J.P. Castillo is the owner of Majestic Strength. Recently City Life had the opportunity to discuss with him his various training methods, his ability to work with clients from all walks of life and how his daughter has changed his world view.

J.P. Castillo owns Majestic Strength, a specialty, first-class personal training studio. City Life recently had the opportunity to sit down and chat with him about how his views on training have changed over the years and how he’s learnt to put things in perspective for himself and clients, taking a more holistic world view after his daughter was born with Down Syndrome.

CL: Who are your clients?
J.P.: Over the years since I started working in commercial gyms. I’ve been training the average person who’s looking for tightening and weight loss as opposed to power, performance and speed. Now, I also work with seniors, people with disabilities and people who have health conditions.

CL: Can you tell us about your daughter and her struggles?
J.P.: My daughter has Down Syndrome. She’s been diagnosed with global delays, autism as well as celiac disease. In her case the gluten allergy had destroyed her small intestine. In addition to the delays in development she has more delays because of a lack of absorption of nutrients. It’s a change of perspective. You start focusing on what’s really important in life. We can’t get all stressed out about traffic jams, or getting the wrong change — there’s bigger things going on.

CL: How has a holistic world view changed your training philosophies?
J.P.: The more I became involved in the holistic side of things, the less it became about how big your MUSCLES are and how FAST you are. It became all about HEALTH first. My ultimate focus has become that what we do is driven by a health-first approach. All of a sudden it’s not, “I’m going to look good in a bikini” but instead “Can I function in my day? Can I get up & down the stairs?”

CL: How would you describe your training style?
J.P.: Newcomers expect a workout that will kick their butt and be super difficult. I don’t really buy into that part of it anymore. When people come into my studio they are practically crawling on their hands and knees from having life kick their butts. It’s difficult enough for people to get to the gym. They don’t need me to beat them down and bury them any further. I am a firm believer in building somebody up. A lot of people have a very negative image of the gym and eating healthy. That’s the culture of the beast that’s been created in this industry. If you want to come to my studio I’ll do a physical assessment and try to gauge where the client needs improvement and what areas we need to focus on. But it’s critical we identify what level the client is at when they walk in the door.

29-281 Woodbridge Ave., Woodbridge, Ont.
@majesticstrength