All about fitness and well-being
Contact Staff
Yohance Johnson is on a quest.
He wants to bring the message of fitness and wellbeing to as many of his friends, acquaintances and other Montrealers as possible. So whenever he engages in conversation with anyone, the first thing he does is to encourage them to get involved or participate in one of the many activities he organizes to promote physical and mental growth.
Johnson, a personal trainer and leader of the Boot Camp training sessions at the West End Gym in NDG, established his Fit Squad about three years ago and embarked on a crusade to spread the word.
The young Montrealer who spent his formative years in the West Island and NDG is dedicating his life to helping people reach their fitness goals. He says he is mostly self-taught, but is continuously reading and updating his knowledge and skills to stay abreast of the latest techniques.
Throughout his life he has been active.
“I grew up playing organized football with the Cardinals and basketball with Brookwood in the West Island. I also played ice hockey and every other sport that was popular around Montreal,” he says. “So it was all about being active and involved and pay attention to proper nutrition.”
Also, Johnson says he spent six years in training as a boxer, a sport that he has been most passionate about, and uses many of its techniques in his training sessions.
Every Wednesday he puts a group of about a dozen or so over-zealous youths and some cautiously enthusiastic more mature individuals through their paces at the Boot camp.
It’s a fast-paced environment where the music is loud and upbeat, the instructions are in-your-face and sometimes in military style but everyone are advised to go at their speed and timing,
Yohance’s idea is that, if you stick to it, fitness comes.
He also organizes sessions at parks and other public spaces around Montreal during the summer months.
The training is based on movement and breathing, two of the most fundamental but necessary human activities.
He says by incorporating them, especially in a structured way in your life, it leads to a better quality of life physically and emotionally. Reach him at fitsquadboss@gmail.com
