Member Spotlight: Chris Gleeson

We met up with Crunch Dee Why member, university student & now qualified Personal Trainer, Chris Gleeson. He shares with us how he went from only performing home workouts to eventually attending the gym on a regular basis. He explains how this has positively impacted his overall fitness journey. Chris’ story will help inspire you to chase your dreams & CRUNCH those fitness goals! PLUS get some insider tips on diet, physique & training.

HOW I STARTED AT CRUNCH FITNESS

My fitness journey began at the end of 2014 after I finished my HSC. I remember looking in the mirror and being dissatisfied with my body image, which lead me to making a change & creating a new, healthier lifestyle for myself. At the time I was too insecure to join a gym so I embarked on my own journey; when I wasn’t able to perform a single push-up. My determination lead me to achieving my goal which was performing 100 push-ups a day with some smaller weighted accessories. I trained myself at home using my own body and a set of dumbbells for just over a year until my friend convinced me to join a gym in May 2016, to which I fell in love with weighted exercises. Being a young and naive kid I focused entirely on my upper body and unfortunately neglected my lower body. For the first 9 months, the only exercises I would perform were barbell bench press, lat pull-down, cable chest fly’s, bicep curls, and tricep extensions. Fast forward a few months and I started to develop an understanding that the body works as a holistic unit and I was limiting myself by neglecting major parts of my body.

My home gym, Crunch Dee Why opened up and I made the switch a year ago and immediately felt right at home. The amount of space and quantity of equipment available allowed me to pursue my goals, whether it was learning/mastering skills, increasing my strength or training with friends and watching each other grow. I am now a dedicated & regular Crunchie!

DIET & PHYSIQUE

I ate fast food at least 5 times a week for nearly 2 years until July last year where I made the decision to cut fast foods from my diet. Eating clean food started to become the norm and taste great. Being desensitised from fast food allowed my body to mould itself into the physique I dreamed about back in 2014. Everybody is different in terms of what they eat & what foods best suit them. In my opinion, the only diet that works is the one you can stick to! Find what works for you.

TRAINING REGIMEN

I train everyday because to me it’s just SO MUCH FUN. Typically I do gymnastics on Monday then rotate through push, pull, legs. Since I’m flexible with my training schedule, some days I might even work on skills that I want to master such as handstands/calisthenics or boxing whenever I feel like it.

MY FAVOURITE EXERCISES

Compound Weights: bench, squat, deadlift, seated-cable rows, lat-pull downs

Isolation Weights: bicep curls, tricep extensions, chest fly’s lateral raises, anterior raises, posterior/reverse cable fly’s

Calisthenics: handstand, muscle-up/pull ups, backflip, push-up variations, dips, hanging leg raises, box jumps

Boxing

TOP TIPS

1. Be Consistent.
2. Recovery. Whether that includes nutrition & sleep, whatever helps your body recover.
3. Quality over Quantity. Make sure you learn proper technique.
4. Learn to love what you do whether its weights, calisthenics, classes whatever it may be to keep you motivated.

For all the newbies out there, don’t be afraid or intimidated of the gym! Just like you, everyone is here for a reason; to improve themselves no matter how big or small their experience. Only compare yourself to yourself and results will come.

SEE HOW CRUNCH FITNESS CAN HELP YOU WITH YOUR OWN PERSONAL FITNESS JOURNEY

Congratulations Chris on creating a positive lifestyle for yourself & inspiring others along the way!

If embarking on your own personal fitness journey is something you’ve been thinking about, get in touch with one of our friendly Crunch Fitness staff members. Whatever your goals or aspirations are, we have a team of world class personal trainers who are ready to take your sessions and goals to the next level. If having a career at Crunch is something you are passionate about, you can apply here.

Full interview here.