Karen is always training me on new things and keeps the workouts fun and motivating. I simply cannot image where I would be now if I had never walked into the gym that day.

I am 75 years young! I remember meeting Karen like it was yesterday, however that was 9 years ago. I accompanied my son and daughter-in-law along on some errands and they wanted to stop by a local gym and take a tour. Karen showed us around and talked a lot about the importance of weight training and how it prevents osteoporosis and many other health benefits. I had always walked 3 to 5 miles a day, however never lifted a weight before in my life.

I was born and raised on a farm and did all of the outdoor farm duties and thought I was in pretty good shape. However, I decided to go ahead and try six personal training sessions with Karen.

On the first day, she showed me how to use the elliptical machine to warm up—I could only go for 3 minutes! I was shocked! It was nothing like walking. After the warm up, Karen showed me how to stretch so I could prevent injuries. I coudn't even come close to touching my toes. Then came the actual weight training—Karen let me sit on a weight bench and gave me 3 lb weights—she wanted me to lift them over my head and back to my shoulders 12 times. To this day we both giggle over the fact that I could only lift those 3 lb dumbells, 4 times before I had to rest!

Today, I am lifting 15 lb dumbells, 12 times over my head with no rest. I bench press, do walking lunges with weights, jumps onto step benches, jump rope and so much more. Karen has encouraged me to begin running and I have even ran a few 5Ks and did my first 10k at 71 years old!

Karen is always training me on new things and keeps the workouts fun and motivating. I simply cannot image where I would be now if I had never walked into the gym that day. If I go 2 to 3 days without a workout, I feel stiff and very tight. I know now that walking is not enough–I need to weight train–I will continue for the rest of my life. Hopefully, Karen will put up with me for another 30 years!