It was for his daughter that he first walked through our doors. He wanted to help her build strength and improve her coordination. So, when it became clear that Lance was also interested in changing the course of his life, I was all ears.

A dedicated, hard working family man, Lance is all about doing what is right for his wife and kids. Indeed, this is precisely why it became so easy to put himself last for the past 12 years. Yet to watch his cholesterol and blood pressure climb, his body composition weigh him down, and a general feeling of dis-ease . . . was too much. [The urging of his wife didn't hurt either.]

It was time for action . . . and this guy didn't mess around getting started. Only days after his teaching year had let out for summer, Lance said goodbye to any yearnings for a lazy summer. For the next seven weeks, he has shown up at our personal training studio without fail, 5x/week by 6:30am . . . ready to work. In those sessions, he has persisted through cramping calves, the discomfort of gastro-esophageal reflux disease, and the immobility of years of muscular and joint disuse. The fruit of his labor? He now rarely has leg cramps, is able to maintain a steady jog for over half a mile, and has become more flexible.

As if that wouldn't be enough, the hard numbers of his strength improvements are noteworthy. Here are some of his stats:

beginning: 20" inclined box pushups
- current: floor pushups
beginning: bench press @ 95lbs
- current: @ 125lbs
beginning: back squat @75lbs
- current: @135lbs
beginning: shoulder press @15lbs
- current: @95lbs
- current push press: @115lbs
beginning: deadlift @65lbs
- current: @185lbs

To say that I'm please with his progress is an understatement.

And thanks to his also enrolling in our nutrition program, he has also benefitted from lowered body fat, increased muscle mass, improved energy, an elevated mood, and a sense of control that he hasn't felt in years.

He recently made a point of telling me: "Brenda, Leana, and I . . . we wouldn't be doing any of this if it weren't for The Fittest Me. You'd never find us in a big gym, and we like that you train regular people like us."

The truth is that it's easy for parents to rationalize away the importance of their own health for the sake of their children. But what Lance has come to understand is that by taking care of his own health, he IS prioritizing his children's well-being. His risk of major disease is dropping while his odds for an self-sufficient retirement is going up. And the value of modeling life-affirming decisions, to his children's current and future health, is incalculable.

Keep killing your workouts Lance. Yesterday's workout with 50 ring rows, 100 pushups, and 150 squats is just the tip of what you're capable of. You show up . . . the results will follow.

Congratulations on all your success.

-Coach Rebecca

LANCE