Aging Younger: The Kairos Interview
- Hannah Gonzalez
- Jun 28
- 8 min read
Updated: Jul 1
Featuring Power Duo Anna Kornilakis & Tim Ross
Q: How does a Brooklyn couple keep up bi-weekly workouts with a personal trainer in Morrisville, N.Y., for a full year?
A: FaceTime, flexibility, and lots of “Al-isms.”
Anna Kornilakis, 53, and Tim Ross, 60, have been loyal clients of Kairos Wellness Experience for nearly one year.
Living and working in Brooklyn, the couple spends time each summer in Hamilton, N.Y. In 2024, they met Al Gonzalez, KWE Co-Founder and ISSA Master Trainer.
That summer, Tim and Anna trained with Al in person: individually, together, at the Colgate university gym and around campus. As their trip wrapped up, the two were ready to say goodbye to Hamilton, but not to Al. The answer? Virtual training sessions.
One year later, they continue to work out with Al — via FaceTime — twice a week.
In conversation with the couple, they boast impressive physical gains, lowered stress levels, and an encyclopedic knowledge of Al’s positive reinforcement phrases — fondly dubbed by Anna as “Al-isms.” These words of wisdom, among other elements, have kept them coming back to Kairos and deeply changed their relationship with personal training.
‘No doubt’ — Foundations
Anna and Tim have different backgrounds with fitness and personal training, spanning Pilates and many gym memberships over the years, high school and college sports, tough love, some gain, and more than a little pain. Through Kairos, not only have they found someone who can train them both at the same time, but someone who is unerringly positive and equal parts flexible and firm.
Tim: He took about three months to build a foundation with us, which I certainly needed. I think [Anna] did too. She’s never been this into working out. She used to hate it.
Anna: I just hate cardio. I’m not someone who craves working out. Now, I get more of a high out of working out, but I wasn’t like that before. There is something to the buddy system
and doing it together, that’s nice too.
We have found someone who can challenge both of us. [Al] knows we’re both in a bit of a different place, and he’s tuned into that. His style is different.
Tim: When I met him, I was in the worst shape of my life. My breathing was terrible, everything was bad. I never liked personal training because I was like, “They can’t teach me
anything.” I did college sports, I did high school sports. This is different; the fact that he was so engaging and so understanding.
I’ve never done core. I hate core. Al has gotten me to, I wouldn’t say like it, but at least put up with it. And I feel different.
Anna: I took a Pilates class recently and the intro video said “Remember, don’t let your teacher see you taking a break!” It jumped out at me after working with Al over these twelve months, because that ethos is so counter to Al’s philosophy! Al is accommodating to where you are that week or that day; he is also cautious about injury. And because he is so into
meditation, he can transition into those kinds of things when he can (somehow even on FaceTime) sense that one of us is not in power mode!
But if he knows you can do it, he’ll push you hard.
‘Go spaghetti’ — Flexibility & Differentiation
Something that stands out to the couple about Al is his flexibility; if Anna or Tim has had a rough week or a bad night’s sleep, for example, Al will change up the routine to suit where they are that day.
Moreover, he’ll focus on different areas of improvement between the two individuals. Even if they’re doing the same exercise, he’ll pay special attention if it’s a growth area for one of them.
Anna: Usually we pretty much do the same workout, but the way he [differentiates] is, if one of us is not feeling as up to it, he’ll say, “You’re doing this many,” or “You’re doing low impact.”
Or, every now and then, he’ll say, “Okay Anna, Tim’s tapped
out. Do you want to do another round? Do you want to do a challenge?”
Tim: He knows what both of us are strong and weak on.
Anna’s challenge has always been push ups! That’s not my problem, I go all the way down. That’s probably the only thing I do better than she does. He pays a lot of attention to her on the pushups. I have a tough time with the balance stuff, so he’s paying attention to me, more than Anna.
While one would always hope their personal trainer is able to note areas of improvement and tailor workouts to each person, Al takes it a step further with his attention to detail, even in a virtual modality.
Tim: What I find remarkable is that he can tell what’s off in our form — over the phone. We do these things called killers. Arms straight out, light weight, as fast as you can for 40 seconds.He can see us start to [bend our elbows] because it makes it a lot easier,
and he’ll be like, “Okay, straight arms!”
Anna: Or, I’ll notice my forearm isn’t right, and I’ll fix it, and he’ll say “Ooh, nice adjustment!” Of course it should be true that your personal trainer
is tuned in to what you’re doing, but it’s probably not always true, Al is literally watching every second and able to focus on both of us.
‘Vacation for the mind’ — Positive reinforcement on The Boat
One of Al’s most unique qualities is his ability to reframe a negative into a positive, especially with a particularly difficult exercise. Focusing on a positive mindset can help transform how we accomplish a physical challenge: for example, “The Boat,” a sedentary exercise in which one raises their legs in a ‘V’ shape, largely working the core.
Anna: We could never do that.
Tim: It’s hard. If you don’t know what it is, don’t ask him about it.
Anna: When we started that, there was no way. Let’s just say it was like an impossible thing to learn.
So, how did they tackle it?
Anna: One, his directions are super clear. Get the posture right, and then your legs will come after. But then, instead of using off-putting [phrases], he’ll say,
“Use your breath, this should be a peaceful movement…”
Tim: “Get in the zone.”
Anna: It’s gotten to be that this is really a peaceful movement, I love it. I look forward to the boat now during our workouts!
Many KWE clients find that Al’s encouragement is a stark difference from typical gym and fitness mantras. Whether the “No pain, no gain” motto has motivated you or kept you out of the gym for years, Kairos strives for a different approach, through anatomical knowledge and positive thinking.
Tim: I like the “No pain, no gain” stuff. But as I get older, it gets harder and harder to do. You’re getting pain and no gain. I really thought that I would want a trainer to be like, “Go! Go! Go!” And I’ve been really surprised.
This is mellow. There’s times when we get done and I just want to go back to bed, because
we always train in the morning. So it’s not like it’s ever easy.
Anna: [It’s] knowing about the body, and what parts of your anatomy are going to help you
do a move, but also knowing that it’s going to help with your balance in life, the functional
part of it. That helps.
Tim: His explanations about why he’s doing what he’s doing are really good. For someone like me, who’s always a little skeptical about most things, that’s super helpful.
The first time he said “transverse abdominis,” I was like “Oh, what the [expletive].” But after a while I was like, “Okay!”
I’m starting to learn. When he mentions [the muscles] now,
I know what he’s talking about! It’s educational in a way that I really, really like.”
‘Establish your breath” — Functionality and Gains
Anna and Tim proudly proclaim that they are approaching their “Al-iversary” — nearly one year has passed since they first began training with Kairos. Over that time, the functionality of their workouts has become clear in daily life, their strength has improved vastly, and they both cite lower stress levels.
Anna: If you weren’t doing the Al workouts…
Tim: My stress would be so much worse.
Al also incorporates breathwork and other aspects of his weekly meditation classes into their training sessions, specifically “balloon belly breaths” and nasal inhalations and exhalations.
Anna: I hear [Tim] doing that all the time, when he’s stressed out or trying to sleep. I hear him trying to incorporate the nasal breathing.
What else has improved and changed for them during the last year?
Tim: Focus on balance. One of the things you have to worry about as you get older is falling. Doing these exercises, hip openers and that kind of stuff; it’s the best thing you can do,
because it’s going to keep you from falling.
And it has, probably three times in the last year. “You’re actually aging younger,” [Al] says.
Anna: Oh yeah, “aging younger.” He says thatall the time. I guess I just feel stronger.
I feel that I can do push ups now, in a way I couldn’t before.
Tim: And she can do knee bends while she’s doing curls.
Squats, it’s amazing. And her Boat? It’s like a QE2. I’m sitting in a leaky canoe.
Overall, the improvements they’ve noted in just a year are remarkable.
Tim: There is not a chance we could do what we can do now a year ago.
Spreading the word
Personal training clients and workshop participants are responsible for much of Kairos’ growth since its founding in 2019. Anna, specifically, has played a large part in this growth, from gaining crowds at Al’s meditation sessions to spreading the word to other friends.
Enough can’t be said about the virtual training modality and Al’s friendly professionalism.
Anna: He’s an adult, he’s a professional. He really is incredibly effective remote, in a way that I don’t think a lot of people can be.
Tim: I also think, you don’t feel like he’s pushing himself on you, you know?
Anna: Yeah.
Tim: I don't have a lot of experience with other trainers. Anna has done a lot of personal training over the years, and she says this is the best; the fact that we're able to do it together and that she is seeing how it is positively impacting my well-being,
it is such a win-win all around.
You are working out with your partner and you feel great that you're each investing in your long-term health!
When asked why else they feel compelled to recommend KWE, both Anna and Tim are equally verbose about Al himself.
Tim: He’s just so damn likable!
Anna: [Al is] super experienced. He’s done this stuff himself. He knows the anatomy stuff. He’s super committed to physical health and the emotional piece. It’s fun!
Tim: He always shows up in a good mood.
Anna: Or when you see him come on screen and hear his voice,,
You can’t be in a bad mood anymore, because he’s so positive.
When asked if there was anything left to say, Anna pauses in thought. After a year of training and reaching milestones together, her commitment to their personal growth in tandem with KWE’s success says it all:
Anna: I want to do a good job, for Al.
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