If you’ve stumbled upon this website and blog, chances are you’re in need of some guidance when it comes to starting a fitness program. But the problem is there are a million fitness coaches out there so you probably want to know what makes me different.. So I’d like to share my past experiences with you, and why I might be the right fit.
My two-pronged experience
I’ve spent the past 40 years as a Physical Therapist (PT) dealing with the effects of poor health.. Over time, friends I worked out with suggested I do fitness coaching. I learned that my passion is helping busy professionals in their forties and beyond, and watch them enjoy the benefits of increased strength, joint pain relief, boosted energy, sharper focus, and weight loss.
As a PT, I’ve seen people change for better and for worse. I’ve watched thousands of people have to deal with the results of bad health decisions. As a fitness coach, I’ve also seen people improve and reverse negative issues by changing their behaviors. I’ve watched people come to realize the ability to enjoy life more by increasing strength and mobility.
I’ve watched others go through a downward physical trajectory
Most everyone has seen close friends or loved ones go through an illness or progress through the aging process to a point that their ability to move and live the way they are used to is diminished. I’ve seen several examples of this in my lifetime.
The one that hits closest to home is my parents. My dad retired when he was 62 and his activity level dropped off. My mom still did housework and my dad did yard work for a bit, but neither had been overly active up to that point. Although, both lived into their 90s–the last 20 years or so were not good from a physical standpoint. They experienced a long series of arthritis, cardiovascular disease and other issues that are very much related to a lack of exercise and a poor diet.
Another experience was having the opportunity to work with hospital inpatients for about a year. While I was seeing them primarily for orthopedic issues, I couldn’t help but notice that the majority of them also had significant progression of systemic diseases (diabetes, cardiovascular). Such problems are the result of lifestyle choices–either not doing things that are beneficial, like exercising, or doing things that are unhealthy, such as smoking, excessive drinking or making poor food choices.
When I worked with orthopedic patients, who were hospitalized, I found the majority of them suffered from progressive systemic diseases, like diabetes and arthritis. These problems are most often determined by lifestyle choices, especially activity levels, diet, etc.
Even when treating people in an outpatient setting it’s not uncommon to see people on two or three prescriptions for diabetes, arthritis, cholesterol, etc. in their 30s!
This is so disheartening. It DOES NOT have to be this way!
And it’s not just about prevention-the point of exercise is to have a more enjoyable life. To be able to enjoy grandchildren or a walk in the park. It’s life-changing,and it doesn’t have to disrupt your entire life.
The problem is that starting something new is hard!
I get it. It’s not easy to start something new. My beginnings with exercise were not very positive. As a child, I didn’t do any real organized physical activity until Little League. As an 8 year old, trying out for the 8-10 age-range team was not the best plan. Lack of experience and playing with older kids (2 years is a lot when you’re 8!) proved to be quite humiliating–that was the end of my baseball career.
My next attempt was freshman football. Since this was only my second attempt at organized sports, I still was very inexperienced. The results were similar–I was bad and got knocked around quite a bit.
There was a difference this time, though, I loved,and still love football! I saw that this was something I could get better at with work, and work I did.
By my senior year I’d gained 60 pounds and decreased my 40-yard dash time from 5.4 to 4.7 (I went from very slow to pretty fast!).
These experiences taught me two things. First, just because you don’t like something at first (like exercise) doesn’t mean you’ll never like it. Sometimes it just takes time or a change in focus.
Second, it showed me dramatic changes are possible with the right plan. In my case, I read a book by a guy named Bill Starr called “The Strongest Shall Survive”. Back then, there were few strength coaches or fitness coaches. So, Bill Starr became my coach and I was able to design my own plan with his guidance. That plan allowed me to make the changes I mentioned above.
These things have stuck with me throughout my life– college, practicing as a physical therapist and fitness coach. Now, even better, I not only live a healthy active life, I get to teach it for a living!
Here’s how I can help
If you’ve never exercised consistently or tried and failed, I’ve been there and can help get to a healthier place. I’ve also learned how to deal with the effects of poor physical condition and nutrition and helped thousands of people reverse such effects.
Whatever your current state, the first step is to assess where you are and where you want to be in order to live the kind of life you’d enjoy.
When you’re ready, I’m here to do that assessment and map out a plan that will work for you.