For Bob Haas, reaching the summit in life and on a mountain included strength training at MaxStrength Fitness
By Patricia Nugent
Not many people can say they’ve hiked the Appalachian Trail, spanning 2,193 grueling miles through 14 states, let alone do it after age 70.
Meet Bob Haas.
“I’d dreamed of completing the trail for years,” he says. “I waited until I retired in 2016 to set the goal.”
Bob credits much of his impressive stamina to his training at MaxStrength Fitness.
Although before coming here he had done a lot of cardio work, and still does, he felt one-on-one strength training would be helpful to his mission. And he was intrigued to see if a protocol of two, 20-minute workouts per week would produce results.
“The trainers gave me lots of individual attention, asking specific questions about my hike, and were able to customize movements that built my core, legs and upper body for the portion of the trail where I had to lug a 35-pound backpack over the 1,000-foot elevation changes,” he says. “I appreciate the trainers’ focus on form and safety. I never felt sore after a workout. Although I didn’t intend to, I lost eight pounds and felt much stronger.”
Bob says he appreciated the flexibility of being able to do virtual workout sessions at MaxStrength while he was on his journey.
One of his favorite hikes was summiting the 5,269-foot Mount Katahdin in Maine with his daughter, Beth, and 12-year-old grandson, Alex. His wife, Linda, has also hiked by his side through Maryland, Virginia and Georgia.
“She started coming to MaxStrength three months ago after noticing what a difference it made for me,” he adds.
What’s next? Bob plans to hike the Camino de Santiago “The Way” in Spain next year.
Avoid the Moderation Trap
As a local wellness guru and holder of the title Chief Life Transformer, MaxStrength founder Jeff Tomaszewski doesn’t mind going against conventional wisdom to educate his clients as long as it’s science- and research-based. One of his most popular video blogs is called “The Moderation Trap.” He explains that the old wives’ tale of “everything in moderation” doesn’t actually work.
Why? Because almost everyone does it wrong.
“The fact is what looks like moderation to one person might be something completely different to someone else, when it comes to food,” he explains.
A major study found that when people ate in moderation, they ended up with a less healthy diet than those who ate smaller amounts of healthy food. Plus, they wound up with a bigger waist and higher chance for developing diabetes.”
Find out about your best path to wellness through the newly introduced one-on-one MaxStrength Wellness Coaching.
“By working with one of our coaches, people will receive a level of support to break the habits that might be holding them back in life, whether it means nutrition, getting the best quality of sleep, or stress management,” he explains.
MaxStrength Fitness is located at 4212 State Route 306 in Willoughby. Call 440-226-8080 and at 2211 Crocker Road in Westlake, 440-835-9090 or for more information or to view more testimonials, visit MaxStrengthFitness.com.