Client of the Month - September 2012

I am happy to announce our client of the month for September—Tom B!  Tom is nearly 60 and is a small business owner and bookkeeper.  I love that the way Tom came to us is through his lovely wife Dee (who was our client of the month back in February).  She kept telling him he should try Pilates and finally just bought him a gift certificate to Indianapolis Pilates by 15 to Fit for Christmas last year.  He finally got over his initial thoughts that Pilates was just for women and decided to give it a try (after all, the money was already spent right?)

Tom had never tried Pilates and really didn’t know what to expect.  He had gone to gyms before and had even tried working out one on one with a personal trainer but just didn’t seem to be able to stick with it.  He says he must not have had the willpower to do it, but I disagree because he has become an extremely dedicated client since starting back in January. I think he just needed to find the right fit for him and we are it!

Tom had also had some abdominal surgeries before starting Pilates and had some fairly extreme weakness in his core stomach muscles.  We both knew this was an area that needed some work.  And I knew that Pilates was the perfect solution.  We went slow and in the beginning he will tell you he couldn’t do several of the classic Pilates core exercises and was doing roll ups only with extra assistance.  But now, his abs are so much stronger, he can do things like teasers and even advanced exercises like the tendon stretch! How cool is that?

But probably one of the most positive things he has to say about Pilates is how quickly he started seeing results.  As I mentioned, he had tried other exercise programs before and got frustrated and quit because he just couldn’t see or feel results.  But with us, after just 3 months here at 15 to Fit, Tom says he began to really see results.  He says he felt stronger and he could see muscle definition improvements. When he began seeing this difference in his muscle tone and could feel those muscles firming up, it helped keep him motivated to stay with it.  He told me he just started feeling so much better in general.  That is what we love to hear!

Of course one of the other things that he says helps keep him motivated (and honest) is the fact that he has a regular appointment for his twice a week group reformer classes.  The classes are small (only 4-5 people) and he knows if he cancels at the last minute, someone else might be missing an opportunity to go.  He also really enjoys the small class sizes because of the personal help that you get in every class from our instructors and the fact that if he goes regularly to the same classes, you start to see some of the same faces on a regular basis and you get to know the people in your classes.  He has even seen several other men show up in the classes! (See, it isn’t just for the ladies).

He likes the personal attention from the instructors because Pilates was new to him and he appreciates the one on one attention to make sure he is doing each exercise correctly and making sure that he doesn’t hurt himself.  He really likes the reformer classes because he really enjoys the machines—he feels like the resistance on the machines from the springs really has helped him gain the strength that he has gained.  He enjoys the constant changing of the classes/exercises and the fact that you don’t get bored doing a million repetitions of the same thing over and over.  He says that because of the variety, the classes go by very quickly (no greater compliment when you are exercising right?).

Tom’s goal when he started with us at Indianapolis Pilates by 15 to Fit was to just get moving.  He wanted some assurance that as he got a little older, his body would still be strong to support him.  He knew there was no time like the present and he did get moving and saw results quickly after.  We love him for his persistence and the fact that he rarely complains during class! So congratulation to Tom B. for being our September client of the month!