McCOHN MUSCLE BLOG
Five years later……she’s earned Client of the Month again!
Jess has been working with the best trainers in Columbus since February 2013. When she started she was over 200lbs, and 40% body fat. After training hard for over a year she earned McCohn Muscle Client of the Month- June 2014. She dropped 8lbs, 6.5% body fat and improved her 1-mile run time by four minutes. You can read more about her first success story here:
https://qmccohn.blogspot.com/2014/06/mccohn-muscle-client-of-month-june-2014_18.html
There was a lengthy amount of time after her accomplishments where Jess was training to stay fit and healthy, but wasn’t locked all the way in on her nutrition. We all know what that’s like. She also was not getting pushed to be her best and receiving inspiration from her coach like she should have.
So that took us back to the drawing board starting with Gameplan 2019. In January, almost 30 McCohn Muscle members signed up for their “gameplan.” They met with Q. McCohn for an hour or more to go deep and write down goals, the amount of time they wanted to achieve them by, the action steps they would take to get there, and an affirmation that they could accomplish it.
Then they got to work!
For Jess, consistency is the name of the game. She set a goal to lose 10lbs by the end of March, and she dropped 15lbs. She also had a goal to cut another 10lbs by the end of June, and she hit that mark before the month of May was over. Overall she’s down 22lbs, 3% body fat, and 4 inches. Besides the stronger legs and less pain in her joints, Jess has enjoyed her improved cardiovascular endurance.
Q. McCohn says that his favorite part of Jess’s journey was the day before her birthday, at his wedding. He walked across the room to pay Jess a compliment after noticing her in a pretty blue dress. She told him that she’s had the dress for 10 years and had never worn it. She cut the tags off it that morning.
There is still more work to do. Jess isn’t going to quit now, but she deserves the recognition for not being average. The average person doesn’t follow through with the health and fitness plans they make after the new year. The average person does not train with McCohn Muscle for over six years, and the average person will give up after setbacks and become complacent. Jess is still striving for overall health and fitness improvement. Congratulations Jess on being McCohn Muscle’s first 2x Client of the Month.
Mo has handled a lot of Jess’s training in 2019. Props to you both. Teamwork makes the dream work.
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)!”
Our Client of the Month for March 2019 is Catrina Chanthasene.
Most people that train here have nicknames…..we call her Cat. Her husband calls her Cati. She started training at McCohn Muscle in June 2018. Her main goals were weight loss and muscle tone. She was already physically active since she had been running two miles, twice a week. She also was 10 months postpartum, and had the desire to look great and feel good about herself again.
She’s had a few medical issues she’s had to battle during her program, including migraines, joint inflammation, and swelling in her legs, ankles and feet. There was a time when Cat was training and she shared that she dealt with pain in her body (not workout related) every time she came in to train. What was amazing about it to me was that she never once showed it or complained. That’s when I knew she deserved extra energy and effort poured into her fitness and training program, because that’s what she gave, without grumbling. She fully embodied that McCohn Muscle culture of focus, dedication, and hard work. She was a perfect fit to work with a couple of the best trainers in Columbus.
Cat is FOUR MONTHS PREGNANT! McCohn Muscle has a few fitness babies around the city. The mom trains with us before she gets pregnant, continues to train while she is pregnant, then gives birth to her fitness baby. Cat is going to have the newest member of the gang in a few months. Even with her medical challenges combined with the difficulty of that first trimester, Cat stuck with it and is still in the gym pushing through every workout.
Besides being a great ambassador of McCohn Muscle and staying engulfed in our culture, Cat has gotten some great results with her training. In her annual health screening at work, she’s lost 26lbs from 2017 to 2018, 16 of those were while training here. Her body fat percentage dropped 8.8%, her BMI went from 29.5 (nearly obese) to 24.2, and her total cholesterol dropped from 184 to 156. We are proud of her success and we looking forward to more successes with her in the future. For now we’re going to focus on safely carrying this fitness baby while getting the most out of each workout.
Congratulations Cat!!!
Cat also participated in our Refer-A-Friend challenge we created at the end of 2018. She referred her husband, Pete, who is making his own run at Client of the Month
Our Client of the Month for February 2019 is Shamara Page.
Shamara started training with us at the end of June during our Fit Over 40 campaign. She had been following us on Facebook and Instagram for two years before she came in to start her training program. She was using the information she learned in our Facebook LIVE videos and posts to help improve her health. She can tell you how to find a good trainer to coach you, what vegetables will give you superpowers, and how women should train while on their periods to maximize results. You could say that Shamara was a good student/trainee before she started.
When she began in June, she had no weightlifting or training experience. This is an important part of the journey. Like many people out there, she probably had her insecurities about starting a training program. “I don’t know how to lift. I don’t know what exercises to do. I don’t know what weight I should use, or how to perform exercises correctly.” Her first success was that she started in spite of all these doubts, and her second victory was that she put in the work to learn how to squat. She learned how to deadlift and bench press with correct form. She knows how to swing a kettlebell, perform pull ups, and bicep curls, etc. She did not let her lack of knowledge stop her. She allowed herself to be coached and did what was asked.
Her started her training around 157lbs, with a desire to get to 145lbs. She’s currently at 142lbs. Her body fat percentage has dropped 7%, and she’s lost a total of 10.5 inches. In July, she did a 3-mile run in 36:25. By December we got that bad boy down to 31:35.
What’s next for Shamara? That’s a good question. We think she is a perfect candidate for the Warrior Dash, Tough Mudder, or even something more intense like the Spartan Race. Either way we are going to keep pushing her to get better. If you see her out and about, hit her with a high five because she deserves it.
When you allow yourself to be coached, you can get the results you want too!
Can you believe she broke her kneecap into three pieces? OUCH! She has turned tragedy into triumph as she’s found the best training facility, and the best personal trainers in Columbus, Ohio. After two surgeries on her broken kneecap and physical therapy for 9 months, the doctor told Cindy that she “probably” would not do the activities that she used to do.
After hearing that news, she continued to walk for moderate exercise until she saw McCohn Muscle’s ads and 5-star rating on Facebook. She came to our training facility in Worthington, Ohio and sat down with Owner/Head Trainer, Quentin McCohn for an hour to set up a program that would help her get results with her limitation.
During the assessment McCohn realized that her left leg, probably because of being in a brace for months, was 2.5in smaller than her right.
Here are all the victories after training with McCohn Muscle for a short period of time: she now bikes for 10min at the end of her training sessions. She constantly climbs stairs at Hoover Dam and participates in running activities at Sharon Woods. She has lost 17lbs and 3% body fat. She also has increased her flexibility in her left leg.
Many people battle mental hurdles when it comes to exercise. They feel they are too fat, they have too much pain in certain body parts, or that exercise “just isn’t for me.” It is important to take control of your health and fitness. Do not procrastinate. Do not believe or feel that you’re not worth it. Know that it will take some hard work and sacrifice, but the payoff is so much greater.
If you have been struggling with losing weight and being consistent with an exercise program; if you are having problems fitting into your jeans, and almost come to tears when you look in the mirror; if you are afraid to be intimate with your spouse or mate because of the way you look and feel…….do not wait any longer. It’s time for you to get moving.
Text “I’m Ready” to (614) 596-7003
