just over half way.

Hey everyone,

Just to recap I am doing to coop placements this semester, one at Barrie Kettlebell Club and one at The Chiropractic Clinic. I am enjoying both my coops and they both provide different learning experiences and give me different knowledge. At The Kettlebell Club it is much more hands on and I learn a lot through participating and generating new exercise variations for his class instead of his traditional ways to pull,press, squat, hinge, rotate, crawl etc. I also learn a lot through questions and just paying attention to each sequence of the class and how Shawn deals with his clients. The atmosphere is great and very welcoming. I have definitely been able to hit some goals from when i started as i get my ideas heard and  put into play in classes, i also get to demo my exercises and gives me full control of the way i want the exercises executed. I also believe I will have a valuable contact afterwards, Shawn has been a pleasure to learn from and work with. Mark is the supervisor/Chiropractor I am shadowing and this is the coop where i am asking a ton of questions and challenging my thinking and making sure i understand certain concepts of the treatment process. I have a general idea as to what most clients need and where issues may lie based on certain symptoms and muscle tightness and soreness but this is the skill i want to practice most with Mark. I constantly am guessing and explaining my guess and usually have a good base to the solution there is just usually a piece that needs to be addressed that I am unsure of or forgetting but this has been coming along with more shadowing and more questions. Overall I feel i am getting a ton of valuable knowledge and exercises and am enjoying the process and people that coop has brought to me this semester. I also feel I am accomplishing all i set out to do in my coop experience 

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barrie kettlebell club/ the chiropractic clinic

So far I have been really enjoying both my coop placements for this semester. My first placement I landed was at Barrie kettlebell club and I have been working shadowing and working out there three times a week. I have now started to prepare workouts and lead some phases of the class. The owner of the kettlebell club is a really fun strength coach with a lot of cool and unique tools in his gym. They have kegs, sandbags, sleds, stones, tires and of course a lot of kettlebells all which are not commonly found in commercial gyms which are fun tools to incorporate into strength training. Shawn is also very easy to get along with and makes it easy to ask questions and make it a good experience and valuable one learning from him. I have also been seeing Mark Rocca at the chiropractic clinic twice a week and shadowing some of the awesome work he does. It is cool to see the releif and range of motion he can provide clinic in a short period of time. I have found it very interesting and valuable watching Dr. Mark provide his treatments and pay close attention to the systems he sets in place to approach his clients. The active release techniques he provides clients is a very effective way to release tension in muscles and restore mobility. I have also enjoyed seeing some of the specific exercises he prescribes clients that train very specific aspects of the body that will totally restore functionality in the body for that individual. Mark is also very receptive to questions and it makes it a great learning experience asking his why he is doing some of the things he is to clients and the theory behind hi rehabilitation methods and ways to restore mobility and stability. I find the relationship between mobility and stability in the body quite fascinating and could easily see myself working in an environment that allows me to show my interest for this particular aspect of health and fitness studies. I am just over a third done my hours and have been having a fun, rewarding and great learning experience in coop this year.

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coop round 2

The second time around was easier for me and I was more aware of what to expect and what to ask of my potential coop supervisors. I made sure my coop placements would benefit me and give me the opportunities i was looking for to progress my knowledge in this field. I landed one placement at Barrie Kettlebell club with Shawn Charlebois after he did a turkish get up demo for our class. I watch the way Shawn conducts his classes and pays attention to his clients. I have created finisher circuits and soon will be voicing input for daily workouts. I am able to ask tons of questions on why Shawn does things the way he does and its great to hear his insight. I also have a placement at The chiropractic clinic with Mark Rocca, he is a brilliant chiropractor and i am also asking him a load of questions and picking apart the concepts and theories that Mark uses daily to treat clients and help muscle imbalances and injured areas. I am super excited to see where my coops will take me and the experience i will get in these positions.  Some goals i have are to be able to prescribe exercises based on client needs and have mark or shawn evaluate the accuracy of my exercise selection. I have already got a lot of shadowing in already and would like to get some more hands on work. I also want to do intial assesments on clients and contribute to goal setting and exercise selection with these clients one on one as well. I have a great feeling about my placements this time around and I am already enjoying them both. 

coop update

Hey guys

just an update on my coop,
learning lots of names and new faces in my community and continuing to build good rapport with members and supervisor. I am enjoying my placement simply because of the positive and motivated people i am surrounded by!

Also i am learning a lot of great tips and tricks in owning your own gym and some things it would entail. I've watched Anchor schedule events as a marketing tool to land more members and secure current members. I've seen them design logos and posters and tickets using different websites, technology and resources. And i have picked up on majority of their front desk system called pushpress where all the member info is held. It is great to get to know to become familiar with a system like this because it makes it easier to track stats like daily check ins and how well the gym is doing and also where things might need improvements. Also I have got to see how some other sites for budgets, income, member check ins and a bunch of statistics are displayed on graphs and shows possible trends and future expectations great tools to use for planning and growing a business. Overall i am learning a bunch of different aspects of the fitness field and what it will be like to run my own company or own my own facility.

Crunch N Brunch (Canada Day Event)

Canada day Crunch N Brunch was a success :)

Members of the gym were encouraged to sign up for a "house blend" class on Sat. July 1st for Canada day which was longer than a normal class for a full 45 min high intensity workout involving step ups, wall balls, burpees, plank and kettle bell swings as seen in the picture on the bottom. After this the class was re-organized and turned into a yoga studio where the music was softened and members were given a yoga mat where they were encouraged to unwind and relax they're muscles. While the yoga was taking place a few other trainers and myself were out in the lobby setting up a catered breakfast including eggs, bacon, turkey bacon, home fries, chocolate chip or blueberry pancakes and coffee too. Many of the members agreed it was a pleasant start to the Canada day weekend and also a good sweat and awesome breakfast following!

Having events such as a brunch and workout on a Saturday holiday morning is not only unique but very good for the business. It allows members to feel appreciated and also allows them to make friends with other members and build a friendship with their trainers and staff at anchor. I think this is a very rare thing to find in a gym but is a great opportunity to feel belonging and a sense of a community. Its a great marketing tool as well because it makes clients comfortable and excited in your facility also makes them enjoy their time there and want to return. In the process so far and on this day i met a ton of new names and chatted with some great people interested in building friendships and a healthy lifestyle for their future.    

DAY 1 @ placement

Hey everyone,

Just an update for you all on my placement.
Finally had my first day in classes where I did an hour yoga class followed by an hour crossfit class. I would say just about anybody can benefit from either of these classes and they really teach you how to be in tuned with yourself and the healthiest version you can achieve. I learned some new yoga poses and great ways to stretch my body especially hamstrings. The yoga class was very relaxing and i enjoyed the stretch, relaxing and warmup before the crossfit, In the crossfit class we were working on clean and jerks which is a precise olympic lift where you lift a barbell and "jerk" overhead. Although you are only pressing it over your head there are several tips and tricks to maximizing body locks, momentum, core stability and basic movement mechanics. Al these together along with some brute force is whats required for a clean and jerk. I was very pleased with the class and how fun they both were also the coaches and instructors i was working with are very motivating and helpful. excited to progress my lifts and carry on with my placement.

~till next time...

Coop experience

Hey everyone, I would like to give an update on my coop placement. I am helping out at a crossfit gym and am excited to be exposed to several new training styles. Over the course of my placement I will be assessing individuals fitness levels and helping to coach athletes and new comers to a healthier lifestyle and in the best shape of their lives. That being said I am also learning a lot about Olympic lifting technique and just how precise it has to be to execute. Also I am learning how hard and in control you must be to keep up to the yoga instructors of the "flow" class. Lastly I was to talk about METCON which is short for metabolic conditioning, if your looking to sweat and kick your body into overdrive this is a high intensity based class that is worth giving a shot. All these classes will challenge you in different ways all great for the body and helping to achieve a healthier lifestyle.