Personal Training Success Stories

John Marchelletta

Jim Fitzgerald

Charlene Inferrere

Skip Moynihan

Skip Moynihan

sm.jw@comcast.net

When we joined in November of 2006, we believed we were in relatively good shape and were just interested in a winter workout program.

We have, in the past joined health clubs and gyms; usually every January. Typically, we've started out with great intentions, creating self designed exercise programs which we hoped would have some positive impact. Our zeal usually lasted three to four weeks before we would find successive reasons not to make that trek to the club.

A friend of ours, whose appearance had noticeably changed for the better, pointed us to your facility.  When we initially met with you, we were very impressed with your presentation and explanations; however, we also understood our sketchy exercise history.

But here it is some eight months later and we have been faithful to our training regimen thanks to you and the gentle nudging of your staff. We have found all the trainers to be thorough professionals who engender a sense of confidence in our exercise ability and who foster a sense of camaraderie among all the Fitness Together members.

We are stronger, more flexible and clearly more energetic and more aware of our eating habits since we began training at Fitness Together. In our opinion this is the first training and nutrition experience that has had a significant impact on our health.

You have assembled a top notch staff to assist you. Paula, Scott, Dave, Joe and Randy are caring individuals who change people's lives. We hope you all understand how well you do what you do.

We are in better physical shape, feel healthier and have had fun doing it. Yours is a great program delivered by a great team.

Ed Gardiner

Ed Gardiner

egardiner@challiance.org

When I first started training at Fitness Together, I weighed 293 lbs. In less than 1 year (9 months to be exact), I've lost 123 lbs!!! I now weigh 170 lbs. Being an operating room nurse; I'm on my feet for 9 hour shifts. I would literally limp to the car after my shift. Now, my joints, legs, feet and ankles don't hurt after work and I can even jog now! Some people no longer recognize me.

As you have all said, it wouldn't be easy, and it wouldn't be magic; but, it would take steady, disciplined work to get here. That is exactly what happened.

I can't thank you enough, especially Paula for her close attention to detail, constantly noting proper form. Dave for the way he challenges me, just when I think I can't do any more, he pushes me to the next level. Scott for how fun he keeps the workouts, his laugh is contagious; the way he combines fun, laughter and work is just what I need to get me through a double session on Saturdays. PJ takes a vested, sincere interest in not only my physical well-being, but how I am doing in my personal life. He really cares about the whole person. I can't possibly list all the great attributes of everyone; however, I figured I'd list just the first few things that came to mind.

My old clothes, as you can see, don't fit me anymore and that's a very good thing. The one-on-one personal attention combined with the private atmosphere has made all the difference. Here I don't feel like a number, you guys really care about me.

Thank you again for everything; I couldn't have done it without you guys. You're the best! I can't recommend you enough.

Linda Nickens

Linda Nickens

lnickens@verizon.net

When I arrived at FT in June, 2008, I was puffy, tired and depressed. At 58, I had completely given up ever looking decent or feeling great again. I felt old. I was eating 800 calories a day, starving and weighed what I did when I was 9 months pregnant with my daughter. I'd been unsuccessfully dieting for years and my metabolism was pretty much shut down. My back hurt constantly and Advil was my best friend.

In addition, I was grieving the loss of my sister, a long distance runner, and feeling like I'd let her down by not taking care of my health while she was fighting so hard to live. I did not want to get out of bed in the morning and I realized that I had to do something drastic to change my life.

I can't count the number of times I wondered about the FT sign at Watertown Savings Bank. I even peeked in the windows many times before my daughter and I had the guts to walk in the door where we were greeted by a friendly and enthusiastic PJ. He sat us down, explained in detail what the program entailed and then gave each of us a training session. We liked the personal session and wanted to join. After some serious discussion about whether or not we could afford the program, we both signed up.

Fitness Together is not a gym where we could show up or not. Knowing that every training session was already paid for was an impetus to maintain our schedule and work hard. I was very nervous about the Intrafitt eating plan because it was so much food and so much preparation but realized I was in this to change my life, not quickly lose some weight that I'd just as quickly regain. I vowed to eat the Intrafitt way the entire time I was on the program, to give it a fair shot but I was terrified that I'd gain even more weight.  I expressed this fear to all my trainers and they assured me that I wouldn't gain, but that I would slowly lose fat, gain muscle and get fit.

The training sessions were very hard but I was never asked to do more than I could. My first time on the elliptical lasted 2 minutes and I was exhausted. I learned how to train correctly, persevere and work my way up to an hour, 5 days a week. I started eating every 4 hours and lost fat. The weight loss was slow but steady, the fat loss was faster. It took a year of hard work but I achieved my goal. More importantly, I learned new habits. The encouragement you, and the other clients gave me didn't allow for failure. I could NOT have done this any other way at any other gym. I know because I tried before and failed to achieve success.

I feel great. My back doesn't hurt anymore. I don't take Advil every day and I feel strong and energetic. I'm much less tired at work and more active on the weekends. Most importantly, I'm no longer depressed. While I will never stop grieving the loss of my sister, this program helped me to adapt to an unchangeable reality because it forced me to focus on living.

I lost 28 pounds of fat and untold inches and I looked pretty good at my daughter's wedding, in a dress picked out by Paula!

I've now joined a gym.  It's very sad to be in a new place, and I miss everyone at FT more than I can say, but I'm still following the routine Paula wrote for me. (I'd be afraid not to)!  After a week at the new gym, I know I can do this on my own. I've found that I have to work out now or I don't feel right and I eat healthily every 4 hours because I'm hungry. So, my life truly has changed. Thank you so much PJ, Paula, Joe, Brennan, Tom and Karen. The money I spent on FT was the best money I've ever spent. You and FT have changed my life.

Patrick Sorge

Patrick Sorge

egrosp@aol.com

In my line of business I have received hundreds of letters either praising a customer experience or complaining about it. Never in my eighteen-year career, have I made the effort to write a letter to anyone about my own experience with a product or service, good or bad, until now.

Two months ago when I walked into your Fitness Together location, I had no expectation of what would happen. The concept of one to one training appealed to me, as I have never been comfortable exercising in front of others. It is one of the main reasons why I didn't work out.  From the very first consultation to today, I have never felt anything but comfortable and at ease...no matter how hard I was worked. In that time, to lose 20 pounds, 4 inches off my waist and 6% body fat is amazing! In all the years that I have attempted to diet or all the gyms I have belonged to, I have never been able to achieve such results. THANK YOU!

Paula and Scott have been fantastic to work with. They have pushed, prodded and encouraged me each step of the way and have made my goals theirs-and a call from them checking up on my diet has made me sure never to cheat! With the great online "menu" system, I can easily find a meal that appeals to my tastes and limited culinary skills.

The combinations of exercise and diet have not only allowed me to get in shape, but has helped educate me on how to eat right, manage my portion control better and improve my overall positive sense of well being. Something I have always struggled with. As you promised: eat right and exercise and I will see the results- and I have! I am looking forward to the next couple of months and to even better results.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Ken Reyes

Ken Reyes

reyes726@gmail.com

Where to begin? You come to Fitness Together feeling a tad overwhelmed and not really sure if you are ready to make a commitment. You think, in fact you know, that this is gonna cost you, not only in cold hard cash but physically as well. As PJ shows you an F.T. PowerPoint presentation your mind starts to wander (which is easy to do for any PowerPoint demo). You start asking yourself many questions: "Is this gonna hurt? Will I even be able to do a single push up? Can I afford this? What will happen if I puke on the rug from sheer exhaustion? Should I buy instead that flat screen TV? What have I got myself into?"

You then start to rationalize, "I will just eat right" or "I'll buy a treadmill and workout in my basement". But then reality sets in; maybe not right away but maybe days or weeks later at home or at work or while driving- you feel the bulge of your tummy under your shirt; you're out of breath when you walk up stairs or you just don't feel awake all day. You realize that you are in fact ready to challenge yourself and workout like you never have before but you're gonna' need some help. You join F.T in spite of your self-doubts and fears. The flat screen TV will have to wait.

The first day is sheer torture. They prod and poke at your body and take measurements with funny looking instruments. Shriek! The weight scale tells no lies. They make you stretch and do push-ups and sit-ups. Suddenly, day one is over. You think, "This actually is not so bad. I can do this." Later on that day, you remember that the trainers are all friendly and are genuinely interested in making you a better person. It's actually a nice place to be.

Your second session comes along and you are now feeling even less self-doubt. Some of the exercises they start you with are challenging; you've never used free weights before; and those pieces of exercise equipment look intimidating; your body has never done that type of move; you want to puke on the rug from sheer exhaustion. This is the point where you would normally quit if you were doing this on your own but instead your personal trainer encourages you and makes sure that you progress slowly and surely. You decide, "Yes, I will return for my next session- after all, I've already paid for it." Subconsciously though, you know that you really do enjoy the workout! This continues on and on for several weeks. You feel really comfortable working out at F.T. It's like your own personal gym. Some sessions are really hard and you think, "How can I get a refund?" But you persevere because your pants start to fit better and you have lots more energy during the day. You start to see toned muscles underneath your clothes.  You like what you see in the mirror. You've made some new friends at the gym and you can't wait for your workday to end so that you can get a good workout at F.T. You've made vast improvements in your exercise routines. You have never once puked on the rug in spite of sheer exhaustion. You can now do dozens of pushups and sit-ups within a minute. You are stronger and fitter like you have never been before. You've come a long way from that terrifying day 1. You think, in fact you know, that it was all worth it.