Fitness is the best defense with My Personal Trainer

By Patricia Nugent

With the dismal daily Covid death count leading off the top of every news hour, the owners at My Personal Trainer studios are encouraging people to take a positive approach to the pandemic, more of a “the best defense is a good offense” philosophy.

“For all the people who have restricted their activity and stayed mostly indoors since last March, spending more time baking and binge-watching shows than doing sit-ups or squats, I hope you realize what a powerful defense your immune system is,” says owner Eric Schaefer. “Personally, I would have liked to see more of an emphasis from the health experts and leaders on the importance of staying active and maintaining a healthy diet is one of the best defenses we have against the pandemic.” A recent health study found that living in isolation is the equivalent health risk to smoking 15 cigarettes per day. All of the feedback we hear from health experts is that Covid tends to target those who are obese, diabetic, immune deficient, or live a generally unhealthy lifestyle. Our program builds lean muscle, burns fat, and can directly aid in the defense of Covid.”

January Uptick Came Early
Eric says that January is historically one of their busiest months of the year, what with New Year’s resolutions and people wanting to start over.

“This year, we saw an uptick starting unusually early in December,” he says. “I feel people are tired of staying indoors and trying to do their own workouts, without achieving success or results. With us, they see a business where they can safely reach their fitness goals in a private, occupancy-controlled environment. Moreover, they now have the accountability they need and professional direction that the at-home workout regimens simply cannot provide.”

A Few Success Stories
On any given week, when you walk into a My Personal Trainer studio, you won’t see crowds of people using and waiting for endless rows of standard fitness equipment. At MPT, there’s usually just one, sometimes two, clients working out at any given time, on specialized equipment designed to efficiently produce maximum muscle exertion in the shortest amount of time. This is an elite level of one-on-one training, programmed for success.

Just ask Donna and Greg Knack. The 50-something dynamic duo has been coming here since last May and is positively raving about their results.

“We appreciate the ease of fitting in just two 20-minute workouts each week,” says Greg, who is down from 322 pounds to 276 pounds. “Everything we do is based on our unique parameters. And they are great about assessing our progress with the workouts.”

Donna’s motivation is building bone density and strength.
“I’ve done my research and for women especially, strength training is linked to bone density and preventing osteoporosis,” she says. “You know how sometimes when you’re out and about you’ll see a senior citizen who is hunched over? That’s not how I plan to spend my golden years.”

They report nutritional counseling has also been an important part of the MPT experience.

“We’ve started journaling everything we eat, taking a look at portion control and the combination of proteins versus carbs,” he says. “Our trainer, Heath, asks what we’re eating and helps us target a daily calorie intake to hit our weight loss goals when combined with the training.”

Donna says that since coming here, they have both seen increased energy and flexibility, and have enjoyed shopping for new clothes to fit their thinner physiques. The twosome are big-time golfers and look forward to hitting the links—and seeing more yardage on their drives—this spring.

Amy Snyder joined the studio last summer to lose weight and gain strength. So far, she’s down 30 pounds and several sizes and inches.

“The trainers are the best part of this experience,” says the active 50-something. “They are caring, supportive and motivating. They really take a personal interest in my goals and helping me reach them. They are professionals. I would’ve felt lost as to what to do if I was on my own at a big gym with lots of machines.”

Taking a hard look at her eating habits was eye-opening.

“I thought I was a healthy eater,” she says. “Then when we wrote it all down, we discovered my portions were out of control, and so was what I was eating.”

Nicole Phillips is a new client to My Personal Trainer.

“What I like best is the one-on-one consistency of the workouts and the fact that I have an appointment I can put on my schedule that makes me accountable,” she says. “My budget is a factor as well. MPT costs a fraction of what hiring my own personal trainer would, yet I’m getting the same results.”

My Personal Trainer studios are conveniently located in Strongsville (20930 Drake Road, 440-878-9000), Broadview Heights (7985 Broadview Road, 440-838-8400), Westlake (25959 Detroit Road, 440-808-0000) and Medina (3733 Stonegate Drive, next to the Hobby Lobby Plaza, 330-723-3009). Discounted Rates $109-$159 per month. For more info, visit OhioMyPersonalTrainer.com.