Debbie Woloshyn

Like many people, I've belonged to a local gym four years to be exact. During this time I have done two 12-week programs, always being left with the feeling of disappointment and frustration because of little results. Brian then suggested I do a 12-week program after my pregnancy using I.A.R.T. methods. I was interested but also hesitant when he told me what he thought I could accomplish I thought "no way!"

Regardless, I eagerly started the program when my daughter was 1.5 months. The program began fairly simple. However, right from the very beginning, I had some trouble with soreness (tendinitis) in my right shoulder. Brian immediately told me how to avoid putting extra strain on my shoulder with proper body mechanics, and he kept the soreness in mind when creating my workouts.

At every workout Brian explained fully what we were going to do and why, and how he wanted the exercises to be executed. This made me feel very comfortable with the workouts because I knew that I was doing the exercises correctly and that the whole process had structure.

By the second or third week, I was starting to make some progress and was feeling good about the fat I was losing. That's when I hit a bit of a roadblock. It was around the fourth week when I began suffering from severe headaches, and at the same time my daughter wasn't sleeping through the night. So, I felt very tired. I also felt discouraged since the workouts seemed to be triggering the headaches.

At this point I probably would have given up. However, Brian encouraged me to continue and talked about how we could revise my workouts to work around the headaches. For the next two weeks I continued with the aerobics and opted to do lighter weights, higher reps and sets, and lower intensity. This seemed to get me over the "hump" as the headaches gradually subsided. It wasn't until week six that the more serious training began, but I felt good about myself and glad that I hadn't given up.

Now that I was halfway through my training, I felt great. Brian seemed so enthusiastic about my progress that it kept me motivated, and actually looking forward to the workouts. By this time, Brian had taken more photos and I was amazed at the results. I knew I was slimming down, but actually seeing the results on paper made a huge impact on my motivation. At this time Brian reevaluated my nutrition intake and made a few adjustments. I really felt Brian took an active part in the whole process, and was eager, as I was, for me to succeed.

As the sessions continued, Brian kept the workouts interesting by having me do various types of exercises, or exercises performed in different ways. It was never the same week to week. As the intensity of the workouts increased, Brian's confidence boosted my own confidence. Often I doubted the amount of weight Brian would prescribe me but with his reassurance I was always able to do the number of reps he wanted, and sometimes even more. While working out on my own, or with other personal trainers, I was never really challenged or pushed to my fullest potential.

As I approached the end of the 12 weeks, I was very satisfied with the accomplishments that I made, and a little amazed considering the setbacks I encountered early on. With other 12-week programs, I couldn't wait to finish and I had to drag myself to the final sessions. I now find myself excited about continuing my training and making further progress. I further realize that I'm capable of so much more then I ever thought possible. I've gained a great deal of confidence from this experience and believe that my success is due to Brian's constant encouragement and enthusiasm. And this time I'm definitely not disappointed with the results! Thank you, Brian, for showing me what I'm really capable of.