MATT

THE SECRET OF GETTING AHEAD IS GETTING STARTED.

My wife, Alison, and I have always enjoyed being active.  During the past fifteen years, we moved around frequently and she has always been my workout partner; we even booked vacations to hike the Grand Canyon and Half-Dome. Shortly after moving to RI from Southern California in 2011, our son, Sam, was born and over the next several years there was less walking, more eating and a lot of weight gain. Determined to help me back on track and healthier, Alison signed us up for a 24-day challenge at Body Rock in 2014. The plan worked great and I lost about 20lbs. Unfortunately after the 24 days, I reverted back to poor diet choices and not enough exercise – the weight quickly came back.  Another year passed and I was tipping the scale at 267lbs. High blood pressure and nagging back pain was an added bonus to my unflattering physique. I got to the point where I didn’t even want to go for walks with Alison and Sam – I was not happy and I knew it was upsetting to Alison. One day I decided to make a change and started tracking the food that I was eating and set daily calorie and exercise goals. Of course, Alison was right there with me providing the necessary support. It wasn’t long before I began to notice a change and within a few months was down 55lbs. At this point, Alison had been going to Body Rock classes twice- a-week and she kept talking about how much she enjoyed the workouts and that I should give it a try.  While I had already lost a good amount of weight, I felt uneasy about committing to a group workout session especially when Alison told me that bikini models were working out the week before.  I really thought I needed to get in better shape before taking the plunge.  Finally, a few months ago, I mustered up the courage to go with Ali to “Build-A-Booty”. I know it does not sound like a class for a guy, but it was awesome and I was hooked.  After a few more classes I remember thinking, why didn’t I come here sooner?  The workouts are fantastic; I always leave feeling like I just gave everything I had. The people that workout at BR are awesome and make you feel welcome from day one.  I remember after my first class a woman who I have never met or spoken came up to me and said “great job today”.

I thought that was really cool and it made me feel good, like I did alright, and I wanted to come back. Most importantly, BR is a place where we can work out as a family and have fun together.  On days when one of us is low on motivation, the other is there to provide the needed kick in the pants. The atmosphere is really laid back and nobody minds if our son Sam joins us. Since he can come along, we have no excuse to miss a session. The benefits that I’ve experienced so far have been very positive. I feel better, stronger and have more energy. Body Rock helps me to stay focused and remain committed to my fitness goals. To date, I’ve lost a total of 72 lbs. and more importantly strengthened the areas of my body that previous workouts neglected. Oh yeah, that nagging back pain is completely gone! Well I’m off to another workout. Hope to see you soon!