Today we are joined by Alex Burnaru, a Registered Kinesiologist and martial artist. He joins Mauro today to discuss pivoting during the pandemic, the science behind what he does, and how to start your fitness routine.
When he had to adapt to lockdown life, Alex transitioned into teaching online kickboxing classes. Kickboxing isn’t just two people in a ring sparring, it’s also about perfecting your skills and techniques. Another solo sport Alex has been focusing on is his martial arts. You have to find ways to continue on towards your goals, even through these difficult times. There are so many ways to access resources for health and fitness these days that it’s easier than ever to get into a new sport or routine.
During lockdown, Alex tried to take advantage of the situation as much as possible. He read more, spent more time with his family, and took time to reflect. You have to adapt to what you have. If you have fallen off with your training, you can get back on track. Just start with something small. Take action. Look at what your goals are and do something that will move you closer to it, whether it’s holding a plank, going for a walk, or doing yoga. You don’t have to do an hour-long workout right off the bat.
Fitness started for Alex from a young age. He grew up in Romania before moving to Canada when he was 19, and found the culture difficult to navigate at first. Alex and Mauro met at work, where Alex would force Mauro to take a healthy break. One of the pillars of health that Alex teaches is to take healthy breaks, participate in mindful eating, and taking a mental break. It’s important to find a work/life balance and recharge so you can approach things with a fresh outlook and energy.
Alex did his MSc in Exercise Physiology. There is a science behind what Alex and Mauro teach, using evidence-based experience and research removes personal bias to creating programs for individuals. Alex is also a big promoter of doing as much outdoors as possible. For him, exercise is medicine. Working on your breathing, building resilience, and promoting endorphin production all goes towards improving your overall health.
On a day-to-day basis, Alex works with the Canadian Forces to help rehabilitate its members to be able to get back into service. Alex uses exercise as a form of therapy, it’s about creating programs that are going to help people with specific medical conditions or injuries get back into their fitness. For the majority of the general population, the best way to start is just by walking. The benefits of exercise almost always outweigh the negative effects from injury or medical condition.
For other trainers, Alex recommends taking an approach of constant learning. Keep up your curiosity and research, and learn how to interpret that research. Look at what the evidence says works and work on your basic skills.
We hear about what the general population should look at improving when learning to reach their fitness goals. Work on your habits and you too can be successful.
EPISODE TIMESTAMPS:
[01:39] Alex’s Work Background and Kickboxing interest
[04:05] Learning four different languages and cooking Italian
[05:02] Falling off on fitness journey and getting back on track
[07:45] Lacking time to work out and getting started
[12:50] Work Life Balance
[15:00] Good coach vrs Average coach
[15:40] Benefits of outdoor activities
[17:30] Wim Hof method and Breathing During Exercise
[23:00] Mindful Meditation
[30:00] Kinesiology and Exercise Physiologist
[38:00] Advice for general population- Focus On Basics
QUOTES:
“It all depends on your goals, you need to start with your goals and thinking about what you want to achieve…..start with anything that’s really the best advice that I can give, just start and do something take action on anything there’s a ton of information out there information is not a barrier nowadays”
“I think it’s so important to achieve that work life balance because that can tie into your fitness goals as well because… you don’t really recharge and become exhausted mentally to work on your fitness goals. ”
“Even if you’re injured, even if you have something that may bar you from traditional fitness there are things you can do to get started to work around your injuries”
“Try to be as informed as possible realise that you probably don’t know as much as you think you do, try not to use your bias or personal opinion when it comes to giving advice, learn how to read research”
LINKS AND BOOKS MENTIONED
Breathing for Warriors – Belisa Vranich and Brian Sabin