About Night Owl

The engine behind Night Owl Training is Nat Gingerich (they/he), who’s also writing this blurb so can communicate in the first person! Hi. I’m so glad you’re here. Let’s get the business stuff out of the way first.

The most legitimizing things about my training practice are listed here:

• Bachelor’s of Physical Education and Coaching, Kinesiology specialization

• Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology - Certified Personal Trainer

• Coaching Association of Canada national sport conference presenter

• NCCP Multi-Sport Coach, Competition-Development

• Sport Science Diploma

• British Columbia Premier League athletic trainer

There’s way more to choosing a trainer than their certifications alone. What’s their relationship to collaboration? Can they give and receive feedback respectfully? Do they “get” how to create meaningful programming for every client? How are they staying up to date with current research? Are they literate in things that can influence clients’ relationship to activity, like shift work, gender dys/euphoria, financial stress, nutrition, and chronic illness? Are they drawing inspiration from influencers and trends, or do they work from evidence-based sources? This stuff is my baseline.

I know I can’t be everything to everyone. Once upon a time I thought I was gonna be a lawyer, and I put myself firmly on that track. That goal became my whole story until I realized it wasn’t what I wanted at all - it was everyone else’s dream for me. 

So when I went back to school with the intention to work in sports, I purposefully kept my options open. I said yes to almost every opportunity, just to see what worlds I could see myself in. As it turns out, I can see myself in lots of different worlds. I’ve worked in sports medicine, research, teaching, and community sport along the way, all of which have helped clarify why I’m here in the first place. 

It’s the people. It always has been. In my job I get to make a fundamentally exclusionary industry a place of inclusion, of creativity, and one that changes to suit the people in it, not the other way around. If my work results in one more person feeling a little more at home in their body, or confident to pursue activities that bring them joy, that will be incredibly fulfilling.

I don’t believe there is a universal formula for movement. My reason for activity might be different than yours, and your relationship to movement is probably different than mine. We get to make it up as we go! Our lives are our own and we get to live them on our terms! And, importantly, that includes embodying the character and intention inside of us.

• I will always put your needs and experience first.

• I will always offer feedback and resources that keep you safe.

• I will always ask for consent to cue you with touch.

• I will always celebrate your wins with you.

• I will always be a non-judgmental witness.

• I will never make assumptions about what you can and cannot do.

• I will never force you into something you don’t want to do.

• I will never try to sell you supplements.

• I will never tell you to lose weight.

• I will never use ai to make programming.

Why Night Owl?

To me, a night owl is awake when the whole world is asleep. They are mysterious, all-powerful, and contain infinite potential for action. They gather energy from the stars and from the single lit streetlight shining down onto the ground below. A wizard travelling a path. The person a UFO would choose. One single cell in a tremendous organism. A night owl is a steadfast presence that feels at home in the unexpected.