We’re excited to announce that the Sandbox Fitness personal training team is now the winner of the 2020 Top Choice award for the Best gym in Oakville

Our trainers have previously been nominated for Top Choice Best Gym in Oakville award but this is the first year actually being the winner.

This is a nice affirmation of the hard work our personal training staff (past and present) and I have put in over the last 7 years but I’d like to commentate a little more on how this came to be and how I feel about it.

It’s not my strong suit to sit back and accept an award and the praise that comes with it. It’s more my nature to skip the ‘pats on the back’ and just get back to work. I know I need to improve on this because there’s so much in life worth celebrating! For me though, is winning a Top Choice Award really worth a big celebration?

Here’s how winning the award works: Top Choice polls communities to vote on which gym is the best. They don’t do a thorough analysis of my business in comparison to other businesses or something as comprehensive. We’ve now been nominated for six or seven similar awards over the years, but we’ve never won. I’m not suggesting this process is wrong in anyway. I’ve just always felt it a little tacky to ask my staff, clients, family and friends to vote for Sandbox as the best. I’ve always figured we haven’t won these awards in the past because we have a smaller location, which is 50% therapy rooms and 50% private training studio, and as a result we don’t have thousands of members (aka voters) coming through our doors each week.

So, the one thing I’d like to say before I move onto the ‘graciously accepting my award thing’ is that I believe we are a top gym in Oakville, but not because Top Choice said so. We’re a top gym in Oakville because we work really hard for our clients!

It’s completely unacceptable for our clients to have a less than stellar experience with us. We preach that we want to be peoples’ last attempt at health! This industry pushes extremes on people and that leads to the (usually) inevitable “yoyo” effect. The psyche of someone in pursuit of higher levels of health is usually marked by repeated boughts of extreme discipline and success followed by diminished returns and fatigue. It’s not uncommon for a client to share that they’ve done this yoyo five, ten or even 20+ times.

We really want to be your last kick at the ‘health can’. With the perils of our industry in mind, we’ve had to think long and hard about the differences that create long-term successful health efforts vs. short-term yoyo’s, and frankly, I think we’ve figured it out. Although if I read this article again in ten years I’ll probably have it more “figured out”.

With all that in mind, as a consumer, please be careful not to be too clingy with credibility indicators when you’re dealing with an industry that preys on the unconfident. It’s easy for a ripped 25-year-old to tell you “how it’s done” when you’re 45 with kids and a full-time job, struggling to find the time to sleep more than six hours.

There is a formula for your success… But it’s not going to be the same formula that trainer is using… My industry doesn’t lend itself well to credibility lead consumerism.

The Maple Leafs won their last Stanley Cup in 1967 but that doesn’t mean we should still treat them like champions. Winning an award indicates our credibility. My time working for the Toronto Blue Jays indicates credibility. Sandbox’s independent training of over 30 athletes who’ve competed in the NCAA indicates credibility. The fact that all of our staff are accredited to provide manual therapies indicates our credibility. These things are great, but as consumers we should treat these things as trophies instead of allowing these things to let our guards down. If you’re considering joining a gym, trying a new diet or making any attempt at improving your health. Come to our industry with confidence and tough questions, we need you to make us work for it so our industry can grow credibly.

I want my industry to change. I don’t want anyone in my industry to prey on people who are feeling less than whole when it comes to their health. If I’m really going to stand by that, then I also can’t stand on a podium and accept an award without acknowledging that the critical thinking I’m encouraging is not embodied by the company giving me this award.

I am truly grateful for the award and I am grateful that my clients, family and friends can now say Sandbox Fitness is an award-winning gym, but I also want to stay true to myself in the process!

At the end of the day, for you, Sandbox may or may not be the best gym in Oakville, but that doesn’t matter. The only thing that really matters is whether my team at Sandbox, and my colleagues in the health and wellness industry, can help you living longer, feeling better and see the results you want and need to see. I know I’m biased but I would love the opportunity to connect with you about how to improve your health. Do me a favour though, when you’re ready, bring your confidence and all those hard-hitting questions and make us earn it!

Proud we won the award 😜

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