We want to close out the year by bestowing the cherished honor of “Member of the Month” to one our most engaging clients, Lonnie. On top of earning December’s title, Lonnie also placed second in our November food log challenge!
Lonnie has great energy and enthusiasm to every class he comes to. Due to his positive attitude, consistency, and dedication to his goals, he’s been getting stronger every month…as long as there’s a trainer to convince him to push himself a bit harder sometimes!
But in addition to being dedicated to himself and his own fitness goals, Lonnie has been very supportive and helpful to other members online in our Facebook support group. That’s going the extra mile!
Read on to hear from the man himself about his fitness philosophies:
Q&A with Lonnie
Profession
Computer Programmer by day and creator of personalized candy wrappers by night!
How long have you been training at Capital?
Lonnie: About 6 months.
How did you first get interested in fitness?
Lonnie: Girls and sports! I know what you’re saying, “Girls, Lonnie!” I was 15 years old, 6’2”, and weighed 140lbs when I started training. Being healthy was not on my mind at that age. Plus, I wasn’t getting much attention looking like a stick figure. Now, I’m doing it for my health and sports with the occasional turning of the head when I go to the beach.
Were kinds of exercise have you done in the past?
Lonnie: Before coming to Capital, I was working out at Planet Fitness, Gold’s…no…..Beyond Fitness…no…Fitness Connection…..whatever the big chain name of the day was 5 days a week. Monday’s, Wednesday’s, and Friday’s were strength training. Tuesday’s and
How do you find the time to be so consistent with your training?
Lonnie: I treat training like a job. For me to get paid, I have to put in work. For me to see the results of my training and the benefits of being healthy, I have to put in work. So, when I leave work I head straight to my other job at Capital Strength.
What’s your favorite thing about working out with us at Capital?
Lonnie: The people, or should I say my Capital Strength family! We all attend Capital for different reason but when it’s time to train we are all on the same page. Supporting one another to get through the exercise or yelling out encouraging words to push us to do one more rep. It’s like a family reunion every time I train!
What’s your favorite and least favorite exercise so far?
Lonnie: The sled is my favorite. The ability to push/pull the plates, kettlebells, and a person is amazing to me. I do not like lunges and that is because of my bad knees.
What kind of advice would you give someone who wanted to train, but wasn’t sure they were ready?
Lonnie: I’ll tell them to talk to their friends that go on a regular basis and ask them how they got started and which gyms they like the best. Maybe even accompany them as a guest to get a feel of the different gyms.
Or find a gym where the trainers are willing to help you because they want to not because they have to reach a quota. Let them know that change doesn’t happen overnight. All great things take time and they should never give up on their goals. I’ll also tell them to ask a lot of questions.