BY KEITH LACEY
Standing only five-foot-four and weighing 135
pounds, Cal McGibbon still lives the Canadian dream of being
part of the NHL.
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Cal McGibbon is a personal trainer
and owner of Healthy Living in the Rainbow
Centre. |
His dream, however, has nothing to do with
playing the game millions of Canadians love.
McGibbon is a personal trainer and a young
man with tons of personal ambition. He believes his expertise
will one day land him a job with an NHL
team.
He's opened his own personal training
business called Athletes Choice, and is starting to build a
small but impressive stable of talented clients.
McGibbon has worked with bodybuilders, boxers
and athletes in numerous other sports in southern Ontario, but
says he wants to concentrate on working with elite hockey
players.
He owned his own private boxing school and
personal training company in southern Ontario before making the
move to Greater Sudbury two years ago.
"I've been a certified personal trainer for
several years and my dream is one day to work full-time for an
NHL team," said the confident and
personable 29-year-old, who is also the owner
of Healthy Living, a health food store in the Rainbow Outlet
Centre.
"Most NHL teams are hiring personal trainers
to work with their players year-round and it would be a dream
come true to be able to work with the best players in the
world."
Athletes Choice has landed burgeoning Sudbury
Wolves star Nick Foligno, Peterborough Petes veteran Jadran
Beljo and Vern Cooper, a talented Sudbury teen who is expected
to be a high draft pick in the 2006 OHL draft.
"I really wanted Nick as a client because
he's a high profile player who I think has a real chance of
becoming an NHL player," McGibbon said.
"Originally, I was going to try and get as
many clients as possible, but I've refocused and really want to
work with elite players from this area.
"I can get better results working with a
smaller group and dedicating all my time with them, rather than
working with a larger group."
Becoming a NHL-calibre player in today's
hockey world takes not only God-given talent, but extremely
hard work and that's where his expertise comes in, McGibbon
explained.
Today's players focus on "core training" that
combines Olympic weightlifting, plyometrics and intensive
speed, agility and strength training.
"The days of bulking up and simply getting
stronger are over...having huge muscles means you're not as
quick," he said. "Today's players have to combine core
strength, agility, speed and explosiveness and they don't want
to bulk up."
McGibbon said his techniques have worked
wonders for numerous athletes he's worked with down south and
he has no doubts about his ability to make elite hockey players
better athletes.
"I have no doubt about my abilities," he
said. "I know this is what I was supposed to do with my life.
I'm a very determined person with a lot of knowledge about the
human body and training and I guarantee results."
His health food store has been open for 18
months and is doing very well, said McGibbon.
The store sells only natural products and
includes supplements, herbs, natural healing products, vitamins
and a wide variety of food.
"My store is all about lifestyle and is there
for people who demand eating and living healthy," he said.
"Food is our direct connection to the planet and we have to
respect the planet in order to eat the proper food needed to
live a healthy life.
"Fortunately, there are a lot of people in
Greater Sudbury who are living this lifestyle and they are my
regular customers."
McGibbon said Healthy Living won't stock
products "that are not environmentally or body friendly."
He and his wife had tired of the rat race of
Toronto and McGibbon says he did a lot of homework before
deciding to move here.
Sudbury's economy was booming and still is
"and I knew I wouldn't be committing economic suicide by coming
up here," he said.
He also discovered Sudbury is one of the
largest producers of professional-calibre hockey players per
capita in North America and would provide the perfect location
to expand his personal training business.
"My wife and I moved here without knowing a
single person...we didn't have a single acquaintance," he said.
"Two years later, I can honestly say I'll never leave this city
unless I do achieve my dream and get a NHL job.
"I love this community and the people
here...we definitely made the right choice coming here."
McGibbon invites all customers to visit
Healthy Living inside the Rainbow Outlet Centre. If any elite
hockey players are interested in his services, he
can be reached at the store at
669-1895.
