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Team Wawryk Trainer - JESS FRIESEN

Personal Training Saskatoon at Fitness Focus



Team Wawryk Trainer - DENISE KOMINETSKY

 Saskatoon Gym Personal Training



Team Wawryk Trainer - Chris Pylypchuk

Chris is a Can-Fit-Pro Certified Trainer with a B.Sc Biochemistry from the University of Saskatchewan. He has always had a passion for fitness and sport. He is a firm believer in practicing what he preaches and as such is not only a trainer but also a competitive fitness athlete. Chris' goal as your trainer is to be 100 per cent honest with you on your progress, on what is achievable in your trainer-client relationship. Chris continues to educate himself to provide you with the latest and most effective techniques to help you achieve your goals through functional training and focusing on proper intensity. "I will not only help you condition your body but also your mind, to make my teaching something you can live with and enjoy."



  • Can-Fit-Pro Certified Personal Trainer Specialist
  • WBFF Pro Fitness Model
  • B.Sc Biochemistry University of Saskatchewan



Strength Training With The Team Wawryk Personal Trainers

Training in the gym with Team Wawryk Personal Trainers. Fitness Focus and brings you trusted tips from Chris Pylypchuk, part of the Team Wawryk Personal Training Team.  Chris has been a part of Fitness Focus for fifteen years and has been working with Team Wawryk since 2010.

Team Wawryk is ready to train you; offering a training service that is suitable for both the beginner and experienced athlete. In addition to individual training sessions, they also offer group training sessions.  They specialize in weight management, nutrition and diet planning backed by over 50 years collective experience in the gym.

10 Tips and Tricks for Weight Loss

Here are 10 tips and tricks for weight loss that you may never have heard.

1.       The weight loss equation

The easiest way to explain the process of losing weight is that weight loss occurs when the body consumes less calories than it burns.  So the simple equation goes like this: Calories In – Calories Out = Weight Loss.  There are obviously many other important factors involved here, but keeping this simple formula in mind can be helpful in many situations.

2.       Monitor your daily calorie intake

Do Not obsess over counting calories. Being aware and maintaining a clear idea about the number of calories you're consuming daily is important to keep on track with weight management.  Get to know how to use food labels; know what you are eating in terms of carbohydrates, fats and proteins and remember: 1 gram of Carbs=4 calories, 1 gram of Protein=4 calories and 1 gram of Fat=9 calories. 

3.       Eat at predefined hours

Plan to eat your meals at the same time of day, everyday.  This helps digestion since our biological clock is synchronized with our brain and stomach.  Also, eating with consistency will help your know when it actually needs food, versus when your brain wants food.  Eating with consistency makes it easier to monitor and maintain weight management. 

4.       The importance of Water

Dehydration, lack of energy, tiredness and headaches are just a few of the effects from not drinking enough water.  Many of us make this critical mistake. All the maladies aside, when it comes to weight loss, water can assist detoxification and the removal of unnecessary toxins from the body and skin but also helps with digestion and keeps the stomach full, which reduces hunger and the unnecessary consumption of calories. Like vitamins and minerals, water also has a daily recommended intake.  For women, its just under 3 liters of water per day and for men its about 4 liters.  So, begin your day with a cold glass of water to restart all your body's natural functions for the day and don't forget to carry a bottle with you at work, during your daily errands and of course in the gym.

5.       Do not rush into getting super-fast results

Follow a slow and steady regimen to manage your weight loss and keep it off.  Taking on a crash diet from the Internet will end right where you started before diet.  Proper, healthy weight loss takes a bit longer.  Take time to do it right, and learn the proper changes to your lifestyle to make your weight management something you can do for life.

6.       Learn how to lose weight the safe way

Even people that have made healthy living part of their lifestyle for year make mistakes and often just aren't doing things correctly.  So as a beginner, its important not to get discouraged; there are many paths along the way to your goals and a lot of them will be dead-ends. If you are new to dieting and weight loss then most probably you are confused from where to start and what should be your first step etc. This is very common and one of the most popular questions we get from our readers the last 6 years. In my opinion before even starting a diet or weight loss program you should do some reading and familiarize yourself with the basic weight loss concepts. I am not suggesting spending days learning the theory, after all losing weight is a practical matter, but learning a few important concepts in advance can prove very helpful in the long run. The guide you are reading now is a good starting point as it covers all aspects of weight loss, fitness and dieting; you can continue reading our other articles as well since we have planned to gather all the information you need in one place.

7.       Keep a food and emotions journal

For many people emotions and feelings are associated with the quantities of food consumed.  When you are stressed or depressed you turn to food (and especially fatty food) for comfort. This is may be happening to you as well and you know that this is bad and can destroy all your hopes for losing weight. You cannot easily control this but one handy tip to try is keeping a food and emotions journal. This is basically a piece of paper (or an online food journal) where you record what you eat per day and your emotional state. If you do this for a couple of weeks and go back and have a look at the results you may identify some patterns and take some precaution measures. For example you can remove sweets and snacks from your cupboards and replace them with healthy alternatives. By doing so when you are feeling stress and turn to food for relief you will not end up eating a tone of calories but food items that are at least healthier.

8.       No need to measure your weight on a daily basis

As mentioned before, weight loss takes time and getting on the scale everyday won't make the process any faster but most probably will add more stress and frustration. Instead try to weigh yourself once per week with consistency; that means the same time of the same day every week because the later in the day will always be high than your weight in the morning.

9.       Never try to follow more than one weight loss program at a time

If you choose to follow a commercial diet or weight loss program then concentrate on one program at a time. Good weight loss programs have different phases, each phase having a clear start and finish goal. Follow the program guidelines correctly for the time required and evaluate your results at the end. Mixing different programs together or not following their instructions will not generate any good results.

10.   Don’t be afraid to ask for help

Don’t be afraid to seek professional help if you are not getting any results. The Internet is a great way to learn how to lose weight but sometimes other factors such as diseases, functional disorders may hold you back. A professional (a doctor or nutritionist) will be able to identify these and suggest ways to overcome them.


Are Weight Loss Goals Part of Your New Year’s Resolution List?

This next year will be different, and you're going to make a fresh start this New Year. Around this time of the year, a lot of us find ourselves reflecting on what we accomplished in the past year and decide what changes we want to make to make a positive difference in our lives for next year. After all the prioritizing, you make your big decisions, and then within a month or so, the ‘New Year’s resolutions’ are all but forgotten.

Weight loss goals don’t have to be another promise to yourself which got lost along the way. Setting a goals is only part of the work; plan smart and get ready for the task and make it a success and avoid being in the same spot next year.  Weight loss doesn't have to be hard; it's all in your approach. Try asking yourself and this is very important; is it that you want to lose the weight or is it that you don’t want to eat or live the way you have been any more? The later is a lot harder if your heart’s not in it.  Long-term planning is important; you have to define your path, not just where you want to be.

1. Be realistic

It's been said a million times over, be realistic in when trying to make changes in your life.  Be honest with yourself about what is possible and what suits your lifestyle.  Planning to lose too much weight in a short period of time will only lead to failure and discouragement.  Make your decision with reality in mind. What is it that you can do, and how much time do you have to spend in exercising or follow a meal plan and so on. Start with what you can’t do and then build around it.

2. Enjoying the holidays

This doesn't mean you should give in to all urges and have massive eating spree, but just eat sensibly.  The smart thing to do at times like these is, for a few days, try not to diet on the holidays. Eating sensibly isn't the same as constantly sticking to some lettuce and cabbage diet while everyone around you is allowed to enjoy all the goodies that come with the season.

Try looking at it this way, everyone loves the holidays and they only come around once a year. If you don't take advantage of some of the holiday treats you'll be depriving yourself of all the Christmas excitement.  Why spend your holidays hating every minute of it.  By the end of all the festivities, you will be so sick of the dieting you have been sticking to and will find it harder to stay with that good eating plan as long as you had planed.  Don’t stress yourself about your food intake for a few days over the holidays, relax and eat sensibly.

3. Small is bigger

There is no need to go to completely radical lengths to lose weight. Usually it's the small changes we can comfortably make are the ones that last the longest and make the biggest difference.  Lifestyle changes, even the smallest of changes, like replacing certain snack foods with for veggies and greens; you can also cut down or space out your portions into more-smaller meals rather than attempting a very low restrictive diet.

Simply losing weight doesn't mean much if you don't change your eating and lifestyle habits as well.  Set a goal that you'll start walking to work every day instead of saying you want to lose 8 pounds in a month. Small commitments like that will add up expending extra calories.  These types of lifestyle changes are easily made permanent by incorporating it into your day to day lifestyle.

4. Measure the results

It's the reason you want to make changes in the first place, you want to see change and results. You don't want all your effort and time invested to be all in vein.  Measure your results to reassure yourself that you're on the right track. Measure your results consistently at the same time every week. And don’t just look for a change in your weight, results can come in many different ways.

Take Measurements at your waist or other parts of your body right before you start down this new path.  Your weight can be influenced by a few factors, one being water retention, but your waist may have shrunk or that your clothes feel baggy, it all counts because desired result are the biggest motivator. Record your results so you can actually see your progress and all the results.

5. Keep it interesting and keep it moving

The most frustrating part of weight loss and weight management are plateaus.  It happens to everybody at some point in time. This is what happens when your body adapts to the changes you previously made. If you are following a specific diet or workout regime maybe swap regimes every month or every 3 weeks. This may also help in keeping things interesting and battle boredom. Allow at least 2 weeks for any adaptations before changing your diet.

6. Keep a food diary

Try it, by the end of the day chances are you don't remember everything you consumed over the past 12 hours.  Maybe you're eating more than you think you are or more than you subconsciously want to admit.  Keep a diary of everthing you consume including drinks; it is surprising how much extra sugar and calories you probably consume through drinks.

Keep the diary before you start your diet and then see how many things you can change to lose the weight. To be honest the Christmas week may not be an ideal representation of your average week but it can provide you with an idea of what your actual eating habits are like.

Cardio Secrets That Can Help Maximize Fat Loss

Questions from around the gym about cardivascular training; here are your answers

Many people do their cardiovascular training in the gym, not just for improving their endurance or for health reasons, but most people also train with the goal of losing weight and burning fat. Unfortunately most people are not aware that there is more you can do to get the full benefits of your cardio.  There are tricks of the trade that you can use that will help maximize fat loss when doing cardio; and if you are one of the many people that do your cardio training primarily to lose fat, then you might want to try these cardio tips to maximize your fat loss:

To maximize your body's ability to burn fat, perform two cardio sessions.  The first one in the morning and the second after you train in the afternoon or in the evening. This technique works well because of a cool effect that occurs after you do cardio. After your cardio session your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is higher and your body will actually burn extra calories for several hours after you have finished. The calories that your body burns literally while doing nothing, will probably exceed the calories initially burned during your cardiovascular exercise.

 Cardiovascular training in the morning before you eat breakfast, or carbs, is beneficial because your body's glycogen levels will be lower in the morning.  This is especially true if you last ate at dinner time and have fasted for 8 to 10 hours while you slept.

Doing your cardio without eating causes your body to mobilize more bodyfat because the glycogen in your blood is unavailable, and because your blood glucose levels are also lower after an overnight fast so you will burn more fat which your body will use for energy.

After fasting overnight your insulin levels are their lowest. When you eat, especially carbohydrates, your body (or pancreas to be more specific) releases insulin, which will interfere with the mobilization of body fat. Sinse there is less insulin present in your system before you eat after 8 to 10 hour fast, more body fat will be burned when cardio is done in the morning. You should also note that this is also why many "fat burning" products contains several ingredients, which reduce or regulate the blood insulin levels.

If you are eating immediately before cardio, this can also inhibit the fat burning process because your body will first have to burn off the calories from the food you ate before it will burn the fat stored in your body. Doing your cardio in the morning, your metabolism will stay raised for a period after the cardio training is finished.

Doing you cardio in the morning will also give you better circulation throughout the day and give you an energy boost.  Training early can also regulate your appetite thoughout the day which will help in controlling cravings and binging later on.  Adding an afternoon cardio session will elevate your metabolism for a second time for another period of a few hours. Again, your body will be burning extra calories while doing no extra work. This is similar to the calories that will be burned by extra lean muscle you develop. Once you add the muscle you burn more calories without doing any additional exercise. These are those little tricks that most people don't know about; and all without the help of taking diet pills or fat burners.

Written by Jeff Behar

Fitness Focus, Saskatoon's No Contract Gym 

Cleanse And Detox for The Purpose of Weight Loss

Questions from around the gym: Do Cleanses and Detoxes Work?

This is a hot topic at all gyms; as discussed in the previous cleanse and detox blog entry; cleansing which is interchangeable with fasting, is certainly not a smart choice in terms of promoting good health. Fasting is also far from a effective method for weight loss, yet it still one of the oldest methods for fast weight loss. It doesn't involve a whole lot of understanding or any drastic changes in your lifestyle.  it just requires starving yourself, then it won't be long until you start to see the numbers on the scale starting to drop.  For people desperate for answers, it doesn't help being bombarded by all the New Age products on the market that claim to help them get the most out of their weight loss fast.  Fasting is an easy and non-invasive method of losing weight and is hyped up by some self-appointed experts as the best method to deal with weight loss and obesity, when used in combination with their products and services.  When you do a detox, you do lose some weight temporarily, but most of the immediate weight loss that occurs is just a result of the lack of fluid retention that naturally happens when a person does not eat. So, the weight that is lost is short lived is short-lived at best, and it inevitably be regained after a couple days of returning to your normal eating habits.  Previous in the blog you read about detoxes and cleanses and their unrealistic role of detoxifying your body  The main reason people incorporate a detox into their lifestyle is for the purpose of weight loss,

Fasting & Weight Loss:  Understanding the Mechanisms Of Short Term Fasts
This section will explain a bit more of what fasting really does to our bodies and what impacts it has on leading a healthy lifestyle.  One important aspect of understanding what happens during a cleanse is to have a clear picture of exactly what is happening in your body when you decide to stop or restrict your nutritional intake. Sugars that are broken down and stored in your body the form of glucose is the main source of fuel for your body and is necessary not only for our muscles to work but also for our brain to be efficient.  When your food intake is limited, the low blood sugar levels in your body trigger an increase in the two hormones glucagon (which is a for of glucose - sugar found in your liver and muscles) and epinephrine. One function of these hormones is the stimulation of the conversion of glycogen into a useable fuel by means of a process called glycogenolysis. The human liver and muscles have enough glycogen to last for two to three days; this is one reason that brief periods of fasting, say for a medical procedure, are usually harmless for healthy individuals.

Fasting and Weight Loss:  The Effects of Long Term Fasting

When you decide to limit or completely remove most foods from your diet as most cleanses require, there will be a brief period when your body will start to use your stored body fat as a fuel source. During this period, the change in body weight will not be noticeable by any means.  Too long of a period without proper nutrient intake, such as protein, carbohydrates and to a lesser extent fats, your body will go into a catabolic phase which basically means you will actually start to loose muscle mass.  So, losing muscle mass might take the numbers on the scale in the direction you want, but that doesn't mean that it was kind of weight you wanted to lose. Muscle is what gives a person the hard or in shape look once they achieve desired body fat levels. A long period without food has another negative and

undesired effect on the body.  When your body is deprived of calories for fuel it goes into a survival mode, so when the calories are reintroduce when you eat again your body will use what is immediately needed and store the rest as,you guess it, bodyfat.  So a cleanse that last for 30 days, 10 days, or even 3 days will ultimately lead you back to where you were a the beginning.

So you see, a cleanse as a method of losing unwanted body fat is really not the answer.  If anything it will make you more tired and less capable of living your daily life, including work and exercise.  As stated in the previous article, depriving yourself of nutrients is not doing your body any favors.  There is no substitute for proper, healthy eating.


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Fitness Focus
1250 Ontario Ave
Saskatoon, SK S7K 1S5
Ph: 306.244.6413


Monday - Thursday: 5am - 11pm
Friday: 5am - 10pm
Saturday: 8am - 8pm
Sunday: 8am - 8pm