Gymnazo Podcast

In this episode, Gymnazo Coach and Movement Specialist, Kaleena Ruskin, sits down with Gymnazo Coach and Director of Programming, CJ Kobliska, to discuss the ways to keep the aging population excited and engaged for their workouts, as well as how to train them effectively. In this episode they cover the issues with the generic methods of training for the older population, the benefits of complex e...

In this episode, Gymnazo Coach and Movement Specialist, Kaleena Ruskin, sits down with Gymnazo Founder and Movement Specialist, Michael Hughes, to talk about how understanding behavioral science has helped them better connect and communicate with the different personality types of their clients. They cover their strategies for keeping a diverse group of clients on the same page, a breakdown of the...

In this episode, Gymnazo Coach and Director of Programming, CJ Kobliska, sits down with Gymnazo Coach and Movement Specialist, Kaleena Ruskin, to discuss the importance of transformational zones and chain reaction biomechanics and how they are the “seatbelt of fitness training.” In this episode they cover an overview of transformational zones (TZs) and chain reaction biomechanics, what’s wrong wit...

In this episode, Gymnazo Coaches CJ Kobliska, Jonathan “Goose” Parreira, and Sean Melton share their stories on how finding a sense of community within Gymnazo helped them through tough times.  In this episode they cover creating energy in your space; examples of how Gymnazo’s community helped them flip their mindset; our hierarchy of needs; the importance of setting up your environment corre...

In this episode, Gymnazo Coach and Movement Specialist Kaleena Ruskin sits down with Gymnazo Founder and Movement Specialist Michael Hughes to go full Myth Busters on weight training, weight loss practices, BMI as a measure of health and more. In this episode they cover the differences between hypertrophy and strength, what to tell women who don't want to get big, the importance of rest and recove...

In this episode, Director of Programming and Movement Specialist CJ Kobliska sits down with Gymnazo Coach and Movement Specialist Jonathon Parreira to talk about the positive effects of integrating RMT Ropes into their personal practice and Gymnazo training sessions with clients. They cover their own personal journeys with the ropes, successes they've had with clients, how it's changed their perce...

In this episode, Michael Hughes, Movement Specialist and Founder of Gymnazo sits down with Gary Gray, Founder and CEO of Gray Institute. A little about Gary and the Gray Institute : Gray Institute is internationally acclaimed for its innovation, development, mastery, and delivery of Applied Functional Science®. While many others and other organizations teach “function,” Gray Institute is both...

In this episode, Gymnazo Coach and Movement Specialist CJ Kobliska sits down with Gymnazo Member Barb Blanke to talk about fitness after 40 and how aging effects the body and the mind. Together they cover common perceptions about aging, how movement changes as we age, typical fears around getting older, how functional training has impacted Barb both physically and mentally, things Barb can and can...

In this episode, Paden Hughes, CEO of Gymnazo sits down with Kaleena Ruskin, Movement Coach and Pelvic Floor Specialist, to talk about the classic "Tits Up Ass Out" posture and its effects on the body. Kaleena dives into what is going on in the body when we stand or walk with this type of posture, what are the factors contributing to its normalization, and how you can start to take steps to revers...

In this episode, Gymnazo Coach and Movement Specialist CJ Kobliska sits down with Asher Clark, Co-Founder and Chief Data Officer at VIVOBAREFOOT to talk about minimalist shoes. Asher walks us through how VIVOBAREFOOT started as a company, how he got involved, why he advocates for minimalist shoes and what the future of VIVOBAREFOOT looks like.  CJ and Asher also dive into some of the sci...

Personal trainers and fitness coaches are knowledge seekers. It's one of the best things about the fitness industry. But most trainers obsess about acquiring knowledge to increase their intelligence around science, movement etc. BUT there is one core skill set that gets bypassed. Oddly enough almost every other industry puts most of their professional development dollars into this skillset. So wha...

In this week's episode, Coaches CJ Kobliska, Kaleena Ruskin and Jonathon (Goose) Parreira, sit down to talk about the science of movement and how your clients are your best source of research and evidence. In this episode, CJ, Kaleena and Goose talk through the science and reasoning behind everything from athleticism to weight lifting to injury prevention to how to treat pain. They walk through wh...

In this week's episode, Coach Kaleena and Gymnazo member Kenzie Kitson sit down to talk about Kenzie's rock climbing accident in 2018. Walking away from the accident with a fused spine from her L1-L5 vertebrae, a once very active Kenzie, was faced with a new reality and told she would have to give up everything she loved doing (hiking, climbing, skiing, paddleboarding) for the rest of he...

Here's the HARD truth: most personal trainers are not set up for success with the traditional personal training certifications offered. It's not their fault, but the idea that most trainers can charge $80+ to workout with them for an hour simply because they paid $500 for a basic program and passed it in a week or two.... is disheartening. Before we launch a podcast episode series breaking down th...

Ok, this is one of the most common concerns we see with female athletes and clients wanting to improve their physique. It's called "Mom Butt", or called dormant butt syndrome. It's commonly characterized by a flat butt and commonly associated to post-partum life. No one ever walks into a gym asking for a really flat butt so they can rock their high waisted mom jeans. NO ONE wants that. So as a per...

Flexibility. It's something every athlete knows they need. Most turn to yoga and or the same boring static stretches we all did in youth sports. But what about functional training? If we think about it there are three core capabilities to train: strength, cardio and flexibility/mobility. Cool, so what does that actually look like? What's better, static or dynamic stretching? How can you build flex...

It's one thing to be an amazing personal trainer. It's another to keep your training services and clientele in tact during a global pandemic. But that's exactly what these four amazing Gymnazo coaches did during 2020. Last episode Paden and Michael shared how they led their team and business through the pandemic, and 6 different pivots. But it's one thing to lead and another to execute flawlessly....

Ever wonder what it was like to steer a fitness business through 2020 and survive a global pandemic? Michael and Paden go back and walk you through what 2020 was like for them, how it felt, how much money they had before it hit, how they managed to keep their team together and more. They also detail each business pivot they made to innovate and deliver their fitness services to their clients and p...

Real talk: Before 2020 we thought virtual training coaches provided lower value fitness training. But to the pandemic changed everything. To survive, we migrated every one of our fitness training services online. Our coaches trained from their living rooms. Overnight we flipped to virtual training. Now 10 months into it, Michael Hughes sat down with one of the coaches who has absolutely nailed the...

In this episode we dive into why personal trainers should train women differently than men. No matter what you currently do with your clients, this episode will explore all the critical shifts that personal trainers at a minimum need to understand about their female clients. AND more importantly, the key anatomical and physiological differences unique to women that change everything about fitness...

Have you ever felt like you aren't getting the success you want as a personal trainer? Maybe you suffer from low confidence, or are making one of the other five mistakes we see personal trainers making. Rest assured, you're not alone, but after working with personal trainers and training elite movement coaches for a decade, we've learned a few things about what holds personal trainers back from tr...

In this episode Michael Hughes, Owner of Gymnazo, and Mitch Schroth, Movement Specialist and Coach at Gymnazo dive into why having an Anatomy & Physiology class on your personal training resume doesn't really cut it. They cover how schools are teaching anatomy today, how applicable it really is, and where the gaps are in many trainers' knowledge of the body.

Being a brand new trainer in the fitness industry is tough enough without having a global pandemic to throw you the curve ball of the century. In this episode, we share our advice for new trainers who are trying to launch their services and grow their business. We will cover our biggest learnings and mistakes over the past 8 months, how we transitioned to virtual training and what it's going to ta...

Eco-challenge: what it’s like to train for the world’s toughest race in Fiji 2019. Join Sonja Weick, from team Iron Cowboys, as she shares her top strength training tips to prepare her for The World's Toughest Race Eco-Challenge Fiji, a hit series on Amazon Prime, hosted by Bear Grylls. This Ironman ultra athlete shares how she and her trainer prepared both physically and mentally for her to survi...

If you're a personal trainer, then we know you have some kind of opinion about functional training. You want to talk about a polarizing topic in fitness.... it's this. So Michael sat down with our Director of Programming, CJ Kobliska, to break it down and unpack why functional training can benefit personal trainers and your clients. In this episode you'll learn, What functional training actually i...