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Focus Personal Fitness Member Challenge: Week 4

The Numbers and How I’m Feeling:

  • Beginning Weight: 227 lbs
  • Current Weight: 222 lbs
  • Target Weight: 200 lbs

While my weight is not going down quickly, I’m not really focused on that right now. I have made no significant dietary changes thus far either, so the only difference would be my activity. That being said – I feel great! I am much stronger and have more energy. This may be difficult to gauge, but I’m less stressed and (according to my wife) a much happier person to be around.


The Regime:

The recent snow has put an end to my outdoor cycling, but I’m starting the indoor spinning class next week. Side note: I did indoor cycling last year and LOVED IT. A great introduction to learning how to cycle without the fear of outdoor cycling, where experienced riders are much faster than beginners!

My workout regime has involved two personal training sessions per week with Megan at the gym, four individual runs, and one 60 minute cycle. After four weeks, my ability to run has greatly improved. My target heart rate zone is still 124-134 bpm, but I have been able to increase my pace. Coach Randy has increased my running sessions from 20-30 minutes, to 30-40 minutes. I no longer “fight” running, I look forward to it. The two sessions in the gym are challenging, and sometimes cause me to utter choice words under my breath, but I always leave the gym happy for having gone.


What I’ve learned over the past month:

1.  Booking appointments for myself for all of my sessions is critical. I have missed only one session in the past month, and I felt very guilty. As an executive, making time for myself is what makes the whole enterprise possible.

2.  I booked in some time with Kurtis Marlow at the gym for a massage. I was getting sore. I will continue to do this every two to three weeks. If you have health coverage, this is a GREAT way to spend it, and since the year is coming to an end – use it up! I felt great afterwards and ready for a workout.

3.  The value of a personal trainer cannot be emphasized enough. If I were working out on my own, I would likely focus on what I want to do, instead of what I should be doing. As an example, Megan has focused on core and balance exercises with me. These are things I’ve avoided in the past because they were difficult for me and because I’m painfully uncoordinated (you should see my dance moves). Megan pushes me outside of my comfort zones and ensures my sessions are intensive, varied, and fun.

4.  Make sure your partner is on board. You may feel guilty taking time for yourself because there are ALWAYS going to be other demands on your time. Support and encouragement from your partner is an important piece of the fitness puzzle.

Thanks again coach Randy, trainer Megan and the Focus Fitness team!


Coach Randy’s Point of View

Norm’s progress is typical of someone who has been consistent with a training plan. Slight weight loss at the beginning is normal but you can see the change in his disposition already. In a few weeks we will take some measurements to really see the progress.   More important, is that he is feeling great mentally and emotionally.   He’s engaged with his routine and new lifestyle, which will continue to give him great satisfaction.   It will be important for Norm to continue to prioritize his training and not let the busy holiday season interfere too much with his progress. Consistency and frequency is key! Nutrition and diet will become a larger factor in his routine in the coming weeks.   When you start to feel good mentally and emotionally, you naturally start to look at your diet and consciously make better choices to fuel your energy needs.   However, you can only tackle so many things at once and making fitness an established good lifestyle habit is a good start!



Meet Norm

Norm is a typical business professional -working long hours and trying to balance his work and family schedules. Norm’s health was usually last on the priority list after running his businesses and managing family life, which is centred around his children’s sports and activity schedules.  After several unsuccessful attempts to reach his fitness goals, he decided a new approach was needed: Let the fitness professionals at Focus Personal Fitness design a custom program. Norm is sharing his experiences in order to encourage other business professionals to take time for themselves.