Hey, I’m Joonas.
And I help tired parentpreneurs over 40 reclaim their strength, confidence and energy. With a dose of swagger.
That’s what I do. Now, with the risk of getting heaps philosophical, who am I?
A husband, dad, writer, slow-thinker.
I love books and pinball machines. My favourite letter of the alphabet is ‘Z’. I do not like snakes. And I am yet to understand the feelings I experience when watching old Bruce Willis movies.
I am a recovered fitness addict.
In my twenties, life was mostly about the gym. I was counting calories with the same obsession that Stephen Hawking counted the awareness of space. Every training session had to resemble the van Damme’s Kickboxer training montage.
This lead to orthorexia, over-training and being constantly sick or injured.
In a hindsight, it made as much sense as continuously sticking fingers in to a motorised pencil sharpener.
I was dealing with relentless back and hip pain and had my share of shoulder and knee issues. I probably spent more money on doctors and physios than OJ spent on lawyers.
Long story semi-short, around 2013 something clicked. In a good way. Being more reasonable with my training, and everything that comes with it, has improved the quality of my life and the quality of the relationships I have.
And somewhat paradoxically, I am stronger, fitter and healthier than I was during my relentless fitness addict years. Although, I no longer have a six-pack. Oh, well.
I’ve been a coach since 2011.
The mission with Reps And The Rest is to spread the kind word of reasonable fitness. To help my clients and readers live an active and fulfilling life. Whatever that means to each person.
With a decade of coaching clients, I know a thing or two about how to, and how not to, train. I don’t just write about strength, health, fitness and life in some dark and greasy suburban basement in between marathon sessions of Mario Kart and eating Pringles.
In 2018, I wrote a book.
Spandex Not Compulsory – How to Get (and Remain) Strong, Fit and Confident without Restrictive Rules is a part confession, part self-help, and part health and fitness book about teaching others how to avoid the mistakes I’ve made.
As for some (more) random trivia…
I grew up in the harsh Arctic temperatures of the Finnish Lapland. This (partly) explains my deep affection for black coffee and trash metal. I’ve called Australia home since 2007.
And for those of you not quite fluent in the pronunciation of Finnish names, it’s Yoo-nas. Rad, right?