a follow. And as always, thank you for listening. Have a great day, everyone. Take care.