FT Gets Results: Success Stories Across The Board

From our FT Studios, our new commercials highlighting 4 success stories.

Tracy Simpson
Achievements: Tracy lost 50 lbs and dropped six dress sizes. Tracy completed the Tough Mudder challenge last spring, a grueling10-mile military-style challenge.

FT Trainer: Tom Lavoie

Tracy first came to Fitness Together when she realized the baby weight she’d put on three years prior wasn’t going to come off without some major changes to her lifestyle. Tracy committed to her training and nutrition program and saw greater results than she ever imagined. “My trainers are amazing. They are the primary reason why I come here.” Since starting at FT Tracy has lost 50 lbs. and went from a size 14 to a size 2. She also increased strength and flexibility and has competed in the incredibly demanding Tough Mudder challenge. Trainer Tom Lavoie says, “She really has kicked up her strength in a big way. She’s continuing to grow, as far as her strength, flexibility, and improving her overall health.”

Mike Gurdjian
Achievements: Lost 66 lbs in 6 months. Improved health, strength and confidence

FT Trainer: Tom Lavoie

Mike had put on a lot of weight in college and really needed to change his lifestyle. In just six months Mike has lost 66 lbs and is wearing the clothes he wants to wear. ‘The trainers here make you accountable. They’re the best.” Mike’s trainer, Tom Lavoie is impressed with Mike’s commitment. “The results Mike has seen are off the charts. He’s really changed his lifestyle by making that commitment to himself and to his program.

Dave Norden
FT Trainer: Brendan Stapleton

Dave, age 46, came to FT with back issues, injuries and he needed to lose weight. In 8 months he’s lost 40 lbs., gained strength, confidence and a healthy lifestyle.

Next goal: The Boston Marathon.

Linda Norden
Achievements: Lost 25 lbs in 3 months and dropped four dress sizes. Improved strength, confidence, energy and sense of well-being.
Trainer: Brendan Stapleton.

Linda came to Fitness Together when she realized she weighed as much as she had when she was pregnant more than a decade ago. She had become self-conscious and was dressing to hide her weight. Says trainer Brendan Stapleton, “When I first met Linda, I knew we were going to be able to help her.” Linda dedicated herself to the fitness and nutrition program outlined by her trainer and lost 25 lbs. and went from a tight size 12, to a 4/6. Her trainer says, “The biggest improvement I’ve seen in Linda is her over all improved well-being, but everything has really improved 100%.” Linda agrees, “I’ve walked into many gyms and never showed up again. At Fitness Together I walked in, and I don’t ever want to walk out!”

For more info on Fitness Together and to find a studio near you check out FTGetsResults.com

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The Eric: The Workout No One Could Possibly Do

By Martha Hicks Leta

Eric Petersen loves training at Fitness Together in Norwell and it shows. A client since 2011, Eric completed the ten mile Tough Mudder adventure race with Team Boom Factor in May and within a week, while basking in the post-race delirium, signed on to run in the 13 mile Spartan Beast in September with FT Norwell Trainer Mike Eaton.

The 47 year old especially loves the social aspect of training and has made quite a few lasting friendships among clients and trainers alike. During any given Pack session, Petersen can be found waxing poetic about his favorite greasy foods while his fellow Pack members strain to complete their circuits. (Eric looks like Jack LaLane but eats like John Belushi and talks food like the fat guy stuck in a fit guy’s body that he his.) His favorite topic is sausage, particularly Santarpio’s sausage in East Boston as well as the hot dogs at Capitol Lunch in New Britain Connecticut. Not everyone enjoys listening to vivid descriptions of greasy food while struggling to keep their oatmeal down during a round of squat jumps, but Eric doesn’t care. He practically levitates while describing the gustatory delights of his favorite gut busters.

Eric loves training at Fitness Together in Norwell, but he kind of hates it, too.

He calls Mike Eaton “The Silent Assassin” and lately he’s taken to calling trainer Alicia Tasney, “Lucifer” or “Lucy” if he’s feeling too short of breath for the extra syllable. Sometimes, during an especially brutal workout, Eric will hide in a corner like a wounded coyote. “Get away from me, Lucy! I’m not talking to you,” he says to Alicia. “Walk away!”

But, says Tasney, Eric asks for it. Sometimes literally. Petersen arrived for a recent appointment and announced, “I’m giving you five minutes. Write a workout for me that no one could possibly do. Go.”

Never one to shrink from a challenge, Tasney wrote the workout and called it “The Eric.” This is the sweat stain left on the floor two-thirds of the way into the workout.

Rumor has it they’re thinking of having it permanently marked on the floor like a Hollywood Walk of Fame star: The FT Walk of Stain.

Some guys have sandwiches named after them, and who knows, perhaps somewhere there’s a Petersen Pepper Braunschweiger. Maybe there’s even an emblazoned sweat stain in his future, but for now Eric will have to be satisfied with having a workout named after him.

Give it a shot. Send me a photo of your sweat stain after and tell me what you think. marthaletaFT@aol.com

“The Eric”

Pullups, (Choice of grip)
Reps: 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1
Two full burpees after each set of pull-ups

5 Wall Walks

Spiderman Pushups
Reps: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
Two hanging dips after each set of pushups

24” Box Jumps
Reps:20

Burpee to Pullup (Full chest to the floor burpee, jump at the end to grab the bar for pullup)
Reps: 10,8,6,4,2

TRX Pike with push-ups. (Feet in TRX in plank position. Pike up, straighten, drop into pushup.)
Reps: 10,8,6,4,2

Alternating Wall Ball/Med Ball Slam with 16 lb Dynamax ball
Reps: 40,30,20, 10

__________

To find out more about “The Eric” contact the trainers at FT Norwell

To find a FT Studio near you, go to FTGetsResults.com

FT Norwell’s Lynn Williamson Prepares for Boston Marathon

by Martha Hicks Leta

Lynn Williamson keeps a sign posted on a wall in her house that says, “They will tell you ‘no,’ and you will tell them ‘yes’.”

When she decided to run the Boston Marathon this year, there wasn’t much debate about whether or not she was up to the challenge. Since coming to Fitness Together in Norwell four years ago she’s gotten a bit of a reputation. When she sets a goal for herself you’d best lead, follow or get out of the way, because not much stands between Lynn and her goals. Says fellow FT client and PACK member Lou Leta, “She works her hardest at every workout. She’s completely driven. I never hear her complaining that it’s too hard. She puts some of the men to shame, including myself.“

Four years ago, this was not the case. A three-sport athlete in high school, Lynn had drifted away from her active lifestyle as she moved through college and into the professional world. A demanding full time job meant grabbing meals on the go and left little time for the gym. Before long the unhealthy lifestyle and weight gain were dragging her down.

“I really didn’t like how I looked or how I felt,” says Williamson. “I didn’t have a lot of energy and wasn’t feeling healthy in general.  I went shopping for clothes and was disgusted at the sizes I was buying.  I had driven by FT a few times and just went in one day and signed up.”

Now, 55 pounds lighter and carrying only 22% body fat, Lynn Williamson is committed to several times weekly one-on-one and PACK training at Fitness Together and she says it’s made a huge difference in her life.

“A lot of the activities I do now in the gym I never thought I could do, but I learned as long as I believed I could do it, I could. “

Last May Lynn ran a half marathon with her sister and really enjoyed the challenge. This year she decided to up the ante by running the Boston Marathon on behalf of a local charity, the Kenney/Quinn/Ford Brain Tumor Research Foundation.

“In 2005, Captain John Kenny of the Boston Fire Department was diagnosed with a brain tumor,” Williamson writes in her fundraising letter. “During the same week, Tommy Quinn (age 6 at the time) the son of a member of John’s group in the firehouse was also diagnosed with a brain tumor.  Shortly thereafter, Ann Marie Ford, the wife of Boston Firefighter Bobby Ford, was also diagnosed with a brain tumor.  Since that time, John Kenney and Ann Marie Ford have lost their difficult battles.”

The funds raised for the charity go toward brain tumor research to find a cure.

Not everyone who sets out to run his or her first marathon finishes. Says running coach Shelley Glover, author of The Runner’s Handbook,  “It’s four to six hours of foot slapping, Gatorade guzzling, arm pumping, soul-testing miles and it’s not for everyone.”

Lynn’s trainer Joe Caruso isn’t worried. “Lynn has proven that with hard work and an iron will you can overcome any obstacle and no goal is ever out of reach.”

Lynn agrees, “I have proven to myself that I can do whatever I set my mind to.  I have lost a significant amount of weight and currently am in the best shape of my life. Fitness Together played a huge part in my success. I am happy with where I am today with my body, and continue the hard work and training because I love it.”

To sponsor Lynn Williamson’s run for the Kenney/ Quinn/Ford Brain Tumor Research Foundation go to the following link and click on the “make a donation” button.  Fill out the form and enter Lynn Williamson’s name under “Sponsored Individual”:  www.bosfirecu.com Thank you.

To schedule an appointment with Lynn’s trainers in Norwell go to FTSouthShore | Or call 781-659-0034

To find a Fitness Together training expert near you go to FTGetsResults.com

Fitness Together’s Great Jean Challenge

Are you up for earning a $100 gift card? Then take the Great Jeans Challenge at Fitness Together studios across Eastern New England.

Participating studios include:
Amesbury/Newburyport MA  |  Arlington MA  |  Belmont MA
Burlington MA  |  Cambridge MA  |  Cohasset MA
Dedham MA  |  Hingham MA  |  Lexington MA
 Newtonville/Auburndale MA  |  North Andover MA
Norwell MA  |  Providence RI  |  Weston/Waltham MA
Westborough MA

(The visual below is from the Challenge being run at the Fitness Together studios in Cohasset, Dedham, Norwell and Westborough. Please check with your local FT Studio to see if they are still running the challenge and their specifics of the program — start/end dates, special deals, etc. A full list of Eastern New England Fitness Together Studios can be found at FTGetsResults.)

Not only will our FT trainers guide your exercise to get you down 2 sizes, they have a pulled together a whole nutritional program. In fact, check out the recipes FT will have you dining and snacking on during the eight weeks.

The fine print, or rather, the Rules of the Challenge:

• All contestants must complete contest registration, Quick F.I.T. and photo release.
• Participants agree to complete 3 training sessions per week for 8 weeks for a total of 24 sessions. After the 8 weeks any unused sessions are forfeited.
• Participants agree to make their best to follow the nutrition and training component of the program.
• Participants must bring in their goal jeans – up to two sizes too small – to Fitness Together and try them on prior to 1st training session. A staff member will document the jeans, take a “before” photograph of participant in the jeans and in workout clothes.
• Participants will do a mid-point check-in to try on their jeans (week 4).
• Final try-on is at the end of the 8th training week. All participants who fit into their jeans are eligible to win a $100 clothing gift certificate to a local retailer.
• Participants may try on jeans only during the official try-on weeks and must have their results recorded. An after photograph with participant fitting into jeans will be taken.

Get With The PACK: Group Training At Its Finest & Fittest

Fitness Together introduces PACK, small group training. All the attention, half the cost.

Stephen Ross of FT Middleton MA explains it all for you in the video above.

PACK Training is small group personal training from the personal training experts. PACK combines the energy and fun of the small group, with the coaching from a FT certified trainer all conducted in a private setting. Or quite simply, PACK is truly personalized group training.

In PACK training, like-minded people begin together, work together and finish together in pursuit of a common purpose and to achieve individual goals.
Great results cannot be achieved with short cuts or gimmicks. Through state of the art techniques and science, Fitness Together combines strength training, cardio conditioning and nutritional guidance for the complete fitness solution.

Whether it is part of PACK training, 1:1 personal training or some combination of the two, FT has the safe and effective solution for people at all levels of conditioning to feel better, look better and perform better than you ever thought was possible.

You’ll be part of the PACK without getting lost in the crowd!

Get Fit. Together.

Find your PACK at an FT Studio near you. FTGetsResults

Stephen Ross, NSCA-CPT
Manager, Certified Personal Trainer

Being healthy makes you happy.  Its cliché, but you never appreciate your good health until it is gone.  When we get consistent and challenging exercise, when we develop a positive relationship with nutrition and when we allow ourselves to get proper rest, we feel better, are happier and have much more energy to devote to our family, friends and careers.  You can only achieve this harmony of exercise, nutrition and rest with a “Complete Fitness Solution” and I am very proud to represent Fitness Together in offering such a solution.

I became a Health and Wellness Professional by graduating the National Personal Training Institute as a Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Nutritional Consultant.  In addition to this training, I am a Professional Member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association and am certified by the NSCA as a Certified Personal Trainer.

I believe everyone can achieve sustainable wellness.  With my help, and the total team effort of my Staff, we educate our clients in all aspects of our “Complete Fitness Solution” to help every client develop lifestyle changes in order to achieve goals.

I welcome you, not only into the Fitness Together program, but to the start of a truly rewarding journey.

Middleton Fitness Together