Desmond has been a coach with Ritual for about 15 months now, and in this blog post we explore his passion for helping people, his thoughts on commitment, and his views on taking ownership of your health. Enjoy!
A lot of clients like your thoughtful, personal style of motivation, but besides this, they don’t know much about you. Tell us a little more about your story – how did you get into the fitness industry?
Hi everyone! Most people don’t know that I actually got into fitness pretty late compared to some of my peers. My background in movement is from martial arts, which I’ve been doing since high school. Interestingly, despite my regular Muay Thai practice as a kid, I was never really fit. Just to give you an indication of how out of shape I was – before I did my military service, I couldn’t do a single pull-up. During my national service, I served as a Close Combat Instructor, and it is during this time where I finally found my calling, although it was vague at the start. Initially, I got into lifting weights, and simply did what my friends were doing (lots of bicep curls!). But it taught me this simple lesson: if you work hard, you will see improvements. It was during this time that I also discovered my passion for teaching.
During my military service, the interesting paradigm shift for me came when I was part of the group of seniors responsible for training new recruits. Instead of adopting the traditional military style of using punishment, fear and force to encourage better performance, we decided to try a different approach. We chose the route of positive reinforcement and encouragement. Through this approach, we learned to motivate recruits by helping them develop an interest in the training and a desire to get better. We built a camaraderie that eventually led to better performance and results than in previous years, and it was a lot more fun. Interestingly, learning how to nurture positivity proved very useful later in life when I was teaching martial arts, and then again when I joined Ritual.
When the opportunity to work as a coach at Ritual came up, I was actually working as a cashier at my sister’s shop and teaching Sanda (Chinese Kickboxing) at a local Wushu club part-time. Although there was a strong ‘fitness’ focus in my classes, it was still technically martial arts. However, I found that when I finally did come on board with Ritual, my general fitness knowledge combined with my level of comfort with teaching enabled a pretty smooth transition. Honestly, I can’t imagine myself doing anything else now!
What drew you to Ritual?
Well, firstly, the concept of Ritual blew my mind. It’s funny because it’s so obvious, but nobody’s ever thought about doing it like this. We’ve literally taken away all the excuses, and then combined it with great customer service and a cool environment. Plus, the team feels like a family – supportive, respectful and fun. I was considering jumping fully into the fitness industry before I found Ritual, but my friends in the industry said it was really tiring because you have to do a lot of sales and hit quotas every month, which was a real turn-off for me. My passion is in helping people and teaching. I like my challenges to be about how to inspire more people to do better. I want to spend my time trying to figure out how to encourage people to learn to do it for themselves, and not just for the sake of doing it.
What keeps you excited about the role?
I’m at a point now where I feel I’m really getting to know clients, and I’m comfortable with the challenge of helping a lot of different people improve their health. I am usually slow to open up and to speak up, and this role continues to challenge me to explore how I can help from all kinds of different angles, which is great. I’m trying to get as good as I can be at simplifying things and making things easier for clients to understand, and without them feeling intimidated by the information. Also, let’s not forget that this is just a feel good business. We see improvement in people every single day, and we get to experience the appreciation and celebration when people break barriers and feel a sense of accomplishment!
A lot of clients have gotten great results training with us. Why do you think this happens?
I guess the basic answer is that it just works. But really I think what makes the difference is that we’ve got the whole package. Everything we do is done to encourage consistency. Everything we do is geared towards encouraging people to actually use the gym, and to train responsibly. Combining this with great customer service is a great way to make the experience enjoyable, to make people want to be here.
Do you ever find it difficult to get people to focus on health over aesthetics?
No, not really these days, mostly because everyone gets so much fitter when they train here. When a client is feeling frustration, I simply have to redirect the focus to how they’ve been feeling recently. Once we explore these things and that client realizes that in her day-to-day life, everything is easier, her stamina is much better, and that she has much better control of her body now, the client can’t help but smile. The tricky part is trying to convince a client to focus on performance, because in my opinion, that’s where the secret to consistent improvement is. Thinking about performance helps to break the old mentality of, for example, ‘getting fit means losing weight, so I should just run more’. Come for a quarterly test, or do a quick test yourself. See how many push-ups you can do or how many burpees you can manage in 60 seconds. Then, commit to 3 months of consistent training and really work hard. Then test yourself again, and enjoy the improvement. Once you cross that line and really learn to believe that if you work hard, you will improve, you’ll become self-motivated.
Very interesting perspective, thanks for the candidness there. Let’s shift gears a little. What’s your training like these days?
Well, I’ve definitely still got a passion for martial arts, and recently I’ve been doing a lot of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It’s very new to me still, and I’m having a lot of fun. On top of the martial arts training, I do Ritual workouts about 3 times per week so I can keep my body fat low and also so I can keep some of the muscle and strength that I’ve built up over the years. I find that the Ritual sessions help me cardiovascularly with my grappling training, and also help me balance things out in my body. You get put in a lot of compromising positions in martial arts, so taking the time to train in good alignment is very helpful. Even if I’m really sore and tired, I’ll do the Ritual sessions, sometimes just at a level 1, to work up a good sweat and to focus on perfect alignment.
What are your rest days like?
I always rest on the weekends, and for me, I rest completely, meaning no exercise at all. On Saturdays and Sundays, I also eat whatever I want! During the week, I eat really well, not just because it’s good for me, but because I find it cheaper and more convenient to just prepare my own meals each morning.
It might be worth mentioning that in the past, I’ve gone through phases where I’ve trained more often, with fewer rest days, and found that I couldn’t recover well enough. With 2 full days of rest at the end of each week, I find that I can start each week fresh and strong. I’ve found that long-term, for example over a period of 6 months or a year, I get more overall improvement if I take the weekends off, compared to if I trained more often with no rest days, simply because I get the time to rest, recover and come back stronger each week.
What’s one thing you’ve struggled with in your fitness journey that you think clients can learn from?
When I was younger I used to lift weights without paying much attention to my form, not really worrying about getting hurt, thinking I was young and that I couldn’t get hurt. I knew my form wasn’t perfect, but I remember thinking that my form was ‘good enough’. One day I was deadlifting without bracing my core, and with a bit of a rounded lower back, and felt my lower back ‘snap’. I was trying to lift way too much weight without paying attention to technique. Because of that injury, I couldn’t really move for 2 months. For the first week I felt excruciating pain from just shifting my weight from one leg to the other. I was stubborn, and I learned my lesson the hard way. It took a while to get better, but I deadlift with no problem now because I am super strict with form. In fact, deadlifting properly actually really helped me rehabilitate my back and get my back stronger than before.
If you could give our new members some advice before they start training at Ritual, what would it be?
Stay consistent. Be patient with improvement. It doesn’t come immediately – but it will come with consistent training. You have to commit. Most of the time, people want the quick fixes. Everyone’s impatient these days. But really there’s no rush. Take that pressure off yourself. Some people get physical results fast, and others take a bit longer. That’s fine, and that’s also just the way it is. In the end, everybody makes improvement, and everybody gets to feel the empowerment from it.
Sometimes clients join and seem to really want to smash themselves. Some clients don’t seem afraid to hurt themselves in their pursuit of abs. It’s not the healthiest approach, but I guess it does work. Is it worth it, though? Do you actually want to have it so quickly that you’re willing to sacrifice or compromise your health and abilities when you’re 60? For most people, it might seem like the perfect body is a desperate need right now, but once you ask the right questions and help them dig deeper, it becomes obvious that being able to function vibrantly into old age and living a happy, healthy, fulfilling life is more important.
Don’t be afraid to try hard and to push hard, though. We’re here for you – we’ve got your back. If you’re going too far in either direction, we’ll let you know, and we’ll help you through the rough times.
What motivates you?
For me, it’s really simple. Improvement. Whether in myself or in others – it doesn’t matter. If I’m somehow part of it, I experience it, and that’s what motivates me to do better.
Alright, now for some rapid-fire questions!
How many amazeballs do you think you can eat in 5 minutes?
Maybe 10? Actually, we should give this a try. I think maybe Brad and Shrek might be able to eat more amazeballs than I can, but I’m pretty sure I can take on any of the other staff!
What was your favorite junk food when you were growing up?
Chocolate, all kinds! Milk, dark, white – it didn’t matter!
What’s your favorite cheat food these days?
Recently I’ve been all about the ramen! Currently one of my favorites is right by Ritual – Ramen Matsuri!
Who’s your favorite superhero or cartoon character?
I grew up with the Power Rangers – a major influence in my formative years! The original green ranger was my favorite!
What’s your spirit animal?
I really wasn’t sure, so I took some online tests, and they all say I’m a deer! I suppose it’s because I’m quite sensitive to other people’s feelings, which might be a good thing. I’ve actually always wanted to be an eagle – focused and sharp. I guess that means I’m a deer trying to become an eagle?
=====
Desmond has been at our North Canal Road branch for a little over a year, and hopes that you’ll reach out for advice whenever you have questions, because the coaches here really want to help.
I just came over from Fuyi. She guessed that it was you here.It may have been dangerous in the past. Several people looked at each other.
Ouch The giant white dragon pierced through the clouds and the sky, How to Open Cannabis Gummies: A Step-by-Step Guide (GUcVq)
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Cang Huo arrived shortly after and looked at Jiang Yuebai.How unlucky In fact, I just acted relaxed in front of Xie Jingshan, but I was still nervous inside, so that I felt heavy, and even breathing in the spring breeze of laughter could not make me happy.
Most of the monsters in the grass and tree monster tribe can use pollen magic.I don t know what Xiaolu will become. I really miss it
Ugly Ox, March 3, clear sky Today, the war is about to begin Thousands of miles of white clouds and green mountains as far as the eye can see.
Sure enough, the shortcut taken at the beginning will still have to be paid back twice as much later.Some were burning like flames, some were invisible like water flow, and some were as hard as gold and as heavy as stone.
But only the main branch of the bone veins knows how to truly refine evil magic weapons.The thunder catastrophe was not over yet, so they didn t dare to get close.
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The price of freedom is really too high Jiang Yuebai couldn t say anything.If it succeeded in transforming into a god, it would find other dragons in the Tianling Realm and become the dragon king.
For a moment, she couldn t find anyone to attack. She encountered a few lone ants biting her on the road.There are many differences in the practice habits between monks in the upper world and monks in the earthly and spiritual world, especially the use of spiritual energy, the starting point of spell casting, etc.
Jiang Yuebai squeezed Lu Nanzhi s hand and found that she had good physical training, and the coldness in her body was very strong, and her whole body was like a thousand The dummy carved by Zai Xuanbing has no warmth of a living person.A cold light flashed in Ning Zhiyuan s eyes, and he suddenly raised his Sink Your Teeth into Success with Shark Tank Speedy Keto ACV Gummies: The Ultimate Weight Loss Solut
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Two seniors, we can set off. Feng Lie shouted from the front, and the entire team had been organized.Jiang Yuebai took the opportunity to explode, and with the help of Xiao Lu who sneaked back to her side, she ignited the Earth Fire, instantly burning the three strangers and ghosts around her to ashes.
With tears in her eyes, Yi Zhangying held the storage bag tightly in her hand and said to the direction where Poyun Chong disappeared, Take care In the inner space of Poyun Chong, Jiang Yuebai put the little green hanging on the ceiling to illuminate, and turned his head I talked to Lu Nanzhi Jili Guala.
I don t know if the soul dwelling stone is easy to find in the Tianling Realm.Tiannanxing stepped forward on the bloody orchid, followed by two ghosts and one person.
The deeper she went, the more uncomfortable Jiang Yuebai felt.
They only watched Ye Ling and the three Yuan Ying ancestors sword lights disappear into the city.There are so many people in your Golden Crow tribe, are you still afraid that I am just one person Ye Ling said calmly, his words were neither humble nor arrogant, and his expression was even brighter.
He did not avoid the resistance of the strong wind at all, and flew forward excitedly Ye Ling was secretly surprised.Wang Shiyuan summoned the wind eagle and looked up at the calamity cloud.
Zhilan He smiled and said Don t worry, Aunt Cheng It s better now He is a monk from the Wu Kingdom, and we are from the Yue Kingdom.Qu Rou asked I heard from my cousin that not only are the Elon Musk CBD Gummies: Benefits, Reviews, and Legitimacy
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It contains ice aura and water aura. If we refine the ice elixir again, it may have miraculous effects Ye Ling After all, he is a master of alchemy.Liang Yuzhu pouted, the boss was not happy, it was because his junior brother regarded him as a drag.
Zhilan was also a little panicked and shouted loudly Don t come here Aunt Cheng Aunt Cheng The old woman in the late Jindan stage who was fighting the catfish demon hurriedly flew back and rushed over, spitting It s worthless Isn t he just a male cultivator in the early stage of Jindan He scared you like this Stop it Ye Ling stopped Understanding CBD Sleep Gummies Side Effects for a Restful Night's Sleep
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Ye Ling was immersed in his understanding of alchemy.Aunt Cheng nodded slightly Well Without further ado, I ll leave now.
It is very useful to others, but it is harmful to her but not beneficial at all Young Master Canglang was also startled, and then he came to his senses, clenched his fists again, and murmured What a poisonous girl You were afraid that we would use this poison repelling pearl against you, so you had to buy it Improving Rest and Emotional Wellbeing with Mood Sleep Gummies (hENWv)
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Ahem, I also have rare treasures here For a time, Bingdie and the old catfish collected many rare treasures on Ye Ling s behalf, including the top grade weapon refining material turquoise, sixth level The group attack talisman, the fire burning talisman, and the spiritual grass and elixir prescriptions were all decided The Benefits of Male Biotic Gummies for Optimal Gut and Immune Health (FDGSd)
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Us Ye Ling nodded and unfolded two different map jade slips again.It was also the first time for Hongtang and Qingwan to sit on the sixth order demon dragon.
Zhuangzhu Su hit a snag and knew that he would not get any favors based on his beauty, so he did not dare to say anything anymore and just obeyed the orders respectfully.From the Bone Forest to the Demon Sealing Platform, the Demon Sealing Tomb is the only way to pass.
He loudly promised I won t have any worries The dog Tang Meng, who is in the middle stage of foundation building, has already taken over my position as the sect leader.What s more, it is located on the other side of the East China Sea.
Only Qingwan s palm, The magic flame is a blue yin fire, which adds a bit of momentum Zhuo Wuchan, the seventh eldest son of the Zhuo clan, was leading his brothers from the eldest clan along every ravine to search for traces of Ye Ling and the Qiuyuan Villa, but to no Unlocking Weight Loss in 2025: Biolife Keto Gummies Reviews from USA’s Top Athletes
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This was obviously because he did not want to go ashore.Even Zhou Tong an, the ancestor of the Zhou family who didn t recognize Ye Ling, was trying his best to win over him With a pleasant look on his face, he promised to give Ye Ling as many spirit stones as he wanted.
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he twisted the fish s whiskers with his hand and thought Could it be that you entered the realm of Aolai and bumped into a strong man of golden elixir, so that you came back defeated The green and black fish demon stumbled and sighed If you encountered a strong man, then so be it.
Roar A shocking roar came from the depths of Xishan and shocked the entire Xishan City Hongtang, Xiaotao, Qingwan and Yuming were all startled, staring wide eyed at the sword light coming from all directions, flying into the city, and the city defense formation also opened Ye Ling heard this shocking roar and it was very familiar.
She must beat Ye Ling and his spirit beasts to death or injury Unexpectedly, when the demon in the Demon Sealing Diagram saw this, he laughed excitedly Hahaha I haven t seen such pure demonic energy in a long time.When he saw this scene, he shouted loudly Where did the demon beast come from Amazon Oprah Weight Loss Gummies: The Ultimate Game-Changer for Achieving Your Weight Loss Goals
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red fire green tailed leopard was on the rise, and suddenly I felt a strong pressure Good guy The pressure that this guy exudes is comparable to the first vanguard under the Demon Lord Xue Quezi of the East China Sea, the demon turned immortal vulture Young Black Brother, Mr.
The disciples of the Five Elements Immortal Sect were shocked, and tried their best to dodge backwards, using their bodies to block the incoming green smoke.With that, Ye Ling came from the store. In the bag of goods, a poison proofing bead was found.
He just nodded and said, When I was in the capital of Wu Kingdom, I entered the Huixing Pavilion and several fellow Taoists from the Youyue Immortal Sect knew it.it can be regarded as a miracle. But the treasure you got in the valley must be seen by me.
During the nine months he was on the fourth grade flying boat, his cultivation had not stopped, and the total amount of spiritual power in his Nascent Soul had increased a bit.The sea breeze not only smelled of the ocean, but also had a faint smell of plants and earth.
Originally, with Yuan Xi, a middle stage Jindan monk, he could completely eliminate the first ice crystal beast without any damage.His Secret Book of Sword Demons has only reached the foundation building stage, and only one magic weapon long sword is left in the golden elixir stage.
He couldn t believe his ears
The imperial edict came down quickly. If he has meritorious service to Qin Hu s ancestors, he will be exempted from the death penalty but will not escape from the living crime.It is definitely not something that ordinary weapon refiners can refine.
It seems that they are here to find the middle aged monk.Jian Lao hopes that Li Yuanba can understand the Bearing the Void Sword Intent.
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hundreds of big and thick Qiuba every day He must have done the most tiring work, eaten the worst food, suffered the most severe beatings, and suffered the most anger
Qin Hu estimated that his predecessor might have been tortured to death.
Generally, the alchemy furnace is refined only by the refining masters who have studied the matter.Although he already knew about Jian Wuwei s situation, he still asked.
He pointed out the Six Yang Spiritual Fire , and the corpses on the ground were instantly reduced to ashes.On the one hand, the eight Nascent Soul monks did not want to fight.
In the second step, his eyes changed again. This time he became a beggar.He controlled the flying sword magic weapon again, injected more spiritual power, and slashed towards the cave formation.
A black shadow suddenly appeared above the two of them with a strong wind, a dragon roared, and the chill was overwhelming.None of the Buddhist temples in Liusha area are serious Buddhist temples.
It seems that she has been prepared for a long time.The Five Elements Essence is thicker and more pure than the Five Elements Spiritual Qi.
Although Xu Qianjin s light sword restrained Lu Nazhi, she kept avoiding Xu Qianjin and only pursued Xu Qiancheng to attack fiercely.Jiang Yuebai looked at Lu Nanzhi, she was also shocked.
I m not calm and I m not suitable for setting up formations.At this moment, the mountain wall behind the two people collapsed, and a huge bloody light and shadow shrouded it with the aura of death.
Jiang Yuebai couldn t help but be surprised when he heard this, Then don t my five spiritual roots need five exercises Tao Fengnian nodded, Jiang Yuebai was dumbfounded.They neglected their surroundings due to the accident of their third brother, which gave Jiang Yuebai an opportunity to Exploring the Benefits and Varieties of CBD Sour Gummies
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A crack was opened in Ye s hand in the sea of consciousness by the impact just now.Jiang Yuebai changed into black clothes, wore a bamboo hat, and looked at her intently.
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I only wrote about the method of repairing the bone slips.At worst, I ll just escape with you. Lu Nazhi smiled bitterly, Okay, let s not talk about it anymore.
Yes, it wants to eat it
and it said it doesn t taste good
He became quieter as he spoke. Zhizhi Jiang Yuebai scratched his eyebrows, I see that this monkey doesn t have your breath on it.I heard many people secretly talking about Fang Mingyi being put in a sack in the suburbs, stripped naked and beaten to the point where his own mother could not recognize him.
There was a protective array on the door, so she couldn t get in.On the third day of March, we harvested 1,250 jins of winter wheat.
On the top of the library, she studied the ancestor s four line inheritance and the alchemy and talisman array.Carrying a spear, he walked towards the light. The incident in Yinfengjian spread throughout the Tianyan Sect within a few days and became the biggest topic of conversation outside of the year end exams.
Tao Fengnian took his sleeve away from Jiang Yuebai s hand and handed her a hatchet.In one picture, a female nun in blue is lying drunk on the top of a mountain, drinking alone under the moon, looking wild and free.
Donor, this way. Jiang Yuebai heard Ruosheng s voice and turned around to see him hiding behind a huge rock by the lake.
