In a series entitled “Get to know your Coach”, we present to you the various members of the Quad Squad. You might have seen them on our different social media video clips, heard them speak on our podcast; now you learn a little bit more about what makes them tick.
The next coach to come out from behind the curtain is Sudeep. Popular among the trainees at our Adyar centre, as well as our Instagram fam, thanks to his joyful participation in many of our reels, Sudeep has been working with our trainees for a good while now. When he isn’t running classes, you can spot him working on his own programming in a corner, with his phone tracking his progress!
Introduce yourself in a few lines
I am an ambivert. While I do like the company of people; I also enjoy my own silent company most of the time.
I look for PLAY in almost everything I do - coaching, video games, sports, cooking, dog parenting. I'd call myself a bit of a philosopher in that I enjoy exploring personal principles, the WHY of things is what makes me tick :)
What made you get into fitness, in general and coaching in particular?
I was never really the 'fit' person in school, sure I played some sport but nowhere close to the proficiency of my peers. It was towards the later years of school, around 10th standard, when my dad got me into the habit of doing pushups and hangs early in the morning. Somehow that brought me a lot of joy as I slowly started packing on a bit of muscle. This got me interested in gymming during my college years and I also dabbled in a lot more sport (badminton, tennis, cricket but mostly football). This habit kinda stuck on even after I started working as a financial consultant.
This was the time I was dragged into The Quad by my wife, Sheena. She insisted that I check it out rather than assume it wouldn't be challenging. After my first class, I was simply blown away by the detail and depth to training. Let's just say everything fell into alignment after this :) Once I got quite strong, I got interested in transferring that knowledge, and that turned out to be the ocean in which I currently find myself!
What is your favourite part of being a coach at The Quad?
The team - first up, it's amazing being part of a team that is driven by passion, to excel and bring about real change in the world. Followed closely by the amazing Quad community that has our back to the extent we have theirs. It such a privilege to be a part of!
Who are your favourite fitness gurus? Who do you follow?
So many! Pavel, Dan John, Ido Portal, Mike Boyle, Charles Poliquin(Strength Sensei, RIP), Jeff Sokol, David Weck, Brian McKenzie, Gray Cook, Geoff Nupert, Tim Anderson.
What is your coaching style?
Quirky, Unpredictable, Stand-up, Fun, Evil!
(That last one, especially!)
Tell us more about your role at The Quad, beyond coaching.
As part of the tech team, I write programming for students and run internal coaching for coaches. As part of the content team, I create content for our social media. As a leader, I look after the well-being of the team and the organisation as a whole.
For anyone interested in becoming a fitness coach themselves, what advice would you give?
Coaching is foremost in the service of others, your work hours/timings will be a bit crazy if you're new to it. It's important not to lose yourself and take things personally, be as driven towards your well-being as that of others. Give more to get more!
(This is such sound advice!)
What do you do in your downtime?
Wrestling dogs, playing football, gaming, Netflix, experimenting with new training moves/protocols.
Thinking about food :)
