Personal Training Success Stories

Mark Fisanick

I met Greg at Sunday Boot camp. No, not on my way to Iraq, but as a public fitness event he organized at Antrim Park near my neighborhood.

For nearly, a decade I had been on a roller coaster ride with my weight and fitness. I was toned athlete for most of my life. I found that the stresses of owning my own business coupled with the comfort that food provided propelled my body into unknown territory. And once I struggled to balance out again.

The work-out routine at the gym I joined brought me to a plateau after moderate success, but I knew instinctively I wasn’t getting there. I studied personal trainers at the gym and concluded that the “one-size-fits-all” routines offered little more than my own work out regime. I was discouraged.

So when I met Greg, who was taking my time on the mile long run, my gut feeling having been a team player, told me he was different. I couldn’t have been more on target.

What distinguishes Greg is that his holistic approach surpasses just focusing on the body-fat ratio and a set menu for fitness. Enthusiastic and interested, Greg works out your mind with your body to enhance your ability to motivate yourself and to appreciate your own untapped strengths. Greg surprises your body by introducing the unexpected. He pushes the envelope and doing so creates a body and mind intelligence that goes beyond your own expectations. As a result you fell in control of your own body and your life. You will love it.

If you are looking for a fitness professional with a personal touch, get close to Greg.

One of Mark’s WORKOUTS

Another Success Story comes from Ron Wilinski. At the age of 62 Ron enjoys his workouts that not only helped him to transform his body but gave him a solid preparation for competing in various fitness challenges organized all over OHIO. Here is one of Ron’s workouts.

I met Greg several years ago when he was working at LifeStyle Fitness. Out of all the trainers working there he easily stood out. It was quite clear that he had a solid educational background in the fitness field, walked the talk and generated outstanding results for his clients. As a result of meeting him one of the best gifts I ever gave was signing up my son for personal training sessions with Greg. Within a matter of months I saw a transformation take place. For what was once a typical overweight, round faced high school student transformed to a chiseled Abercrombie & Fitch male model look-alike. The remnants of pudginess was gone. And most important of all is that the good training and eating habits he learned from Greg have stayed with him during his military and current college years. So if you’re ever stuck on an idea for a gift, a personal training session(s) with Greg is definitely worthwhile considering.

Going further, I remember Greg mentioning while he was having a session with my son that he could do more for the older person than he can for the younger. I found that hard to believe since I had seen how well he did with his younger clients and the accomplishments that they reached. However I did participate in his Power Up classes and noticed a significant improvement in my fitness level. I’ll just say that when you participate in “Power Up” you can’t help but just improve!

Then I got a little bit more serious. Greg knew that I wanted to compete in the Arnold 5K Pump and Run which my son did a year earlier. It’s a challenging event which requires cross training for both cardio and strength. Based on gender and age group you’re required to bench press a % of your body weight and then run a 5 Kilometer race. Then for every successful bench press you get time taken off your 5K run time in order to determine the winner and your standing. It originated with the Arnold Classic which is held in Columbus every year and based on the premise that lifters lift and runners run but to do this event you must cross train in order to compete well. I was fascinated with the opportunity to participate in the event. My whole goal was to train to be able to compete in the event and I did thanks to the training I received from Greg. What a thrill to experience and a motivator for me to train more.

I then found out that there were other similar variations of Pump & Run competitions in Ohio so I entered the Cincinnati Sports Festival and competed in my first Pump, Curl and Row competition. I was so nervous! There were hundreds of competitors for various sporting events at Cincinnati’s downtown arena and here I am an aging baby boomer coming here to compete (i.e. that’s what was running through my mind). My modest goal was just to at least do the event. That is to at least be able to bench press and curl my assigned competition weights and row 500 meters. I used this competition to put pressure on myself for training and it was through the personal training I received from Greg that I walked away with one event level and one competition medal which totally took me by surprise! I even surprised the event director by beating his row time although he is a number of years younger than me.

Well after that I had to try it again. I shared my success with Greg and asked him to prepare me for another event. My training guidance was great. I couldn’t believe how well this aging baby boomer body was able to respond to both Greg’s training and nutritional guidance. I felt like a kid again. Now it was time to go down to Cincinnati again. This time the Pump, Curl & Row event was held at a mixed martial arts facility. I didn’t think about that until I arrived in the parking lot, looked at their sign and thought am I nuts. I don’t belong here. But I told myself I wasn’t going to let that bother me after driving so long to get there I just hurried up and went in just to get over the nervousness I was experiencing. Once I walked inside I was warmly greeted, signed in and before I knew it was my turn to compete. This time their was only one bench for the bench press, one curling station right next to it, and the rowing machine next to that. Once you start you need to strictly bench press your assigned weight to the maximum number of repetitions that you can do, then you have 10 seconds to get to the curling station and curl (with strict form) as many curls as you can do, then you have 30 seconds to situate your self and strap your feet in the rowing machine and row 500 meters as fast as you can. So here I am, all by myself in this strange environment having to compete with all eyes on me. Well all I had to do is think of my training sessions with Greg and away I went. Utterly exhausted by the time I completed the circuit and before results were tabulated I was told I did well! I thought they were being polite. I rested for a while, made friends with a number of people and stayed around for what they called the “Pump Off”. That is a final competition from the top finishers regardless of age groups. I’ve seen it before at the Cincinnati Winter Sports Festival and it’s pretty cool to watch. The top seven finishers have to go through the Pump & Curl competition all over again and it’s great to watch the effort they put into it.

Well as the names were being called out I heard my own!!! I couldn’t believe it since I was even thinking about heading back home early due to the long drive back to Columbus with the satisfaction that my training paid off and I had a great experience! My next thought was that I already gave it my all and I was too exhausted to do it again. But when I was thinking that a fellow standing next to me had his name called and immediately declined because he was too exhausted. Now I thought I couldn’t punk out so I kept my mouth shut and remembered the training that I’ve had with Greg who prepared me for this event plus he never lets you give up. When it was my turn I achieved the same amount of bench presses as I did in the first round and almost the same amount of curls. In fact it wasn’t much different than the training sessions I have with Greg. I now understand why he says a lot of it is all in the mind. But I couldn’t have accomplished this without his guidance & training. By the way I came in 2nd place. What a shocker! Never expected it but wow this training works!

Now, being curious and super amazed as to how my body is responding to Greg’s workout programs I let Greg know that I would like to see if I could bench press 225 pounds. That is having the 45 pound bar and two 45 pound plates on each side. One of the guys I work with and whom I respect a lot is a physical therapy trainer who normally works out at this weight level. And I thought wow that would be great milestone to achieve for me but I never thought I could. Well don’t tell Greg that! After some careful training sessions so as not to proceed to rapidly in order to prepare the body properly and avoid injury I was able to handle two 45 pound plates on each side which was a wonderful surprise for myself. So then I said to Greg I want to go further. In fact three 45 pound plates on each side. Now as an aging baby boomer my peers are getting fatter, older and weaker. I am so amazed how my body is going in the opposite direction and the strength & vitality I have gained. So I’m going to see how far I can go. By the way, at the time of this writing Greg has me up to 285 pounds and I’m impressed by the way he’s training me, how my muscles are responding and his knowledge on how to improve my physical fitness condition while reducing the possibility of injury while I am on my quest.

The bottom line is I am amazed on the accomplishments both my son and I have achieved with Greg. This would have never, never, never of happened on our own! Again, one of the better things I ever did in my life was giving a gift of personal training with Greg to my son. Another was giving the same gift to myself. Originally I wasn’t very much aware of personal training until I met Greg. I found out more by talking with his clients and seeing the results achieved that he has an excellent reputation, is easy to talk to, and he has a true human interest in each and every one of his clients. What I also like is that he is out for you to reach your fitness goals. He’s not a fast talking salesperson trying to sell you long term contracts so often found in other fitness organizations. Every client is treated as an individual with an authentic concern and direction given to meet their needs and to help them achieve their desired results. If you haven’t participated in personal training before, or even if you have, I would recommend that you give it a try by at least having an introductory discussion and/or session with Greg. And if you do don’t be afraid to dream when it comes to your personal goals. Let him know what’s in your heart. What you desire for yourself or another. Here’s another thing. He calls himself the Medicine Man. I didn’t understand that early on but I do now. For me it meant no more blood pressure medication, no more aching knees, no more running out of breath when I exert myself, just to give a few examples.

Working out with Greg has opened up a whole new world for me with great possibilities to explore. I’ve met many wonderful people with various fitness goals who provide friendship, encouragement and motivation just by knowing them. So take a chance and see what you’re missing. In the past the most major obstacle holding myself back was myself. Don’t let that happen to you. There is an awesome body lying inside you, let it come out and be what you were meant to be!!! Good luck and I’m looking forward to meeting you on the treadmill one day!!!

Listen what Ron has to say about his journey.