Featured Client: Gary

Gary P..

I joined BCOR / Washington Park in the summer of 2006 because my scale was obviously broken. It said I weighed the most I ever had in my life. At that time I decided to make exercise a priority in my life. While getting up at 5:30 every morning was not fun, it paid off, big time. Not only did I lose 22 pounds last summer, my blood pressure was finally down in the normal ranges, I slept much better, had much more energy, and I gained a lot of good friends.

I did not attend BCOR over the winter and gained 8 pounds back. Bad mistake! Fortunately, this summer I lost not only those 8, but an additional 14 so far. I will lose another 12 by the end of the summer. I have increased my distance running from about a mile to 5 to 9 miles a day / 3 to 4 times a week. I feel so good mentally and physically that I often double up and attend the evening sessions. It's a great after work stress reliever and cuts down on the beer budget.

The best things about BCOR are: It fits in my routine. Exercising before work makes me more productive throughout the day. Exercising after work actually erases the exhaustion caused during the day; having a knowledgeable coach who has every workout planned in advance means you have nothing to think about, i.e., what exercise should I do next; the individual groups of high, medium and low intensity are small enough that your coaches know your abilities and know just how hard and when to push you. Yet, you can always switch intensity levels on any given day and at any given time. The secret to success in BCOR really is just showing up. Once you�re there your classmates and coaches are enormously helpful in getting you through the workouts.

I made exercise mandatory because it's harder for me to abandon. The financial cost is minimal when weighed against the improved quality of life. Speaking of cost, after dropping so much weight the cost new clothes can get expensive, but it's a good problem to have.

I sincerely thank all of my BCOR coaches. No matter how much I moan and joke around, you all mean the world to me.