Gymnazo Podcast

In this episode, Gymnazo Founder, CEO and Movement Practitioner, Michael Hughes, sits down with Fire Up Your Brain’s Trent McEntire to discuss his story.

For more than two decades, Trent McEntire has been helping people gain back their mobility – a story he knows well. Born with a mild form of Cerebral Palsy, Trent experienced pain and stiffness every day from the time he was a child. The methods Trent discovered to repair his own body also became the foundation for what would be his life’s work. 

Over the past 20 years, Trent’s transformational methods and tools have changed thousands of lives for movement professionals and clients -- children who struggle with focus; seniors who have lost their balance and mobility, individuals experiencing neurological conditions; and athletes who have suffered concussions and injuries. Trent’s transformational methods and tools are now used across the globe. 

Today, Trent’s mission is to deliver his methods and tools out to everyone who needs help with moving past physical and brain-related limitations. The Fire Up Your Brain program was created by Trent as a fun, engaging, and affordable way to support this mission. In addition to his professional teaching, Trent spends his time problem solving and educating the world through his AskTrent Live programming, building a network of BrainSpeed Coaches, and facilitating speaking engagements to further educate the public on enhancing brain performance.

Here's a preview of the episode:

2:03 Trent’s backstory

8:51 What Michael and Trent were taught and what Trent had to do differently

11:11 Trent’s “struggle with reading” and how he dealt with that

13:11 Trent’s breakthrough with vision exercises and the beginning of the Brain Speed Ball

14:31 The concept of the BrainSpeed Ball

16:46 The subconscious reaction

23:21 We are not just trainers of the physical

24:21 How we use “drivers” in exercises and what the limitations may be with eye drivers

29:51 Trent’s experience working with golfers

33:26 How the eyes work with the brain and how “bad information” from the eyes can cause cognitive decline and movement decline

38:51 How Trent applies his knowledge as a movement practitioner

44:21 Why the eyes are a tell if you have a head injury and how the 4 core eye movements are incorporated into the BrainSpeed Ball game

49:41 How Trent’s life has changed from the BrainSpeed Ball

In this episode, Gymnazo Founder, CEO and Movement Practitioner, Michael Hughes, sits down with Coach and Movement Practitioner, CJ Kobliska, and Movement Coach, Mitch Schroth, to discuss how to address clients’ knee pain.

In this episode, they cover what they do/say when a client says they “have bad knees,” how to shift the conversation to let the client know it’s not the knee, the importance of subjective feedback and the 1-3 scale, the typical motions/experiences that have clients saying “this hurts me,” other common knee discomforts to be aware of, and more!

Episode Preview:

1:51 What they do/say when a client says they “have bad knees”

6:36 The common knee problem for truck driver

7:36 How to shift the conversation to let the client know it’s not the knee

16:51 How to really identify the discomfort and pain

19:51 The importance of subjective feedback, and the 1-3 scale

20:41 One thing we know about pain that seems contradictory

22:01The typical motions or experiences that have clients saying “this hurts me”

27:51 Other times knee pain pops up that you may not suspect

30:21 When watching someone’s movement and they are experiencing knee pain, what to look for and how to tweak 

38:31 A tweak for when someone is experiencing right knee pain on a left and right lateral shuffle

46:51 Other common knee discomforts to be aware of

50:31 Where we can find some success with knee pain

52:51 10 Observational Essentials

53:41 Apply for MDMC

54:31 When Micahel’s client showed up with knee pain and he had to quickly tweak his program

1:00:51 How to communicate with a client that you notice has some knee pain

1:05:11 The power is in that drip education

In this episode, Gymnazo Founder, CEO and Movement Practitioner, Michael Hughes, sits down with Coach and Movement Practitioner, CJ Kobliska, to discuss the keys to retaining clients in your fitness business. 

In this episode, the cover: the survey we made for our clients and our key takeaways, what to do when welcoming clients, why it’s easier to retain clients than get them in the first place, Questions of the Day to engage with clients, What to do to make clients feel like they belong, the bad or limiting class offerings, member socials and what we’ve learned from them, and more!

Episode Preview:

2:21 What drew CJs attention to the facility and training style

3:51 The survey we made for our clients and our key takeaways

14:56 What to do when welcoming clients

18:15 Why it’s easier to retain clients than get them in the first place

20:06 Questions of the Day to engage with clients

27:03 The different experiences between most gyms and the ones that speak to you

33:41 how to set up an environment to keep your clients coming and the 5 major reasons they don’t return

36:41 How to actually see growth in fitness journey

41:04 Imagine having access to everywhere your body can potentially be

42:31  Apply to be a MultiDimensional Movement Coach!

45:48 What to do to make clients feel like they belong 

52:31 Why Michael doesn’t want his name on the gym

53:31 The bad or limiting class offerings

59:01 Member socials and what we’ve learned from them

1:03:41 Business tip about money and charges         

In this episode, Gymnazo Founder, CEO and Movement Practitioner, Michael Hughes, sits down with Coach and Movement Practitioner, Mitch Schroth, to discuss shoulder biomechanics and how to address shoulder pains.

In this episode they cover Mitch’s Shoulder Assessment checklist, what Michael thinks when he hears the word “Assessment”, the shoulder’s many influences, the most challenging shoulder problems, what we see people doing at a traditional gym that isn’t good for their shoulders, and more!

In this episode they cover:

4:27 Mitch’s Shoulder Assessment checklist and how we don’t have x-ray vision

5:51 What Michael thinks when he hears the word “Assessment”

6:39 What to look for when you have someone flex

11:01 The Pel-trunk-ula

11:18 Case study of client with shoulder pain

20:41 Mitch is a big fan of breathwork and stretching

21:51 Michael’s recap of Mitch’s assessment process with client

23:51 Shoulder and diaphragm connection, and micromovements

26:27 the shoulder has so many influences

27:25 Michael discusses his client’s ski accident recovery and muscle memory

29:51 The most challenging shoulder problems for Michael and Mitch

34:21 What we see people doing at a traditional gym that isn’t good for their shoulders

38:01 Myths about shoulder workouts

45:36 Interesting shoulder exercises that most people wouldn’t realize are shoulder exercises

48:51 Michael’s story about teaching his 2 year old the Gymnazo warm-up

51:06 Teacup shoulder drill

53:56 Apply to be a MultiDimensional Movement Coach!

In this episode Gymnazo Co-Owners Paden and Michael Hughes are talking about Gymnazo's ecosystem of services and how with this model, everyone wins.

Paden and Michael are sharing their learning lessons from the past 10+ years around creating fitness services. They're taking you on their journey from where Michael started with his service offerings to how they created a thriving ecosystem of services that has helped increase Gymnazo's retention rate to 97%. For a preview of this episode, check out the show notes below:

Episode Preview:

1:00 - The services Michael offered when he started his fitness business journey, and how he felt about it

3:35 - The pain points of only offering one service

8:25 - The next service Michael brought in to Gymnazo and what made it really work 

15:10 - The hard part about transitioning your personal training services

17:40 - How we split our new training service into two programs

21:40 - A breakdown of our class times and demographics

23:58 - What we felt was still missing from our service options

29:10 - The institutional bias we have as personal trainers

29:57 - What Michael did to get training and facility inspiration

33:00 - The discovery of the semi-private service

37:01 - What we learned through trial and error about semi-privates

39:57 - How to keep trainers from getting bored and burning out

42:21 - What we're doing well that the medical industry isn't

45:10 - Feelings about application fees

51:00 - Monetary values of having an ecosystem

53:35 - MDMC Mentorship Program application

54:48 - Paden spills the beans on what's coming up for Gymnazo

In this episode, Gymnazo Co-Owners, Michael and Paden Hughes, sit down to discuss their experience running a successful fitness business while starting and maintaining their relationship, and how Paden went from feeling like “Compromise” was a 4 letter word to now Michael taking over the CEO role. 

In this episode they cover how their relationship started, the important thing Michael paid for early on, the importance of understanding personality traits to be able to effectively communicate, what didn’t go so well for them, and tips for  navigating this situation and still being happily married.

Links for items mentioned in this episode:

- Enneagram: https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/rheti

- Human Design: https://www.jovianarchive.com/get_your_chart

- Imago Therapy: https://harvilleandhelen.com/initiatives/what-is-imago/

Here's a quick preview of this episode:

2:36 Where Michael was in his business when he first thought Paden should start working with him

11:11 The important thing Michael paid for early on

12:51 Shouldn’t a coach have a coach?

17:20 Michael’s strengths and a discussion about personality traits 

22:18 Paden’s strengths

24:31 Michael and Paden’s tug-of-war about the spotlight and how Michael feels about it

29:26 The Trial Period of Paden working for Gymnazo

32:26 Imposter syndrome

33:09 CEO status and Ego compromise

37:09 Big tips for working with your significant other

40:47 What didn’t go so well for Paden and Michael

1:03:51 Tools and tips Paden and Michael used to navigate this situation and still be happily married

1:15:06 What Paden and Michael would do differently

In this episode, Gymnazo Coach and Director of Programming, CJ Kobliska, sits down with Gymnazo Founder and Movement Practitioner, Michael Hughes, to discuss knee biomechanics and what the knee is really telling you. 

In this episode, they discuss why the knee is such a good friend, why toes in and toes out options are so important for different movements, what to consider when someone comes in with knee pain, CJ’s history of chronic knee pain and more!

Here’s a quick Here's a quick overview of this episode:

2:59 Michael breaks down the biomechanics of the knee

4:51 What the knee tells you

8:30 CJ’s visual of how the knee works with the hip and ankle

14:41 How the knee is the good friend and how we can make the other friends (muscles and joints) better

23:21 Why toes in and toes out options are so important for different movements

27:09 What to consider when someone comes in with knee pain

32:34 The knee issue with everyday athletes

37:01 A lot of games of tug-of-war on people’s bodies

42:16 Patella fun fact

45:31 A simple activity to help gauge how the ankle can stabilize

52:21 Multi-Dimensional Movement Coach mentorship program overview

55:11 CJ shares his story about his previous chronic knee pain

59:11 The inspiration for our G1 Level training

In this episode, Gymnazo Female Core Specialist and Movement Specialist, Kaleena Ruskin, sits down with Gymnazo Founder and Movement Practitioner, Michael Hughes, to discuss what was missed in the traditional teaching of the three planes of motion and the human body - 3D movement.

In this episode they cover what 3D programming is, an example of it using a 3D lunge matrix, what you get with 3D training and  3D maps, the common denominator of most activities and how to train for it, why Gymnazo’s retention rate is so high, and more!

Here's a quick overview of this episode:

1:36 What is 3D Programming?

3:16 What is traditionally taught about the 3 planes of motion

5:26 Michael’s after college experience

8:06 When Michael realized he was into 3D Movement

11:11 The 3D Lunge Matrix

15:47 What you get with 3D training and 3D Maps

16:36 Our Grey Institute education

21:27 Kaleena’s training experience and injuries in college

23:26 3D Maps overview

31:06 The common denominator of most activities and how to train for it

40:51 Gymnazo’s retention rate and why our clients enjoy 3D movement

45:11 Our experience 3D Programming

50:06 Fitness is subjective

53:01 What you are missing out on if you aren’t programming or training in 3D

57:01 How we adapt for youth athletics

59:00 MDMC Mentorship Overview

In this episode, Gymnazo Coach and Director of Programming, CJ Kobliska, sits down with Gymnazo Founder and Movement Practitioner, Michael Hughes, to discuss the significance of sustainable training and how most fitness programs are not sustainable.

In this episode they cover how the fitness lifecycle is like recycling, the sport we are inspired by that is not very sustainable, the important questions we ask all new clients, how CJ programs sustainable training in a group training setting, the 5 levels of fitness training, and more!

Here's a quick preview of this episode:

2:31 Definition of Sustainable Training

4:21 Michael describes how the fitness lifecycle is like recycling

6:41 CJ's background on how he started out training

11:01 Michael’s pain from high school track practice and how he is feeling today

12:59 Michael’s analogy of professional sports and car tires

17:03 How movement is life

20:06 The sport we are inspired by that is not very sustainable

26:04 Why there’s no such thing as “injury free”

30:51 How Michael approaches a movement illiterate client to guide their movement experience

33:51 The important question Michael asks all new clients and how injuries have memories

36:18 What sustainable training looks like for different age ranges

38:11 CJ's seatbelt analogy

39:39 3 questions we always ask our clients

40:51 Fear of pain as a mental roadblock 

42:21 How CJ programs sustainable training in a group training setting

48:51 The 5 levels of fitness training

50:17 All the ways you can do an anterior lunge

52:30 MDMC Program overview

56:56 CJ’s thoughts on sustainability and the world

In this episode, Gymnazo Coach and Director of Programming, CJ Kobliska, sits down with Gymnazo Founder and Movement Practitioner, Michael Hughes, and Lead Movement Coach, Jonathan Parreira, to discuss how using transverse plane movements in exercises is crucial and can greatly improve client’s strength and range of motion.

In this episode they cover what the transverse plane actually is, what isn’t taught in the standard textbook, how to use the transverse plane when assessing a client’s movement, what’s missing in most hip and glute workouts, how to gain more flexibility, and more!

Here's a quick preview of this episode:

1:35 What is transverse plane?

2:43 What the textbooks teach you

3:43 What has stuck with Michael since learning about the Transverse Plane

6:06 Goose’s key take away when learning about the Transverse Plane

7:21 Breakdown of what’s going on in each joint to create forward motion

9:21 What’s missing when assessing someone’s rotation

10:51 Michael’s approach to transverse plane assessment

15:21 How Michael approaches the “tells” of the body

19:41 Using other motions to rotate more stably

20:46 In-sync rotation and Out-of-sync rotation

22:31 “It’s not your fault” in regards to pain vs. problem

26:51 Local vs Global rotation

29:51 How do people naturally load?

31:41 Other movements that will benefit from internal rotation hip training

36:51 What’s missing in most hip/glute workouts

38:41 3D Maps and the Gray Institute

40:41 bring the balance to your training

42:11 Intent when lifting

43:51 Gain more flexibility by stretching in 3 planes of motion 

48:11 Why counting your pennies is important

49:41 how to change up exercises to provide more variety

51:36 Our disclaimer on exploring motions

52:51 Being a better sitter

53:51 The cool thing about fascia