When Fitness is a Lifestyle

I've been thinking a lot lately about what makes life worth living. Why do some people dread going to work, and then dread going home? Why do some people seem happy all of the time, and others are down right miserable? I think that we as human beings need to have passion in our lives. I am not talking about some steamy romance novel. What I am talking about is finding what makes you tick.

Let me share a story with you...

I found one of my passions after hitting rock bottom. About nine years ago I was very overweight, smoked 2 packs of cigarettes per day, drank numerous bottles of Mountain Dew, and then drank alcohol at night. One morning I was shaving and it hit me like a tone of bricks. I looked and felt like crap! I did not want to die before my 30th birthday. I have two kids and a wonderful wife. Then, I got really pissed off! That anger helped fuel me to make a change in my life.

When my wife and I quit smoking, I used the money for cigarettes for a membership at Premier Fitness Club in Arvada. I had exercised when I was younger, but I had no idea what to do at the gym. That is when I met my personal trainer Mike Petrick. I could relate to Mike. He was not one of those trainers with no neck and huge muscles that only cared about how he looked.

Mike made me accountable, and gave me workouts to do on my own. I would go to the gym at 5:00 in the morning or after work. My workouts were just three days per week, and lasted about one hour. The workout became priority -  those days and times were not negotiable. It’s easy to make excuses once you start missing workouts.

At the same time, my wife and I became vegetarians. We gave up all fast food and started to make more meals at home. In a period of about one year I had lost over 87 pounds dropping my body fat from 27% to 11%. For the first time in years I felt GREAT! I started getting into mountain biking, and could kick my trainers butt. The best part about working with my trainer is we became good friends. He really cared about my progress and kept me on track.

I had found the passion to exercise, and feel better about myself! Unfortunately, my job was in retail. I was working long hours and spending too much time away from my family. During one of my training sessions with Mike I was telling him how unfulfilling my current occupation was. He asked me a powerful question “If you had all the money you needed, what would you do for free?” Well, that was an easy answer I would be a personal trainer. Wow! What a moment of clarity.

At that time my wife was working at an internet company, and our stocks were doing very well. We cashed in her stocks and used that money for me to go to college. I quit my job making over $50,000 per year to go to school and work part-time at the North Jeffco Racquetball and Fitness Center making $8.00 per hour working the front desk. I could not have been happier.

After finishing school, I needed to complete two internships. The first internship I did was working at the Health One Denver Broncos Sports Rehabilitation Clinic in Englewood. There, I was able to work with physical therapists and clients that had been in car accidents or that were rehabilitating from an injury. One of the patients had been hit by a huge eighteen-wheeler truck while driving her Saturn. The accident actually pinned her under the truck. She had numerous broken bones and cuts all over her body. It was truly a miracle that she had survived. She had the greatest attitude I had ever seen. She viewed her rehabilitation as a job and enjoyed every moment of it.

My second internship was at the beautiful Cherry Creek Athletic Club. I started as an intern and worked my way up as the Fitness Director for the club. Not only did I have an awesome job, but I was working at one of the nicest clubs in the country.

I knew there was more work that needed to be done. In October 2001 I started Functional Conditioning, and rented a little 200 square foot office. Complete with a desk, computer and fitness ball. I did that part-time until I could make it my full time occupation. Leaving Cherry Creek was a difficult decision, but I knew I needed to touch more lives.

Functional Conditioning has flourished, not because of me. It is because I have a passion to help people feel better about themselves, empower them to make better decisions about their health and fitness, and most importantly because I understand what they are going through. Someone once said, “If you love what you do, you will never have to work a day in your life”. My challenge to you is to find your passion. I am concerned about my client’s happiness. Wellness is not just how you look in the mirror, it also involves your emotional and spiritual well-being.

One of my clients, The Sun (pronounced teyson) Kim, is going to be interning through the summer and hopefully staying with me afterwards. She has the same passion for helping people as I do. She left a good paying job to follow her dreams as well. The Sun will make an excellent addition to our office. I hope you get to meet her.

Client of the Month

Tess is a very special client of the month. She has really undergone some incredible changes over the past two years. Along the way, she has had to overcome some difficult obstacles. She left an alcoholic relationship and lost her best friend, her mom. Tess does not make a lot of money, and at times she has a hard time making ends meet. However, Tess has always kept her appointments and tackles each new workout with great enthusiasm.

After seeing Tess go through some tough times, she is now involved with a great man that she met at a church retreat. Tess could have had many excuses to wallow in her sorrow. Instead, she lost over 35 pounds of fat and made fitness a lifestyle and a reality! I believe that the exercising helped her to better cope through the tough times. I am very proud of Tess, and wish her all the best for her future. She even said I would be invited to her wedding!!