My story

Everything I coach, I learned from my dad.

Most of it, I only understood after he was gone.

Thomas Reinders smiling with his arms crossed in front of a chalkboard wall at the gym

My dad

My dad, Ed Reinders, was my superhero. He grew up in a hard home and used hockey and his bike to get away from it. He started working at 16 and never stopped, pushing himself to provide for my mom, my brother and me, and to prove that hard work could get you anywhere.

He was honest to a fault, and he stood up for people when they were afraid to stand up for themselves. He did all of it on a body that was wearing out. He tore his ACL playing hockey by 18 and had two replacements on his left knee by 40. I remember that knee popping out in the backyard while he taught us to ride a bike, threw a baseball with us, or set off fireworks. He kept going anyway.

Then ALS took his ability to work, then his strength, then his voice. He was fully aware the whole way through. Two weeks before he died, he no longer had the strength to tell me he loved me.

He died on September 15, 2013. He was 43. I was 13.

Watching him go over those two and a half years is when everything fell apart for me.

He'd tried to teach me four things while I was growing up. I only started to learn them after he was gone. Even then, I kept drifting away from what he taught me, and something kept bringing me back.

Thomas as a teenager at Christmas with his dad Ed, his mom and his brother
My dad with my mom, my brother and me.

  1. Lesson one

    Show up for yourself

    My dad showed up for us every day, on a knee that kept failing him. After he passed, I stopped showing up for myself. I had to figure out high school without him, and by grade 10, I was barely getting on the football field. My coach, Mr. Szimanski, told me why: I was too heavy and too slow to play. Then he opened the door to the weight room.

    In nine months, I lost 60 pounds. By grade 12, I was starting on both the offensive and defensive line, and the coaches rarely took me off the field. It started because someone believed I could be better. It was the first time I understood what my dad had been trying to show me.

  2. Lesson two

    Work until the job is done

    My dad never walked away from a job until it was finished. By the time I was studying Fitness and Health Promotion in college, I'd been working in gyms since I was 18, and I'd let my own training slip. When COVID shut everything down, I'd gained weight and stopped training altogether.

    I realized the world wasn't going to change for me. So I changed myself. Within two months, I was in the best shape of my life.

  3. Lesson three

    Work harder for the people who care about you

    My dad's work was always for us, never for himself. Up to then, mine had mostly been about me. Then COVID gave my mom her first real time off work in 15 years. She'd torn her meniscus at 32 and had lived in pain for 16 years. At 48, she needed a handrail on both sides to climb the stairs, wincing with every step. She felt she was too far gone.

    We worked on it at home. After two and a half months, she walked without pain for the first time since she was 32. By 52, she was running.

    That's when I understood this work was bigger than weight loss or confidence. I could help people get back a life they thought their body had taken from them for good. For the first time, my work was for someone else, the way his always was.

  4. Lesson four

    Do what you believe is right

    My dad did what he believed was right, no matter what. I started at GoodLife selling memberships, then finally started my dream job as a personal trainer. From there, I worked my way up to running the Dieppe club as Fitness Manager, with my own team of trainers. Then I drifted again. I was told my own success was what mattered, and for a while, I chased it. It never felt like enough.

    Then a member at the gym, someone who worked in healthcare, told me I was capable of much more than I'd been led to believe. It was Mr. Szimanski all over again. Before long, I was obsessed with what was possible, and I remembered what my dad taught me: you can only really help others by doing what you believe is right.

    So in March 2025, I left comfortable behind and started TJR Strength. I didn't know what the next month would bring. But I knew it was right, and for the first time in years, I could breathe.

    Every time I chased something for myself, it came up empty. Every time I helped someone else, it led me back to him.

How I coach

I never start by judging the person in front of me. Everyone has a story. Your past usually shows where things slipped, whether that's movement, food or your mental health, and that tells us where to start.

Training has rarely been about just getting through workouts. It's about learning how your body talks to you, so you have the physical and mental room to do what you love with the people you love.

On a scale of one to ten for health, I'd rather take someone from a two to a three than from a 9.2 to a 9.7. I built this business for people who are too busy looking after everyone else to look after themselves. People like my parents. I'll fight for you on the days you can't fight for yourself.

I get to be the person I wish my parents had when they were younger.

Thomas swinging a driver at a golf simulator under the Project 300 title

The 300 Project

On August 25, 2026, my friends Nico Seamans and Joe Maynard and I spent twelve hours swinging drivers at 7 Iron Moncton in my dad's honour. Alongside everyone who stepped into the bay with us, we hit 811 balls over 300 yards and raised $7,750 for ALS Canada and the ALS Society of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

See the event
My certifications (13)

Education

  • Ontario College Diploma, Fitness and Health Promotion, Conestoga College (2020)

Rehab and movement

  • The Barbell Rehab Method Certification, BRM (2023)
  • Barbell Rehab: Strength Training the Post-Operative Client (2023)
  • Level 1 KP Movement Therapy Concepts, KP Movement Institute (2023)
  • Pain-Free Performance Specialist Certified, PPSC (2024)
  • Movement Mastery Seminar, Exercise Therapy Association (2022)
  • Muscle Mechanics Workshop, Ganbaru (2022)

Strength and coaching

  • DTS Level 1 Certification (2022)
  • DTS Habits Coach (2022)
  • DTS Barbell Strength (2023)
  • Strength Training for Women Seminar, Bars & Belles (2024)
  • Natural Health Advisor, Alternative Medicine College of Canada (2025)

Golf

  • TPI Level 1 Certified, Titleist Performance Institute (2026)

Canadian Red Cross Standard First Aid and CPR/AED Level C, current.

You aren't stuck.

I've always known my dad was right. Now I get to prove it every day.

No matter how many times you've tried before, there's still a way to take care of your health and enjoy your life. Most of the time, that starts with getting back what your body can do.

If you have an injury, a worry about training, or you're not sure where to start, send me a message. If training with me isn't the right fit, I'll point you to someone who is.

Send me a message