On April 14, 2012, the personal trainers at All Canadian Fitness (ACF) willingly
handed over their stopwatches and broke a sweat for charity.
The annual All Canadian Fitness Train-the-Trainer charity event gives clients a chance to be the trainer, and for trainers to be the client. They paid $30 for 10
minutes, chose a battery of exercises, counted the reps, and made their trainers feel the burn.
The event also included a silent auction and an opportunity to try a free
kettlebell, bootcamp or boxing class.
“The Train-the-trainer event is a way for us to give back to our clients and to the
community,” said Ernie Schramayr, owner of All Canadian Fitness. “Both are very important to us, so we wanted to create a fun way to raise money and a unique experience for our clients. This event has been a big hit, our clients love it.”
This year’s event raised $800 in two hours for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hamilton and Burlington, and once again, the grueling two hours was full of antics and surprises.
Ernie didn’t miss a rep when two of his clients had him dress up in a princess outfit, wear Mickey Mouse ears with a veil, and made him drool over the sight and smell of delicious foods including warm pasta and meatballs, apple pie and ice cold beer.
His exercise smorgasbord included jump squats, leg cranks, burpees, lunges with 80-pound weights, and he finished up with side shuffles around the building, in both directions.
One member of Paula Reid’s assault team was cute but mighty four-year-old
Kennedy who demanded burpees and 100 summersaults (Paula started those at
number 95). Other team members consisted of Paula’s loyal kettlebell followers,
who reminded her of just how tough Turkish get-ups are and added some prisoner pushups, explosive pushups, heavy side lunges and also finished up with an exhausting side shuffle around the building.
ACF veteran, Rich Menna, didn’t have to wear a costume or take instruction from a young child, but that doesn’t mean he got off easy. His long-time clients took full advantage of their time with him, making him do a crazy combination burpee/pushup/row/clean with an overhead press, plus some sprints and lots of skipping.
As a pro boxer, he showed no fear.
“Today was a lot of fun,” said ACF client, Leslie D’Ortenzio. “I had a blast making
Ernie do a lot of the tough exercises he has us do in bootcamp, and seeing how
demanding it can be, even for a pro like him. This was the first time I’ve participated in an event like this, and I’m definitely looking forward to next year.”
Due to an untimely (and we think strategically planned) illness, Bryan Smith, had to sit this one out. His clients are looking forward to his full recovery, when they’ll reschedule a training date just for him.
Over the past 20 years, ACF trainers have certainly seen their share of hard work
and sweat from their dedicated clients.
“Once again, our clients have demonstrated their loyalty by supporting and
generously donating to a great cause,” said Ernie. “It’s just another example of the unique culture of our studio.”
All Canadian Fitness 