Dave's Story

I never really took fitness seriously until college.  I played some high school sports, but that was more for the social aspect and did little to make up for my terrible eating habits.  Then, in college, I remember when my roommate first asked me to join him on one of his runs.  We ran five miles, much further than I had ever run before.  I had to stop multiple times - I felt sick at the end and I was sore for days afterwards.  But I had an overwhelming sense of accomplishment- it felt so good to push the limits of my body!

Since then, I have run several long races, including a Tough Mudder course and a half marathon.  These races are especially great when I get to train with my friends.  I also have a regular workout routine that I do when I am not training for races.  I’ve come to love improving my fitness, not only because it feels good to be in shape, but also because of the countless side-effects that have improved my overall life.  My posture has improved.  My mood is better.  I sleep better.  I think twice before eating that extra dessert but only because I know how hard I worked to burn it off last time. Now, of course, while there are still days where I just don’t feel like getting out there and doing the work, I love being in the habit of exercising and hope to continue it for a very long time.

Cecily's Story

My whole life, I’ve been an active person. I’ve tried every kind of workout there is - yoga, pilates, barre, spinning, (pretty much every studio in the Chicagoland Classpass area). Though these workouts left me sweaty and drained, I didn’t see any tangible results despite exercising for years. Additionally, these workouts and studios felt impersonal and made it challenging to pursue individual fitness goals. I wanted the guidance of a professional who I could talk to and who could develop a program for me that was geared towards my success. 
 
My friend told me about Spindle Fitness and I signed up for a membership. My trainers were constantly open to any feedback I gave and my programmer heard from me A LOT (lol, Christine, sorry!). It felt good that I could openly tell her what I needed and wanted while also listening to her rationale behind her workout plan for me. Aside from purely aesthetic goals (re: vain), my two biggest goals were to do one bodyweight chin up and gain more familiarity with kettlebells. Two big mental hurdles I had to overcome, though, were the myths that lifting heavy weights will bulk women up and that diet doesn’t really matter. I needed to have faith that exercising with heavier weight would get me the results I wanted and I had to get honest with myself about my eating habits. 16 months later, I can confidently say that I am not an ounce bulkier than when I began and there are enormous differences in my physical appearance because of clean eating and less sugar (my biggest vice)
 
Now, I can do five bodyweight chin-ups, three bodyweight pull ups, and a 220lb max deadlift! I have made huge strides in my kettlebell work, now regularly performing swings, snatches, turkish get-ups, and squats with various weights. I honestly just feel good - I finally found workouts that are challenging, results-oriented, and fun!

To read more, visit https://spindlefitness.com/people-of-fitness

Christine's Story

Until I graduated college, for me, exercise was only a means of becoming a better competitive swimmer. I had absolutely no idea how to exercise without my teammates and without an athletic goal. Acting like an over-confident jock capable of anything, I started a running program and quickly gave myself many injuries from doing too much too fast. I needed to learn how to exercise for health like a normal human being and I didn’t know where to start.

To start off, I hired a trainer at the gym I worked at. He helped keep me accountable in my session appointments and I didn’t have to think about how to exercise. I just did what was asked of me which I already knew how to do from my team sports background! He got me back in a routine and then started writing workouts for me that I could execute them on my own.

I have continued having trainers program my workouts for me and have achieved some great things, including winning a world-wide fitness competition a few years ago. It’s awesome to be able to continue to evolve as an exerciser even if I do not have a particular fitness goal. It just feels great!

Kanome's Story

I love being busy. I have several interests and I like to do them at the same time. When I got to college, I threw myself into all these different clubs and student leadership positions because 1) that’s how you make friends and 2) that’s how you become the “well rounded” person that college is supposed to make you!  I was constantly running around - hunger and sleep were never a good reason for me to stop. All of that came to a crashing halt when I passed out after donating blood.  On paper, I looked fine but internally, my body was so weak that it couldn’t even spare a pint of blood.  That momentary lack of control was scary enough for me to know that things needed to change..

Accountability was the first step. I asked my closest friends to simply check in with me as to whether or not I ate food that day and, if not, (gently) drag me down to the cafeteria with them. I also dropped a few of those activities, focusing only on the ones that I truly enjoyed.  I then joined a gym and started taking yoga classes, so 1) I could learn to chill out and 2) I could have that time to check in with myself and my body each week.

Ensuring that I took care of myself  became a huge priority in my life and still is.  Sometimes, I take too good care of myself (which means I don’t get other things done haha). Exercise for me is my daily check-in and, if something is out of balance, I take more immediate steps to correct it. I like my busy life and I like feeling strong and energized enough to fully experience every moment of it.

Bob's Story

When I was younger, I led a pretty active life. I was the oldest of five children and played sports all throughout high school and college. Shortly after, I started working my first job and let sports fall away a bit, all while smoking two packs of Camels a day. When I was 21, my father died of a massive heart attack. I also learned, during that time, that two of my father’s siblings had also died of heart attacks at young ages. It was a huge wakeup call for me. From then on, I knew I had to change. I made a commitment to stop smoking and regain my active lifestyle.

Decades passed and I stuck to my commitment of maintaining a happy, healthy life. Then, at age 70, I was diagnosed with cancer. Four months of intensive chemotherapy crushed my resilience and I knew that I needed help, both mentally and physically, to get back into shape.  I found a trainer that gave me a personalized, physical therapy approach to my workouts.  We started with simple functional actions like crawling forwards and backwards, eventually advancing to more rigorous activity that added strength and balance.

I progressed rapidly and, now, two years after remission, I am fit, healthy, and actively engaged with my children and grandchildren. I have shifted from the routine of treadmills and ellipticals to doing functional exercises that have eliminated most of the normal aches and pains of aging.  My life is full, vibrant and healthy and I’m enjoying every moment of it.

Karen's Story

I have consistently exercised for more than 30 years.  I do a combination of a lot of different activities because I do not want to risk missing out on something that would help to slow down the aging process!!  Because of all that work, I have remained mobile and can keep up with people much younger than myself.

About 10 years ago, I injured my shoulder in yoga doing a chaturanga (push up), a common injury for those, like me, who do not keep their elbows close to their body.  I was compensating for weak muscles with bad form.  I went to a PT and tried some exercises but they did not work.  I decided I would have to "live with it".  Years later, I talked to a trainer who told me that I needed to strengthen the muscles surrounding the injury.  That made sense.

I followed a program using weights and resistance bands and today I am never bothered with any shoulder issues.  Doing it right made up for years of doing it wrong.

Brandt's Story

Growing up, I was always fairly heavy, but at 6’6,” things seemed to even out. When I started playing football in high school, the coaches told me to gain weight so that I could be an offensive tackle capable of playing at the Division 1 level. A major injury, however, spoiled my projected college sports career and I entered undergrad at 320lbs. By the end, I was closer to 400lbs.

Fitness and exercise for me were only associated with team sports, so, once those ended, it ceased to even be an afterthought. However, when I was 22 years old, a doctor told me that I’d be lucky if I even made it to age 40. That harsh realization finally prompted me to take my health seriously. It took years of dedication and patience to truly make my lifestyle change, but, within two years I had lost 170 lbs, and gained a love for everything fitness.

It wasn’t and still isn’t, just a hobby of mine. Fitness was the catalyst that saved my life. Far beyond just changing my body composition, pursuing fitness has completely re-engineered how I navigate and approach my friends, my family, and my life. And, ultimately, it inspired me to leave my comfortable desk job and pursue a career in personal training, in an effort to take my experiences and help others make lifestyle changes of their own.