Kenzai

What is Kenzai?

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Our Values

Kenzai can be summed up in our three core principles:

Only do things that work. Don't waste clients' time, energy, and money with impractical, unsustainable, or inefficient training methods.

Respect people's intelligence. Along with physical results, work on intellectual growth. Teach clients how their bodies and minds really work. Encourage freedom from gyms, trainers, gimmicks and gurus.

Keep it human. To make progress, people need other people. All of our programs are designed with our shared humanity at the center. No one trains alone.

Our Story

In 2008 Patrick Reynolds was looking to get in shape. He was coming up on thirty years old and teaching yoga and zen meditation to sold out classes all over Tokyo. But he couldn't deny what the mirror was showing him. He was pudgy. He lacked muscle tone. He didn't feel as good as he knew he should be. And it bothered him; if he couldn't even get on top of his own fitness, what business did he have telling other people what to do?

90 days. No gimmicks.

At the same time, he knew what he didn't want. He didn't want to spend hours in a gym. He didn't want a fad diet, expensive supplements, or gimmicky fitness contraptions. He wanted an approach to fitness that was as lean and efficient as his zen practice.

It was around this time that he met Chen Zhongtao, a trainer and martial arts teacher living in Yokohama. Patrick was impressed with Chen's deep understanding of physiology and background as a kung-fu student, a bodybuilder, and a special forces trainer with the Chinese police.

Patrick posed a challenge to Chen. Get Patrick not just in shape, but in amazing shape, without a gym or supplements, in 90 days. Together they carved out a rough system of meals and exercises which could be done anywhere. All that was left was for Patrick to actually stick to it. But Patrick knew himself. He knew that left to his own devices he'd get lazy and fall off the plan. So he made a public vow to write a blog and update a photo every single day of the program. If he was going to fail, he was going to fail in public.

He called this experiment the Peak Condition Project. It worked remarkably well.

Chen and Patrick during early planning session.
An early planning session. Workouts were just stick figures and delivered by email!

The funny thing was, along the way, more and more people started reading Patrick's training blog. And at the end of it, a few of them asked if they could go through the same process.

Those first groups quickly expanded from 3 to 6 to 12 to 40 people. And the results kept coming in. The word spread fast; there was a program that kept you on track, that didn't jerk you around or try to upsell you powders or equipment, and that wasn't just about losing a few pounds but getting into the absolute best shape of your life.  

Among these first waves of participants was Jason Block, a Tokyo-based finance professional who was surprised that such an effective training system wasn't more widely known. He approached Patrick and Chen with a plan. With the right structure, they knew the program could go from helping dozens of people a year to helping tens of thousands around the world. 

Kenzai started growing year by year purely by word of mouth. With a round of investment capital and a team of trainers, developers, and behind-the scenes staff, Kenzai guides thousands of trainees through their own transformation. It's a long way away from the days of stick figure workouts, but the heart of the program is the same.  Deliver life-changing results, keep training simple and spare, and always work with real people to stay motivated through it all. This is the only combination that works. This is the Kenzai way.

The Trainers

Behind-the-Scenes Magic Makers

Chen Zhongtao

Jason Block

Patrick Reynolds

Todd Musgrove

We can't wait to work with you!