And the Winner of a Free 3-Month Membership Is...

Maureen!! 

After much deliberation, we have chosen Maureen D. as our winner of a 3-month membership at Achieve Fitness. We want to thank everyone who applied – it was a difficult decision but Maureen presented us with specific and measurable goals and a very compelling “why.”

Maureen’s body composition goal over the next 3 months is to lose 15lbs and drop her body fat percentage by at least 5%. Within a year, Maureen’s goal is to lose a total of 40lbs and drop an additional 10% body fat.

Maureen’s goals didn’t end there. She also wants to be able to do push ups, and to build up enough strength to get back to running without any pain.

Having a strong “why” is extremely important in goal setting. If you don’t know why you want to accomplish your goal, you will be much less likely to actually have success. Maureen knows exactly why she wants to lose weight and gain strength. She remembers the feeling of being at a lower weight and exercising regularly. She was happier and more energetic, and she wants to feel those things again.  While the desire to look better plays a part, it is really the desire to feel like herself again that has Maureen motivated and locked in to accomplishing her goals.

In her initial strategy session, we talked to Maureen about her health and injury history and discovered that she has some knee and hip pain. This is crucial information because it helps us to customize her training program around her injuries so that she can reach her goals without causing further dysfunction.

Our next step in the strategy session was to go through the Functional Movement Screen. For more information on the FMS, visit: http://www.functionalmovement.com/fms. In essence, the FMS is a grading and ranking system that documents movement patterns that are key to normal function. Learning a person’s FMS score helps us to identify the exercises that will be most effective to restore proper movement and build strength in each individual. 

Maureen’s FMS score indicated that she had exceptional mobility throughout her hips and shoulders, but was lacking in sufficient core strength. Knowing this information enables us to focus clearly on what Maureen needs improvement in rather than spending time on what she’s already good at.

From there, our program design team will create Maureen’s phase one training program that she will perform for the next 4 weeks. In the coming weeks we will update you on her progress and answer any questions you might have in the comments section below. Here is Maureen’s synopsis of her initial experience at Achieve Fitness:

"I was really excited to win the Achieve Fitness contest, but I was nervous.  I have been in and out of lots of gyms, and I have never felt very comfortable, sticking mostly to anonymous cardio machines and avoiding the intimidating weight rooms.  I didn't know what to expect.  I certainly didn't expect to be warmly welcomed by Lauren Perreault and her co-owner Jason Pak, and I could not have imagined having the amazingly positive experience that awaited me at Achieve Fitness.  Lauren took the time to really learn about me, and remained supportive as I went through the Fitness Assessment. Even though I am at an emerging fitness level, she gave me positive supports and highlighted what they could do to help me improve in a safe and thoughtful manner.  I am so excited about the next three months - I can't wait to get to my first regular session that Matt helped me to set up for this Thursday!" –Maureen D.