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On this week's Wellness Wednesday episode, Evan introduces the Elemental Evan listeners to Movement Expert/Health and Wellness Coach Quinton Alexander aka Q. In this episode Q shares his story behind his health journey and how he developed his personal movement practice. Q gives extremely useful tips for people who are:

-New to working out/building a movement practice

-Looking to workout for longevity

-Trying to lose weight

-Wanting to diversify their types of exercise

Q has developed his practice and coaching skills over many years and shares his diverse knowledge on movement with everyone tuning in to the show. If you have been wanting to improve your movement practice either with weights or just calisthenics, or maybe even just find your way into a gym for the first time, then this is the episode for you.

Do everything with good intentions and connect to your elements.

Disclaimer:

This podcast is for educational purposes only, it is not a substitute for professional care by a doctor or other qualified medical professional. Evan Roberts is not a medical professional and this podcast is provided on the understanding that it does not constitute medical or other professional advice or services. Statements and views expressed on this show are not medical advice, this podcast, including Evan Roberts and any guests on the show, disclaims responsibility for any possible adverse effects from the use of information contained in this episode. If you think you have a medical problem please consult a medical professional.

going on everybody?

Welcome back to the Elemental Evans Show.

Today I'm joined by once again, another very special guest.

Today we have the one and only Quentin Alexander.

He is a health and fitness coach, a personal trainer, he comes from a

background of track and field dancing.

He's got a degree in kinesiology and he loves to see people succeeding, getting

a smile on their face and doing things that they were never able to do before.

This is just an all around amazing guy in the short time

I've even had to talk with him.

So welcome to the show as well.

Uh, he goes by the name Q, so I'll probably refer to him as Q.

But welcome to the show, Q.

Thank you, brother.

I appreciate.

Yeah, man.

So happy to have you on.

Was there anything else that I should add in there?

. Well, I mean, we, we might go down the rabbit hole, but it's, uh,

it's been interesting before I even got into, ah, no, that's a lie.

I was gonna say, before I got into the health and fitness space, I've

been, um, you know, very into art.

Um, just kind of like, uh, whether it's movement, arts or

music and things of that nature.

Uh, so I've been doing that for a while too, so just whether it's, you know,

poetry, uh, rap, I was doing a lot of that before I got into the fitness space.

And of course dancing as well, like literally leading up to,

uh, you know, right before I started my, my fitness venture.

So.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So a lot of different things left and right, for sure.

No, I, I really appreciate that and I appreciate you mentioning that as well.

Um, especially with dance, uh, you know, it's.

Pretty wild because there's so many people that you don't think would be in dance,

and they are like tons of running backs, uh, even people within the MMA field.

Uh, so it's really wild.

There's so much footwork that goes into it as well as if anyone has

ever actually tried like legit dancing, it's freaking hard.

Yeah.

It is . It's super hard.

Like, not, not just having rhythm, but like actually doing

like some of these dance moves.

It is mm-hmm.

, it takes a lot of strength and flexibility, right?

Yeah.

So, uh, I'm really happy.

I, I'm excited to dig in on that.

But, uh, before we jump into the episode completely, uh, I'll start

off with just the rapid fire questions that I always do with the guests.

So, uh, to start it off, where you from?

Uh, born and raised in Las Vegas.

Beautiful, beautiful man.

Are you missing Las Vegas at all, or do you enjoy it where you're at now?

Uh, not really.

Well, so, um, I used to hate Vegas, uh, . So, uh, just, I'm kinda, you

were, you're telling me about Beaumont.

I'm not sure how, you know, uh, the city is there, but, um, Vegas itself is kind

of like an island in the desert, you know?

There really is nothing else around it, you know, because people say like, oh,

you know, if you, you can tell somebody you're from California, but if you tell,

you tell somebody from Nevada, it's like, well, there's only one . Okay.

I won't say one, but there's, there's like maybe two or three cities period

that are, that have any, you know, amount of people who actually live there.

Vegas is the number one city in the entire state.

So you're from Vegas, you're not even from Nevada . Yeah.

That's kinda how it's, um, do I miss.

Not, not necessarily, you know, I just got back Thanksgiving saw,

saw most of my family still lives there, and, uh, I appreciated more.

Now actually living in California from a, from an adult perspective,

as a kid, you're like, oh, you know, I just wanna travel.

I wanna do all these different things.

And I didn't do much of that when I was younger.

But, uh, going back, you know, even just from like looking at rent and

things like parking, , you know, uh, stuff you overlook as a kid and you take

advantage of or you take for granted.

Um, you know, there's, you know, a lot of different things

that I'm more appreciative now.

Distance makes the heart grow fonder, right?

Yes, indeed.

. Yeah.

Uh, no, I love that man.

And then obviously, uh, we kind of gave it away, but where are you based out of?

Oh, I live in la Uh, I actually live in Inglewood specifically,

but you know, I tell people LA if they're not too familiar.

Yeah.

Honestly, any, anytime I'm traveling and people, even when I wasn't living in LA

and they're like, where are you from?

It's like, uh, LA you know, LA it's just easy, you know what I mean?

Um, mm-hmm.

. Okay.

Awesome.

And then, uh, last two questions.

What's your favorite book?

Wow.

Um, I would say, um, that's kind of a, a cheat answer I would say the Bible.

Um, but if it's not, if it's not the Bible, I would say,

man, that's a great question.

Mm.

There's so many books that have like influenced me over time.

Hmm.

Let me come back to that.

Yeah, no worries.

I mean, and the Bible is a good one.

I actually, no one has used that one on my show yet, so.

Oh, really?

Yeah.

And I, I like that answer.

We'll stick with the Bible.

If you think of one before the episode's over, we'll, uh, we'll circle back to it.

Last one is just what is your favorite quote?

Favorite quote?

So what, it's that quote by, uh, Maryanne Williamson.

It says, um, our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

Um, we ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous,

actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people

won't feel insecure about you.

We are all meant to shine as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us.

It's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other

people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates.

Excellent, excellent quote.

But, alright, q, let's go ahead and jump into the real depth of the topic on

today's episode, which is really gonna be probably focused around movement,

exercise, you know, just essentially using our body, uh, for what it was made,

you know, and, and moving in this space.

So, I would love to just start off with really breaking down how you found your

way into your current movement practice.

Maybe even if you wanna talk a little bit about what your current

movement practice looks like.

Mm-hmm.

, but definitely, um, you know, what, what, what brought that interest to

you, you know, and, and what really led you down the, the path of, you

know, chasing this career and, yeah.

And making it all, you know, essentially your, your life goal, right.

Okay, so , let me, let me, uh, wrap my testimony into kind of like a

small little, uh, little package.

So I mentioned I'm from Vegas originally, um, before, um, telling you, I know I,

I ran track starting from high school, but before then I was playing football.

So, uh, during that time I played football, you know, my dad introduced

me, one of my, uh, uh, best friends at the time, Sean, this was in fifth

grade, he was playing football.

And you know, dads are talking, they're like, no, you just get your

son out there playing football as well.

So eventually I played, first year I was like, mvp, running back, all that good

stuff, you know, little kids, whatever.

And, uh, I took it all the way up until high school.

Well, right before high school, middle school, um, I injured my shoulder,

tore my right labrum, and I was introduced to the world of radiology.

I didn't know the word existed, but of course when you have to

get x-rays, you, you do that.

So I saw the word radiology and I'm like, wow.

You know, I all, all the way already in my mind I thought.

How much do they get paid?

, you know?

And uh, then I told myself, and I told my parents, I'm gonna be a radiologist, you

know, because it was the first thing I kind of knew about in the science world.

And then, uh, maybe a couple years went by, I still didn't

get my shoulder, uh, fixed.

I just knew it was messed up.

Eventually got my shoulder fixed.

Uh, then I thought about being a physical therapist and I was like,

ah, but it seems kind of boring.

So I was like, all right, maybe not physical therapy.

This is maybe my freshman year of high school.

From that I was then introduced to, uh, I was watching a Boflex commercial.

All right, so the Boflex commercial, those a do it on there.

And he was working out.

He looked kind of nerdy.

He had glasses on, but he had some muscle.

And, uh, his, his thing he said, he was like, Hey, I know this product is

really good because, you know, um, I went to school and I studied kinesiology,

so I know the, you know, whatever is, uh, , I know it's a good product.

And I'm like, oh.

I was like, that sounds like a smart word.

So I looked that up and found out that it was, you know, study of human movement,

exercise, all that good, good stuff.

And, uh, from there then I stuck with that, that theme, and

that took me into to college.

And, you know, um, between the transition of football, uh, in my

freshman year, I was approached by somebody on the track team.

They said, Hey, you know, uh, you know, I know you're, you're,

you know, you play running back, uh, but you should run track.

It'll make you run faster, you know, in the football field.

And I was like, okay.

So I tried that, fell in love with track, uh, ditched football.

And then I stuck with that all the way through college.

Um, in college I became the Catholic.

I was, came in as sprints, but they saw, you know, you know, here

and there that like, oh, you know, he could do a little bit more.

So, uh, Went through the decathlon, uh, you know, won a few, you know,

regional championships here and there.

Uh, and from that, uh, I kind of paired what I was learning with, you know,

just the kice background to, you know, what I was learning on the field.

And, uh, I kind of really used it a lot because I was injured often

throughout my, uh, my track career.

And I kind of just use that like, well, well, not only how can I get

better in terms of my performance, but how can I like, stop dealing

with all those plants are fasciitis.

And, you know, then that led me down the road of, you know, uh, you know, footwear

and like, you know, what strong feet are and you know what bunions are and like

how does that, you know, the alignment of our foot, you know, and not necessarily

being fasciitis, but more fasci because it's nec not necessarily inflamed,

it's just all those different things.

It took me down a, a long journey.

I say like a rabbit hole, but, um, it all started I would say, maybe from

football and then leading to, uh, all throughout college, you know, so.

Oh, okay.

So that's, that's half the story . Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Okay.

So for, uh, from college, uh, it's funny, um, I was dating a girl at the time.

Um, so I went to a school out in, uh, in Orange County, Vanguard University.

Mm-hmm.

. And, uh, so I did my schooling out there, ran track there.

And I was dating a girl at the time who lived out in LA and, uh, you know,

there was a whole thing back and forth, you know, she would travel to see me.

I wouldn't travel to see her as much.

So when I graduated I said, Hey, you know what, I'm gonna go out

there and I'm gonna live with you.

I'm gonna, you know, we're gonna make it happen.

Did not happen.

Uh, a month into it, I was living in downtown.

Uh, we were gonna get a place, uh, you know, something in my spirit and

I was talking to other, uh, people who were older and wiser than me.

They said, Hey, don't move in with your girlfriend at the age of 21.

Just doesn't make sense.

I'm like, really?

They're like, yeah, it doesn't make sense.

So I said, okay.

Told her, I said, we're not moving in.

Lo and behold, she took that as her out.

And, uh, I was like, well, I'm not going back to Vegas.

So I made it work.

Found a church community out here.

Uh, I got a job, uh, working at a place that sold fitness equipment.

All right, uh, place called Active Solutions.

They still, still up in business.

They sell functional training equipment, right?

Um, so a lot of, uh, different rigs, you know, I starts to learn more

about different tools, whether it was like, you know, steel clubs, Macs,

kettlebells, you know, um, you know, sandbags, all that good, good stuff.

Uh, you know, aerial yoga, trx, you know, I got my certification,

you know, by working with them.

Like all that good stuff, like all that came through working with that, that job.

And in the meantime, you know, I, uh, was rapping, you know, so, uh,

I was pursuing that, you know, of course putting stuff on on SoundCloud.

I got a few songs on Spotify and, uh, yeah, just having a good time with it.

And the girl that I met, she actually influenced me to, you know, become,

uh, you know, a part of this, uh, small collective of, uh, you know, of people

who did spoken word, uh, you know, uh, rap, sing, all that kind of stuff.

It was called Mike Sessions.

And, uh, Mike Sessions was held pretty much.

Uh, I don't know how familiar you are.

With la but it's kind of like in the Baldwin Hills ish area.

Yep.

So somebody, uh, had a crib.

They invited a bunch of people.

Um, the person who, uh, put it on her name was Leila Steinberg, and

she actually was, uh, somebody who, you know, used to work, uh, alongside

Tupac when he was doing his thing.

And so she, that space and just a bunch of different people from, you know, all walks

of life would come, you know, they would share their stuff, she would critique them

on their stage presences, how they were holding the mic, all that kind of stuff.

Yeah.

So it was really cool.

It was, uh, really influential.

Um, it got to a point where I realized that maybe I wasn't doing that for

myself, and I was kind of in the back of my mind actually doing it for my

old relationship, you know, because she had pushed me in that direction.

And so I took my artistic desire to, to do something, and

I took that away from music.

And then I started to apply that to dance because I've always been

involved in dancing as well, you know?

Jesus from elementary school to middle.

You know, I've, I've been a dancer all my life in the midst of also

being, you know, uh, you know, an athlete and all that stuff.

So, started dancing more.

Um, you know, I was involved, uh, with breaking in high school and so I

started to get, uh, get involved more popping, house breaking styles, uh, you

know, early between like 20 18, 20 20.

So taking the, the classes, teaching classes, working with kids, all

that, all the way up until 2020.

So now we're kind of getting to the nitty gritty.

I'm still working at this, this corporate job, uh, for functional training,

right, where we sell the equipment, but doing all this other stuff on the side.

Um, eventually, you know, Places closed down.

Everybody's working from home.

Of course, you know, it's the pandemic and you know, hours are cut in half.

But 2020 was probably one of my favorite years.

Sounds crazy, but it was like my, literally one of my favorite years

because, um, I was living in, um, I wasn't, wasn't engaged or married at the

time, but I had a bunch of roommates.

They got up to a point where it was five guys in an apartment and you know,

obviously it's a little rowdy, but, um, we spent a lot of time at the parks.

So one of my, you know, first I would say real clients.

Um, I worked with friends in the past, but it was one of my friends, you

know, I didn't charge him anything, but he wanted to lose weight.

And, uh, he was about maybe like 2 85.

Okay.

And, uh, you know, he felt uncomfortable with himself, uh, you know, getting on

airplanes, you know, kind of just like walking up steps, all that kind of stuff.

He just really didn't, he just didn't like how he felt, let alone

how he looked, even though he, uh, he utilized it in his comedy because

he's a, he's a comedian Instagram, he's really famous in that, that film.

But he would utilize it to, you know, uh, I guess, what is it, like self

deprecating humor, uh, you know, about like, oh, I'm this guy, da da da da.

But in reality, he really wanted to lose that weight.

So, um, he started on his own, started going to Culver City Steps, you

know, like just going up and down.

Hey, I made it once.

Oh, I made it, uh, one, you know, two times now, and, you

know, all that kind of stuff.

But that's all he knew, which was a fantastic start.

And so I just asked him, I said, Hey, what else are you doing besides that?

And he's like, well, that's it.

I just go to the steps and whatever.

I'm like, oh dude.

Like you should just, uh, why don't you come to the, to the park

with me like, Every other day.

And then we'll just do some, some calin, some, you know, some movement, you

know, we might skip, we might crawl, we might, you know, pull, push whatever,

you know, we just have fun at the parks.

And he is like, okay, cool.

So he joined me and then one of my other roommates, uh, hopped in

and another roommate hopped in.

And so I helped him from pretty much March of 2020 until July when

he actually moved out to Texas.

He lost 70 pounds, you know, just within that small, you know, frame of time.

And then, so what is that?

Is that five months?

Yeah, somewhere around there.

Yeah.

Sorry, I'm four or five months.

Yeah, so like four or five months.

He lost 70 pounds.

I was like, what the heck?

And then another friend who was uh, also one of the roommates,

he lost about 50 ish, 60 pounds.

And then another friend lost like 30 pounds, still kind of eating, eating

trash, you know, like . They weren't really, you know, eating the best.

Uh, my friend who lost the most weight, he was doing, uh, dirty

Keto, you know, where it was just

It's just all high fat, high protein stuff, right.

Um, Yeah.

And so he did it that way.

And, you know, I helped some other friends, you know, kind

of, you know, lose some weight.

And, uh, one of the, the biggest, uh, you know, rewarding things was actually

not the friend who lost the most weight.

It was the, one of the other ones he was interested in mostly being behind

the camera in the film, uh, industry.

He liked the way he looked so much.

Now he's actually pursuing being more in front of the camera

because subconsciously, or even consciously, he thought to himself

like, I'm not worth being seen.

Mm.

Yeah.

You know?

So that in a sense changed the way my mind, you know, worked.

And I had other friends, you know, like, uh, help them learn how to do a cartwheel

and, you know, all that kind of stuff.

You know, they'd never been able to do a cartwheel from, from,

uh, the of a kid, you know?

And I'm like, a cartwheel.

I'm like, oh, you know, uh, heck yeah, let's do it.

And so, um, so just teaching people like little stuff like that.

And, you know, it kind of goes back to, you know, me saying like, I love teaching

people how to do things that they th.

They never in their, why this mind thought they could do, like,

if they said, oh, I can't dance.

Like, you know, I'm sure you may have heard the common phrase like, uh, you

know, oh, I'm white, I don't have rhythm, or, uh, I don't, something like that.

I'm like, dude, first of all, like, I'll, I'll walk up to 'em and I'll listen.

I'm like, oh, come here, come here, come here real quick.

I'll listen to their heart.

And I'm like, oh no, you got rhythm.

Their heart beating, right?

They're like, oh, okay, cool.

That's the start.

So, you know, just kind of getting people to, you know, realize that they're,

they're more than they think they are, um, has really been beneficial.

So from that point, I then took that, um, like we were talking

about before the start, um, I.

Uh, you know, took that, uh, that experience, you know, through 2020.

And then towards the end of it, I reached out to one of my older contacts through

the business that I worked with, um, uh, uh, for the corporate, uh, corporate,

uh, gym and or corporate, uh, business.

And, um, started working for them at, uh, the district and, uh, up in the valley.

And then spent a couple, uh, about a couple years there, about a year

and a half, and then transitioned to the gym that talked about that I

connected with, with, uh, with Caleb.

And, uh, yeah.

Uh, from from now, now I've moved on into another space with, you know,

kind of just more independent, a little bit of hybrid, uh, mostly online, but

also working with, you know, people who really inspire me in person.

So that was a lot, but that's, I tried to, you know, put that all there.

It's hard to, it's hard to fit a, a life story into a short amount

of time, so, no, that's right.

That's excellent, man.

Um, Yeah, I mean, there we could definitely dive in in a lot of those

sections of your life, but just overall, I think the real takeaway is just,

uh, it's always really neat to see how we get to where we're at, you know?

And, and a lot of the times what it seems like is it's usually through,

you know, a hardship of some sort, like an injury in sports or, yeah.

Uh, not eating right, you know, and, and, uh, having these illnesses

or diseases showing up, right.

And then kind of using ourselves as the experiment and then going a little bit

outside of the normal, which hasn't been obviously helping us, and then finding

our way in that, uh, in that field.

And so, um, you know, also with you like having injured your shoulder.

Um, one of the things, and this didn't bring me into necessarily

like health and wellness, but like I as well, uh, in wrestling, Like

almost dislocated my shoulder.

It like slightly came out of the socket.

Yeah.

But it wasn't fully out.

Mm-hmm.

, I just kind of, uh, no one adjusted it or did anything right on spot.

And so when I finally went in and got x-rays taken, they're like,

there's nothing we can really do now.

It's kind of like already settled back, but they're just like, you're

gonna, you're just gonna feel pain.

And they're like, just build muscle around your shoulder, uh, for later

in life so you can avoid, uh, you know, feeling waking up in the morning

and, and feeling some pain there.

So it's just, uh, super wild, but it still messed up.

Uh, you know, it, it doesn't bother me at all.

Now they do say that it's something down the road that could, so trying

to really just focus on, you know, joint health as well as, uh, you

know, maintaining muscle around the shoulders and, and really focusing on,

on keeping that muscle built and, uh, functioning properly and, and keeping

some range of movement in there as well.

So is it, uh, do you have, basically, are your ligaments looser.

At this point.

Uh, so what, what is the issue?

So actually I, I have no idea, honestly.

So in high school, they just took an x-ray.

They're like, oh yeah.

Like they, you know, show me this little dark line where my joint is, and they're

like, okay, it shouldn't be there.

It should be more like I sunken into the socket, I guess.

Sure.

Um, and at that age, I had no idea what questions asked.

And so, uh, they just, they, I don't even think they really told me what the

real issue is, is they were just like, you're, you know, you're, it'll eventually

go back into place and do what it needs to do, but you will always have, you

know, probably some pain down the road.

And, um, like, you know, knock on wood, I don't have any pain right now

in my shoulder, which is excellent.

Um, but it's something that I definitely try to be, you know, very cautious with

and, and, you know, uh, do pre preemptive measures to take care of it, you know?

Okay.

Yeah.

But, uh, yeah, I mean, and, and you know, if, if ever you have any curious

advice on, yeah, no, dude, I mean, I would be happy to, to take any advice

you have because I know, uh, like in terms of, of what your kind of workout

looks like right now, like movement practices, what, what do you normally do?

Do you do a traditional style, like lifts, like dead lifting, uh, bench

press, squat, things like that?

Or are you Yeah.

Doing more of like an animal flow or, you know, or are you incorporating all of 'em?

Like what's kind of your movement practice look like?

Man, there, there's seasons, there's seasons of different styles.

So right now I'm actually in more of a traditional style, um, because

I've actually, I neglected that, um, a lot through my, my upbringing.

So originally, my, my background was that, you know, just classic

like deadlift, uh, bench press, whatever from high school with.

, right.

So, um, I didn't realize until after, you know, I got to college and then,

um, everything after that, that I actually had a really good strength and

conditioning coach, uh, in high school.

That's awesome.

I didn't know that he was good because I hadn't had nothing to

compare it to, you know, but I was like, I look back, I'm like, wow, he

actually knew his stuff, , you know?

So, uh, but yeah, so I kind of have that background, um, between, you know,

going through, you know, more of the dancing phase and I didn't tell you that.

Yeah.

I said, Dan, there's a lot of stuff.

So, um, um, picked up a lot of tricking and tumbling as well.

So, uh, I learned how to, how to back tuck in high school,

hanging out with the cheerleaders.

Wait, what's, sorry, what's tricking?

I know tumbling, but what's tricking?

So tricking is like a mixture between gymnastics and park.

Oh, wow.

Yeah.

So if you ever see people do like, uh, like one-legged like flips

and, uh, spins and ts and curls and stuff, like, they'll, they'll do like

gainers, you know what a gainer is?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Like going, like, they'll basically do like, obviously gainers on the

ground, but like multiple in the air, and they'll like, do like, uh,

360 s, seven 20 spins, land on one leg, putting one hand on the ground.

It just, they just look like ninjas and stuff.

Sick.

Okay.

I, I know exactly what you're talking about.

Yeah.

So that's, that's what the, the term people use for tricking.

Okay.

They're doing literally flipping tricks.

Okay.

You know, so, um, so I kind of got into that, uh, that realm a little

bit, um, and just learning how to, you know, tumble on my own.

And so I would say maybe more so the gymnastics guy, I didn't get too much

into the style of tricking so much.

My combination of dancing and like, like breaking and then learning how to,

like, it just kind of all went together.

So, uh, where was I going with that?

Uh, you're asking, oh, how was it, how was it?

Uh, what phase am I in right now?

Right, right.

I did a lot of that, um, um, right before, actually right around the

time that I started to introduce my friends and help them lose weight.

I was in that mode where I was more doing more primal movements.

I was crawling, I was flipping, I was learning how to do back

tucks and, you know, uh, aerials and things of that nature.

Everything was very more body weight, uh, calin space.

And, uh, from that experience, I actually had the opportunity to then

start working with more athletes.

And of course you can take a lot of those elements, but you know, there's

a natural reality that when you're in a gym, you know, you've got all

of these equipment and tools around.

Use the tools because they're there for a reason.

And so I didn't have a lot of experience with that, you know, even

though I had my background in kines and I was training people more from

a calin space, um, that was actually a learning curve for me getting

into that space early in like 2021.

So literally last year

So, um, so yeah, so then I started to get more into more of the functional

training, actually applying it, you know, versus, you know, when I was working

with the company, just selling the stuff, you know, I did, I used them, but

I wasn't, you know, I didn't have the physical experience, you know, with that.

And so just applying those different things, you know, whether it's working

with landmines and different vans and, you know, pressurized cable machines

or, uh, you know, jammers and, you know, uh, slant boards and bos and, you

know, all that, all that kind of stuff.

Was so, was so new to me in terms of like, how do I apply this

to help somebody get better?

Um, so I, I did that for about a year or so and crazy enough, because I

wasn't, uh, I was going balls to the wall and I wasn't, you know, really

thinking intentionally about it.

I injured myself mm-hmm.

, and so I didn't mention that.

So I told you about my shoulder injury, but something I'd been overcoming

for the last year and a half is, uh, uh, knee injuries, uh, on both knees.

Uh, and it not necessarily, they weren't injured from a, a

structural, um, you know, issue.

I had realized that, um, a lot of it was just like tightness, um, that

were, you know, pulling on the joint and, you know, I thought like, oh

man, you, I need to get x-rays here.

I need to do this, I need to do that.

When lo and behold they were just weak and tight, like, you know, and I was

flexible, but the, the right muscles, like a few fibers that were, you know,

in, in the whole bundle were just messing up, you know, just a few weak links.

You know, killing my knees.

And so, um, so from that, it actually has been in a sense a journey of,

you know, being a coach who's, you know, getting other people, you know,

healthier, happier, losing weight, but also trying to fix myself.

I basically was Dr.

House, you know, who literally couldn't fix his own leg, but

is like solving all everybody else's, you know, medical issues.

So, uh, it wasn't up until probably like two months ago that I

actually stopped having knee pain.

Um, but now I'm, I'm just in a, a classic strength program where I'm

just getting strong for strong sake, you know, the basics, you know,

uh, you know, pushing three plates, you know, uh, for bench, you know,

squatting, four plates for, you know, for squats, deadlift, five, you know,

just like those basic athletic numbers.

Um, honestly be completely honest, they're ego lifts.

They really don't transfer as much.

But, um, I wasn't as strong.

Um, You know, in terms of like my, my, my squatting capabilities, which is kind

of some of the reasons why my, I ended up injuring my knees because if I was that

strong, I, you know, you only, you're only strong if, uh, you only get injured.

Uh, you know, when you're put in a position that you're

not prepared for, right.

You know, aka your, you know, your, your ankle is not strong in that position,

which is why when enough force hits it, it, you know, there's an injury

or, you know, you strain something only because the muscle was stretched

to a capacity that it couldn't, you know, handle that load, you know, at

whatever rate that it was working at.

So, yeah.

So for that reason, I'm like, oh, you know what?

I've been flexible.

I've been, you know, fast and quick and powerful and agile,

but I haven't really been strong.

Mm.

I think it's strong.

So I'm in a season of strong, beautiful, and long, long, uh, explanation,

but I had to give that right there.

Yeah.

No, I, I, I like that.

I mean, Definitely, I think that every form of movement

has its, uh, purpose, right?

Even, even the ego lifts, right?

Like they, they still, they serve a function.

And so, um, I think it's really depending on, on, like you

said, the season that you're in.

And so that kind of leads me to, uh, a few questions I have

for you, for our listeners.

So, uh, one of the first ones would be for a person who, let's say, maybe used

to lift back in the day or doesn't have any experience with lifting and being

in a gym, but they want to start going down that path, where would you kind

of point them in terms of, you know, style of exercises to do, um, even like

classes to attend or even to do at home?

Like what, what, what style of movement would you recommend to a person like that?

It's always the foundations.

Um, I would say, I guess what, what is their experience like?

Were they an athlete before?

Were they never, you know, exposed to any type of fitness?

Um, you know, if they're starting from like square one, maybe they

were, they're an artist all their life, or they're an architect and they

kind of work a desk job and they're like, dude, I've never been to a gym.

I've seen it on tv.

I know what typo is, but I've , I've never downloaded or paid for p90x.

Um, where should I start?

Um, there's some basic, you know, programs, but, um, I would say basic

things like learning how to squat, learning how to do a pushup, you know,

learning how to lunge, you know, if they can get down those movements

of, um, learning how to, you know, maximize their own body weight before

trying to pick up any other weight is, uh, is the best route in my opinion.

Because at the end of the day when there's nothing to pick up,

you have to pick up yourself.

And so I always say like, Hey, if you.

Before you start picking up, um, you know, anything or anybody else, you

know, from a philosophical standpoint, you must first lift up yourself, right?

You must first, you know, master yourself in your own body weight

before you can actually, you know, pour out of that fullness of the cup

they're in, uh, thereof, and then, you know, give to somebody else.

So that's a lot.

I like that.

No, that's, that's excellent.

And, and yeah, I like it really does work both ways philosophically

and physically, right?

Yeah.

That's beautiful.

Um, yeah, and, and I a hundred percent agree.

I think, uh, just your own body weight can be surprisingly heavy at times.

Yeah.

Just do enough reps.

And so, uh, yeah, that's, I really enjoy that answer in terms of,

now let's say, um, a person who.

More used to like weightlifting or even like, they already

have a movement practice.

What kind of workouts or movement practice should they adopt in terms of longevity

and really preserving like joints and, you know, muscle for, for daily stuff, right?

Not necessarily like lifting crazy heavy things, but let's say being

able to go out for a run, hang out with your grandkids, um, you know,

lift them up or whatever it may be.

What, what would you kinda promote for that?

Okay, that's a great question cuz now we're moving into that, that space.

So, um, I would say full range of motion is best for, um, most

people in terms of longevity.

Like if you're looking at, yeah, building muscle and you know, from a

bodybuilder standpoint, there's different ways where you can do partial range,

you know, and trying to hit certain things and working on different angles.

That stuff is cool.

Most people aren't gonna do that, uh, day in and day out.

I would say take anywhere between, you know, moderate intensity in terms of

how much you can lift and then take that through full range of motion.

You know, especially when it comes to whether it's the, the ankles, the, the

knees, the hips, like learning how the, the joint moves and then just taking

it there, you know, so whether it's a, you know, a full squat, go really light

on whatever that is, and then just, you know, learn how to wrap that out.

Because in daily life you're going to have to squat down and get, get

a little bit lower to pick something up off the ground, learning how to

hinge properly with very light weight.

And so, um, just different things like that.

So it's kind of taking it back to whatever the found the fundamentals

are, if they actually have, you know, uh, a little bit of experience of

lifting and things of that nature and what they wanna do for longevity.

Full range is probably the best thing you're gonna do because you

know, no matter, you know, what position you're in, you're strong.

You know, there's a lot of, you know, funky Mickey Mouse stuff.

We can, you know, uh, figure out, you know, we can do a, a flamingo, uh, you

know, rdl and and pull over the head.

Like, that stuff's cool.

But, you know, um, there are some basic things that you can do that have

tremendous effects for the long term.

Um, hopping on top of that, one thing I preach, uh, outside of anything,

when it comes to, not only just from a strength standpoint, I don't think

people spend enough time on the ground.

So like, sitting on the ground, people ask like, oh, I've never

been flexible, you know, uh, just tell whether it's my clients or

people I come into contact with.

I say, well, how often do you sit on the.

They're like, look at me.

Like, what do you mean?

I'm like, whoa.

I mean, do, do you ever actually spend time?

Like, do you have carpet at home?

Do you spend time sitting on the carpet?

They're like, no, I just sit on the couch.

And it's like, well, your body's in a fixed 90 degree angle, like at all times.

So how do you expect, you know, to be flexible if, and your resting

position is in a fixed position, right?

So when you sit on the ground that, like, that's my gospel, right?

So when you sit on the ground, more often than not, you actually don't

stay in the same position, right?

So naturally your, your legs might be, you know, splayed out and then all of

a sudden you'll kind of like, lean over here and then lean back and then do this.

And in the process of actually getting up off the ground, you have

to then stretch just to get up.

People are like, oh, I have bad hips.

Or, you know, a back, it's like, dude, if you actually spent time on

the ground, which I say is, you know, God's first chair, or you know, the

first seat we ever had, you're, you're gonna be, uh, you know, Just like a

child is, you know, we look at babies and oh my God, he's so flexible.

He puts his head over his head.

It's like, well, he's not sitting in little baby chairs and stuff.

Like, he's actually maneuvering and crawling.

And so I honestly, it's, uh, um, philosophically but also physically

lowering ourselves, humbling ourselves not thinking that because the ground is

beneath us, that it's actually beneath us.

You know?

So like actually spending more time on the ground has, that would probably be

number one that I would tell people to do in terms of like what they should

incorporate into their daily lifestyle.

And then on top of that, if they go into the gym, spend more time

working on full range of motion, not that, you know, short stuff.

Like actually, like if you can't, if you can't pull it all the way here

and then push it all the way back, it might be too heavy for you, or at least

for what you're trying to accomplish.

You know?

So, so just like working through that basic stuff that's gonna, you know,

have, uh, tremendous return for your, for your joints and your health overall.

I like that.

I, yeah, so, uh, in terms of, yeah, someone who is going for

longevity, I, I absolutely agree.

Um, full range of motion, really utilizing the joint muscles and, and you know,

putting them into the places where, you know, if you needed to reach behind you

in a car or if you had it, you know, like you would be able to do that.

Um, and like you said, also strengthening the muscles for any occasion, right?

Like if your ankle isn't used to having weight on it while it's in this position,

that's where you would get injured, right?

Mm-hmm.

absolutely agree with everything you said there.

And then spending time on the floor is incredible.

Um, being that I'm pretty deep into yoga, that's something that, you know, now I

do quite a bit and, uh, you know, I will sit on the floor crosslegged, and this

is something I used to never do, ever.

Um, definitely my fiance got me into it more with yoga and then also, Moving

the body mo and yeah, being comfortable getting down on the floor, doing

some stretching, you know, sitting in, in a cross-legged pose because

it's so wild as a kid, everyone can sit in a cross-legged pose, right?

Yeah.

And then you get older and you go to sit down, you're like, oh my gosh,

like, my knees are way up here.

I can't, like, I feel like I'm gonna fall back.

Like, it's so wild.

So, um, I really, I absolutely agree, and that's one of my big

things is usually longevity.

I like functionality, right?

Which is why I really like, uh, these new movement practices like animal flow

and, and um, you know, just all these functional tools that are coming out.

I think they're incredible.

Um, so if you, uh, I don't know if you had any more on that, but I do

have, uh, one more, at least one more question in terms of, uh, your advice.

. Okay.

I mean, look, I, I can talk for whatever, like, uh, we can, we can

just, you know, roll with it for sure.

Yeah.

Okay.

Got man.

Well then the next question is definitely going to be, um, and this is.

A super common one, but for people who are looking to lose weight, I

have my own kind of protocol that I usually say, but if you Yeah.

Uh, have a, a specific view on this or something, you know, even with your

friend who, uh, over, you know, that five month period really dropped a bunch

of weight, what were some of the main tactics that you, that you were using

and do use to this day to help people, uh, take off weight and also keep it off?

So, um, I, I do come from a, a very traditional background.

I know some people, you know, might talk against it, but move often, move daily.

A lot of people really overlook it.

And it could be this, like I said, every, everything is everything, right?

In terms of whether it's philosophical for the body or for the mind, or for finance,

you know, like, it, it all connects.

Um, people don't do the thing.

It, it, it is what it is.

Like, before we had cars, before we , you know, we had airplanes.

People actually had to do something in order to actually get it done.

So now we have technology, we have, um, you know, whether it's a bicycle,

there are different, you know, things that we've invented to make life easier.

But, you know, energy is it, you know, it cannot be created nor,

you know, nor destroyed by us, but it can only be transferred.

So we transferred all of our energy to, for some, somebody else to do it.

And then now we actually are just holding onto it.

So I could, I could tell people that, Hey, you know what?

Make sure you're, you know, uh, you know, intermittent fasting or, you know, getting

more sunlight or, you know, and how it, you know, relates to your hormones.

Like, all that stuff is cool.

But if you're just sitting at home like it's, eh, you can biohack as

much as you want, but people used to like move for 10 hours a day.

As human beings, we just don't move enough, you know?

So, uh, there, there's a lot of high level conversations, which I'm,

I'm sure a lot of people may talk about on the show and, you know,

different ways to, to combat that.

But I would say, uh, if people can just start, you know, walking more and

then actually doing something that, um, you know, makes them sweat and breathe

hard, uh, it's very, I know that's very general, but the only way you,

you know, fat really burns, you know, uh, leaves the body through, you know,

um, through oxidation is it turns an either into to water or carbon oxide.

So you might sweat, you might, you know, uh, you know, you might, uh,

urinate, you might, you have to breathe.

If you're not breathing and sweating, that state of matter will not leave the body.

Yes.

You know?

Yes.

So you have to do something that's gonna make you sweat and breathe hard.

I really, yeah.

I like that

And because people don't know that a lot of, of, uh, breakdown of

fat does leave through the breath.

Yeah.

Most of it actually leaves, leaves you the breath.

So, um, just even thinking about that, you know, uh, if I would tell

somebody, you know, like, Hey, just understanding, understanding science,

uh, as, as we know it, you know, we might talk about ether and all that kind of

stuff, but, um, three states of matter.

You've got solid liquid and, you know, and gas.

And so the solid in a sense, maybe you might be thinking

about the, the fat is the solid.

Well, in order for it to leave the body, it has to change states of

matter into either liquid or gas.

That's either sweating or breathing.

So if you can sweat a lot and find something that's gonna make you breathe a

lot from, uh, from an active standpoint, that's something that you can do to help

you, you know, lose a lot of weight.

Now, of course, there's the other side of, you know,

different things that you can do.

Now you can start talking about, oh, what are we eating?

Or, you know, how much muscle are we putting on the body?

You know, what, what's your, you know, your resting, you know, metabolic rate

and things that are going to acquire your body just to either live or function.

It needs more energy to do that thing.

And then thus you actually start burning more calories because

you have more machinery on you.

Um, you know, there's, we can go down that path as well.

But I would say just simply because a lot of people get caught up into

like the very specifics and in and outs, and they just don't move enough.

They're not willing to challenge themselves enough to move often, you

know, throughout the day, you know, and do something that's gonna make

them sweat or breathe hard because they don't wanna be uncomfortable.

And so actually just doing things that make you uncomfortable consistently over

time, that applies to finance and business and all that kind of stuff, you're gonna

see success in the right, right path.

So, yeah.

Yeah.

No, I, I've I couldn't agree with you anymore.

Um, going back to, for example, the, uh, you know, walking Yeah.

Our, our body.

Obviously was designed to move within this space that is our world, right?

I mean, literally we have these limbs that allow us to stand up and then two

other limbs to grab things and move and, and it's literally our body is function,

you know, designed to literally move.

So when people are, you know, at home all day, sitting in a chair, which I've been

doing most of today, but I'll be taking a walk right after this, um, you know, is

just getting outside and doing, um, you know, I I I like to try to do three 10

minute walks each day at a minimum, right?

Oh, okay.

Yeah.

I try, I'll try to pair it with my meals if I can.

Um, but, you know, totaling of, uh, 30 minutes total of walking,

it's super simple, but can really make a huge difference.

And I think people, a lot of times they let, um, what is it?

Uh, great, be the enemy of good, right?

They're like, they're trying to do everything.

They're trying to get the diet and this, and.

It's very simple.

Just go move, like you said, and, uh, beautiful.

Yeah.

You know, because truly the, the body is absolutely designed to do this.

And, uh, you know, we're, we're eating food that we've never had

before, or at least in amounts, right?

And then we're moving a fraction of what we used to.

So even from just the most basic of perspectives, it's like, look,

you're just eating more than anyone ever has, and you're moving

way less than anyone ever has.

So, uh, we have to balance that.

And I think keeping it simple is literally the best thing.

I always tell people, the best workout you can do is the one

that you're going to do, right.

Because if you're , if you're, if you're wanting to, trying to go to the

gym and, and lift all these weights, but it's, you have to like will

yourself to go do it every single time.

Chances are one of those days you're gonna say, oh, I just, I'm too tired.

Whereas a simple 10 minute walk is like, okay, we'll just go

do a walk around the block.

It's not that you could walk, I mean, like if you had to, I'm sure

you would walk to your car , right?

Yeah.

You would walk through the grocery store, you know, you, I mean,

outta necessity, there are things that we have to do in life.

And, uh, I think if we're talking on the, on the level of like, Hey, what's this,

uh, Olympic level athlete need to do to like, you know, move the needle this much?

Oh, okay, all right, let's bring in all this extra detail.

Right?

But for most people who already aren't at that level where they need that

extra push, they just need to move more.

Um, you know, and then of course when in terms of, uh, of eating, you know,

uh, you know how we get our nutrition, obviously there's, there's sunlight,

um, that plays a huge role into how our bodies interact with how we digest.

But, uh, staying away from processed foods, You know, people may, people

have been eating bread for millennia, so I'm not gonna get on that.

But there are different types, uh, you know, of things that we eat

that can just be a little, a little clean or a little bit more whole.

Like, dude, just eat fruits, veggies, meat, you know, maybe

some, some nuts and stuff like that.

Yeah.

Yeah, I know.

And also on the whole bread topic, I I, I agree with you.

Like I think we, you know, we can go down the rabbit hole of it,

but at the real core of it is, if you look at traditional bread, it

pretty much had three ingredients.

Yeah.

Water, flour, and salt.

And those were like the three things that they had.

So if you look at a traditional sourdough bread, you can literally

make the starter by putting flour and water in equal parts together.

And then you allow natural yeast from the air to get in there and

create the starter to start rising.

Right.

And then you add that starter to literally water, flour and salt.

You mix it, you let it rest, you know, you obviously need it or whatever.

And then you put it in the oven and that's it.

It's three ingredients.

But if you go look at a sourdough bread at your average, uh, store, it's gonna

have like 10 different ingredients in it.

Mm.

So even, even for that, it's educating me there, I didn't know

the, uh, just even looking at.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And, and another thing too is like, uh, a lot of breads will have sugars in them,

uh, which is not absolutely necessary.

I mean, depending on the style of bread you're going for.

But, you know, I look at sourdough is one of the oldest style of breads.

You know, it's very simple to make.

Um, you don't even need to go find, you know, create yeast.

Like the yeast is naturally in the air and will get in there.

Mm-hmm.

. Um, so yeah, it's one of the oldest style breads and, you know,

it's literally three ingredients.

So, uh, when I see bread at the supermarket and it's like

10, 15 ingredients in there, I'm just like, this is not, you

know, this isn't bread anymore.

This is like preservative and added flavor like that.

To me, that's what that resembles, you know, so any, anytime I see

bread that has at least, you know, okay, four ingredients maybe.

Okay, five.

But anything over that, I'm like, no, that's, that's a no.

That's a good tip.

. Yeah.

Yeah.

But, um, alright, q honestly, dude, I mean, we're gonna stay in touch.

we're, we're gonna, uh, talk more for sure.

But, uh, in terms of this episode, uh, we'll, we'll try to wrap it up here now

because, uh, try to keep the listeners, you know, on a, on a shorter episode.

But I do want to provide a moment here for you to share any last

minute thoughts if you have any.

Um, I, I definitely want you to share, uh, where people can reach

you, where people can, uh, you know, find any, any kind of product that

you have or any classes that you have.

Uh, I know you're an incredible trainer, Caleb Wood, who, uh, put us in touch and

is also a previous guest on the show.

Nice.

Speaks super highly of you.

Um, so I know you have some incredible stuff and I would love to have

you share it, uh, in the segment.

Sure.

Um, man, lasting words.

I, I think sometimes, uh, like I've said, I've kind of been on

that tangent, um, a little bit.

In the show, but a lot of it has to do with like, who we are as, as human beings.

Um, it really just comes out, you know, in the physical, you know, whether it's,

you know, the stuff that we're eating, uh, you know, the stuff that we're doing.

But I think as long as people are pursuing, you know, who, you know, in

my opinion, you know, uh, my belief, you know, God created them to be, and that

is the healthiest version of themselves.

They're gonna find it, you know, seeking, you shall find.

So if they don't know where to look, just start looking period.

You know, if they don't know what thing, what to do, just start, you know,

because eventually I would, I wouldn't know you if it wasn't through Caleb.

Yeah.

You know, and then you're talking about introducing me to another person and I

would've never got to whoever your friend is if I just didn't speak to one person.

So whatever that is, like, if you really don't know what

to do, just start something.

And then somebody else who is already on the path, they're gonna say, Hey,

have you thought about doing this?

Or if you're researching, you know, uh, how to do this,

you're gonna have a suggestion.

Another, so just start.

Like that is probably the easiest thing to say.

Um, and they're going to find success as long as they just stay consistent.

When you're a baby, you don't know what to do until somebody shows

you, you don't know how to speak until you hear your first word.

So it's, it's all the same stuff.

Just, just start.

Um, but yeah, uh, as I said before, man, I'm a personal trainer.

I, I just love, uh, you know, I love seeing people smile

of, you know, helping people.

Um, right now that is in the phase of, uh, of health and fitness and

I, I think, um, you know, uh, people can definitely benefit from, uh,

Improving, uh, you know, how they move, how they eat and how they think.

Uh, so, uh, but yeah.

Um, my name's Quinn Alexander.

I have a business, uh, q flex moves.

You can follow me on all, pretty much every platform.

It's q flex moves, so that's Instagram, Facebook, uh, you know, TikTok,

uh, I don't really use Twitter, but you know, if you wanted to follow

me on Twitter, uh, can do that.

It's q flex moves YouTube Q flex moves, um, you know, the letter

q flex and then, you know, moves

Uh, you can follow me on all platforms.

Um, and yeah, uh, if you guys are looking for, for coaching, uh, you

know, any, any type of guidance and accountability, I got you.

Love it.

Q Yeah, no, absolutely.

I mean, uh, from just the little bit that I've seen and, and I definitely

hope to experience in terms of doing, uh, uh, some workout sessions with you.

I, I know, uh, you know your stuff really well and, uh,

you're a living example of it.

So I appreciate you bringing all that knowledge here on the show today.

And, uh, yeah, just enlightening everybody and, and sharing the, you know, amazing

presence that you have on this show.

So I really appreciate that.

Cue, Evan.

I thank you, uh, for for inviting me.

I appreciate it.

This is actually my first podcast.

Hey.

All right, well, uh, don't, don't forget me when you get big man . No, I know.

We'll, we'll remember each other cuz you're gonna be big.

Thank you, my man.

Yeah, that's the, that's the goal here.

Um, but thank you very much for coming on this show, man.

Honestly, uh, like I said, I know we're gonna be in touch and, uh, maybe even

have you back on the show in the future.

Uh, and yeah, definitely, uh, everyone check this guy out.

I will have all of his information linked in the show notes.

Uh, you'll be able to click on there to be redirected to whatever, uh,

site it is that you're trying to find.

And, uh, you guys already know the, the motto of the show.

It's do everything with good intentions and connect to your elements.

Everybody have a great one.