👋 Hi! Tell us about yourself and your training
My name is Gabe and I am 25 years old. I live in and am from Atlantic Canada and work as a kinesiologist/strength & conditioning coach.
I have been playing sports all my life and started training in high school in order to get better at my sports. In high school I played competitive soccer, ice hockey, track and field, basketball, badminton, and volleyball.
In university I did competitive soccer and track & field. Currently I play rugby and track & field recreationally.
I started getting more serious with my training about 6 years ago. My favorite exercises are the clean and the squat.
⏱ Describe a typical day of training
My training is predominantly for functional muscle, and wouldn’t really be considered “bodybuilding”. I change it up depending on how I am feeling, but I typically do a two day, push/pull split, twice a week.
My workouts usually include Olympic lifts, with some other multi-joint exercises and one or two accessory exercises, and a core circuit at the end.
Sometimes I do the exercises straight and other times I do them in a circuit. Along with that, I train rugby athletes twice a week and join in with them.
Usually with my athletes we are doing explosive/dynamic exercises, along with some cardio, and speed/agility.
Usually I train with one or two other people and the sessions last around 1-1.5 hours. I usually train in a fitness centre, and on a rugby field.
👊 How do you keep going and push harder?
Having a friend/gym partner is a great strategy to keep motivation up. But most importantly, I never feel like my motivation is low because I love going to the gym.
There are so many different exercises, and combinations of exercises that it is hard to get bored.
As a strength & conditioning coach I also love making up new routines, trying out new exercises, and perfecting my form.
For someone with low motivation I would recommend changing things up until you find exercises and routines that make you excited about going to the gym.
🏆 How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
Training is going very well at the moment. I am only 25 so I feel I am the fittest I have ever been and I hope to continue to get better.
Goal-wise, I just hope to keep increasing my weights and improving my form in the olympic lifts.
Outside the gym I like to travel so I hope to travel to as many different countries as possible.
🤕 How do you recover, rest and handle injuries?
I push myself as much as I know my body can handle.
The key to avoiding injuries is lifting within your limits and keeping proper form. So many times I see people trying to lift weights far beyond their capabilities, with improper form, and it results in injuries.
I push myself as much as I know my body can handle. I make sure I get enough nutrition in my diet that I don’t need supplements, and I do my best to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night.
When I am travelling I either find a fitness centre or do some body weight exercises on my own to prevent atrophy.
With the body weight exercises I like to keep it very simple; push ups, pulls ups, squats, dips, planks. I find that stretching after sessions helps as well, as does a proper warm up and cool down.
🍎 How is your diet and what supplements do you use?
I believe that as long as you are eating well then supplements are a waste of money.
I eat mostly whole foods, no alcohol/coffee/tea/soft drinks.
I am not building for aesthetic purposes so I eat foods to fuel my body and promote muscle growth, but I allow myself to indulge in small treats (including, but not limited to: candy, desserts, ice cream) whenever I feel like it (all in moderation, of course).
I believe that as long as you are eating well then supplements are a waste of money (besides maybe a good multivitamin).
👍 What has inspired and motivated you?
I honestly just love fitness and exercising that I don’t have any external motivators. I am intrinsically very happy and self motivated when it comes to fitness.
✏️ Advice for other people who want to improve themselves?
I think the best advice I could give is to be careful what information you find on the internet. I think the main mistake that people make when they are starting out is trying to do too much, too fast.
People think that in order to get “jacked” they must do these crazy workouts that people on forums are telling them to do, but it is much better to start off slower, and get the proper form down and build a good base before progressing to more complicated exercises and routines.
It is also important for people to understand that the physiques we see in fitness magazines, and other such mediums, are not an accurate depiction of realistic results, and so they shouldn’t get discouraged.
Aside from that, the other biggest mistake I see from people of all levels is sacrificing proper form for heavier weights. I can’t stress enough how important proper form is.
🤝 Are you taking on clients right now?
Yes, it is my job, so I have a number of clients.
I believe I am very qualified as I am certified as a kinesiologist and a strength & conditioning coach, I have a master’s degree in Exercise Science, and a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology.
📝 Where can we learn more about you?
I do online fitness plans through the website Fiverr, so you can find me there.
