Us

Jackie and I have been together and involved with fitness since 1984. We have experienced many of the fitness trends and the evolution of the fitness industry over the last three decades and are enthusiastic about offering our clients the benefit of that experience. Our Holistic Health Playground is the realization of our dream to offer an extraordinary private and group training experience. With an environment and surroundings that reflect our intention to provide exceptional service, instruction and coaching for our clients. Our journey and relationship with fitness and the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle have given us the strength, vitality and courage to step out of our way, transform our lives and live our dream.

We are deeply committed to being an example of what it looks like to actively find and live your legacy with a foundation of holistic health, fitness and vitality and to help coach our clients to do the same.

With Qi, Pat & Jackie Cross

Jackie

Since childhood I have been physically active, joining all the sports activities and teams in school that I could.  From track, badminton, volleyball, basketball and even floor hockey I got involved in everything.  My true passion and love for animals and horses was limited to a few camps in the summer but whenever given the  opportunity, I would ride.  A car accident as a young teenager put me off track for some time while I struggled daily with severe lower back pain.  Trying alternative means to heal with massage, chiropractors as well as joining fitness clubs and classes without proper instruction failed and so I was left surrendering to my pain.  In the late 90s I discovered the benefits of strength training and there was no turning back.  I found that the stronger I got and the more consistent I could keep up my workouts, the better I felt.  It was during this time that my husband and I started Cross-Trainers Health and Fitness Club and I began my new career as business owner and shortly after fitness instructor.  I found a passion in helping others discover the benefits of physical activity and strength training.  I became involved in instructing daily group exercise classes, forming a running group and regular active strength workouts.  Exercising has provided me with so many positive benefits  physically, mentally and emotionally.

Being a busy mother of 3 very active children I have learned to create balance between my work, family and taking care of myself and showing my children what that looks like by leading by example.  From my beginning as a fitness instructor, I have expanded my knowledge and experience to include Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Fitness Therapist as well as group instructor.  I am passionate about coaching others to experience life with a holistic approach including providing your body with fresh air, pure water, healthy foods and movement.  As well, to approach life with positive thinking, positive words and positive actions.  But most of all remembering that being active should be FUN!!!

Pat 

It's pretty safe to say that sports, recreation and fitness have always played a part in my life. As a child it was baseball and soccer and almost always on a bike. I got my first weight set to use in my basement when I was eleven. No bench, just a bar and some plastic encased weight plates. Looking back now, I'm amazed that without any formal instruction (an older teenager who babysat for us showed me some stuff), I was doing a lot of really good things that I now incorporate in my athlete conditioning programs.  Movements such as deadlifts, cleans, one arm cleans and push-presses. Ground based functional exercise....Cool! As a teenager it was skateboarding and bicycle motocross which is what lead me to weight training more seriously than I had before. It was my desire to become bigger, stronger and faster on the bike so that I could win more races which got me started and when it was time to hang up the bike, weight training remained as a big part of my life. I was hooked. It provided me with a great deal of self-confidence and I loved the feeling and the look of strength and the sense that I could accomplish anything. I trained regularly every week without ever missing more than a week or two at a time for over twenty years.

Until... I partially tore a biceps tendon while working in an industrial setting and was not able to train. It took over a year before it was discovered that the tendon was torn and that I would need surgery. After the surgery, a funny thing happened, I started to feel pain throughout my body...low back, SI joint, hip, my other shoulder and my knees. The result, no doubt, of a couple of serious automobile accidents and some poor training practices when I was younger. The pain I had ignored and numbed out was beginning to surface and I wasn't too happy about that. Still, I was not able to train and I had to take a different approach. I began taking numerous courses, workshops and certifications in the area of corrective and rehabilitative exercise. I was determined to find the solution so that I could get back to training. It was working. I was applying my new-found knowledge and things were improving at a rapid pace. I changed my approach from one of body-building to functional training and athlete conditioning. Movement based exercise to integrate the body rather than isolated type exercises which only serve to dis-integrate the body, cause imbalances and promote injury. WOW! I had  a lot to learn and was having a blast doing it.

However, there was still something missing I was still feeling some pain and other health issues were beginning to appear. I then began to discover the relationship between nutrition, lifestyle and the ability for the body to heal. Again I read numerous books and took courses in holistic lifestyle coaching and metabolic typing and discovered some key ingredients that were missing in my plan for healing. I began to see even more improvement physically, my energy and level of vitality increased significantly and I was feeling better all the time.

Then...another funny thing occurred. As my physical pain subsided, I began to realize that not only had I buried and numbed out my physical pain, I had also done the same emotionally. Well, back to the drawing board. I had begun to feel again on every level and I was determined to not let that go. That lead me, to yet again, some more courses and certifications in holistic coaching which brought some amazing revelations that have changed my life significantly for the better. I realized that my pain wasn't just a result of physical and nutritional imbalances but was also a physical expression of blocked energy. I experienced a sense of peace and self-worth that I hadn't ever known before and what was left of any lingering pain was quickly disappearing. So much so, I can honestly say that I am happier and feel healthier than I have ever been and I'm living my dream!!

There is nothing I would like more than for everyone to do the same. If you are living your dream....fantastic! If you feel that you're not, whatever it is that may be holding you back, it takes but one step with intent to get you on your way. Are you willing to take it? There is no one more deserving than you, and of that, I am sure.