McCohn Muscle Client of the Month- January 2021

It has been a long time since we’ve had the Client of the Month and 2021 felt like a good time to start back up. We’ve had some strong performances at McCohn Muscle to close out 2020. We had four elite performers in our 28 Day Buddy Detox Challenge. We have people training for special competitions and half marathons. We’ve also had a couple of people endure car accidents and come back stronger than they were before. It’s amazing to see what people are doing here.

We are going to kick off 2021 by celebrating the success of Faiza Haddad. Her mission and IG handle go hand in hand, @tobefitinayear She wanted to drop weight and improve her overall health. Her journey was not easy. At the beginning we just wanted her to be consistent with her training, exercising at the gym three times per week. After a few months she knew she had to make changes to her eating habits for better results. She was eating too many carbs, not eating at the right times, and consuming too much processed food.

Faiza hired help from a nutrition coach to improve her relationship with food, learn how to eat properly and make better decisions. Altogether with her nutrition program and McCohn Muscle Training she has dropped 34lbs, strengthened her body, and decreased her body aches. She also feels less stressed and has more positive energy everyday.

Her goal moving forward is to drop 15 more pounds and tone and strength her arms. She also plans to use what she has learned from her nutrition program to continue her journey of improvement. I asked her what is one piece of advice she would give someone that has been contemplating whether they should start a training program. Her reply:

“start ASAP!!! The sooner you start the better you will feel!!! Find a meal plan that fits your life style that will help get to your results faster. If you have an off day with not going to the gym or not following your meal plan just restart the next day. Consistency is KEY! Results are not overnight, be kind to yourself and your body.”

Congratulations on all the amazing work Faiza. Many people can draw inspiration from your story.

McCohn Muscle- May 2019 Client of the Month

In January 2018, Chris suffered a horrific injury. He was left with 2 herniated discs in my back: L4-L5 and L5-S1.

The latter of these 2 discs ended up being ruptured (torn) which leaked fluid out and against his right sciatic nerve.  For a few months, his side effects included muscle spasms (down my right leg- once triggered by a simple sneeze which sent him to the ER), constant nerve pain, muscle atrophy, weight gain, and permanent numbness and nerve damage down parts of my right leg and foot.

Chris probably wasn’t flashing this smile while enduring all that pain.

After 4 trips to the ER, maxed out insurance visits to Physical Therapy, doctors appointments, and Injections, Chris no longer had pain in his leg on a day to day basis sometime around July/August.

At this point, he felt his injury shouldn't hold him back and that he needed to build up muscle and get back in shape. He tried getting back into the gym 3 times a week on his own, but eventually gave up due to related issues in his back and leg where the nerve symptoms would flare up for a few days or more.

He continued his own program for a couple more months not making much of any progress and at the very end of December he decided he needed a professional to make sure he was lifting properly, pacing himself, and help shed some of the weight he had gained.

At this point he acted with urgency. He knew that one of the best things for compromised spinal discs (per my Neuro surgeon, ruptured discs don't ever fully heal, its all about preventing spillage going forward) is to build up the supporting muscles- back and core.

He found McCohn Muscle online by simply doing a Google map search of trainers near his residence. The numerous online reviews seemed legit and the facility was clean and complete. When he came in for his assessment, he ended up almost passing out and even threw up. He was ready to sign up and leave 2018 in the past where it belongs. 

During the four months he’s been training at McCohn Muscle, Chris says “Hands down, the number one thing that training here provided me in terms of improvement has got to be the technique. I come in and leave with the peace of mind that I am doing exercises properly- with correct form. For me this was crucial because simply bending over or twisting my back incorrectly or lifting even a light dumbbell improperly could have shot my progress back 10 months.”

We took the time to understand his injury from the start, and we made sure that we build his core stability and strength before getting to the fun stuff. He also told us, “you gave me more effective exercises and means to strengthen and relieve my back/nerve issues than my physical therapists did, which I was shocked by. Without you guys there, I would have been going straight for the heavy weights and for sure getting into some trouble. Aside from that, having that extra push for accountability as well as energy which you get from the trainers as well as the other trainee's is priceless.”

So far he’s lost 30lbs and 8% body fat, but more importantly he’s had absolutely no back issues since the first week of training, where as prior to signing up he could have slept funny and woke up needing to lay down for 3 days.

Chris isn’t planning on stopping his training any time soon, and we asked him if he has any advice for someone that has been contemplating starting a training program.

He said, “if you're at the point where you are contemplating whether to start a training program or not, then your wasting your time until you actually do it. You have probably realized the benefits of accountability and professional, certified guidance. Your health is not a joke and you owe it to yourself (and your family if applicable) to do everything you can to improve it. Plus you'll have a damn good time (after the first couple days of soreness)!”