Helen Blee - Huntley, MT
I am 62 years old and my story began when I was taking a bath and didn't have enough strength to lift myself out of the tub and proceeded to hurt my back in attempting to do so. I decided then and there that I needed to do something to lose weight and gain more strength. I began my program with APEX in November of 2006, which consisted of resistance training, cardiovascular workouts, and diet change. Since I began with APEX, I have lost over 20 lbs and 3 sizes. I was also able to bring my cholesterol down from 235 to 175, that's 60 points...without medication!! The other benefit I have gained is better balance. I can now squat down without falling over, and getting up and down is much easier. Never having been involved in sports as a youngster, I had never done any kind of strength training before. Now, I know how to lift weights properly and safely and I'm on a regular exercise schedule. I'm now working out on my own to maintain my results, and thanks to APEX, I know I can do it. Claudia & Earl Dooley-Greybull, Wyoming
Aug. 18, 2008
My husband and I began using the FirstLine Therapy Therapeutic Lifestyle Program with APEX Personal Training after signing up for a “Biggest Loser” contest thru Earl’s employer that started March 6, 2008. After reading about nutrition and lifestyle, body composition, muscle loss as we age due to lack of proper exercise, insulin and diabetes; it all made so much sense to me that I knew I had to get started on the program. Diabetes is a problem in both our families, so Earl’s Pepsi and candy bar breaks and my cream and sugar in the coffee and CHOCOLATE!! , plus large meal portions, were causing us to gain weight and I knew would eventually lead to health problems down the road. I have never believed in “diets”; just watching portion sizes and trying to eat healthy (but not actually following my belief). We began using the FirstLine Therapy Menu worksheet and following the exercise plan and almost immediately started losing weight.
After weekly weigh ins and 3 BIA’s we won 1st and 2nd places in the first portion of the contest. By May 29th I had lost 18 lbs and 34 inches, and Earl had lost 36 lbs. Our fat to lean percentages changed dramatically FOR THE BETTER. We have continued the program and as of August 18, I am now down 26 lbs to 137 losing over 37 inches and Earl is down 42 lbs to 247. Our cholesterol and triglyceride totals from this year’s blood draw at our local health fair were way down compared to last year. I am determined to do well in the last portion of the contest, which continues until March of 2009. I love the Jack LaLane quote from one of the pages of the program “It’s not a diet, it’s a way of life”.
New Year’s Resolutions by Evelyn Pyburn: BigSky Business Journal
I’ve been asked numerous times to write about working out – you know what I mean -- exercise
I’m the worst person to talk about exercise.
I recall the look on Dad’s face, when helping on the farm, I would complain about sweating. I really wasn’t in favor of it. It’s rather unseemly and certainly uncomfortable. Dad would look quite bemused and shake his head, but say not a word. I suspect he was thinking he was glad to have only one daughter.
So with that in mind it is pretty funny to have people ask me to write about exercising.
Let me assure you it’s not because I’m extremely good at it, or because I have achieved anything out of the ordinary. I think my greatest achievement has been to stick with it.
It’s from my experience as a neophyte that my fomenters come --“If she can do it, anyone can do it!” And, I must agree.
As a team, I and my husband have been dutifully trekking on a regular basis to the gym for over five years now. The reason for this fortitude? Very simple -- it works.
Exercise, it turns out, is the “magic elixir” that people were always hoping to purchase at the traveling medicine show, or the closest answer to the quest for the Fountain of Youth.
After the first couple of weeks of working out, the difference in how I felt was enough for me to vow – never again. The aches and pains with which I had been suffering for years and attributed to just a natural part of getting old, disappeared. It was like stepping back twenty years – I kid you not. It was so wonderful that I knew, no matter what it took, I was not going to let go of this wonderful feeling.
I won’t say that it’s easy, but it is worth it. And, it does get easier. And, all the things they say – all those words of admonition that all the health care experts are always nagging at us about, turned out to be true. Who would have thought?
In retrospect, I realize that one has to think about it not so much as a goal, but as (just as “they” keep saying) a life-style change. You just say to yourself. – I do things differently now. The goal of feeling better came quickly enough, and that’s what I hung onto day to day. (Be assured there are a lot of internal arguments, as you drag the unwilling part of you to the gym. But, there is this other ‘me’ that I learned long time ago, it’s better not to listen to).
What I have found is that with just the persistent attention to exercise, other things happen – all those other things everyone wants to achieve, like a better diet and losing weight – and better health. As specific goals, I could never achieve any of those things, but they gradually happened as I exercised and began to learn more. And, I do mean gradually. If I had held those things out as goals, I would have become frustrated in a few weeks and I would have quit, but since my main goal was to simply hang onto this more youthful feeling, free of aches and pains, more energy and a more up-beat attitude, I was not tempted to quit.
While in the end there is no substitute for persistence, I do believe that getting the help and advice of a good personal trainer is important – especially in starting out, and for an occasional boost in direction along the way. But it is important to get a good trainer. Most trainers are disgustingly young and fit, and so lack empathy about the real struggles of middle age. So, a good trainer is one who is not only trained and knowledgeable, but who understands the foibles of being middle-aged, out of shape and reluctant.
Not one to take any expenditure lightly, I believe the expense of a good trainer is worth it.
We started out with a great trainer at one gym, who strangely enough was later dismissed because “he spent too much time with clients.” Not surprisingly, they went out of business. More recently, we have been working with Darryl Sobering at Apex Personal Training, who is not only all the things a good trainer should be, but has been especially adept at working with us as a couple, which brings up another point that I believe has been hugely beneficial, and that is having a partner in this endeavor.
Working out with someone else, if you can, also helps to motivate and keep one on track. While that may be hard to arrange, even between husbands and wives, it’s benefit cannot be overstated.
So at this time of year of new years resolutions, if taking this simple step forward is something that you have been putting off – my best advice is simply go for it. Because there’s no doubt, if I can do it, anyone can do it. and it really is a magic elixir – just a little harder than we might prefer – but what else have you got to do?
Testamonials
