What Separates Us

Why Choose Toronto’s Fitness Solutions Plus?

Personal training is about improving your health, your fitness, your performance, your looks, your self-esteem, and much more. It’s a big deal, and often a big commitment. Given the importance of it, you want to make sure that you are working with the best possible person for the job. We understand that.

At Toronto’s Fitness Solutions Plus, we are proud of the service we offer. Read on to find out what separates us from the competition. Or, if you just want a quick summary, look at the table at the bottom of this page.

Individualization

How would you feel if your exercise program was exactly the same as someone else’s? Never mind that you’re a 35-year-old woman, and that someone else was a 65-year-old man. Never mind that you’re focusing on fat loss, and he’s focusing on golf. Never mind that you’re a complete beginner, and he’s been training for 40 years. You both get the same program. What would you feel if that happened?

That is not so uncommon. Many Toronto fitness trainers out there find a program on the internet (P90X and Crossfit, for instance) and give it to all their clients, regardless of their goals, age, experience, health history, time and equipment availability and dozens of other factors.

This is not the case with Toronto’s Fitness Solutions Plus. You are an individual. You have your own unique strengths and weaknesses. You have your own goals. You have your own limitations, whether they are time, equipment availability (or lack thereof), health issues, or anything else. This is why it is of paramount importance to understand you and your unique situation. Dozens of variables have to be taken into account to be able to design a program that fits your unique physiology, your unique body mechanics, and your unique personality.

I take the time to understand your individuality. I get an in-depth view into your goals, what you want to get out of training, your health history, your exercise history, how much time you have (or don’t have), what equipment you have (or don’t have), and then several tests are performed to help me understand how your body moves.

To put it simply, the program is made to fit YOU. Not the other way around.

Want to know what goes through the minds of most personal trainers when they make an exercise program? They think of a muscle, figure out 1-2 exercises for that muscle, and repeat until they covered the major muscles in your body. Seems logical enough, but as a professional, this is very inadequate. Much more has to be taken into account than which exercises to put for different muscles.

At Toronto’s Fitness Solutions Plus, we take into account the following variables: number of sets, number of repetitions, number of exercises, types of exercises, speed of movement, rest between sets, your perceived exertion, how different exercises relate to your unique body, what equipment is available, how much (or how little) time is available, and all that is just scratching the surface.

All of the variables mentioned interact with each other, so your exercise program should get the benefit of intense scrutiny over every single training variable. And that’s exactly what you get at Fitness Solutions Plus.

Education

You want to know a dirty little secret of the personal training industry? Take a guess. How long do you think it takes to become a personal trainer? Three days! That’s all. Take a weekend certification course, pass a couple tests, and congratulations, you’re a personal trainer. That person is now in charge of keeping you healthy, injury-free, and helping you reach your goals. Doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in you, does it?

At Fitness Solutions Plus, on the other hand, we have a 4-year degree (specialized honours) in kinesiology and health science. On top of that, we spend at least 5-10 hours per week, every week studying fitness and fitness-related topics. Whether it is reading books, watching educational videos, reading the research, or networking with other trainers, we strongly believe in professional development. Multiply those 5-10 hours per week by several years, and you have a true professional.

Results-Driven Training

Many people think that the mark of a good personal trainer is being able to kick your butt in the gym. But that’s too easy. Appoint a 6-year-old kid to play “Simon says” with you. He’ll be able to kick your butt as well. “Simon says run 5 miles. Simon says do 100 pushups.” Giving a difficult workout takes very little skill. Giving an effective workout takes much more finesse. Don’t confuse a hard workout for an effective workout. It’s not necessarily the same thing.

Want an example? Imagine this scenario. You walk into a gym, tell your trainer that your goal is to lose 35 pounds over the next 5 months. Good enough. So your trainer really works you hard each and every session, so hard that you feel ready to throw up by the end, and you end up sore for the 3 or 4 days that follow. You’re feeling good about yourself. But you’re still not losing weight. Is that an effective training program?

An effective program simply means that it’s getting you to your goals. No matter how hard an exercise program is, if it’s not getting you to your goals, it’s not effective.

That is not to say that hard workouts are not effective. Depending on the goal, a hard workout may be necessary. But very often, especially with beginners, and specific goals (like speed training and power training), a workout may actually feel easy. But if it gets results, who’s going to complain?

It sounds fairly common sense that a personal trainer should make your training results-oriented. But what exactly does that mean?

Results-oriented training means that goals are set in very specific terms, and then, your progress gets measured. We never let a client off the hook with just “I want to get in shape.” We need something more concrete to be able to measure it. A goal of “I want to lose 12 pounds in 8 weeks” is much better.

But we don’t stop there. As soon as your goal is set, we will test whatever variable is relevant to your goal. Want to lose weight? We’ll measure your weight, waist circumference, body fat, and several others. Want to run 10k? We’ll measure the time it takes you to currently run 10k. Want to get better at basketball? We’ll measure your endurance, your speed, your vertical jump, and several other variables.

Next, we re-test you on a regular basis. After all, if you don’t measure, how do you know whether you are progressing? And more importantly, if by retesting you find that you are not progressing, adjustments can be made, so that you don’t continue following the same program under the false belief that it is working for you.

Additionally, in each training session, everything is recorded. Which exercises you did, in what order, for how many sets and repetitions, how much you rested, and your level of perceived exertion. It’s quite motivating to see progress across time.

This is why in results-driven training, every single training variable should be linked to your goals. There is no “just because.” For instance, if you asked “why” over every single training variable that is in your program, there should be a logical answer as it relates to your results and your goals. Try asking these questions:

  • Why am I doing this specific exercise, and not another one?
  • Why am I resting this much (or this little) between sets?
  • Why am I doing the number of repetitions I’m doing?
  • Why am I doing 15 repetitions and not 5?
  • How is that more suitable to my goals?

No answer should be “just because.” What most personal trainers do is “wing it.” They do not have a concrete program planned out for you ahead of time. They pick their exercise on the spot. And many times, the exercises are not even appropriate for you.

Educational Training

At Fitness Solutions Plus, we explain to you why you are doing what you are doing. You learn as you are doing. For the analytical personalities, this is great, because you get to satisfy your curiosity, and see why an exercise or a method works.

So you don’t end up feeling helpless and dependent on another person for your results. You learn what works, and why it works. Many myths get dispelled. And the fact that within a few months of training, you know more about exercise than 90% of personal trainers is a nice side benefit as well.

We believe that if you understand why you are doing what you are doing, it empowers you, and gives you more enthusiasm for your training.

Customer Service

Would you like to be treated like a VIP, instead of just a client? At Fitness Solutions Plus, you get treated like royalty. What are some of the things we do to make you feel that way?

Here’s a partial list:

  • We phone or email you to remind you of your appointment
  • After a new training session, we call you to find out how you’re feeling
  • We remember your birthday
  • We remember your kids’, parents’, spouse’s, and dog’s birthdays.
  • Some days we will show up and out of the blue give you a gift. Just because.
  • We will connect you to other health professionals that we think will benefit you.
  • We will read an article and if we think you can benefit from it, we’ll forward it to you by email.
  • We will ask you how your day was and how you’re feeling.

You Get More than What You Pay For

As you can see, you might start working with us with the aim of losing weight, but you will get so much more than that. You’ll get a carefully scrutinized exercise program. You’ll get an education. You’ll get exceptional customer service.

But even beyond that, you’ll get better at things that you didn’t even pay for. Your goal from the outset is to lose weight. And of course, you will lose weight, but you’ll get so much more. You’ll improve your flexibility. You’ll improve your strength. You’ll improve your endurance. You’ll improve your posture. You’ll reduce or eliminate those little aches and pains. You’ll decrease your chances of injury. You’ll sleep better. You’ll improve your energy. Oh, and people will start complimenting you left and right. Consider these side benefits.

Fitness Solution Plus is simply so far ahead of the competition. To contrast us from our competitors, here is a table that summarizes the above points:

Fitness Solutions Plus

The Competition

4-year degree, plus certification (or multiple certifications), plus extensive professional development. 3-day weekend certification
Program is made to fit you. It is individualized to you. You are made to fit the program. No individualization. Cookie-cutter programs.
Results-driven training. Focus on effectiveness. Focus on difficulty.
Carefully designed exercise program. Exercises selected on the spot. No concrete plan.
Tests are used to measure progress. No tests used.
You learn about fitness. You blindly do what the trainer says.
You are treated like a VIP. You are treated like a client.
Significant side benefits. Improvements in other areas of fitness. Improvements only in the area you requested.

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