Thomas started training with EP in 2014 to fulfill his dream of representing the USA in the 2018 Winter Olympics. As a result of his dedication to training on and off the ice, and under the expert guidance of his EP trainers, Thomas was able to increase his power, strength, mobility and core to help him set a new World Record in 2016-17 in the 5000-meter speed skating relay and qualify for the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea.
Using Olympic lifts and specialized Keiser pneumatic equipment, his training was an integral part of his athletic development. Thomas has had the opportunity to become a champion because of his commitment to all aspects of his athleticism, which led to incremental improvements while staying healthy to train and compete on the international level.
Working with personal trainers at Onelife Fitness, they worked out as a family with a daily cardio conditioning program, getting a lot of variety, walking on the treadmills, biking, rowing and the ellipticals. Sandra said working with the trainers at OneLife helped the family reach the family goals while keeping the workouts on an individual level catering to their ability levels. Sandra recalled her first training session, "I thought the warm up was the workout, but over the course of the year an hour session did not seem like enough, I began to see the mental and physical changes."
They worked on their diets incorporating first a delivered meal plan then started to make trips to the local organic market, eating lots of vegetables, cutting back on the fat and sugar and eating smaller portions.
“We even completed the super run 5K as a family and it was not only great that we did it as a family but also a testimony to all the work we did with our trainers at OneLife,” Sandra says, “We have Onelife and now its part of our life’s effort to be better every day !”
What’s their advice to someone just getting started – “Decide today you want to make a change. Have a support system, and don't hesitate to go outside of your comfort zone. I NEVER would have imagined I would be using a trainer, I was self-conscious, and afraid. There are still obstacles I have to overcome, but just take it step by step...you can do it!"
I’m definitely more confident about myself. I don’t mind putting on my bathing suit in the summer. As I’ve gotten older, I find life moves very fast. Keeping myself in the best shape allows me to live life to its fullest. If being healthy was easy, everyone would do it. It’s being dedicated to yourself, and it’s really not about weight loss but feeling good about yourself and knowing you’re living a healthy life.
My biggest challenge was maintaining. I find having a trainer holds me accountable. If you have someone who expects to see you, you’ll be more likely to show up.
My wife and I made the decision to start working on feeling better about ourselves. I was also determined to fit back into my favorite pants that I refused to throw away! After an initial consultation, we were given a tour and were shown how to use the equipment. We felt assured that if we ever had any questions, all we had to do was ask the staff.
Since then, I have been coming in usually three times a week. We attend the yoga and pilates classes as a couple, and my wife enjoys doing the dance fitness classes. We stay engaged by varying our workout routine. I usually do one day of weight training, one day of cardio and one day of a combination. In addition, the staff is without exception, knowledgeable, approachable and always motivational.
My weight was over 300 pounds; my doctor was very concerned. She wanted me to come back in four months and, if I didn’t get better, she was putting me on cholesterol medicine.
The beginning, that is when I struggled the most. I am so competitive, even with myself. When I started, I told myself I did not want that medication. I had to go back to my doctor in four months. When she saw me, she was in shock. Because I didn’t want to take the medicine, I thought, ‘I am going to work out as much as I can. I am going to lose as much as I can.’ … Going to the gym every day is very boring. … (But) once you do something you like there, that is fun, it makes a difference.
Everything has changed. Physically, of course, but mentally I want to do more. I used to want to stay home all weekend; now I want to do things. I want to play with my kids more; I am way more active. When you’re heavy, you are too tired to move.
We have been training for 6 months, and my progress has dramatically
More Importantly, I am type II diabetic. When I started my training I was on 4 different medications just for Diabetes, yet my A1C was still high (12.4). I am now on only 1 low dose of Metformin and my last two A1Cs have been 5.4 and 6. I was also struggling with high blood pressure. My medication for this was cut in half.
I have also been struggling with injuries
All it took was one look at the photo of herself holding Teacher of the Year Award to convince 37-year-old Jordan Kohanim she needed to make a change.
I get up at 4:30 am to get to my Onelife Fitness gym. I call us the Dawn Patrol. Everyone is so friendly and encouraging. I exercise six days a week. Now, I am working on building muscle. I do HIIT training (high-intensity interval training) three days a week and weight training with plyometric warm-ups.
I have so much more energy now. I work two jobs, so I sometimes go from 4:30 a.m. in the morning until 9 p.m. at night. I used to be exhausted after those long days. I’d come home, flop on the couch and eat junk and zone out— reeling from how tired I felt. Now, I have more energy…I enjoy doing things more because I am not so tired.
In early July, after eight months of training, 65-year-old Onelife Fitness member Turner Britton and his partner, Rita Grayson, completed their hike up the third-tallest mountain of the Seven Summits, Mt. Kilimanjaro.
With two full joint replacements – a right hip in July 2010 and a knee in January 2016 –the almost-66-year-old is still going strong, but now with the help of the Onelife Fitness trainers, who he said have helped transform his body like never before.
“I’ve been in a good conditioning state most of my life – there were probably a couple of dozen years where I drank too much wine and didn’t have enough exercise, but overall, I’ve been pretty healthy,” he said. “Finally, though, I said, ‘You know what? I want to change my body composition.”
“I had never hired a trainer before, but I went to Onelife Fitness and my trainers, Shelly and Carlos, put a program together where I trained two times a week for eight months. Though my weight was fine, the goal was to reduce weight while [gaining] more muscle mass and less fat, and now my body is different than it ever has been."
Start weight: 295 pounds
Current weight: 206 pounds
How she’s doing it: She works out four to six days at Onelife. Her routine includes upper body, lower body, and conditioning-focused workouts. She also does “mindset conditioning” every day, such as mediation or yoga. “I feel that working on the mindset is huge because you can be physically strong, but being mentally strong is a game changer. It can help you push through any situation.”
How she feels now: “Before I started my journey I was completely depressed. Life was passing by and I was walking around the world just existing rather than fully living. Now I feel like a totally different person. I walk with my head held high. I am more open to trying new things, and my confidence level has skyrocketed.”