60 DAYS TO MAKE YOUR LIFE BETTER

That is what I told myself before, during, and will tell myself after.

I hate exercise!  I always have and make every excuse to avoid it.  When I was 20, I went to boot camp.  Four months later, I was in the best shape of my life. Fast forward 35 years, and without the forced daily routine of PT and most of my workdays being at the computer, I was in pretty sad shape.  Not just my weight, I feel like I had the body of a 70-year-old at 55.  Everything hurt, I had no stamina.

We had been members years ago at the Champion location, and I liked the facility. In June 2018, we joined the Cypress club. We went through orientation, and I signed us up for everything. I argued it was better to spend money now, then have exorbitant medical bills later down the road. My wife had signed me up for personal training at the Champions location, I missed as many sessions as I attended. She was skeptical about me signing up with a personal trainer. She didn’t want me wasting money as I had before. Jesse assured her she had the perfect trainer for me. Enter Courtney Zietsman (Insert trumpets here).

The first workouts were brutal. After several “we gotta take it slower” modifications to her training and several consultations with Dr. Kai in The Zone, a game plan was made.  The game plan didn’t make it hurt any less, but it did prevent me from sustaining injuries. I started dropping weight pretty quickly but, unfortunately, I was losing muscle too.  I would have weeks where my eating was on target and and then something would come up and my food choices would be bad. I’m sure a lot of you relate.  Some of you don’t know what that battle is like.  That’s okay, my goal is to be like you one day.

I had been having the internal struggle about finally getting serious and making the changes I knew needed to happen. At the rate I was going, I wasn’t going to make it to 65. I was so tired of this. I was tired of being tired.

Life Time offered me everything: a fantastic trainer in Courtney Zietsman, wonderful facilities, The Zone with Dr. Kai who is so much more than someone to just adjust your back, the LifeCafé, Laura, Kelsey and Renee always calling me by name and having my Mocha Madness ready with a smile!! And of course, a wife who was supporting me, taking another chance hoping this would be the one.  All I had to do was just had to reach out and receive it.  I literally had run out of excuses!

When Courtney asked if I was going to do the 60day, I didn’t hesitate, I gave her a resounding yes and told her not only was I going to do it, I was going to win!  We started to make a plan. We started talking about nutrition and one of the first things she brought up was vitamins.  Now I’m going to be straight up honest, I thought this was just a sales pitch.  Courtney explained how so many of the vitamins you take are so compressed that your body doesn’t have a chance to absorb them, and shared some pretty nasty information about those vitamins.  She convinced me to try the Life Time vitamins.  After about a week or so, I started noticing a difference and I was actually sleeping through the night, something that hasn’t happened in a long time!  What I thought was a woo-woo sales pitch, turned out to be just what I needed!

The workouts are getting progressively more difficult. I am excited because I’m able to do so much more!  I could not do an unassisted squat when I started!  My flexibility has improved and it shows up in my golf game.  I have lost weight but more important, I have lost inches in my gut. I have gained muscle!  My energy level is way up, my general disposition is so much better, my outlook on everything is better!  I have not removed my 60day band.  I’m not sure I will when it is over.  I tell myself: 60 days to make your life better. 60 days to begin healthier habits.  That gets me going to Life Time to work with these great people.  As I told Courtney, I will win this challenge.  To me, I already have.  As far as any other prizes go, that would just be low-fat gravy!

Thank you, Life Time for all you have created to facilitate a healthy lifestyle! I still fight the battle over exercise, but I don’t hate it anymore – right now, I’m winning! :)