After a health fair at his place of employment James Zimmerman realized that he needed to lose weight. At the time of his health screening James weighed 221lbs, so he decided to join Pinamonti Fitness Center and get in shape.
At the time James became a member, Pinamonti Fitness Center was about to begin one of our fitness center challenges that we hold at various times throughout the year. Being a competitive person by nature he entered the challenge and gave it everything he had. His membership started out pretty intensely from day one. His hard work paid off. He tied for first place in the challenge and lost 15lbs in the process, getting down to 205lbs. Once he saw the results of his efforts he was on the way to adopting a new lifestyle to lose more weight and become healthier.
He’s been a member now for about a year and overall has lost 50lbs while gaining about 10lbs of muscle.
How did he do it? He goes to the gym one to two times a day, six days a week. His workouts cover the gamut focusing on cardio, strength training, and even attending some group fitness classes. “I focus on every type of workout. I have a met a lot of great people at the gym who have introduced me to a lot of workouts that I otherwise would have stayed away from. I run with the group from the gym, Pinamonti Run, and I also really like the Metcon class taught by Kireston. In addition I have been hitting the weights pretty hard too.”
And it doesn’t end there. James has started even more intense training. “I have been training for a marathon for a couple of months now. Between the run group, strength training, and the Metcon classes my cardio and conditioning have improved greatly.”
As for what keeps him motivated, James’ competitive nature and the relationships he has established with other members at the Center are what keeps him going and advancing further.
“My motivation is to be able to keep up with the people that I workout with. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Yet we are all there to help each other push ourselves to be the best we can. It doesn’t matter if we are just out for 5 mile run or to see how many pull ups we can do. There are so many benefits as a result of working out at Pinamonti. Another one of the great things is that if I ever need help with a particular exercise of need new ideas for my schedule I can always ask the certified trainers on staff. I do pick their brains from time to time if I have questions about anything. I like that they are more than happy to assist you with anything the gym has to offer.
“The biggest benefit of being a member is the environment and how friendly everyone is to each other. I have made so many new friends and met so many great people since I have joined the gym. I really look forward to going to the gym instead of dreading it. Plus my stress levels have gone way down since joining the gym. I’m sure that the people I work with like that.”
Oh, and that marathon James has been training for? Well, he ran it in New Orleans this past weekend. Here’s a picture taken shortly after he crossed the finish line. Exhausted but goal accomplished, James ran his first ever marathon in 4:28. An impressive showing and an inspiration to all of us, which is why James is our Featured Member of the Month. Well done James.
