Finalists / Brian O

Brian O.

North Scottsdale, AZ

Brian Oderkirk Front

It was a few days after a visit to the doctor that I walked into my Life Time and saw the 60day banners, posters and balloons. As I walked through the front door, Eva Bittles asked if I had heard about the program.

I had been to the doctor because of constant fatigue and difficulty concentrating. The end result of that physical was needing to lose weight and get healthier, plain and simple. I had been through a tough divorce in the past year, I was overweight and highly stressed. Now that I’m in my mid 40s, I knew I needed to get healthier for myself and for my kids and lose all the excuses. The 60day was the turning point to a healthy way of life for me and my two daughters.  Now that I look at the before and after photos, I am so proud of everything we’ve accomplished.

To start, Eva did a very thorough assessment, explaining all of the tools available to me through the Know It, Nourish It, and Move It pillars, and I signed up for the 60day that day I walked in. We also decided we were going to train together at least once a week, and she gave me a fundamental diet plan that would work with my lifestyle and still achieve the goals we had set.

After our first training session, it was apparent that my flexibility needed some significant work.  She recommended that I start taking some of the yoga classes that Life Time offers to help with my flexibility. Given that yoga was a little out of my comfort zone, I was hesitant at first, but she encouraged me to take the class. While the first yoga class was challenging, the instructor was patient and kind and it was one of the better classes I have taken. I also took advantage of many of the other free classes as well. Eva helped keep me accountable through weigh-ins and made sure I knew about all of the other great resources in the 60day.

I also stumbled upon a phenomenal resource that I attribute much of my success. Early in the challenge, I had forgot my wallet and didn’t have my membership card when I walked through the front door. The Life Time team member at the front desk noticed that I did had my phone and asked if I heard about the Life Time app. I had not.

The Life Time app is a total game changer that has made my life exponentially easier. Within the app on your phone, you can access your membership card, look up class schedules (at any Life Time location), reserve a spot in a class, check hours for specialty items (like the rock wall and pool), you can track your visits, track your guest passes and also get workouts! Not only do you get workouts, but it lets you track each exercise, the number of reps and save your history. It is truly a tool that I can say will help me keep this healthy lifestyle going.

During the 60day I also had several trips out of the state. There was a Life Time everywhere I went. It was great to feel welcomed by the Atlanta team when I dropped in for Miguel’s Boot camp class and I also spent time in the Minneapolis area Crosstown, Bloomington North and St. Louis Park Locations. I was able to get all the class schedules and information on those clubs quickly because of the app! Teamwork is clearly a part of the Life Time culture. During the last week of my training, there was a schedule conflict with one of my final sessions and Robert (from the North Scottsdale location) helped cover for Eva. He jumped right in to cover and pushed me to the next level providing me with the motivation I needed to finish strong.

I used available child care at Life Time very regularly; it allows me to bring my two daughters with me and very much enables you to find the time to prioritize a healthy lifestyle. So now, if I can plan it out, the kids can go to the rock wall (or other fun activities) with the childcare staff. My daughters both love the rock wall and pool, so they now ask to go to the gym. I can also confidently climb to the top of most areas of the rock wall now!

The 60day was exactly what I needed to shake all the excuses that were piling up: I’m in my mid 40s now, I’ve been through a tough divorce, it’s hard to find time for the gym with work and the kids, I don’t have the motivation after a tough day, or anything else we can come up with. I can confidently tell you that in less than 60 days you can weigh in at 199.4 and weigh out at 167.9 and lose 31.5 lbs. Life Time has all the resources there for you should you want to embrace a healthy way of life!