When it comes to celebrating accomplishments and articulating goals for the New Year, there’s no better person to talk to than Gideon Akande.

Gideon is a group fitness instructor, personal trainer, corporate wellness consultant and Men’s Health Top Trainer, selected as the national winner among hundreds of contestants in 2015.

I cornered him after one of my weekly sessions at Trifactive to ask him what he’s what’s proud to have accomplished and what’s working on now; he handled the questions like a champ. It’s not every day that you’re asked to describe why you’re proud of yourself to someone you aren’t best friends with, but I could tell Gideon knows where he’s going and how he’s going to get there, and it was refreshing to hear that kind of assertion out loud.

Over the course of 2016, what are you proud to have accomplished?

One of the things I’m most proud of accomplishing is being able to film and distribute my own fitness DVD through the Men’s Health brand, as well as being able to have my own 50-person test panel that helped me with the creation of that product. They really transformed their own lives individually and they also developed new friendships. It’s been rewarding to see participants sticking with their fitness programs long after we completed the panel. The program truly inspires new levels of dedication!

When you think of creating a fitness DVD, you’re essentially coaching people that you can’t see. I’m used to being in front of a class or client, having their energy and navigating what’s happening based off them. When you’re teaching and coaching to a screen, you have to anticipate what the client at home may be feeling, and anticipate when they’re going to be struggling. It was an exciting challenge to come up with progressions for all of my exercises and give a great workout to everyone at once, from those just starting out to those who have been exercising for all of their lives. We succeeded in that, and for that I’m really proud and also extremely grateful to everyone has joined us in this fitness journey.

Looking ahead to 2017, what do you want to accomplish?

I’m always evaluating and re-evaluating what I’m doing, where I’m going and what I want to be doing. I believe that the best way to move forward is to keep setting big goals and then feel the exhilaration of surpassing them.

Locally, I’m working with Trifactive to develop their small group training facility. We train in groups of 15 people or less, which creates a fun small group format while also allowing for individualized instruction. Right now I’m in the process of spreading the word so we can help as many people as possible achieve their fitness goals for 2017.

I also will continue to work with large brands on a national and international scale. I have some things in the works right now that will allow me to continue to encourage and motivate people through fitness on an international and national level which I’m super excited about.

Gideon’s classes are up and running on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at Trifactive.