Gene Hathaway

I started training at Lake Placid Health and Fitness in December of 2000 because I had gained 30 pounds over the previous three years and was in terrible physical condition. I turned 40 in 1997 and up until that point I had been an avid runner and martial arts student. In 1996 and 1997 I suffered a series of personal losses, leading to depression and health problems for the next several years. Add to that employment that demanded very little of me physically and I had gained 30 pounds and was physically weak.

I joked when I would groan getting up from a chair, that I was making my fathers noises, but he didn't start making them till he was in his sixties. I once had an active social life, but now felt that was part of the past. I didn't think my appearance had changed that much until I saw a picture of myself taken by friends, and realized I looked like hell, and didn't feel much better. I was becoming increasingly negative about my life. Last year I decided I had to stop feeling sorry for myself and get my life together before it slid any further downhill, so I joined Lake Placid Health and Fitness.

I weight train at least 5 times a week and do a 20 minute high intensity aerobic workout 5 or 6 times a week. In the summer I hike or swim on the weekends. I don't spend hours at a time working out, but when I train, I train hard to get the most from my time at the gym. I try to eat 4 or 5 small meals a day instead of three larger meals, watch the fat and simple sugar intake, and balance protein and carbohydrate intake. I don't deny myself my favorite unhealthy foods; I just don't eat them as often or in as great a quantity. In the last year I've lost 30 pounds and 4 pants sizes. I'm probably 75-80% stronger.

My best advice to anyone who wants to get in shape is:

1. Don't let minor setbacks cause you to feel like a failure and quit - no one can do everything right with their training all the time. At the end of a year your progress is the result of all your positive effort minus your lapses in discipline. Keep training hard and the lapses will have very little effect. Don't expect miracles, change takes time.

2. There will be many times when you feel tired or stressed, or just don't have the time to work out. At these times you may feel you have a valid excuse to take the day off from training. GO TO THE GYM ANYWAY, Do it for you, you'll feel better after.

If you are actually very tired and overworked, GO ANYWAY, do a light workout, you'll feel better physically, and you'll feel better about yourself for having the discipline to train. If you have a minor injury, GO TRAIN ANYWAY, workout other body parts, be careful of the injury, but maintain your routine as much as is safe. You'll feel better about yourself, and your inner strength and willpower will increase. I haven't reached my physical goals yet, but I've made a lot of progress and I'm encouraged to continue training over the next year. I feel the best that I have in a long time, and I'm more positive and optimistic about the future. Don't let negative thinking, self-criticism, or just laziness keep you from improving your life. I hope everyone at the health club has a great 2002.

David Landolfe

Growing up I was very athletic and loved hard physical work. I kept up an active outdoor lifestyle as an adult, canoeing, hiking, and snowshoeing. In 1992, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. My first reaction was, “Well I’d better make the best of my next two years because by then I’ll be in a wheelchair.” As I learned more, I realized there is a lot I can do to maintain and in some ways improve my health. I’ve learned to make the MS work for me. For example, with MS, if you want to maintain function, you don’t have the choice of exercising. If I don’t I become so stiff it affects my ability to function. So I exercise 4-5 times daily for a half hour.

In 1997, I strained a hamstring. This led to physical therapy with Chip Samperi. Through his knowledge and patience, and my own experimentation, I began relearning how to exercise and obtained a pair of aquatic paddles. They use the resistance of the water to build strength and flexibility so you can do a workout with the intensity of lifting weights. For three summers, Tom Barclay, my swim partner and I, swam consistently from June to the end of September. Our rule was, “If its above 50 degrees and no lightening, we swim!” And we did. Our biggest boast was outlasting the Ironman in wet suits til the end of September. Man was it cold! But I began rebuilding my physique, putting on 35 pounds.

Imogene M. Bryant

• Lake Placid Health and Fitness has literally saved my life. I am extremely grateful. Let me tell you what happened.
• In June of 2001, I developed Angina (chest pain from exertion). I was sent to Boston to have an Angioplasty performed. They discovered I needed to have a Stent put in. Upon my return, Dr. Hyson referred me to Cardiac Rehab Program through Adirondack Medical Center. They evaluated me and started me on some stretching, strengthening, and cardiovascular training.In 2002, our group was advanced to Lake Placid Health and Fitness for the “Fit for Life” program, which is also monitored by the Cardiac Rehab department of Adirondack Medical Center. In my time spent exercising, I lowered my blood pressure to a level where they could take me off of my medication. As soon as I was discharged from “Fit for Life”, I joined Lake Placid Health and Fitness. I have had such great experiences with the entire staff and facility; I think everyone should share in my success. The Certified Fitness Professionals have been extremely helpful. I have never been an “athletic person”, but am completely dedicated and continue to go 3 times a week. This is one activity I won’t give up. I believe in the benefits of exercise and strongly encourage all individuals to listen to their doctor’s advice and get involved in an exercise program. If an 80 year old can do it, so can you.
  
  Steve Eldred

It was the end of summer, 1991. Everything was going very well for me. I had just returned to college after taking a year off. The third night at the new college I had a terrible fall. I was found unconscious the following morning. I was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury. After ten days in a coma, I woke up not knowing where I was, or who I was, or who the people around me were! I was an in-patient in a rehabilitation hospital for about sixty days, and an out-patient with regular visits for the next year. I was also out of work for nearly a year.

Up until about a year ago, I felt like something was missing in my life. Before the accident I was very active in the gym and sports events. I felt I needed to make a change so I could gain confidence in myself. In September 1999 my wife and I were blessed with a baby girl. My wife, Laura and little girl, Jenna has really made my world a much happier place, but I still felt that something was missing. Lake Placid Health and Fitness has helped me to feel much better about myself. I have more strength and assurance in everything I do from my day-to-day work and regular life activities.Other life strategies that have helped me include:Don’t expect things to come as easily as they once did.Don’t think “this is it” or “I can’t change it” because you CAN! It just takes time and work.Don’t expect results overnight. It takes time to show strength and endurance improvements!To anybody who is having trouble getting your life back on track, for any reason, I recommend finding someone or something to help you through it. Because, doing anything, and changing your life, as you once knew it, just doesn’t work. Your life will never feel complete by quitting or cutting out the things you used to enjoy. By getting involved in a gym, I have gained confidence, I have improved my health, and I have seen improvements in impairments caused by my traumatic brain injury. It is amazing that these improvements can appear 10+ years after all of the rehabilitation I went through.