Coppell Trainer Spotlight of the Month Jim and Kelly

Coppell Trainer Spotlight of the Month Jim and Kelly The Get You In Shape team  hand selects client each month that we feel have Transformed their health and fitness. The Get You In Shape Spotlight clients for July certainly have made HUGE strides in their first 8 weeks of the Get You In Shape program. […]

Coppell Trainer Spotlight of the Month Jim and Kelly

Coppell Trainer Spotlight of the Month Jim and Kelly


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KellyDarkBeforeAfter500

The Get You In Shape team  hand selects client each month that we feel have Transformed their health and fitness. The Get You In Shape Spotlight clients for July certainly have made HUGE strides in their first 8 weeks of the Get You In Shape program. Check it out below.

Question #1 : Name, what you do, and where do you live?

My name is Jim Dark, I am a Junior High History Teacher in Arlington, and I live in Coppell.

My name is Kelly Dark, I am Commercial Insurance Broker and I live in Coppell, TX with my husband and our 17 year old daughter.

Question #2: Why did you decide to join the Get You In Shape program?

Answer from Jim: Kelly and I had been working on losing weight, mainly diet alone for several months, starting in August of 2013.  We had seen the boot camp program workouts on a few Saturday mornings when we were walking in Andy Brown Park.  We got inspired at a Weight Watchers meeting by a member who had seen dramatic results by increasing her activity level.  So we got to thinking about doing that.  We joined the aquatic center, and tried several different classes.  They were all right, but not really what we were looking for.  We just got to talking one evening about checking out a boot camp program, and knew that there was one in the area.  We literally just googled “Boot Camp Coppell” and there you were.

Answer from Kelly : My husband and I tried various forms of activity from simply walking to Zumba to acquacize to circuit training.  All seemed either boring, required an extreme amount of coordination or were just plain intimidating with only one level – expert – available. GYIS offers many fitness levels,  you can go at your own pace, do alternate exercises if one is too hard or not right for your body’s needs, the workouts are never boring, and strengthens weaknesses such as lack of coordination rather than requiring top skill right up front.  I also read 25 reviews on Google going back 4 months to years ago and they all said the same thing – this program is great, they lost weight, the instructors were friendly and encouraging, they were never bored. I figured 25 people all saying the same thing can’t be wrong.
Boot Camp Free Trial

Question #3:What was your life like before joining the Get You In Shape Program?

Answer from Jim: As a teacher, I lead a pretty active lifestyle, but I still needed to achieve the weight loss goals I had set for myself.  I lost weight, using diet alone for a few months, but then got stuck at about 163, which was 8 pounds higher than the goal I had set for myself of 155.  I spent about 12 weeks see-sawing back and forth over that number before we decided to start the Get You in Shape Program.

Answer from Kelly :I was psuedo sedentary… as I mentioned before we tried various activities but never enjoyed anything enough to do it regulary or continually.


Question #4: What was your first impression from the Get You In Shape program? 

Answer from Jim: We attended our first session on April 14, 2014.  It was a little intimidating for me at first.  I’m a veteran, so I’ve been to a REAL BOOT CAMP.  But it was a far cry from what I expected.  The staff is supportive, and encouraging.  They also offer a series of ways to increase the intensity of each exercise, so a newcomer can come into a workout, and adjust down to their level of fitness, while those who have been at it for a while can increase to a level that they need to meet their goals.  It’s very flexible, and the staff is wonderful.

Answer from Kelly : I joined 8 weeks ago and from the beginning I found everyone to be friendly, encouraging, the workouts were and are still difficult. But, you want to feel like you got a good work out, right? It felt like and still feels like a group personal training session. I can always ask for help if I am not doing an exercise correctly and I always appreciate the individual instruction I get when I think I am doing an exercise correctly but really am not.  The program as a whole is well run and organized.


Question #5: What have been some of the tools you have used that have benefited you?  

Kelly: One thing about this program that I liked was that some of the tools utilized were tools I was already using such as tracking food, eating six small meals a day, being accountable for getting in workouts. I may not use the Get You In Shape tools that are available through the program as I track through a different site and I use my Outlook calendar for making sure I get to workouts, but Get You In Shape‘s tools and beliefs about fitness and nutrition fit with what I believe thus making it very easy to keep it up and maintain for what I see as a lifetime.
Boot Camp Free Trial


Question #6: How is the Get You In Shape program different from other programs you have tried before? What makes Get you In Shape different or unique?



Answer from Jim: My first impression about what makes it unique is how the exercises are mixed up so much.  Every workout is a challenge, because you rarely do the same exercise in any single week.  You definitely don’t settle into a routine, which is what makes a lot of people give up on exercise plans.  You go to boot camp every time knowing it will be different, and every time, you get presented a new challenge to conquer.
Answer from Kelly: I haven’t tried another “boot camp” but this program is different from all other forms of activity I have tried in that we do many different things, it never gets boring. The group environment is great with encouragement, laughter and a common feeling that we all DID IT!!  The personal trainers all help us make sure we get the most with each movement so that we feel the exercise how and where we should feel it which you don’t get from the regular group exercises such as zumba or acquicize.

Question #7: What results and benefits have you experienced in the Get You In Shape Program?
 

Jim: I’m a former Army officer, so I was used to judging my fitness in terms of pushups, situps and a timed two mile run.  When I started, I could barely knock out 10 pushups from the toes.  Within just a little over a month, I was doing Pushups for Charity, and did 44 pushups in 90 seconds.  My last timed mile run, I did in 7:40, which is the fastest I have run a mile in 17 years.

Once I started the program, I very quickly hit my goal weight of 155, and settled into a maintenance routine designed to turn my remaining body fat into muscle.  And it’s working.  I am holding my current weight, but the twice monthly measurements are showing me that my body weight is changing from fat to muscle.  

Very quickly, I’ve lost 5 pounds during the program, but I’ve lost nearly nine inches my body measurements, which proves to me that I am turning fat into muscle.  I’m also easily fitting into clothes that have been hanging in the back of my closet for two years.

But most important to me was my overall health.  I had seen my family doctor in January and I had a number of blood screening issues that were troublesome, as well as work-related stress and anxiety issues.  I went back in early June, after about six weeks of Boot Camp, and had a complete physical.  I ended up with doctor telling me how much healthier I was than six months before.  I was no longer taking two medications I had been taking daily.  My blood pressure had dropped from Pre-Hypertension to very healthy, and my heart rate had dropped significantly.  

Get You In Shape has pumped me up and motivated me to look into doing a Beginner’s Triathlon, and when I mentioned this to my doctor, his response was “Go for it!”

Overall, I feel like I am in the best shape of my life, including when I was a 33-year-old Army officer.  I am really looking forward to continuing with the program and seeing where it can take me.


 Kelly: In 8 weeks’ time,
I have only lost 3 pounds but I have lost 14.25 inches overall in 8 weeks. HOLY COW – 2 1/2″ in my chest, 2 1/4″ in my waist, 2 1/2″ in my hips, 1 1/2″ in each leg and each arm. In EIGHT WEEKs I have gone from a size 12 to a size 8.   I have been on the Weight Watchers plan for 8 months, not weeks, for diet alone and have not lost this many inches.  

As for my health this program has reduced my stress level at work,  I love the outlet it provides along with the camaraderie with the other participants. My blood pressure is proof of this as I was pre-hypertension in April and now am in normal range.  This program has also helped me sleep through the night and wake up feeling rested and ready to go.

Question #8: What would you say to anyone looking at this program?

Jim: If I had to describe this program in one word, I would say “TRANSFORMATIONAL.”  The mix of activities makes a world of difference in achieving results.  

I would also tell anyone looking at this program to not be intimidated by the words “Boot Camp.”  It is all adjusted so that a newcomer can fit in nicely.  You can do what you are capable of, even if that isn’t much, and you won’t be criticized.  The staff is polite and encouraging, and everyone of them takes part in the daily workouts at some point.  They will do exactly what they are asking you to do at some point during the day.  They lead by example, which is significant to me.  More importantly, you will never be expected to do more than your best.  

Finally, I would say that one of the things that I loved about being in the Army was the camaraderie.  I miss that a lot, but I found it again when I joined Get You In Shape.  Within just a few days, I found myself both giving and receiving some friendly give-and-take, making friends, and encouraging each other to keep moving forward.

 Kelly: I would also tell anyone looking at this program to not be intimidated by the words “Boot Camp.”  It is all adjusted so that a newcomer can fit in nicely.  You can do what you are capable of, even if that isn’t much, and you won’t be criticized.  The staff is polite and encouraging, and everyone of them takes part in the daily workouts at some point.  They will do exactly what they are asking you to do at some point during the day.  They lead by example, which is significant to me.  More importantly, you will never be expected to do more than your best.  

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