Meet Marwan

As we start to post on our blog more regularly, I thought there would be no better way to start than to talk about the very first person to join the team, Marwan El-Wali. If you skip to the bottom of this post we are offering a 50% discount on zoom sessions with him for the month of May 2021.

Going to work at Goodlife was when I made the transition from fitness as a hobby to a career. I had been training people on the side independently, but not making enough money to keep a roof over my head. I was lucky to work at one of the very best Goodlife locations in the entire country. I had a fantastic manager (probably the best boss I’ve ever had), and I worked with a number of outstanding trainers. One of those people was Marwan. He was THE strongest person in the gym. He could deadlift close to 600lbs and bench press close to 400lbs with good technique.

My initial impression of him was that he was quiet, polite, and professional. He deadlifted with ferocity but otherwise fit the bill of the gentle giant. He also may be the only personal trainer I have ever worked with who has literally, not once, ever complained about a client (even when it would have been justified!).

As I started to develop a reputation for helping clients avoid shoulder and knee surgery, and as I started to constantly be away at continuing education courses, Marwan was one of my coworkers who took interest in my methods and what I was learning from people like Charles Poliquin, Preston Greene, and others. Marwan asked really good questions that made me clarify my thinking and get down to first principles.

This led to Marwan asking me if I would write his programs – it was either Marwan was one of the first two personal trainers to ever pay me to write a strength training program for them!

As he was approaching 40, Marwan started caring more about health and longevity than absolute strength, and so we agreed we would take a big step backwards so that he could, down the road, take an even bigger leap forwards. We agreed, that even if he never hit the same 1RM (one rep max) again, if he could be close to that level of strength and pain free, that would be considered a success, given Marwan had both significant back pain and shoulder pain.

After writing his programs for the better part of a year, I left Goodlife and I stopped writing his programs, but we kept in touch. His wife gave birth, and becoming a parent reinforced Marwan’s desire to exercise with an eye towards health and longevity.

When I started making plans to open my own facility, I started regularly searching Kijiji for high quality used equipment. That was when I found the lying leg curl machine we have in our studio. Something that cost $4000+ new was available for $500, but I needed to move it from the other end of the city to my apartment. I called Marwan to ask if he could help me move it, and he said yes. While driving in the truck to pick up the machine and then bring it to my apartment, he told me about parenthood, and I told him about my vision for what would later become 3 Seasons.

We agreed to stay in touch, and once I signed a lease, I gave him a call to offer him a role on the team. He agreed, and here we are! I am proud to have someone like Marwan on the team, who, in particular, exemplifies the qualities of practising what he preaches, being attentive, caring for his clients and being a professional.

Marwan currently offers Zoom sessions – and to help him ramp things up I am offering 50% off his normal rate for an starter pack of six sessions, so you will get $540 worth of sessions for $270+HST. (His regular rate for online training is $80-90 depending on how many sessions you commit to).

Send me an email [ yoni (@) 3seasonspersonaltraining (dot) com ] if you’re interested and I’ll connect you with Marwan so that you can get started.

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