Domestic Athlete

Fitness and Lifestyle Coaching

 

It’s your journey…

 

Domestic Athlete

 

It’s your journey…

 

About Me

Fitness and Lifestyle Coach, Reiki Master

Welcome to the Domestic Athlete!

BRIAN DE CASTRO, Dip. FLM, CPT, CHEK 2, HLC 3, Reiki Master

Brian has been a fitness and lifestyle coach for over 20 years and has had several roles ranging from the fitness frontline, to management, leadership, teaching, and business ownership. His current mission is to help clients optimize health and inner power in order to bring their best to all life’s endeavours. By blending the fundamentals of health, and lifestyle design with Reiki healing, he delivers an intuitive yet practical approach that supports each client in navigating their unique wellness journey. 

Services we offer

Private coaching is the proven best way to make your health goals happen.

Private Coaching

Private or semi-private coaching will involve 1-3 participants to 1 coach.  Coaching sessions are facilitated live with the coach on a recurring basis at a frequency ranging from bi-monthly to bi-weekly basis depending on the preferences of the client(s). Sessions may include exercise, lifestyle coaching or Reiki energy clearing.

Group Lifestyle Coaching

This is the group or “team” dynamic approach to fitness and lifestyle coaching.  Groups can be custom-built or organically formed from within the DA community and participants will synchronize their efforts as they move towards their individual goals supporting each other along the way.

Seminars & Workshops

DA also offers workshops and seminars for corporate or private group settings. Topics can be requested or preselected that are related to fitness, and lifestyle design and sessions can be delivered in person where available or online.

    Events

    Find out more about our upcoming events and register here.

    Latest Articles

    Why Group Coaching?

    Why Group Coaching?

    Why I added group coaching to DA inc...     For 2023 I kicked off January by launching my new Domestic Athlete, Awakened Body Wellness POD. It has been a long time coming and it took a while for me to wrap my head around what I wanted to do next, how I...

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    COME AS YOU ARE!

    COME AS YOU ARE!

    COME AS YOU ARE!   This coming Oct 15 we will be hosting our third Awakened Body Retreat at Sherwood Farm (details below). In this blog I would like to share about what I got the chance to experience while doing deep inner work in the presence of the horses in the...

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    Resisting the Inevitable

    Resisting the Inevitable

    What will the Fall Season bring in 2022?  This is what I was contemplating while I recently engaged in a vision download while doing a Reiki meditation on myself.   The experience I was having was that I was in an old dark room of an old house, standing in front of...

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    Testimonials

    What people are sharing…

    Devyn

    “The first COVID lockdown started when I met you. I had just lost my job and was in my senior year of college, ultimately lost. I was worrying about everything around me and in doing so, stopped caring about myself. I needed to start caring for my body and what I was putting into it. When we started the process of working together, I discovered that my original goal of losing weight was an oversight. Of course we all want to lose weight but I realized that it came second or even third to my ultimate goals of wanting to be healthy and feel stronger. I realized that I am not metrics based; I rely on feelings and emotion. I didn’t care what was on the scale but how I felt after a workout or a meal. I could feel my body getting stronger and more resilient. Looking good was merely a nice addition to how I felt. Thus far, I feel as though I have the tools to guide me through whatever challenges life throws at me. You were able to not only guide me through workouts and my relationship with food but also how I felt spiritually and mentally. I have a positive relationship with working out because we found what motivates me and what doesn’t. I found what I do and don’t have control over. Ultimately I realized with this program that fitness truly starts from within; one has to align with their body and their mind to truly get the results wanted. And I thank you for that!”

    Maggie

    “When we first started working together I was driven to seek help because my body was just sore all the time and of course I wanted to lose weight.  I required the expertise and modifications to help me rebuild for long term mobility/independence. Having these 1×1 scheduled sessions ensured that I was comfortable, committed and accountable to the process over the long run. 

     

    After doing the work, my sore joints are gone! My mobility and physical strength continues to improve. I like the challenge of lifting heavy weights –  enough to make my annual birthday workout always chasing a personal best! These sessions always make me feel “powerful”!

     

    Working out has now become a consistent and prioritized part of my life! There are never missed sessions – only rescheduled if there are work conflicts. My sessions have evolved,  leveraging more of Brian’s expertise for overall lifestyle management. Now I have more tools to manage the life and work stresses and challenges that come up. I have even taken up hiking regularly now! 

     

    This coaching approach takes into consideration my mental, emotional, physical readiness each day – and what I need at that moment. This is an all encompassing program that helps me in all aspects of my well being.”

    FAQ

    Here are some common questions many ask about Fitness and Lifestyle Coaching

    brian@thedomesticathlete.com

    416.571.8066

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    What is the difference between a personal trainer and a lifestyle coach?

    Traditionally a personal trainer handles predominantly the fitness, strength and conditioning, and athletic performance of the athlete or fitness participant. Although many trainers vary in expertise, they often are well skilled in how to condition the body in preparation for future physical events. 

     A lifestyle coach often has a multilayered approach that dives deeper into the details of one’s life and living circumstances with the goal of helping them optimize their situation to bring their best to their favoured life endeavours. Much like a personal trainer, a lifestyle coach may have other skills and expertise to bring to the experience but they may use a more broader scope than a personal trainer in order to support the client and produce results.

     Neither style of service is better than the other. It is more of a preference and style of providing care to a client and aims at fulfilling their requests and needs as effectively and accurately as possible.

    What qualifications are required to be a lifestyle coach?

    With this being an unregulated part of the health and wellness industry, truly anyone can title themselves a lifestyle coach. However, there are a few things to consider when vetting the coach that will be a fit for you, to make sure you are in good hands.

    • Education. Some formal education in health, fitness, recreation or lifestyle management would be a great base to start from. The base level schooling provides a ground work and backing for the professional to also acquire insurance to be operational as a valuable and reliable service.

    • Certification. Additional continued education also allows deeper knowledge and backing to deliver higher level services. This also helps the coach refine their skills and stay up to date on what tools and new knowledge they can gain from this growing industry. 

    • Specialization. “Lifestyle” or “Wellness” coaching can often seem very broad as a service, so often coaches will find a niche or specialization to contribute to a more specific type of client or situation. As an example some coaches may have a fitness specialty that builds a lifestyle around the theme of physical activity. Others may focus on mental health or even spiritual coaching. So, who one may be looking for will also depend on what specialty may appeal to their needs.

    • Experience. When seeking a coach for a specific need we may also benefit from working with someone that has a certain amount of exposure or experience in the area we are interested in. Even if a coach is quite young, he or she may have decades of experience in a specific area simply because of sports they have played or a significant amount of exposure in their youth. It is important for the coach to stay in the space of their expertise so the care being given is sound and relevant to the client.

    • Referrals. It’s of key importance to also be clear on what value the coach is bringing to one’s life. Over a certain time frame some sort of tangible outcomes or measurable key indicators should be identified and impacted to determine if your coach is a right fit. It is helpful to gain feedback from past clients or testimonials of those that have done some work with the coach you are considering. Don’t hesitate to ask more questions so have what you need to make the best choice for you.

     

    Why do I need a fitness and lifestyle coach?

    A common situation where one may feel they need a fitness and lifestyle coach is often when there is a DESIRE to improve in one or more areas of their current life situation. However, since there are often many areas to impact holistically, there could be a main aspect of one’s life that yields the greatest area of opportunity to positively impact health and happiness. That “MAIN THING” is the gateway to accessing the clarity and vitality one may need to align with their ultimate vision. The fitness and lifestyle coach serves as an expert leader, navigator and resource while engaging in such a journey.

    How much does a lifestyle coach cost?

    Since so many coaches often have different levels of training the cost and form of agreement may vary from coach to coach. Some charge hourly. Some monthly. Or some offer a single program that focuses on a specific timeline, event or series. 

    Some coaches may charge between $75-$150 per hour in the mainstream and higher level experts may charge $1000’s. But often when the potential client is doing the research, exploring their needs and budget, when the student is ready the right teacher will appear.

    The key is to begin the process of asking questions, following your heart, and knowing that if you want more from your life, you definitely deserve to have it, and it is your journey to discover!