In the past, I had worked out at various gyms and disliked having to wait around and sign up for classes that were not much fun at all. The gym near me was very crowded, and there was usually a wait for everything. Given my hectic schedule, I prefer to work out on my own and at my convenience. So it was about 6 years ago when I received a copy of the Collage Video catalogue in the mail and decided to look for some interesting, challenging workouts. I selected a few from different instructors; some I had heard of, others were new to me, including Patrick. They did not have clips to watch at the time, but the description of his workout seemed like something I wanted to try. And besides, I thought he was cute! So I got the workouts, a step, some weights and a new pair of aerobic shoes.
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As soon as Patrick came on screen I found myself laughing
and enjoying the workout so much, that before I knew it, I was done. After
trying every workout regime there ever was, here was a guy and a workout
that was definitely NOT the norm. Patrick’s workouts were fun, yet challenging.
And with his no-nonsense style of instruction, he was tough but approachable.
Let’s just say he won me over and from that point on I was hooked! I was
feeling good and looking good, having dropped to a size 6 from a size 14!
And if there was a downside to all of this, it was spending a lot of money
to buy clothes that fit! And then, unexpectedly, everything changed.
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In August of 2008, I had major surgery and in turn I gained a substantial amount of weight and became very depressed. I was not able to workout as before and I thought that getting back to a normal and healthy weight would be nearly impossible. I didn’t know what to do… maybe I was going to be like this forever? I knew I had to do something, but what and how? I needed a kick in the "you know what" because I was disgusted with myself, with life and with the way I looked. The pity party was definitely going on.
I set up a pyramid of workouts, placing my easier ones on the bottom, including walking. I had two of Patrick’s newer workouts in the middle…“Play Ball” and “Quick Step”---the ultimate for intermediate upper and lower body strengthening and cardio. I also used “Dumb Training” to help me strengthen my body using dumbbells at short cardio intervals (I love it!!) “Hard Work Conditioning 2” was at the top of my pyramid and my goal was to try and complete the workout without stopping. HWC2 is the ultimate challenge; it enabled me to sculpt my body and burn the maximum amount of calories. I finally reached my goal in May of 2009!
Having a lot of issues with my body image and self-confidence post surgery made me reach out to Patrick for support. I had never desired to contact any other instructor, but with Patrick, it was different. So one day, I decided to email him…thinking I would get a previously written, generic response, you can imagine my shock when Patrick emailed back with the most genuine and personal response. It made me realize that this guy is not only an amazing fitness instructor but also a real, down to earth person that faces the same struggles as everyone else.
It was as though I had my own personal instructor who never looked down on me. He cheered me on, made me laugh and pushed me every step of the way. He is straightforward and lets you know that if you want to look good, you must train smart and be ready to sweat in order to earn it! And that’s exactly what I needed to get my life and body back!
Since then, I have emailed Patrick many times, asking questions about step height, help with properly increasing the amount of weight I use or simply to say hello. I always get a helpful, friendly, informative response that leaves me with a smile. My life has changed and working out is a BIG part of it. I do a workout every day because I want to, not because I have to. It’s part of who I am and it’s given me the self-confidence that I was missing before. My success and new way of life has made me the happiest I have ever been; so not only is Patrick MY instructor, he is also my inspiration and a great friend. I am now in the best shape of my life.
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