A Review of the MDMC Mentorship Program with Kyler Bradley
Michael Hughes
Welcome to the Gymnazo podcast where you get to peek behind the curtains of what it takes to create and run a seven figure fitness facility that ranks in the top 5% of boutique fitness studios for revenue. But to be honest, that’s the least important thing about us. Founded by me, Michael Hughes, Gymnazo has created an ecosystem of services that blend performance with restoration techniques and attracts top coaches to its facility hosted by its owners, Paden, and myself and our top coaches. This podcast shares our best practices on everything, from how to build a sustainable fitness business, to how to program for maximum results to how to build a hybrid training module that’s online and in person. We have marketing secrets, movement, innovation, and breaking down trends in the industry. If you’re a fitness professional, or fitness business owner, this is where you learn how to sharpen your skills and to see maximum results. out what’s up everybody, welcome back to the Gymnazo podcast, I’m with a special guest, a fellow MDMCer, Kyler Bradley, who, to me is someone who I’ve looked up to because he is someone who went through a process that we believe is pretty awesome, and has been kind of a fruit of our labor. For a long, long time. We always think about the training industry is in need of a refresh, not because it’s bad, it’s just because there’s so much more potential, there’s so much more to do. So we’re gonna be diving into the MDMC course. But that’s the least important topic. It’s really kind of experience, what he’s learned the whole process that as we believe should transform our clients lives. So if it transforms their lives by the knowledge that we have, then hopefully it’s done a little bit towards themselves. So welcome in Kyler, thanks for being here. And excited to just chat with you.
Kyler
Yeah, thanks for having me, Michael. It’s a pleasure.
Michael Hughes
I don’t think it’s very much sure. So let’s kind of chat with this word, this whole journey start? How’d you learn about Gymnazo? How’d you learn about MDMC? kind of tells you actually tell us your your story first, who are you? You’re a trainer of movement. But what’s your story?
Kyler
Right now? Yeah, so I went to Michigan State University actually was studying something different for the first two years I was in fisheries and wildlife. So freshman and sophomore year, just, you know, kind of a whole different path in mind. The further I got into it, you know, kind of sophomore summer was a bit of a deciding point for me, you know, I had to either stick it out for two more years and get that degree or kind of change pads. And I’d really gotten into fitness been into it since I was 16, you know, working a lot, working out a lot on my own, into a multitude of different sports. And I was just trying to stay healthy and injury free was kind of why I enjoyed working out. And I saw the benefit. So I decided to switch gears, sophomore year, summer of college, and I switched my major to kinesiology or exercise science as it’s known at some of the other universities. And although it sent me back, you know, I think I had to put in maybe an extra semester, at the end, it was definitely the right decision. So started learning a lot about anatomy, physiology, the, you know, the typical things you would learn at the university really trying to set some fundamentals in there. And then yeah, I graduated with my degree there. And then I started working actually at a gym. And so in Lansing, which is close to the university, I started working there as a trainer, getting my feet wet a little bit, just a couple clients here and there, I think I was working at a restaurant as well, you know, trying to make ends meet, I think any trainer can relate to that. You build up that clientele at the beginning. So from there, you know, I always had a passion for the outdoors. So I had been coming up to the Traverse City area, and that’s where I’m living currently. And I just found a gym that was a lot more oriented toward training. And so I just kind of started building my clientele there. And, you know, if you do a good job on the floor and your clients start talking about you, you can start to build up a decent clientele and and really get in to the mix. So it’s kind of just the backstory there.
Michael Hughes
But now you own your own facility with a few partners. How’d you get into that?
Kyler
Yeah, so I was training at that gym for about four years, you know how to solve clientele pretty much calling it a full time job at that point, you know, working as a private contractor still, so we didn’t have any employees, but you know, doing our thing there 40 plus hours a week loving it. And, and then one of the owners actually decided to, he wanted to step down and kind of change paths himself. So had the opportunity to become part owner of the facility and jumped on that, you know, figured I could make a bigger impact and start to steer the ship in the direction maybe more than I want it to take it versus how it’s all things at the time.
Michael Hughes
So, so the facility that you started in, is the facility that you’re still in.
Kyler
That is correct,
Michael Hughes
right. Okay. Yeah.
Kyler
Yeah.
Michael Hughes
Okay. Good. So then, what led you to hear it here? And now? What was what was the catalyst as we would call it kind of for multi dimensional movement? Because obviously, you had your own your own thoughts. You had your own kind of, I guess we have our own kind of flavor about fitness. Right, we kind of see it from multiple different lenses, and, you know, some fun things we like some things we don’t don’t like, it’s pretty interesting part about this industry is that it’s certainly multifaceted.
Kyler
Yeah, definitely. Yeah. So you know, I just, I always had more of a functional style, you know, I was never into lifting super heavy, or doing some of those other modalities. You know, I always just wanted to keep my body, mobile, I would race and ride a lot of mountain bikes, and just do a lot of those outdoor kind of extreme sports. So always beating up on myself and feeling like, I just carried tightness in certain areas, probably from overuse. So super interested in functional training, super interested in mobility. And then I actually had a guy that started working at the gym as a trainer. And he had, he’d been telling me a little bit of on gray Institute. And it was right about that time that I was scrolling Instagram one day, and came across one of your trainer, trainers, CJ, came across his profile and saw, you know, kind of what Gymnazo was doing. And at the time, it just looked weird. Yeah, that’s a good way to put it. It looked functional, but I just didn’t know why. Yeah. So I wanted to find out more. What Yeah, it was crazy equipment, you know, stuff I had never seen doing moves I had never seen, you know, I would mix a little rotation in my programs here. And there, the classic pal off press, you know, or often like that planks, where you’re just holding it a lot of anti rotation, stability work for the spine. But the way I saw athletes at Gymnazo, moving was just mind blowing in a way I want. You know, like I said, I wanted to learn more, but it was a little like, that’s kind of odd. Style flavor.
Michael Hughes
Yeah. Yeah, that’s very, very cool. Because it’s so funny as you do something longer and longer, obviously becomes normalized. And for the past decade, plus, you could say we’ve drinking our own Kool Aid, not a dogmatic Kool Aid, you know, really kind of bringing in new things, and we start to blend so many things together. From the principle standpoint, you start to look at things like a lot with like bigger eyes, you really start to kind of understand that. Wow, there’s so much more out there. So when did you when did you learn about the MDMC, and then if well, MDMC program, and what was that kind of like? I gotta do this.
Kyler
Yeah, yeah. So if you remember back, man, it was going on two years now, I think in maybe in February, so maybe a year and a half, but actually came out to California. And so I came out to San Diego, and kind of in the back of my mind is like, Alright, I’m gonna make the trek up there and check this place. Check this Gymnazo out, and I want to see it for myself. Because I was just interested. And so, so me and my girlfriend actually ended up making the trek, which is a lot of time.
Michael Hughes
A lot bigger than people think it is. Yeah, a lot longer
Kyler
than we thought, but well worth it. Yeah, I got there. And we actually dove in ourselves into a G one class. And it was a great experience. And I really, and I didn’t feel like I overdid it that day. I didn’t feel like I I was shaking when I walked out like I couldn’t, you know, enjoy the rest of my day. But the next day, I definitely was, you know, feeling some new muscles that were working, but it just felt good. My body just felt connected to itself. And then we just kept in touch. And I think I reached out to CJ about, you know, maybe some next steps. And that’s when he kind of turned me off. And I think we started chatting a little more about the MDMC program, and maybe its potential and benefited had for me.
Michael Hughes
What was your experience going going through it? And generally speaking, right, just kind of general. Online Course,
Kyler
like, wow. Yeah. Yeah. I would say the biggest thing that stands out is just the learning style of positivity. From start to finish, I just felt like I was in good hands. It didn’t matter if it was some homework I was turning in, or it was the final exam. It never felt like you guys were there to I don’t want to use the word bash. But you know, sometimes criticism comes across a little more negative, where I felt that all the criticism that I received was in such a positive manner. It just gave me that. That extra little push to be like, okay, like, yeah, these guys are rooting for me. They’re on my side. So it was just, yeah,
Michael Hughes
I really appreciate that. Yeah. Yeah, we’re definitely all on the same, the same team. You know, fitness is a funny, funny game. Because it’s a I would call it a lot, a lot of type A people, typically, and it’s like my way or competition or the cases. But it took me a while to really realize this, that there are way too many customers and way too few trainers. And even I mean, San Luis Obispo town of 44,000. Traverse City is relatively the same size, is that? Yes. Do you guys have a college in attempt?
Kyler
Small community college but yeah.
Michael Hughes
So ours is a college town per se. But 44,000 is not counted for college students. We did it which is about about a 20,000 person University. We pulled out all the fitness business license in the city limits of San Luis Obispo, and then pulled all the business license of fitness locations in San Jose. San Jose is actually bigger in population than San Francisco. It’s about a million plus. And we divided it by the population and found that the per capita there’s more fitness locations, there’s more competition in San Luis Obispo than it is in San Jose. Wow, I know. It’s like I was like, Wow. All right. So a we’re a a movement town. But it’s interesting, because the rise of the boutique training era, right? We want to call that right we were we were had the big box gyms. And now we’re in the boutique area. There’s more of us, there’s a lot more, because we’re spreading out. So we’re on the same team. And that’s to me, that’s like a big, big deal that if we should be rooting for each other. And I didn’t always think that way. No, I didn’t always think that it was really that I get to do a better job. I hope they fail so I can win. And I’m happy to say that was a long time ago, I thought that. But if we’re going to try to educate and guide, it had to be the same thing. That had to be the same thing. 7 billion people, I think that’s where we’re at on this planet. And now with virtual training in the fitness industry being pretty much mainstay. So therefore, we all have access to every single wall, every single person who has internet, I’ll say that. Yeah. And with Starlink doing what they’re doing, if you don’t follow Starlink that then we’re getting closer and closer and closer. So right on, were there some like some like aha moments, things that kind of stood out? You go you can go as deep as as you want. It’s nothing off the table here. If you want to share something that’s in the course. That’s not the course. Great.
Kyler
Yeah. The whole interval, I mentioned great Institute prior and people can feel free to do some research on on that as well. I know you’ve talked about it in some other podcasts. So I kind of had a brief knowledge base of like, Alright, 3d movement, like Yeah, it is a little more important than I think it is. Maybe I should incorporate a little more of that. But then diving into the MDMC program, where that really is the foundation and the emphasis of a lot of, you know, part of what we’re doing, it really started to show me and teach me that, you know, wow, like I, this is super important because how you guys relate it to people’s everyday lives, at least for me, in my training practice with my athletes and clients is what? What hits home with them, if you can have someone on the battle ropes, you know, dropping a knee down behind them going into going into a lunge, you know, and that it resembles and feels like skiing, or an activity similar. And you tell them, you know, I want you to visualize over the next 40 seconds that you’re repinned turns down your favorite ski resort that you’re heading to in six months. It just brings us a greater sense of why to training. And I think more than anything that why and that reasoning is what we’ve been missing in the fitness industry. And to be honest, almost why for before I kind of discovered this, I was almost having second thoughts of like what I was doing. And if I wanted to continue down the career path on I was
Michael Hughes
Yeah, that’s a that’s a that’s a huge aha moment, to be quite frank with you. About the what right, here’s what to do. Here’s even how to do it. A lot of form a lot of form correction. But the why part, right, there’s, we talked about why in a few different ways, right? There’s the physical why, like, why am I actually doing this, you know, for an application of sport. There’s the mental why. And that mental why is I don’t call it the most important, but it’s one that really starts to kind of resonate mentally, what’s your kind of reason for doing this for the long haul for the program sake, but also for the short short haul, you know, I want to perform a task a particular task better. And then the sensation that that brings you, right to be good on crosscountry schemes, I imagine or snowshoeing or the case is, is it it gives you the sense that’s way beyond the physical and then we go to the then we go the deeper why that kind of that soulful way. Yeah. Attaching to something bigger than yourself being being part of a. I don’t want to I guess I’ll use the word revolution in terms of movement patterns and capacities. And that connects us to this console concept that like, why are fads such a big deal in fitness? Because it’s a connection to a greater purpose. Use zoom by the CrossFit you look at peloton, you look at all these different things. And obviously in the name in the recent things, a cycle step aerobics does not go back. Right. The clothes you wear, I mean, it becomes an identity. Like other things do too. Soon, it indicates I appreciate that. Yeah, the why and how that kind of makes it makes it all all happen. Did it make sense to you? Or was it something that you kind of had to kind of thing like, yeah, I have to, I have to see how this fits? Or was it now this? This is right, right in line?
Kyler
Yeah. You’re just saying as far as the program and kind of how you guys right? Yeah. Okay. Yeah, um, you know, it did pretty much right off the bat, it was, what I saw was, it just gave me more value, it didn’t matter if it was, you know, part one about having the growth mindset. You know, it just made me think a little deeper on some things that maybe I wasn’t doing that I saw being a good idea to add in. So, you know, as you know, the, the builder, one of the builders of the whole program, there’s a lot to it. So, did it all make sense right away, you know, maybe not, but there were certainly parts that that did right off the bat. As we, you know, get deeper into like the exercise science part of it and the biomechanics, some of that definitely, you know, more than physical stuff. Some of that took some more time to really understand. There’s even some things that maybe I was doing the complete opposite way of maybe what the body is meant to do. So it just it just got thinking, I guess more than anything, but definitely, definitely gave me some some good food for thought and I spent a lot of time kind of in my own head just going through things and figuring it out.
Michael Hughes
So you and I both have a Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology exercise science. Both you and I both have courses, other courses have certifications. I took ISS a as my general cert certification course, would you take?
Kyler
I took ace, ace, American Council on Exercise.
Michael Hughes
How would you describe this course with different with that or with even? Not traditional, but with your college education? Or would you say is the same?
Kyler
Yeah. Or where to where to begin? Yeah, no, no as. So I took ace kind of right out of college, I think I even took it during college, because I was trying to get a little, a little bit into the field while I was still in school, which was good, you know, taught a lot of practical knowledge, but it was only out of the books. So pretty much you’re reading that. And that was about it. You know, you read through it, and hope that it sticks, I guess. The MDMC? Course, you know, the biggest thing was it made me apply it. I was pretty much forced to apply it just because of the homework you guys gave it in a good way, right? In the best way? Yeah. Because that’s a huge step. And learning is actually not application. And so that I mean, even I look back at courses I took at the University, and I’m like, I wish they would have had us do more of that. Because again, it comes back to kind of that why are we doing this? And and even the how? How do we do it all in order to know those things, you actually need to do it and experience it for yourself. So it really just yeah, it provided more than one more level more than a whole nother level it was it went above and beyond my expectations. And I think that’s, that’s why I have gotten the results that I have. And it’s just because that extra little piece and those extra little homework assignments. The questions you can add, ask to you know, yourself or the rest of the team and get that feedback, you know, from what person right away is huge. Because I think a lot of this stuff is a little different for the trainers out there right now, they might find it just a lot different than what they’re currently doing. And so there’s gonna be a lot of questions. And in order to sift through that, in your own mind, it’s important that those get answered by people that have come up with the stuff themselves and worked with it a lot longer than the people in the course. So huge.
Michael Hughes
In this field, like as Kinesiologist by definition, like the the answer is in the phrase like we are kinesthetic people, we’re moving people I mean, just view from your first major is like I want to be outside I want to I want to move or be outside means you have to be an athlete. And I’m not saying a high level athlete or like a like a, like a professional football player, but you have to be able to move up and down left right, you know, especially in more northern Michigan, it’s it’s it’s Woody, at least to my knowledge that was a bit of an estimate of guests there. flat plains of Adrian. Good. So like, if we don’t move then we don’t really learn that much. I’ve said this a few times I do not learn well sitting at a table looking at a whiteboard. I struggled hard to get through that and getting up out of the chair getting rid of the desk if I have the opportunity to lead a classroom setting I’m really gonna say desk go to the side, you can write on him, but you can’t sit at him. We got an application stance so that’s awesome.
Kyler
And there was a lot of that in the course you’re right like it was always like all those videos you know you just reminded me of how much I got up and down out of my chair if I even probably midway through the course I just decided not to sit down when I watch those some of those videos because I knew it was coming you know five minutes in little introduction little this scription and then it’s like, Alright, stand up, I remember back to one of the first videos in the course. And it like warns you not to do this, this course in the modules at a coffee shop, you know, and you say you. But the point is, you’re just gonna be moving a lot, because in order to learn this stuff, one of the best ways is to feel it. And I think I say that about every day in the gym, to my athletes, it’s like, it’s not a number we’re trying to hit per se, a rep count. Like you just want them to feel it. Same with, you just kind of feel it for yourself. And then that is how you learn. That’s how I learned. I shouldn’t speak for everyone but
Michael Hughes
Right, right. Visual, Audible, tactile, tactile, and then written. I may be missing up on that a little bit. But for the for the most part. Yeah, kinesthetic industry. There’s so much that can be come through the waves were proprioception, right? Your movement nerves. If they’re not fired up, then I think we’re missing out on the ability for the brain to really capture stuff. So Tony Robbins, I took a few of his courses. Never really dove into Tony Robbins until the last few years, actually. And he said something that if you’re just gonna write down, excuse me, he said, if you’re just gonna listen to this, you’re probably going to remember about 10%. And if you want to retain the value of this course, which was several $100 and get 10%, back, then just then just listen, you’re like, Well, who wants to do that? And then says, If you want to take some notes, and not type notes, but actually handwritten notes, then you’ll probably get I think it jumped up like 30%. And then it says, If you want to actually get up, I went, I needed to move, like, do not sit down actually wants to move through the content. I was like, What do you mean with the content you like a motivational speaker type. But he says if you move the way that you feel, it says, research has shown you start to get up above the 50, even up into the 90 percentile of retention. And that hit me like a ton of bricks. I’m like, because like, that’s how I learned, like, that’s how I do it. And I’m not saying that I need to help people learn what I have learned. But as a kinesthetic practitioner. I think it’s a fair bet. I think it’s a fair for that. So you mentioned results. The results that we get are I don’t want to call them second fiddle. Because it’s really the results that our clients get any, any stories on that anything’s you can kind of pick out.
Kyler
Yeah, I mean, I remember I was probably halfway, maybe two thirds through the course. And I had a client come in that was riding horses over the weekend, or maybe even maybe even the week prior. And so she had fallen off the back of the horse, and just kind of landed on her side of her hip. So she was a little sore. Mainly just felt though at this point kind of locked up. And it had I think it was like a week prior or maybe a little little further in the past for me, but I had just learned kind of this whole stent, I think you’d call it the 10 Steak phenomenon is out. Is that right?
Michael Hughes
Yeah, that’s pretty much it.
Kyler
Yeah, take that pool. Steak. Yeah. So immediately, that’s where my brain kind of went because the hips are one of our one of the biggest joints or is it the biggest joint of the body?
Michael Hughes
It’s certainly a very powerful piece. Is it the biggest joint? I would I would guess, probably Yeah, I’d say kind of pound pound for pound.
Kyler
The biggest, especially like, ink ball sack. I mean, it’s massive. So anyway, that was kind of my approach. And you You want me to explain maybe a little bit about the tent stick thing I’m sure the listeners have kind of heard before I dive in, please. Yeah. So as you taught me, that tent stick phenomenon knows where you got that tent stick in the ground. Can’t pull it out, no matter how hard you pull straight up on it. It’s just, it’s just not coming out. And so, you know, as we talk more about three planes of motion, you challenge me on one of our zoom calls to just figure out a way to get it out. You know, just your bare hands is all you have access to. So I don’t think I did a very good job of answering the question, but we eventually got to the bottom of it and it and maybe even was given the answers. But anyway, little start to shift that 10 Stick side to side, you know, move a couple of grains of sand around in a different direction, because obviously pull the straight up isn’t working anymore, kind of exhausted that, and then maybe even a little rotation. So kind of spin in that 10 Stick around. And again, loosening some things up, you know, back and forth side to side a little more, and all of a sudden, the 10 stake pops right out of the ground, just created more space for it more availability. And circling back now to to that client that is actually over zoom, which made it even kind of crazier, because I had never I had never even you know, taught a client the gym this technique, but I just figured I would go for it because it again, it had that why it made sense to me. So she had I’ll call it just kind of a locked up hip. And so I just got her into, you know, into a preposition, one leg in front one like, kind of in think long lunge back behind her. So her hips, and a bit of extension had to grab onto a doorframe just to stabilize her body. So we could increase and really focus on mobility instead of her trying to balance. And then since she felt kind of restricted through that hip extension, I just started having to move side to side. So I decided side, and she felt a little pain when she she would go a certain direction. So I just kind of had her stop just for, you know, she felt that little twinge. And so we just kind of worked through that range of motion and I had her stay in that same position, but actually rotate her hips, rotate, rotate, you know, side to side, we kind of bounced back and forth. And by the end, she was almost in tears, of, of relief of pain. I mean it. And I was as shocked as anyone because I was like wow, did like the fact she worked. You know, it was my first time really tested it out. I tried it
Michael Hughes
until they get just like, wow.
Kyler
Yeah, I mean, what else can you think the first time you they’re trying to so anyway, like changed her life, she was in so much pain, she wanted to cancel, you know the session before just because she didn’t think she could do much. And she was you know, it didn’t fix it. But it definitely made it better, who made the rest of her day better. And it also allowed us to kind of see where she was through different movements. You know, we kept reassessing different positions, and we just worked in the spots that it didn’t bother it too much and, and kept moving. And we went, it went well. So that was a huge one.
Michael Hughes
Yeah, you You did two different principles that I want to highlight and just give you high five for physics, you moved in the positions that were allowable, to give more range of motion to positions that weren’t hence the tent pole, or the tent stick. But then you also did something is you provided her success? First. You didn’t care about her is her lack of success, you only focus on what she could do. And we always say a bad movement got you there, then good movements can get you out of there. Or if kind of a bad mindset got you there than a bad mindset, it’s not going to fix it, fix it, you know, it’s like the mentality piece, you got to kind of read change the parameters, start thinking positively. And then building upon success, why wouldn’t someone want to do more of something that they’re good at? It you know, it kind of baffles me to even think like, Oh, of course, you know, but in fitness we do so much of you did that one wrong. But let’s really hone in on that. Let’s really focus on on your lack of movement. Let’s really focus in on your failures. Now, we’ve certainly focusing on the lack of movement, but we start with the successful aspect of that lack of movement. Just as you describe, So, kudos on that one. Kudos. That’s yeah, that’s, that’s really, really cool. What about like, how it’s changed you as a coach, you talked about your clients, but what about you describe the coach that you are, or maybe the coach that you were not that it’s gone from black and white, because I don’t believe that’s true. But the progression, you know, like knowledge, knowledge gives us something. And I wouldn’t say the same thing for myself like I wish I invented this knowledge none. We’re just we’re just, we’re just packaging it to be quite frank package it for the trainer. As a grain Stewart did a great job of packaging it me from a physical therapy standpoint. You know, so is so as a, as a trainer, yeah, to you.
Kyler
I’ll touch on skills first, you know, it feels like maybe at the beginning, I just had your average Joe size toolbox, you know, all the typical tools in there, I know good squat form, I knew good pushup form, you know, I knew how to make adjustments. To make things maybe harder or easier, wasn’t real good with, you know, when someone got into pain, I would oftentimes just switch the exercise to a different body part and kind of stay away from that and maybe think it would heal on its own. But now after the course, I feel like my toolbox has grown enormously, you know, I got a full full mechanic setup now that I take out to the floor with me every time.
Michael Hughes
So analogy rolling that big old that big.
Kyler
Law that big, big ol red boy rolling it in. So yeah, the course. I guess a lot of it started with the whole like Chain Reaction thing and learning that. biomechanics, when you change one thing, even if it’s really, really small, it will change a lot of things at once. So providing those tools to the to me, the coach really just helped give me more confidence in my training, especially. So a lot of this is just kind of like a mindset thing. But it has given me the skill as well. But just being able to see someone squat one way, and then just maybe even having to try a different way, you don’t necessarily know if it’s gonna work or not. But you just have a lot more options. The fitness industry, and where I think a lot of people take their training is in the sagittal plane, or just up and down and in front to back. And the the MDMC course really teaches you how to utilize those other two planes of motion. So are our frontal plane, the side to side work, as well as our transverse plane, getting into that rotation. And not only that, but teaching you how to use them all together, which is ultimately how the human body functions. So yeah, that’s really cool. And it’s been awesome just to tweak someone’s foot position and see how they maybe stabilize themselves a little bit better, or they’re having a little, a little knee pain that day, and you just give them again, a different foot position or lift their heel up a little bit. Again, just it seems almost limitless, some of the options of tweaks. Now, I think there’s you know, we talked about our 10 observational essentials, which is straight from the course. It just seems unlimited as far as what you can do. So no longer when someone comes in and says Alec, my back, just I got this little tweak in it doesn’t feel that great. I used to be scared shitless of that. Like, don’t be like for the rest of the session. freaked out. And now like I want to call the good thing a positive, but it’s like yeah, like, alright, let’s dive in. Because when I see it, it’s like, I’m gonna do what I can to assist this person because I know they’re all feeling some discomfort. And if I am able to help them make it even 1% better, or not feel quite as twin G as when they walked in. They’re gonna have a better day.
Michael Hughes
He said it perfectly. Yeah. Yeah, you’re gonna give them some of the some part of their life. It’s crazy. It’s crazy that when we think about movement, we call it to us it’s a total gift. Some that you didn’t earn. You had to you had to fight for it as a little kid, but the body just has this innate ability to move way more dramatically than any other mammal lease on the land and we can’t fly yet. But, but also it can be taken away. Like and if you’ve ever had movement taken away from from you an injury just even being in a confined space. You know, it sucks. It really really sucks and I’m not even talking about I’ve never even experienced massive movement degradation. We’re talking like serious injury. I’ve never torn an ACL broken a bone thrown out my lower back. You know those. I’m just speaking from those experiences and those were miserable enough. So, yeah, if we can, if we have the power to do that, to help to guide others, to me, there’s no better feeling. There’s no better feeling from a professional standpoint in my day. If I can help someone get 50% better in 20 minutes. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So to me, that’s the most addicting thing.
Kyler
Yeah. And then I can dive into the other side of the spectrum, too, we just tossed around, you know, pain quite a bit and fixing that, which is, again, a great feeling for both the coach and even better for the person experience that pain if we can dwindle that down. But on the other side of the spectrum, we have performance. And so I’m working with, you know, a client right now that actually coaches volleyball, so always looking maybe out for those little things that could bring her team to the next level. And I think this is certainly part of it. So as much as she’s getting out of her sessions, you know, she likes to transfer some of the things to her team, and just kind of, kind of try some stuff out. So, you know, fixing the pain is good. But also, this course has allowed me to just think through different maybe techniques and strategies of like, well, how can someone hit the baseball even further? How can we be a little more biomechanically powerful or efficient, you know, when we take that swing, just again, tying in three planes of motion, how that body works together, there’s, there’s so many different ways. And the MDMC course just allows you to start to see through that lens and start to see like, oh, okay, you need a lot of internal rotation to really, you know, through the hips, per se, to crank that baseball, let’s How much does this person have? Well, they actually look like they’re lacking quite a bit. So could we, you know, allow them to, instead of getting to the, to the midfield along to crank it all the way out of the park? I think we can. So just as powerful.
Michael Hughes
Yeah, because it’s cool, because it’s still the same thought process. You know, if you can, to me, in in material engineer, cylinder and engineer, whatever the case is aerospace, you know, like, the rules of physics are all the same. It just what’s your application? You know, and if you can break down movement mechanics to help your client who fell off a horse who had a limited movement, isn’t it the same thought process just in the opposite direction on the spectrum, to go to the next level? So I really appreciate you saying that, because I have a bias towards the therapeutic side of things. But I never, I never am fearful or shy away from the performance end of things was like, Yeah, you want to actually be have more movement economy. And therefore you can go further, but also go faster. It’s like, it’s like, how do you get a car that gets more gas mileage and more horsepower at the same time? And a lot of people say, that’s really hard. It’s like, human body, we can do that. We can give it more economy and more more power. Just by understanding the small subtle tweaks and how the human body Oh, I see. Oh, I see that we know everything. There’s no, there’s there’s no way but from what we know now, it’s pretty cool. It’s really, really cool. Just that it almost seemed hidden. Actually, I have a question for you. Because I feel like numbers biased, obviously. But what would you tell another trainer? Uh, what would you tell yourself in the past? From what you know, now, or what you’ve experienced now? How would you describe this, this this process? What would be your, your kind of conversation points?
Kyler
Yeah. Going back to one of the first modules in the course, you know, that growth mindset. You know, that’s kind of the, that was the start of it for me. Because it’s so cool that that’s the first part because it I know you guys did that on purpose. I’m sure. It just helped me be like, All right. Like, what what’s the column? I don’t know. But I’m gonna have an open mind and, and hear him out. At least that you know, that’s how I took it. So um, and then, you know, that 3d motion like if you look at someone move, I do it in from my clients all the time. And like, you know, I have my little Apple pencil that I use up iPad to take notes and record the workout. And I’ll be explaining something, it’s usually about the deadlift, how it’s very sagittal plane and we train it and you know, I guess how I used to train it was very just like, robotic, if you will, right hips back, just straight down straight up, like, take my pencil. And granted, it’s not, it’s not heavy or anything, but I throw it down, and I go to pick it up. And I try to explain to them how I just moved my body in three planes of motion, like, yeah, I’ve bent down. But I also kind of got that lateral side going bent into that, you know, using that plane, and I definitely twist it a little, because it wasn’t right down in front of me. And I tried to be like, and I didn’t even think about it, you know, I just went down and picked it up, bring it into that subconscious part of our mind. And that’s just how movement happens. So definitely tying in, you know, telling, telling my, my past self that three planes of motion is how the body moves in everyday life. So therefore, we need to practice like we play. It’s now it seems like a no brainer, but back then it was like, Alright, just I’m here to make someone strong. And now it just seems like I’m trying to prepare people for like, You guys always say the game of life. Having them show up every day and just be ready for the unknown. You never know what’s gonna happen. So those are two big points are people and trainers currently and definitely my past self before the MDMC course.
Michael Hughes
I appreciate that. Yeah, just bringing me back. You kind of forget, like we get in our own head, we’re our heads in the sand, you know, just nose to the grindstone, however you want to say it, but to look up and be like, how to do things. Because 2004 is when I started, like how to how to do things then. And a lot of anxiety, a lot of anxiety with a new client coming in. As I just reflect on your answer, listening to it, and kind of reflecting on mine, it’s always so much I’m used word fear. You know, it was it was nervousness, right? I still get nervous before every client. But it’s an excited nervousness. It’s like, what is the movement assessment going to show me? You know, and I’ll see the first of, you know, several drills and put that together, like, Okay, I see a lack of extension in the hip. All right, cool. All right, that lack of extension, right. And then you see them, just start piecing things together. And it’s really crazy how like, the picture starts to unfold, even though you don’t know how it’s going to unfold. And that’s, I don’t know, it’s just really starts to bring out this, this whole concept of like, two trainers, you and myself who thought very similarly, like the way you described yourself, and how you you did stuff I was riding with you. And then to just unpack like real estate, there’s a whole new world not to reference the Disney movie from Aladdin. But that’s a that’s a big topic in my family at this trigger point. I was like, Wow, there’s so much more out there. And yes, three planes of motion is a cornerstone thought process. But it’s almost so vast, it’s like, well, wait a minute we made it’s like, it’s a dash of transverse plane, a little bit of the sagittal. But really is the frontal plane that’s going to open up that ankle, or it’s gonna allow that baseball swing to get that little bit more to get that extra tension through the inside thigh. Right. It’s just, it’s really, really cool. And I appreciate your views. Sharon, Sharon, that there’s a question that that’s it’s a tough one. So I you know, it’s it’s pretty tough. But we always asked this, this question to new coaches. And it’s putting a broad thing into three words. So how would you describe the NDMC mentorship in three words or three phrases?
Kyler
Like three I can do three difference. Yeah.
Michael Hughes
Yeah, three, three words or three different phrases.
Kyler
All right. I’m gonna go with positive for the first one as I kind of, you know, chatted about life changing in more ways than one. Okay, a lot more than just by my training. And I’ll just go with within depth. I feel like you guys really hit a lot. Like for people listening. This is way more than just learning a new style of training. One of the parts I like most is how Do you guys dove on? The psychological part of it? You know, dividing people up into different? Would you call it personality types? Yeah. So things like that. I mean, like those, that that’s more important, as important as anything else in the course. Because then you get out on the floor and apply and you’re like, wow. Okay. So yeah, I guess those would be my three words. So you set up
Michael Hughes
run to the park? We definitely don’t hire coaches who can’t answer that that phrase they they can’t see through.
Kyler
It is a tough question for sure. It’s
Michael Hughes
a tough question. Spot. Yeah. Awesome. Awesome. So I guess my kind of my last question to you is, what are you going to do now? It’s education, right? We haven’t, you know, there’s still so much to so much to go through. But as a business owner, as a trainer, and as an athlete yourself, like, what do you think like, where do you want to go? Like, if you can kind of just brainstorm a little bit manifest potentially. What horizons opened up for you what new lenses opened up for you? You can ask that from a business owner, you can answer from the trainer self or just an athlete? or all
Kyler
three? Yeah, sure. Yeah, I mean, I can even try to tackle all three. I mean, as a business owner, just trying to redirect the energy towards the value that I think, again, I call this style of training and movement. I just, I find it so valuable for the athletes, and I think, you know, everyone needs it. And so I want to do my best, you know, as a business owner, to try to make it available to as many people as possible and really show them why, you know, hammer that home of like, why is this? And how is this different? To maybe what you have been doing? And how can it benefit you? And yeah, just really open the envelope on that for people and try to design a facility a little bit better adapted to promoting and teaching that style of training. So and then check, yes, check out all right, perfect, perfect. As far as a coach goes, I mean, to be honest, my plan is to go back through the MDMC course for a whole nother round. That course is so action packed filled of, I’m sure there’s plenty of it I missed. So it’s just filled with knowledge. And I don’t think you could, it could be something you go through every year. And I think you would still pull pull some facts and see some things that maybe you you didn’t prior. So really looking forward to doing that to continue my learning. Keep structuring, I guess keep implementing more and more structure into my programming and my clients programming because I’ve seen that come a long ways as well. Like, I have always been very keen on tracking people’s statistics. But now I feel like you guys have provided me with something that helps so much more when it comes to tracking. I say stats, but you know, it can be used for a lot of different things. And I don’t even think we you know, I probably use a similar template just because you’ve kind of turned me on to a certain design, but it can be used for anything, you know, you can write when the person’s birthday was, or you can write that their same side lateral lunge really lacks some, some movement and they need to be rolling those abductors in the towel, you need to give them some homework over the weekend. So that structure is really helped me. You know, I show up to every session and I know what I’m going to do. At least I have an idea before I before I dive into the session of like, here’s kind of the game plan but as I’m sure a lot of your sessions go and it kind of can change on the fly because knows what the person was doing before this or you know, so anyway, just given me some good structure and it really helps to maintain my focus and therefore the athletes get better workouts see better results. what’s your what’s your quote? Well, the results
Michael Hughes
random training equals random results. Is that what you think about?
Kyler
Yeah, that’s the one. That’s the one that one sticks with me, because I’ve seen it, you know, tracking things a little closer. And paying attention to a little more detail has definitely given clients better results. So
Michael Hughes
yeah, I wish I invented that quote. I did that. Alright, I like to collect a lot of information.
Kyler
Yeah. Yeah. And also,
Michael Hughes
is that what about you as an athlete?
Kyler
Yeah, yeah. So as an athlete, I’m still super active. You know, right. A lot of mountain bikes. Like I mentioned, prior, we do a lot of paddleboarding here in Michigan, because there’s so many freshwater lakes around. I’m really game for any activity, I like learning new things. So still play a game or to a hockey here and there. So yeah, I’m definitely looking for sustainability. I used to definitely beat myself up in the gym a lot. And then I would, you know, go and try to do all these different activities and some of the workouts that have done you know, gymnasts are so inspired or MDMC inspired and crafted, you know, kind of that style workouts, I think have helped me, like you’ll say, like, turn on, as well as not go to complete failure, and maybe just fatigue things a little bit. But it leaves me prepared and feeling ready to jump on my bike after the session. You know, I swear, I’ve had some of the best bike rides after because I have your G one, you know, I’ve purchased the one workouts templates. So I’ve done those. And, man, some of my best athletic performances lately have been after those workouts, and I know it even before I jump on my bike, I just feel it, like turned on ready to roll. So yeah, I’m gonna continue to progress through some of that stuff, and yeah, probably for now, we’ll just keep building some of my own workouts and using some of the ones you guys gave me, but there’s a lot out there. And it all has similar style. So
Michael Hughes
yeah. And just for those listening like Carson in a cool state, because he has, like I said, you have a shared ownership of, of what’s going through. And so much of what I’ve experienced in the past and try to warn off is having too much diversity of opposing viewpoints. And I mean this in a in a critical way, not in a in a positive way, in the same facility. Because typically, the the popularity of one, regardless of its effectiveness or not, it always always wins. Based on what I’m seeing, and what my parents have told me say, Michael, pick your friends wisely. Because the worst of you all, you all become like them, meaning it’s easier to pull someone down negativity, and harder to pull someone up, positively. So it’s really interesting what you’re going through having a business partner that’s that has the same mindset, or at least one of them, that, you know, we get to get to collaborate as trainers versus being on your own island. So all the trainers at least Gymnazo and I know it in in front of fitness, have this mindset of weight in a growth mindset be that there’s more out there than we typically are have been traditionally taught, and then sees that we’re here to go explore it. Versus living in a dogma state of this is the only way to do things. And if it doesn’t fit in this box, then the client is doing it wrong. And that’s probably the biggest answer. Because I’m definitely doing it right as a trainer. And to have that that humility to be like, wait a minute, maybe the clients doing everything, right. But I’m teaching it wrong, or my mindset or my knowledge is lacking, not wrong, in a sense, just lacking. And that’s a theme to be that. That’s a huge cool thing that you’re that you’re building and have built and will continue to build is that is that we’re in here to learn more, collaborate more, and not necessarily have this like, Oh, this is the only style that we do. So I don’t know if it resonates with you, but I’m seeing
Kyler
no you nailed it, man.
Michael Hughes
Awesome. Great. Well, I keep chatting with you more and more and more in Closing thoughts just from your, your experience or anything else?
Kyler
Yeah, I mean, for for everyone out there listening this it really is, or at least has been for me a life changing experience mentally, physically and and thrown by athletes. So not only are you doing yourself a favor, but in the end, you know, we’re all here to help people get healthier, stronger, fitter, whatever word you want to fill in the blank with. And this is a fantastic way to bring all that together and really stay on the top of your game and always be learning.
Michael Hughes
Kyler, thanks for the affirmation. I appreciate that. Really. It’s been a pleasure being a guide. It’s been a pleasure also learning from you. I say it with all honesty. And I really look forward to the rest of the journey. I see that word often. But it is truly a journey. I really thought getting my Bachelors of Science was the end of the road. And then I thought getting my physical therapy doctor, it would be the end of the road. And now I realize that those were very fixed mindset ways of thinking. There is no end of the road. It’s just whenever you want to get off the train. Track, you know the cases. So thank you so much. It’s been absolute pleasure. If any of you listening want to train with this awesome coach, provide us some details because virtual training is available. So please give me some details. How can they contact you?
Kyler
Yeah, sure. I have a an email. CoachKylerfitness@gmail.com Probably the easiest way to inquire. So yeah, they can reach out and we can go from there. Or if they’re in the Traverse City, Michigan area, they can they can stop by and see what we have to offer.
Michael Hughes
Right now. Good stuff. Kyler once again, thank you very much listeners thank you for for being on the another episode of Gymnazo podcast and we will see you guys next time. Hey all. I hope you guys enjoyed today’s episode. And if you did, please share it with your fitness obsessed friends and peers who are also navigating this world of fitness and trying to succeed the trends and misinformation. As you guys can see this podcast is basically a masterclass for trainers wanting to level up in their coaching skills, and their fitness business model. We launched this in 2020. Because you and your fitness tribe deserve to see an unfiltered look at all the aspects of what it takes to stand out as a next generation coach, and build a successful fitness business sell, share far and wide. And please, when you do do me a favor, take a screenshot of this screen and share it to your social media accounts and use the hashtag Gymnazo podcast that’s hashtag Gymnazo podcast that way we can see you and share your posts with our audience. And finally, when you’re ready to go to the next level as a coach, or in your business, and to reach more people, please go check out gymnazoedu.com. We have put together the best 90 Day coaching program on the market for trainers wanting to become a masterful practitioner and build a business that gives them the freedom and impact. So let us help you do just that. We have online training and one on one coaching to guide you through a full 90 Day certification. We even get you training our clients live because it’s always better to work out your kinks on someone else’s clients than yours. But we promise you this, your clients will be blown away by the transformation our program will help you make you’ll be masterful at a whole new level and part of an incredible community of coaches worldwide, taking their skills to the next level. So if you thought today’s episode had some fire to it, and inspired you to take action, wait until you see what we deliver on this program. So just go to gymnazoedu.com. And we’ll see you on the other side. Remember that turning your passion for fitness into transformation and sustainable business is critical to reaching the people and lives you were put on earth to help it matters and truly can make an impact in other people’s lives. So hope you do that. Keep sharing your passion and we’ll talk to you soon.
Leave a Reply