Interview 1: Conner Traywick

Conner was the first personal trainer / coach I ever worked with. His positive attitude and extensive knowledge had an amazing impact on my own journey, and I was beyond excited when he agreed to answer a few questions for my capstone. Below are his answers, and his insight to the fitness industry.

 What are your personal fitness goals?

• My top priority for my fitness is to feel great. This means I am energized, clear minded, happy, and confident. Subsequent goals include aesthetics and situational performance.

· What methods of training do you use to achieve these goals? Have you tried any other methods? Were they more / less effective?

• My current training routine is: full body strength training 4 days/week full body HIIT 2 days/week, sauna for 20 minutes, 3-4 days a week, and mobility for 15 minutes 3 days a week.

· What nutrition plan (if any) do you use to achieve these goals? If you don’t use a nutrition plan, are you mindful of your diet? What do you typically eat in a day?

• I don’t follow a strict nutritional plan. Normally I cycle low carb, high fat and protein for 3 weeks on then switch to high carb and protein, low fat for 1 week. 
• I believe it is important to be mindful of what you consume (calories in vs calories out.) I coach that you should track your caloric consumption vs caloric output for about a month and then once you feel confident in portion size and meal frequency, use your best judgement and really listen to how your body feels and watch how it responds! From there, adjust your diet and/or daily movement. 
• Regarding listening to your body, I believe it can be vital to discover what foods you may be allergic or sensitive to. Eliminating inflammatory foods that your body doesn’t digest well will help substantially with things like sleep, acne, hormonal balance, fat loss, muscle gain, mood and much more! I recommend EverlyWell’s at-home food sensitivity test.

· What is your experience in the fitness industry? What (if any) certifications do you hold?

• I have my BA in Kinesiology from UNCC.
• Certified ACSM Exercise Physiologist, and Red Cross CPR, First Aid, and AED. 
• 2 years of personal training in big box corporate gyms (Fitness Connection) 
• 1.5 years as Head Trainer and Studio Manager at a group fitness HIIT gym (F45).
• .5 year as part-time group fitness HIIT coach (FlyWheel). 

· What recovery methods do you use to deload?

• sauna use for 20 min, 3-4x week
• Mobility work for 15 min, 3 days a week
• Focus on quality sleep (7-8 hours) 
• Proper hydration and nutrition 

· Have you tried fasting? What is your experience with that?

• I actively practice intermittent fasting for about 4 days out of the week. This usually involves a 16-18 hour window of fasting and a 6-8 hour window of feeding. 
• My experience has been positive. I feel it keeps my energy levels higher and gives me more mental clarity than when I eat breakfast. 
• I think it also helps me consume a better balance of calories. 

· What would you recommend to someone interested in going into the field (what do you like to see in a coach)?

• Coach as many different demographics as possible
• Find an experienced and proven mentor
• Never stop learning, listening, reading, etc.
• Apply what you learn and see what works and how your body responds 
• Learn how to communicate effectively to different demographics 
• Drop in to all kinds of gyms / fitness classes and observe then record what you liked vs disliked 
• Practice what you preach
• Be authentic and true to yourself. Mirroring is often very transparent. 

· As a professional in the field, what do you feel is most frequently misconstrued or poorly communicated from a health and wellness standpoint?

• There are too many to count. 
• The benefits of Cardio vs Strength training is highly misunderstood. Most people think cardio is the key to fat loss when in actuality increasing metabolic efficiency through gaining muscle mass from strength training is. Additionally, most women tend to believe strength training will give them big bulky muscles. Untrue. It takes YEARS to big enough huge muscles that you look “bulky”. 
• The supplement industry is constantly creating myths to better market their products. Supplements should be low on your fitness priority list. They barely move the needle in comparison to proper nutrition, training, and sleep. 
• Stop listening to instagram influencers and start listening to people with educations. 

Traywick, Conner. Interview about Fitness. 04/11/2019