The Proving Grounds — Local services in Ottawa

I am a U19 hockey coach, our team trains year around. I have included weekly dryland training for the team since 2014 with a local fitness company however, our original training partner closed near the end of the pandemic, so the search began. We were fortunate in finding a new training facility that not only met our needs, but a trainer and proprietor that we could truly partner with! Semir is as open and approachable as any one I have ever met. He is extremely knowledgeable, with a disposition that leads you on to achieve your best. He takes the time to get to know his students and he is invested in assisting them to achieve their personal goals as our team runs through the demanding regiment of drills and exercises, he develops each week specific to the demands of a hockey player. I cannot imagine a better partner to have for improving my players strength, speed and agility. My players look forward to each week’s session because they see the benefit on the ice, not to mention the mirror. I have been taking this team to The Proving Grounds for almost a full year now, and I am looking forward to working many, many more years with our speed and agility...

I first started with Semir back in 2017 when I was a scrawny first-year university student. I was his second client and his first ever workout program "graduate". My training sessions at the time provided a foundation for my own workouts and gave me fitness knowledge that I still use to this day. Semir's tireless focus on my form, intensity, exercise variation, and other fundamentals gave me the confidence to carry out my fitness journey independently when returning back to school. Fast forward a few years to this March, I returned back to TPG with the goal of augmenting my workout routine after I felt I had plateaued with many of my exercises. Even after 4 years, Semir still maintains the client-oriented mindset that I remember from when I first started with him. With a degree in human kinetics, he is also well positioned to help clients that may have issues such as soreness, chronic pains, and injuries. Whether you are interested in weekly classes, working on form or need fitness advice, TPG Gym will welcome you. I can guarantee that you will have a different outlook on fitness and your own personal workouts after just a few...

So far the Proving Grounds has proved to be an ideal fit for this gym-averse 40-something wanting to up his game and look good at the beach. The classes are welcoming, challenging and adaptive, with organized instructors offering lots of guidance and instruction. Personal training is similarly thoughtful and productive. For each session Alen builds a dedicated workout plan with multiple opportunities for adaptation to meet personal needs and to accommodate particular weaknesses or strengths. He explains each exercise and guides me through proper form to maximize benefits and reduce the potential of injury. Alen is forever encouraging but patient and expresses a depth of knowledge beyond his years. Like all the trainers there, he is a fun guy and obviously enjoys working with others. While his taste in music varies from the sublime to the questionable, his sessions are always rewarding, albeit...