Growing up as an outdoorsman, I learned early on in life that in order to find your direction and arrive at your destination you needed a compass. It required training and confidence in its use, but more importantly you needed to have TRUST in it. Kelly has gained my TRUST, earned my respect, and is my life coach and compass as I enter into my golden years. I have learned to take her advice and act on it to keep fit and injury free.
“I would say to her that the pain is here, but she would say “yes, but the problem is somewhere else, and that is the area we need to work on”. Today I can take long walks, hike, mountain climb, bike, and exercise pain free.”
I had been experiencing different pains leading into my retirement years, such as neck and low back pain, sciatica and knee pain. I tried to learn by reading books and understand by looking at tutorial pics, but her one on one instruction allowed me to fully understand the movement. Her direction for me at 63 was not to become a bodybuilder, but to strength train my muscles for whole body movement and balance which in turn is giving me a fit body and also combating the natural aging process. I would think that I have mastered a movement only to have her improve the technique by “keep your back straight, exhale, don’t bend your wrist, retract your back, elbows up, etc.”. When I perfected the movement and was very proud of it she would further challenge me and say “now, do it with your eyes closed” and it would be like starting at a new level of balance. I used to get a sore neck while riding my bike, and she made adjustments for proper form and the pain was gone; now I’m back to enjoying the beautiful scenery.
Spending time in the gym everyday was not for me. I wanted to have routines that I could do in my home. Also, I did not have to invest a fortune on training equipment. Actually, during the past couple of years, I have spent less than one hundred dollars on rollers, elastic resistant bands, weights, and a rubber ball. She has taken on a personal ownership for my overall wellness and over two years I have lost 31lbs! A lot of the credit goes to her specific nutritional advice and her constant encouragement (a nice way to say it!).
There are so many training programs out there, but the key to my success was Kelly’s understanding and recognition of my individual requirements. For example, after a recent hernia operation she modified my program to shift the focus to allow the proper healing to take place. I am personally motivated by the positive results to keep moving forward as I follow her compass directions, the course she has set for me, while reaping the enjoyable benefits along this life journey.
“Spending time in the gym everyday was not for me. I wanted to have routines that I could do in my home.”