Pandemic Pivot with Abdullah AbulQassim

Have you ever needed to make a shift? Pivot one way or another due to something outside of your control? Almost every single person and business has due to this coronavirus pandemic. In this episode of the Jonesin’ for Show I talk with fitness guru Abdullah AbulQassim how he made the pandemic pivot extremely successfully and how you can make a positive shift.

Abdullah AbulQassim owns and runs the fitness studio Lose|Gain in Kuwait, where he lives. He also has a “real” job as an investor and banker. Ever since Abdullah was 16 or 17 he was interested in fitness. Abdullah used to workout in a gym but recalls being frustrated in how long his workouts would take because people would monopolize the machines. On one of his vacations to the US to visit friends he learned about P90X, a home fitness program. After another annoyingly long workout he got frustrated and decided to give p90x a go. The program arrived and he started the first workout,chest and back. He thought that it would be easy, but within twenty minutes he could barely breathe and was sweating really hard. That’s when he realized that’s exactly what he wanted and needed and decided to do all 90 days. After Abdullah rocked the program Beachbody started to offer a p90x certification and Abdullah knew he wanted it! After he returned to Kuwait he started to began training his friends. He rented a gym and the few friends became many more! Once the number of people started growing, he built his own gym, seeing how helpful group training was to keep other people committed. Tony Horton, the creator and trainer in P90X is very good at showing people what they need to do, and his sets are things that people can do anywhere, whether they’re at a gym or not. Knowing the proper form is key, if you have the proper form you are less likely to get injured, and you can keep going after your goals. Combine that with group instruction you have built in accountability.

Fast forward to current times, just like many places, due to the pandemic Kuwait was put under lockdown, and all of the gyms were forced to close. Abdullah and his team had anticipated that happening, and decided they would not stop teaching their classes. Instead of teaching in person they were prepped and switched to online classes, and continued them all using the same timing.

Being forced to be inside constantly only created a greater need for people to workout, and Abdullah began giving free classes over Zoom and Instagram Live. People loved the online classes and over 1,000 people would be working out with them at any given time. Exercise provides great relief for stress, which is especially needed while we are constantly being delivered bad news. Abdulla said that being prepared made all the difference. Being able to switch right away to online classes definitely helped us keep our clients and actually allowed us to help even more!

Going forward, Abdullah plans to continue doing online classes, as well as hopefully opening his gym back up. People have been asking him to keep the online classes going even after the gym opens up, but people have also wanted the gym to open back up of course, so why not do both? Some of the classes will be in the gym once it opens back up, and some will be online so people can do what works best for them. Abdullah’s dream when it comes to his gym is to make it the largest gym in Kuwait, and maybe one day open it in the US!

For his other job in investments, things have also changed. All of the work that used to be done in the office is now virtual, online work. The only time he is allowed to go into the office is when it’s something he cannot do from home. Even after the pandemic, Abdullah believes that jobs will still be mostly virtual. The shift has already been made, and it is probably cheaper for companies not to have people at the office.

His biggest struggle has been people not knowing how to use Zoom or Instagram, or other forms of technology. The biggest joy he has had, is being able to continue inspiring even more people than he had. One piece of advice he has for people who want to go after their goals, is you need to accept the ups and the downs, being successful is never just a straight line.

To find out more about Abdullah and his gym, go to www.lose-gain.com or check him out Instagram @p90x.kw.

I would love to hear what you think about the Pandemic Pivot, and the interview with Abdullah! Please send me a message on social media at @Jonesinfor or email me at smj190@gmail.com. Thanks!