Success Stories – In Home Personal Training

Sam

“Started 3 years ago and now I look like a Greek god. As well as preforming great on the ice as a goalie. Courtesy Dan the man” – Sam


John

John Logue Lacrosse

Not only was I able to lose up to 20 pounds in weight but put it back on in muscle. Dan has also helped me to reach all my fitness goals and become the best lacrosse player possible” – John


Stuart

stuartplank

Stuart and I had been training for almost 8 years. Sadly Stuart had to move for work, so on our last day we decided to test his max plank. The first day we met he did 1 minute and 15 seconds. That is quite the improvement if I do say so myself! Going to miss training with him but wish him all the best!


Joanne

joanne3

“Several years ago I decided to add resistance training to my triathlon training program. I was looking for a knowledgeable, flexible personal trainer who could help me get stronger and faster and avoid injury.

As part of the Canadian National Triathlon Team, working with a trainer can be helpful but it is also a tremendous risk if the person you choose is not fully aware of the demands of the sport, training and racing commitments and the athletes goals.

Dan is the perfect trainer! He challenges me when I need to be challenged, he pulls back when he knows I am overdoing it and of course he cares deeply about my program, my goals and my results. The workouts are planned in advance and fit into my chaotic work and training schedule.

I am an older, age group athlete with an artificial hip, which means lots of modifications and changes to my workouts – this is never a problem for Dan! He is so knowledgeable and always thinks of safety first.

Over the past two years working with Dan, I have been on the podium 7 times and have lost 17lbs. This is in no small part due to his excellent personal training skills.

I would not hesitate in recommending Dan as a trainer for anyone interested in fitness. No matter your age, capability or experience – Dan will be the best choice as he is just a terrific trainer.”

Joanne Shields
Canadian National Triathlon
Age Group Team


Jackie & Jean-Claude Lalumiere

“My wife has always been an active runner but decided that she would like to work on her overall fitness so she did a Google search on personal trainers. She came across Burlington Bodycamp and read about how Dan was a great trainer who would come to your house, conduct a thorough assessment, and tailor a personal fitness plan around your goals. It was one of the best decisions she made and, almost two years later, she still works out with Dan twice a week. She quickly noticed improvement in her strength and overall fitness, which was complementary to her daily running routine. Now, she hates to miss any sessions and, while the workouts can be challenging, she always feel great after her hour with Dan.

Consequently, Dan has become a favourite of our family. I also work out twice a week with Dan and I have enjoyed developing a stronger core and upper body to complement my running and other sports. My daughter has had Dan keep her in shape during her swimming off-season. She credits Dan with helping her improve her dolphin kick, which will help her when she swims at the University of Minnesota this fall. Even our dog recently joined in on a plank and leg lift.

Dan knows us so well that he can tell within minutes when the best time is to push us harder during a workout. He also takes the time to watch how we manage an exercise in order to prevent injury and, if we do have an injury, he adjusts our routine to take it into account. We have all benefited from Dan’s nutrition advice, even if it means having to give up some bad habits. We have both found the ideal balance of overall fitness with a healthy weight.

Dan has become an important and welcome addition to our lives. We would strongly recommend Dan for anyone wanting to make a positive change in their fitness, no matter how small or large the goals they have in mind.”


Liza

Liza“Hiring Dan as my personal trainer was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’ve always been very active and have tried almost every workout out there i.e Running, Step Aerobics, Tae Bo, joining a gym etc. None of them gave me the results that I’ve achieved with Dan.
When we started I had a couple previous injuries (hip flexor and shoulder). After a month of training with Dan, these injuries had pretty much disappeared and from that moment on I was hooked. We started doing modified push-up circuits (on my knees) and within a couple months I was doing full push-ups (no knees). This was truly amazing to me since I had never been able to do a full push-up before. After training with Dan for almost a year, I’m in the best shape of my life. I’m down a couple pant sizes and so proud of what I’ve achieved. I am so thankful to Dan for all the guidance and positive reinforcement he gave me along the way. He always believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. If there was an award for the best personal trainer he should definitely win hands down.”


Congratulations Lori on first half marathon!

Lori Run


Franca and Roy

Franca Roy“Originally we contacted Dan, because we knew we had a problem. We were overweight and both my husband and I have heart disease, he having had 2 heart attacks and me having had one. Our ages at the time were 56 and 64. I personally had severe arthritis in my knees and some days I could barely walk and my husband had also been diagnosed with a frozen shoulder and diabetes.We knew we needed to do something to get back on track and We liked the idea of having a personal trainer come to the house. We met with Dan and found he was very knowledgable about our problems, and it didn’t scare him off! Two of us for an hour would be enough to discourage most trainers, As they would have to simultaneously give us work out plans to work on different parts of our bodies keeping in mind all of our physical problems. He made us feel very comfortable and at ease. The thing I remember most was Dan telling us that we had to get our recumbent bike out and use it as well as heart monitors. He wasn’t pushy, just made it clear that we just had to start moving. The bike is now a big part of our TV room furnishings! Yes, we wanted to lose weight, but our main purpose was to get healthy and feel better. We thought this would be short term, but here we are a year and a half later and it now feels like Dan is part of our family. My knees are 100 % better than when we first met, my husbands frozen shoulder is not a problem anymore. But most importantly is that our blood work comes back better than ever. I even joined his bootcamp when he thought I was ready and although it is hard he is always there to guide and encourage me. For 4 bootcamps I was always the oldest in the class and although I have certain limitations I am now able to hold my own! Dan also worked on a nutrition plan with us, not that we ate badly, but he told us we were not eating enough! We sat down one day and discussed what foods we enjoyed and he was able to come up with a menu we could truly live with on a day to day basis without missing anything we enjoyed. We lack for nothing and certainly are satisfied with our meals. He even told us it was okay to cheat every once in a while, but then to just get right back on track. We find dan to be very caring, personable and always has our well being at the heart of All our workouts. For the one hour he is with us, He is tough when needed, but at the same time is always making sure that we are not hurting ourselves. Our workouts change as we get stronger and sometimes he pushes us to places we never thought we could get to. I have lost weight, 25lbs and my husband has lost 32lbs, and we have kept it off, but more importantly we feel better, look better , have more stamina and are healthier than we have been In the past 10 years. Dan is definitely a big part of this happening! As much as I sometimes hate the idea of our gruelling workouts I always look forward to seeing him (and using a few choice words) and seeing just how far he can push these old bodies!”



Carole

Carole Dance“I interviewed several personal trainers. Dan was the only trainer who did not appear to be the slightest bit put off by the fact that I was in a cast from a ripped Achilles tendon but still had the focus of getting back to competitive ballroom dancing. The previous month, I had torn my Achilles tendon just as we were gearing up for a major competition. I was devastated when I learned that the typical recovery was 12 months and that most people did not ever completely recover. I can now do pretty well everything I could before my injury using the injured leg. I feel nothing after competing whereas my whole body used to ache for at least 2 days after a major competition. People are still shocked to see me back on the competitive circuit and dancing just as well if not better than before. As a side note….I look damned good in my competitive dresses. I lost excess fat, gained phenomenal lean muscle tone. I have more stamina, flexibility and strength. The most valuable thing Dan taught me is not to cheat. Dan insists that if I cheat, I am only cheating myself. I can’t have “slacking off” off days, which I would do if I worked out on my own. The results speak for themselves.” – Carole Simmons


Lori

Lori Run 2“I lost 30 lbs. in 2002, after reaching my heaviest weight ever. I was working out at a local gym, but unfortunately, they went out of business. I tried to do it on my own, but was not successful. Gradually, I gained 15 of those lbs. back again. I did not want to go back to where I was before I lost 30 lbs., so I knew I had to do something. My husband was also feeling out of shape, so we decided to work with a personal trainer. Steve’s goal was to get in shape, mine was to lose 15 lbs., get in shape, and weigh less than my husband! I also wanted to change the shape of my body and have the toned arms I had only ever seen on models in fitness magazines.

I also had another goal to run. I wasn’t aiming for marathons, but just wanted to be able to run short distances. Unfortunately, I found out a few years ago after lingering knee pain, an MRI revealed several issues with my knee, including a degenerating ACL, Meniscus and MCL damage, and was told by two different doctors not to run. Dan knew of my limitations right from the beginning and he worked with me to do whatever was necessary to build the muscles around my knee in order to strengthen it. We weren’t going to ignore my bad knee and give up – we were going to do whatever we had to do to get to the point where I could run. Dan worked with my limitations – if my knee was really bad, we worked other areas, but if not, we kept strengthening it. No excuses! When I saw an Orthopedic surgeon about the possibility of surgery, I was told “you can run if you want to….it will hurt, but you can run….”. He prescribed a knee brace and it was game on! I lost the 15 lbs. I wanted to lose within a year, re-shaped my body to the point now where I get compliments on the shape of my arms, and continue to strengthen my legs. Dan is always open to discuss my diet issues, and encourages me to set realistic goals and accept my body and weight as it is. When I said I wanted to try boxing, he showed up the next session with boxing gloves!

At the age of 45, I just completed my first 10K race, finishing a very respectable 22 out of 70 for my age group. I could not have been happier to prove the doctors that told me not to run, wrong! I am now registered for my first half-marathon in a few months. I lost the 15 lbs. I wanted to lose within a year, re-shaped my body to the point now where I get compliments on the shape of my arms, and continue to strengthen my legs. “


Erin

“This past ringette season I had the pleasure of working with Dan as my personal trainer. He designed and developed a program that would best suit my needs for the sport of ringette. After working hard with Dan’s training program I began to see results immediately. Not only did I see improvement in my skating but in my strength and confidence as well. As the season continued my coach changed my position from forward to center, which involves more of a two-way game from offence to defence.

My skating continued to get better as I became more agile and quick on my feet which allowed me to change direction on the ice more quickly. I saw results in my body as well as in strength, agility, and muscle mass. By the end of the season, with hours of hard work, MANY people (both players and coaches) couldn’t believe how I had improved my game. I am proud of how hard I have worked to achieve these goals through Dan’s programs and will continue to have him design them for me for future seasons.”


Stuart

Stuart“I’ve been working with Dan every Tuesday night since 2008. This month, I passed a milestone: for two sessions in a row, I’ve completed more than 50 push-ups. When we started working together, I think the best I could do was 10 or 12.”


Jessica

“When I first met Dan I was extremely nervous. I was overwhelmed by all my past failures with weight loss, all the wasted gym memberships and personal trainer horror stories. But when I left our initial meeting I left knowing that this time was going to be different. Dan had a way of immediately making me feel comfortable. I was impressed not only with his knowledge base about fitness and nutrition but that he was able to present information to me in a way that was sincere, upfront, and realistic. His down to earth approach and positive energy put me at ease and inspired me to want to take another chance. When I started considering working with a personal trainer I was at a point where I had experienced some success in losing weight. I was able to do this through a portion control weight loss program and basic cardio. Yet, after a year of following this program, I began to feel like I was on a never ending ‘diet’ and that I had not gained any real knowledge of nutrition or healthy living. I also became very bored with working out, feeling like my standard three days a week elliptical sessions were simply something that I had to get done. The results started to slow until eventually I hit a plateau. I began to lose motivation and let myself fall back into old habits and excuses, the comfort of emotional eating, and telling myself that tomorrow I will get back on track. Before I was willing to admit what was happening, I had put back on close to thirty pounds. I didn’t want to throw away what I had accomplished and I wanted to figure out a way for this time to be different. I wanted to take it to the next level and get serious about really incorporating a change in thinking and experience what it would mean to live a healthy and active lifestyle. I wanted to work with someone who could teach me proper strength training and toning techniques, help me design interesting and effective cardio programs, and help me understand proper nutrition and eating habits. I wasn’t sure if this was even possible or something I was going to be able to find, but once I started working with Dan I realized that this and more was possible. This resulted in a sense of motivation and commitment that I hadn’t ever previously experienced. Dan has been an amazing trainer and I truly feel so lucky to have met him and to have had him be a part of my weight loss journey. Dan has helped me establish and achieve countless goals along the way and has helped keep me focused and accountable not only to him but to myself. What I have valued about Dan the most as my trainer is the feeling of partnership and knowing that Dan is just as invested in seeing me succeed as I am for myself. Dan is the type of trainer who is the first to cheer you on and celebrate your successes alongside you. He is always willing to help you problem solve things you may be struggling with and to come up with new and creative ideas for working out or healthy eating. Dan also doesn’t let you take yourself or life too seriously, he lets you vent, curse and yell if you need to but best of all he has a way of keeping you laughing, even through the most challenging workouts. What I have accomplished in the year that I have been working with Dan still overwhelms me. I never thought I would be able to even complete a standard pushup, let alone sixty in one session. I never thought I would be able to run, now it’s a regular part of our fitness routine and I completed a 5k race just for fun. I never thought I would be the type of person to pay attention to the health of my body and the correlation to the foods I put into it. I now understand the difference between eating to live, and living to eat. I find that when I am working out with Dan and feeling positive about what I’ve accomplished I want to make good choices. There are so many more examples of ‘I never imagined’ that have been conquered since I began working with Dan and every time we pass through one of those milestones it feels amazing. Whether I am taking on a new challenge, trying something I never would have before because of my weight, increasing the intensity level of our workouts, losing a few more inches or pounds, Dan has been the one constant that has helped me to believe in myself and what I can accomplish. Without his support and guidance I would never have been able to be successful in not only losing 180lbs but reaching a point in my life where I can finally say with confidence that I am never going back.”


Deb

“I initially contacted At Home Fitness Training because I had been dealing with low back problems/pain for about 10 years. Throughout those years I had tried on and off to exercise, but only ended up hurting myself more because I didn’t know how to properly strengthen my muscles. After trying physiotherapy, acupuncture, and chiropractic care, I realized that I needed to strengthen my muscles properly (something no practitioner could do for me), but I was afraid of hurting myself. I had just had my second baby, and really wanted to get moving on improving my mobility (and on losing all of that pregnancy weight). So, I decided that having someone come to my home to help make this happen would work best for me. When I first started, I couldn’t bend or lean over without supporting myself, and I was in pain every single day. After working with Dan, I’m able to do things that I haven’t been able to do in years. My mobility and quality of life have improved greatly! With Dan’s advice on nutrition and the proper way to eat, I was able to lose a lot of the extra weight that I had been carrying around. Having Dan come to my house for my training sessions is the key to the improvements I’ve experienced. It’s so easy to talk yourself out of a workout, something you can’t do when your trainer arrives at your front door! With Dan’s knowledge, guidance and encouragement, I’m able to work through the psychological barriers that prevent me from pushing myself, and prevent me from trying new things to further strengthen my muscles. It’s reassuring to know that someone is there to make sure I don’t hurt myself, and advise me when I’m strong enough to try new things. Dan has always been reliable, and he’s always made me feel comfortable. He has a passion for what he does, and he’s genuinely interested in helping people achieve their goals. I can’t say enough good things about Dan as a trainer. I’m so grateful to him for helping me get where I am now.”

At Home Fitness Training

(905)609-0188


athomefitnesstraining@gmail.com


Providing In Home Personal Training for over 15 years!