Alex Martin

ALEX’S BIO

Alex has been in the fitness industry since 2004.  He graduated from George Brown College with an advanced diploma in Fitness and lifestyle management and is a certified personal trainer and affiliate of the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology.

Alex offers a wide range of personal training styles. He works with a variety of athletes and has designed many sport specific workouts.  Alex also works with weekend warriors and fitness enthusiasts on weight loss, cardiovascular health, muscular strength and metabolic conditioning. His other specialities include corrective/mobility exercises for improving structural integrity.

Alex’s passion for fitness originated from his days playing basketball in high school and later in college.

1. When did your athletic career begin?
   My career as an athlete began at 7-years-old. I played a wide variety of sports – soccer, baseball and football.  Basketball became my primary sport in my teens and I still play actively today. 
2. What adversity have you had to overcome as an athlete?
   I’ve had to overcome multiple injuries that I sustained while playing basketball, sprained ankles, dislocated fingers, hip and lower back injuries. I also tore my left side of my Pectoral Major while attempting a max lift while bench pressing. Being able to rehab injuries and return to sport/training was a tough hurdle to overcome – attitude played a big role in my recovery and return to training.
3. How has working out impacted your life?
   Working out has impacted my life by giving me ability to overcome obstacles.  It has instilled a work ethic and discipline that has allowed me to achieve many of my personal and fitness goals.
4. How often do you train and for how long?
   I train six days a week and each workout is one hour in duration not including my dynamic warm-up before the workout and stretching at the end of my workout. Here is how my current weekly training schedule looks:
   • Monday – Legs and Abs
   • Tuesday – Chest and Triceps
   • Wednesday – Metabolic Conditioning
   • Thursday – Back and Biceps
   • Friday – Shoulders and Abs
   • Saturday – Speed and Agility Work
   • Sunday – Rest
5. What is your number #1 fitness tip?
   Find a workout program / activity that you enjoy.  This will enable you to stick with it long term. I can’t stress enough the importance of sleep and proper nutrition in the grand scheme of things. You should aim to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night and try to get to bed before midnight.

Lorne’s Take – Alex makes some great points on the importance of sleep and nutrition.  Several studies have shown that every hour of sleep before midnight is twice as valuable as sleep after midnight.  One look at Alex and you can tell he is doing all the right stuff and having participated in a few of his boot camps I can personally attest to his level of functional fitness.