I've been a client of 619 Personal Training for about 8 months now. Not only am I extremely happy with the training and nutrition guidance, I think it has been one of my best life decisions! I initially signed up for 40 sessions, after which I was very satisfied, so I decided I would keep working out with Chris for at least a full year.
As far as my goals, I had been skinny pretty much my entire life. I had tried to bulk up and gain weight multiple times in the past, trying different programs, books, trainers, etc. Nothing quite had a lasting impact. About 7 years ago I mostly gave up trying and instead began wearing slimmer fitting clothes to give the illusion of looking fit LOL.
But skinny doesn't necessarily mean healthy, even though most people assume that when they see someone who is thin. I'd had a few health scares in the past couple years. Also losing a dear family member made me wake up and realize how truly short life really is.
When researching trainers, I contacted 9 gyms and trainers in the area, and most either didn't do that much in-person 1-on-1 training, or catered more to groups or worked out of gyms full of other people. I guess it's hard to explain but other gyms also seemed a bit too 'commercialized' and Chris and his gym seemed more genuinely client-focused without the extra flashiness. He seemed less concerned about 'selling' me and more about learning about my personal health, my fitness goals and understanding/listening.
I started in February 2018, weighing about 140-145lbs. In the first 3 months, my weight shot up to about 165-170lbs, and over time, I have also been gaining a lot more strength. To give some added perspective, when I started out at 140-145lbs, I could barely survive 15min on a stairmaster without feeling like I was going to die. I could also barely do 10-15 pushups, and only 1-2 chin ups with a lot of difficulty. But today, 8 months later, I weigh roughly 180lbs, and I can breeze through 50 minutes of stairmaster (on a higher level), do 20+ pushups with ease, and do roughly 4-5 chin ups and 2-4 pull ups (give or take depending on my level of energy and timing in a workout session). I can also lift heavier weights. Not only that, but I feel my posture has improved tremendously, the slight strain I had in my left shoulder is completely gone, and I recover so fast from workouts. I'm very happy with my level of conditioning.
You can tell that Chris truly cares about each client. A friend of mine also chose to workout with him, and although she absolutely hates exercising, I could tell a difference in her attitude towards the workouts with Chris. In the sessions, I like how Chris has a sense of my energy levels that day, so he won't push too hard, but also is aware of the times I'm 'in the zone' and helps to nudge me to challenge myself harder than I would do myself if I had been working out alone. Overall I really appreciate his focus on proper nutrition, exercise form, and focusing on longevity and overall fitness rather than short-term results.
The gym itself is excellent. Very big and airy with lots of cool breezes, making you feel like you're working out in the perfect temperature outdoors, even though you're actually indoors. It's nice being able to go there for cardio when I need to, and it's always very clean and well-kept. He also has a bookshelf that he occasionally refers to, and I've learned so much not just about the movements, but also about posture, the importance of incorporating cardio, certain stretches, etc.
There's a few downsides, though they're not downsides per se:
- Although I'm able to go to the 619 gym any time myself and workout there in private, it's about 20min from where I live, so I recently purchased a second gym membership that's just 1 mile away from my home to do my cardio (to save driving time).
- Since I've gained a lot of lean body mass, I've had to frequently buy new clothes as my weight has been changing over the last several months. I wouldn't say this is exactly too bad either, but it's something I didn't expect, because I didn't realize my results would be that drastic
- Trying to gain weight means having to eat more, which means more cooking, more washing dishes, and so on. While this is a bit of a hassle, it has taught me to be more efficient... it definitely requires a good amount of extra time and discipline outside of the gym to meet my goals, including trying to also sleep more, but the extra time taken has also saved me some money because now I eat out somewhat less frequently
Overall, aside from the weight gains, cardio improvement and general better wellbeing, I've noticed that I sleep much better and consume considerably less caffeine, yet have much more energy than ever before.
I also feel more confident. Now that I've gotten past a milestone that I never thought possible, it's made me think about what else I could possibly accomplish given the right teacher. read more