Athlete Testimonials

My true passion lies in training athletes. You don’t have to be the best of the best to be an athlete. To me, an athlete is all in your mindset. I have trained athletic individuals that have no desire, no ambition and are here on someone else’s dollar – these are not athletes to me. Athletes are the ones who show up at 6am in the rain for a run on the back trails, ones who understand the meaning of hard work and see that what we are doing is a tough journey and are ready to take on whatever it is they need to in order to achieve their goals. Athletes have passion and a drive that is unmatched. Here are a few testimonials from a few of my favorite athletes –

"Over two years ago I moved to a farm. I thought I had an active lifestyle before but it paled in comparison to the amount of daily physical activity at my new home. For years I had run, biked and played hockey to keep in shape. A little bit of cross training but not much. I had also experienced the odd back spasm starting in my mid thirties and I just chalked it up to getting older. Flash forward to the hobby farm, I'm in my mid forties and I'm moving rocks, clearing fencing, cutting up dead trees, renovations and riding horses and one day I had the mother of all spasms. Most people, especially men know exactly what I mean. You can't get up you're lower back is on fire. After weeks of slow recovery, that meant getting just enough mobility back to get by, nothing really had improved. I had done a ton of research on the internet, of course, and was optimistic that maybe more than my back was the issue. I found a physiotherapist who helped me with a specific muscle injury and that lead me to Bryan. I started with Bryan and he did an evaluation and, wouldn't you know it, I was out of balance. Apparently doing the same repetitive exercise isn't as healthy as I thought. I can still remember the first set of exercises he gave me to do every day at home. I could barely do a set of each. They hurt, they made me work hard, but over time I started to get stronger.

It's now over a year later and I had a very busy work month with very little time to work out. If I sat for too long my back would begin to hurt. Immediately I started up the exercises again and within a week no more pain. I don't take back pain medication, I can run, I can lift, my flexibility has improved and most importantly I know that my health and wellness is up to me."

Ian, above, was have some pretty bad pain that was referred from his hips. Years of riding horses and bilateral movements had left him very tight and weak in certain areas. He was more diligent that anyone I have ever met, and everything I told him, he would go home and research to make sure he was getting everything out of it. It was a long journey, but just by doing a few simple exercises every day and some soft tissue work, he is now able to do everything he was scared of doing before.

"My son has been training privitely at All Canadian Fitness with his Personal Trainer Bryan Smith since 2009. Michael is 15 years old and plays AAA Hockey for the Minor Midget Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs as an Elite Goaltender.

Prior to joining All Candian Fitness, Michael was training soley on ice with his Private Goalie Instructor and really kept the element of "off-ice" training" limited because the intent was to focus soley on goaltender training.

I have had relatives go through The All Canadian Fitness Model of training in the past which resulted in one accepting a full hockey scholarship at RPI University and another is a Certified Sports Psychologist in Southern Ontario. Their success stories are based on one important principle that All Canadian Fitness stresses and that is committment to take the athlete outside their comfort zone and make them a superior athlete.

Bryan Smith has addressed all if not more of of the elements involved in taking Michael to the next level. Bryan has developed a relationship with Michael and is breeding him as a true athlete, first and foremost.

Without Bryan as his Personal Trainer, I don't think Michael would be where he is today. The one on one dedication that Bryan shows with Michael only means that in the final analysis, he will reach his goal successfully as a top notch athlete and superb Goaltender.

The strategies that Bryan uses to continually have Michael progress forward are nothing but brilliant. There is nothing missing in the training regiment which is specific to his position as a goaltender.

As a Parent, I can only re-iterate what I've said about Bryan. Dedication, knowledge and a "results oriented" Trainer. I will have absolutely no problem recommending Bryan as a Personal Trainer to anyone who wishes to use him.

" A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done"

Bryan Smith is our Personal Trainer for life!!"

Michael listens to everything I say. He is one of the only people I train that if I told him to drink motor oil to get faster, he would ask, "What grade?"

I love my job and all of my clients - if you want some serious results, come to All Canadian Fitness.

Underactive Glutes

Ok, so I want to talk about something today that affects a lot of people in a lot of different ways.

It's your asses. Collectively, they suck.

As I said in my older post, we sit. . . we sit a lot. If you look at the evolution of human beings, up until recently we were very active creatures. Think about the stories your grandparents told you. Think about how physically active they were. The dramatic change that has taken place to humanity in the last 100 years is unbelievable. We no longer need to tend to horses, or rely on riding them to get to our destination. We have no need to grow our own food, because with a simple phone call, we can have almost anything we want delivered to our houses. There is no need to go outdoors and play, since we can talk to people from across the world with a simple headset and some online gaming.

Here at All Canadian Fitness, I have had clients walk through my door that only move from the sitting position to go from their house, to their car, to their desk, back to their car, and back to the couch. This, my friends, is a big deal. We are shutting off our butts. We are keeping our glutes in this "stretched and relaxed" position for dozens of hours a week. I try to educate clients all the time on the benefits of just simply getting up out of their chairs and walking around from 5 minutes out of the hour. Now, that's not enough to fix everything that has gone wrong from years (sometimes decades) of prolonged sitting, but it's a good start.

Let's start by first looking at everything so far that I have seen come from this constant position of hip flexion.

Low back pain
Sciatic nerve pain
Hamstring cramps or pulls
Anterior hip clicking
Piriformis syndrome
Excessive lumbar curving

It causes pain while sitting, pain while sleeping, pain while walking, pain while running, pain with exercise - Let's just say a lot of things stop working when you sit on your butt all day.

But, today is your lucky day. . For only 3 INCREDIBLY easy payments of $66, I will let you in on all of the secrets.. ok, screw it, I hate people like that. See below for the 2, yeah just 2 exercises I want you to start doing, TODAY that will make this pain you are having slooowwwwlly start to disappear.

#1. There are 2 things wrong with sitting for long periods of time. First the muscles in the front of your hips tighten, and based on a simple concept called reciprocal inhibition, your glutes wont fire correctly. Simply put - if the muscles in the front are tight, the muscles in the back are much harder to fire. So, we need to loosen them up. This is a simple stretch that you can do anywhere, at any time. Just remember to keep your upper body tall, and only lean until you feel a nice stretch in the front of that back leg. Once you feel it, contract your glute on that back leg and brace the muscles in your core like you are going to take a punch. Hold this for 30-40 seconds on each side. Build up to 1 or even 2 minutes.




#2. Now that you have loosened up your hip flexors, take a minute and fire up those glutes. Yeah.. I pick pictures of hot chicks.. don't judge me. It's either that, or sweaty half naked men.
I want you to really try and feel this exercise in your glutes. If you feel it a bit more in your hamstrings, bring your feet out just a bit more from your body. Hold each lift at the top for 2 seconds - and do 10 repetitions. Make sure to push from your heels.



Do these 2 simple exercises when you wake up, at your workplace at lunch (close the blinds in your office, air humping is frowned upon in most professional establishments) and before you go to bed. These will start you on your path to healthy, functioning glutes.

It's all about the Injury Pre-Hab.

I want to change your life. My goal is to make you feel better than you have ever felt. Whether it’s weight that you feel you need to lose, muscle that you want to gain, chronic pains that you want to go away due to bad posture and the positions we leave our bodies in for hours a day, or just to have more energy to get through the afternoon– I want to make it happen.

I have been a personal trainer for almost 4 years. In this time I have taken techniques from some of the greatest coaches in the world with all different viewpoints and constructed programs that I believe to be some of the most effective programs out there today. I don’t pick exercises for the “wow” factor, I pick exercises that I know will get you to where you need to be. I have always said that if you can’t look at a workout and explain the benefit of every exercise in the program – then it is poorly developed.

I personally believe that body mechanics are the most important factor when developing the programs that I do. Due to the postures we hold our bodies in, whether it be at work while we sit, in our cars while we drive, or on our couch while we watch t.v, we have become accustomed to doing nothing – and our bodies are accepting this and tightening our muscles where they shouldn’t be tight and essentially shutting off muscles that are very important to ensure proper posture and a pain free life.

I see too many people accepting the fact that they have pain. They attribute it to just “having bad knees all of their lives”, or “I sit all day, so that’s why my back hurts. While these statements may be true, unless there has been some sort of impact related injury, or a tear in the muscle, almost all of these chronic pains can be relieved with the correct exercises. I have made it happen with my clients and they are amazed when the pain that they have accepted for years, just starts to go away.

People hurt when they go to the gym on their own because they are forcing their bodies into positions that they haven’t been in for years. Something as simple as raising your arms over your head becomes a compensatory movement with so many flaws that it causes quite a bit of pain.

In as early as 1 session, I have had new clients comment on how much more loose they feel and how certain aches began to dissipate. Here are a few testimonials –

Ian Culley -

“Over two years ago I moved to a farm. I thought I had an active lifestyle before but it paled in comparison to the amount of daily physical activity at my new home. For years I had run, biked and played hockey to keep in shape. A little bit of cross training but not much. I had also experienced the odd back spasm starting in my mid thirties and I just chalked it up to getting older. Flash forward to the hobby farm, I'm in my mid forties and I'm moving rocks, clearing fencing, cutting up dead trees, renovations and riding horses and one day I had the mother of all spasms. Most people, especially men know exactly what I mean. You can't get up you're lower back is on fire. After weeks of slow recovery, that meant getting just enough mobility back to get by, nothing really had improved. I had done a ton of research on the internet, of course, and was optimistic that maybe more than my back was the issue. I found a physiotherapist who helped me with a specific muscle injury and that lead me to Bryan. I started with Bryan and he did an evaluation and, wouldn't you know it, I was out of balance. Apparently doing the same repetitive exercise isn't as healthy as I thought. I can still remember the first set of exercises he gave me to do every day at home. I could barely do a set of each. They hurt, they made me work hard, but over time I started to get stronger.

It's now over a year later and I had a very busy work month with very little time to work out. If I sat for too long my back would begin to hurt. Immediately I started up the exercises again and within a week no more pain. I don't take back pain medication, I can run, I can lift, my flexibility has improved and most importantly I know that my health and wellness is up to me.”

Doctor Scott Beattie - from his video

“When I came here I thought I needed a hip replacement, and now I have no pain at all in my left hip. I thought I was going to have to quit playing golf because I couldn’t play a round without getting in extreme pain and having to walk off of the course after 9 holes. When I golfed 2 weeks ago, I played 18 holes – no pain.”

More testimonials to come as I receive them.