In late March of 2015 I found myself weighing in at 297 pounds, with little energy, no cardiovascular stamina, sore joints and generally feeling lousy about myself. I was an athlete my entire life, playing 3 sports in high school, continuing 2 of them into college and playing basketball, golf, baseball (then softball) into my 30’s and now 40’s. With the weight I was carrying, how unhealthy I generally felt and the wear and tear I was feeling in my legs, back and joints, I was facing the serious reality that I would need to give up playing these games I still loved. Although I felt there was still an athlete trapped inside that could play these sports the way I wanted to, I was physically unable to perform at the level I wanted to.
Over the years past 20-25 years since college as I put on the weight, I always wanted to return to working out consistently, but each time I tried to start working out I could only pull from the knowledge I had developed while working out in college and my early 20’s and inevitably that would result in me injuring myself and quickly abandoning the workout regimen. Faced with the prospect of needing to give up my continuing passion for recreational sports activities while still very much wanting to rediscover some resemblance of the athlete that I had once been, I decided to seek out a personal trainer, something I had never believed in, to see if that route could help me get back into shape.
With so many options to choose from I had no idea where to begin.
My wife suggested Charlie, as she had been part of and enjoyed some of his boot camp workouts in the past. I immediately liked that Charlie wanted to sit down with me for a consultation first. We talked about the past, my goals, nutrition and I recall leaving after that first consultation feeling like he knew his stuff and that I wanted to get started right away. I scheduled my first workout that same week. We started slow, building up range of motion and strength. Charlie is exceptional at designing a program for the individual, tailored toward my needs and progressing at a pace that is safe for me but effective. I saw results very quickly and I started to get more lean and fit. The pounds came off quickly at first and we continued to set and adjust personal goals.
I started to see and feel a little more like the athlete that I once was and am now able to do things and partake in activities like softball, basketball and golf that I struggled with prior to working out with Charlie and had considered giving up as I could not do the things I could and could or could not do them without injury. I lost 20 pounds quickly, the next 10 were tougher and I hit a bit of a plateau after 30 pounds but Charlie was ready with some tweaks and adjustments to my workout and some very knowledgeable discussion about food and nutrition and I was able to work through the plateau and have now lost over 40 pounds in my first year of working out with Charlie.
More important than the number on the scale however, is the fact that I feel great, mentally and physically. With Charlie’s guidance I feel like I have developed and continue to develop life-long healthy habits with regard to weight training, cardio training and nutrition. Joints that used to be chronic problems for me: back, knees, hips, shoulders and elbows are no longer a problem and it has been a very long time since I’ve looked and felt as physically fit as I do right now. I have developed greater range of motion and flexibility as well as strength and I find myself able to do things physically and athletically that I haven’t been able to do for 15 to 20 years. I actually feel so good and feel so strong that sometimes I do need to remind myself that I am not 20 years younger but it’s a good reminder to have to give yourself.
Happy, healthy and feeling great.