Archive for March, 2009

Receiving emails like this is part of the reason why I love what I do…Carolyn’s hard work, determination and focus brought her to her goal!

Way to go Carolyn! I’m very proud of you. It was an honour to have had the opportunity to work with you in preparation for last falls Heavyweights Classic.

In her words…

“Hey Andy! (No, you are not getting my food log! haha) Once again, thanks so much for all your help- doing the show was amazing and I couldn’t have asked for anyone better to help than you!

I attached my little story that I wrote up…

Carolyn’s Story…

During my early teenage years, I began to eat uncontrollably. By the time I was 15 years old, I was 5’4, 201 lbs. I remember climbing the stairs at school and nearly passing out when I reached the top. I never participated in gym class or any other physical activity for that matter.

My diet consisted of fast food restaurants, mini pizza, canned spaghetti, macaroni & cheese, chips, candy bars, and soda pop. I was made fun of at times, and I knew people used to stare and make fun as I walked by. There was no way I would wear a bathing suit in the summer, most times I would try to hide the fat by wearing baggy pants and large sweaters. I was extremely unhappy with what I had become, and began to realize that something had to change.

One day my Mother showed me how much sugar was in my beloved can of soda pop- from that day I gave up drinking it! Soon after, I decided to go for a walk. Then, every day I would walk home from school, rain or shine. One day my Mom thought I had frost bite because my legs were so cold and red from the blowing snow…that was how desperate I was to lose weight.

At 16, I had made an incredible weight loss of 50lbs! It felt great to be so light! I decided I wanted to keep fit, so my family bought a membership to the local gym. During that time I started weight training, I met my current boyfriend, Jonathan Browne, who helped me tremendously in learning how to exercise properly and motivated me even more to achieve the body I wanted. We built our lives around healthy living, and to this day it is our goal to someday help other achieve their personal fitness goals. Anyway, I kept weight training and losing another 10lbs, I made it down to 140lbs.

It was a struggle over the next few years to keep my weight down. Being a university student, it was hard to keep the grades up, deal with personal problems (one of them being depression at the time) and stay in shape. Although I gained a decent amount of muscle mass, I managed to creep up to 170lbs at age 22. Believe me, losing weight the second time around is about as hard as the first time.

After seeing a couple of bodybuilding shows, and meeting some past competitors, I knew I wanted to compete. I just needed a little more help and motivation. I decided to hire a personal trainer, Andy Pratt of Personal Best. Andy guided me through 22 weeks of hard dieting and training and made me believe I had what it took to compete in bodybuilding. I spent hours upon hours training, preparing meals, and eating, as well as avoiding eating many things that I love.

Finally, the day of the Heavy Weights Classic came (November 8, 2008). My family came to the city just to see me compete in this show. Soon, I was on stage, in front of an audience, wearing a posing suit and competing in my first show. It is hard to explain the feeling when you are standing there, all eyes on you, knowing that you look the best you ever have before. I went from a totally un-fit 200 lb girl, to the 2008 Women’s Middleweight bodybuilding winner. All it took was the willingness to change and the drive to keep going. Who would have thought the fat girl would have made it this far? I still can’t believe it!”

Congrats again Carolyn!

I’ve also updated the clients section of www.pbfit.ca …If you’d like to see some more before and after pics of Personal Best clients, you can check out the link to my my web site here…

http://www.pbfit.ca/Clients.html

See you soon,

Andy

I want to share a story with you that I personally found very motivating.

This story of a Dad and his son, is a great example of what CAN be accomplished with the power of determination and love.

Read the story first and then check out the video…

(courtesy of Sports Illustrated)

“I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay For their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck. Eighty-five times he’s pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in Marathons. Eight times he’s not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a Wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and Pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars–all in the same day.

Dick’s also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back Mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. On a bike. Makes Taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has Rick done for his father? Not much–except save his life. This love story began in Winchester , Mass. , 43 years ago, when Rick Was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him Brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.

“He’ll be a vegetable the rest of his life;” Dick says doctors told him And his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. “Put him in an Institution.”

But the Hoyts weren’t buying it. They noticed the way Rick’s eyes Followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the Engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was Anything to help the boy communicate. “No way,” Dick says he was told. “There’s nothing going on in his brain.”

“Tell him a joke,” Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a Lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed Him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his Head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? “Go Bruins!” And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the School organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, “Dad, I want To do that.”

Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described “porker” who never ran More than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he Tried. “Then it was me who was handicapped,” Dick says. “I was sore For two weeks.”

That day changed Rick’s life. “Dad,” he typed, “when we were running, It felt like I wasn’t disabled anymore!”

And that sentence changed Dick’s life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly Shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.

“No way,” Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren’t quite a Single runner, and they weren’t quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few Years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then They found a way to get into the race Officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the Qualifying time for Boston the following year.

Then somebody said, “Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?”

How’s a guy who never learned to swim and hadn’t ridden a bike since he Was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick Tried.

Now they’ve done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii . It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud Getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don’t you Think?

Hey, Dick, why not see how you’d do on your own? “No way,” he says. Dick does it purely for “the awesome feeling” he gets seeing Rick with A cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.

This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best Time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992–only 35 minutes off the world Record, which, in case you don’t keep track of these things, happens to Be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the Time.

“No question about it,” Rick types. “My dad is the Father of the Century.”

And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a Mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries Was 95% clogged. “If you hadn’t been in such great shape,” One doctor told him, “you probably would’ve died 15 years ago.” So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other’s life.

Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass. , always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father’s Day.

That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.

“The thing I’d most like,” Rick types, “is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I hope you found the story to be as inspirational as I did…

On days when I might lack a little motivation or the drive to get my workout in, it’s this kind of example of strength and will, that makes me think.…

“What’s my excuse?”

Take care,

Andy

Anouncing the Warrior Built Boot Camp!

Cost: $60+ taxes

Location: Bushido Martial Arts Fitness Center

The Boot Camps will run each Saturday morning at 11:00am, starting March 14th, for a total of six classes. Each session will run approx 50min.

The class will consist of a warm-up round, then five 5min conditioning rounds, consisting of body weight exercises and light resistance training, followed by a cool down/stretch.

The classes will be “go at your own pace”, so it’s open to any fitness level, beginners are encouraged, however the classes will also be challenging enough for more advanced athletes with the variety of exercises.

Classes are open to both men and women…anyone looking to improve their cardiovascular conditioning and burn unwanted body fat!

As a bonus for signing up for the first Warrior Built Boot Camps you will receive a…

Free Warrior Built DVD + Meal Plan!

Sign up now for the 6 week Warrior Built Boot Camp and get a free copy of the Warrior Built DVD and meal plan. You will be able to use the workout video at home for even faster results, and follow the same meal plan that the first three Warrior built participants used to achieve outstanding results! One of the first three participants lost 19 lbs in only 6 weeks! Their average weight loss for 12 weeks was 31+ lbs.

Check out this video for a preview of the Warrior Built Program:

Space is limited so sign up now to reserve your spot. Now is the time for you to get in awesome shape for spring!

To sign up, call Andy at749-7637

Or email personalbest @ gmail . com to register.

All the best,

Andy Pratt

P.S. Stay tuned for details regarding an all women’s Boot Camp with Courtney Rowsell starting soon too!