Meet Mary Sampson

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Folks, all I can say is that she does it all. On any given day you may see Mary pushing around 300 pounds on the sled, pulling in 75 kilos of sandbags, or setting a new record in the Dynamax Ball Slam relay. All in a days work right? I’d say so! In fact, Mary’s hard work and will to succeed has made her our defending Decathlon Challenge Champion (back to back titles by the way). Look for her to start that title defense this October.

Mary Sampson has been training here at Empower for several years along with her husband John and their two children Ben and John Jr. She exercises for 1 hour, 3 times per week with her personal trainer (Michael on Mondays and Wednesdays and Aaron on Fridays). In addition to her resistance training routine, Mary enjoys playing tennis, and running the Duke trail. Just ask her to tell you about a round of “cardio tennis.” It’s pretty intense.

I would tell you more about Mary’s results over the years and her training goals, but I’ll let her do it for you. Check out this link of an interview with Mary with her trainer Aaron, along with a clip of her workout today.

Be forewarned, do not try this at home…

Mary\’s Killer Workout

Jamie Ives MA, CSCS, Master Trainer

Jamie has several years of experience in the fitness industry, working with clients of various ages, ability levels, and health conditions. He enjoys using his knowledge as well as his experience in exercise prescription and program design to help each of his clients reach their individual wellness goals and improve their quality of life. For more information about Empower Personal Training, please call (919) 401-8024.

Client Spotlight on Lori Ireland

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Hiking the Inca Trail

Lori in Waynapicchu, Peru

Lori started training with me over ten years ago and because she is a bit of a daredevil ñ she has always been one of my favorite clients to work with. There isnít much she wonít do or at least try. In fact, her love of adventure has taken her to places like Chile, Peru, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Kingdom of Bhutan, China and Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to hike, scuba dive, and explore. I have also worked with all four of Loriís children and even though they were all athletes (in one way or another) Lori was usually able to hang with them during some group training sessions. However, over the years she has encountered a couple orthopedic injuries and more recently (2009) she received what she called a ìhorrible health report.î On a normal routine physical she discovered that almost all of her numbers (i.e. weight, body fat percentage, blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels) were all elevated and some even in an unhealthy range. This was a hard pill to swallow for someone who has been in great physical health most of her life. But, instead of wallowing in self pity or starting some crazy crash diet, Lori got to work. Over the past year she became diligent about watching her portion sizes, making smart food choices but never depriving herself of something she really wanted, being consistent with her Empower workouts and yoga sessions and in general just leading an active lifestyle. And, last month on her 1 year follow up the results were in and WOW was I impressed ñ all of her numbers had dropped back within normal healthy limits! This was a true testament to the fact that simple lifestyle behaviors have a large impact on our overall health. Here is what Lori has to say about her work with Empower and reaching her goals:

Age: 54

Occupation: Housewife

Why do you train with Empower Personal Training?

I chose Empower Personal Training because training here has allowed to me to achieve my goals and reach new heights. I have had the opportunity to do things that I never believed I could do, such as trekking in the Himalayas, horseback riding, mountain biking, swimming, skydiving and more. I am able to attain a high level of health with the help of the whole Empower Team.

What are/were are your specific training goals?

My specific training goals include increased endurance, lowering my cholesterol, lowering my blood sugar and taking preventative measures against osteoporosis.

How many times/week do you workout?

5 to 6 times

How did you achieve your specific training?

I achieve my training goals with portion control, healthy eating, increased yoga practice, and working with my Empower Personal Trainer to achieve my fitness goals given my age.

Have you incorporated any of our other services into you health and fitness routine?

Yes, I have done massage, yoga and nutrition with Empower and all have contributed to my success. They have a wonderfully balanced and expert staff that worked together to create a total wellness program designed specifically with my goals in mind.

What have been the results?

1. Decreased my weight and more importantly decreased my body fat percentage.

2. Maintained my core strength and flexibility

3. Most importantly – Lowered my blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar back to within normal limits, since all my numbers had crept up in the last few years.

How does achieving these results make you feel?

More than anything I feel more healthy and energetic.

Do you have any words of advice to others that are interested in attaining specific health and fitness goals?

My advice is to keep an open mind. The most important thing to consider is consistency coupled with a willingness to change your regimen based on age, injury, etc. Donít get in a rut. This can only hold you back. Listen to your trainer, fitness instructor and nutritionist. If you donít have one call EMPOWER – they know their stuff!

YOU TOO CAN BE AN EMPOWER SUCCESS STORY!

To learn more about Empower visit www.becomepowerful.com or to schedule a FREE Initial Consultation click HERE

Look up in the sky. It's a bird, it's a plane……NO, it's Sean Fenton!

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A classic story of a Clark Kent / Superman. I have to say, I’m a fan of Sean Fenton. Every year the Empower Decathlon Challenge brings to light people’s true competitive spirit and determination.

Unassuming and relatively quiet, you would never really give Sean Fenton another look. That’s your first mistake. Here’s a guy that will beat you. Within the first couple of weeks of the Decathlon Challenge Sean has set records in the Shuttle Chase, Farmer’s Walk and 1-Mile Run, leading all male competitors, just ahead of fellow Smith Barney employees, George Livanos and Ward Flintom in overall points.

If you ever get a chance to witness one of Sean’s Decathlon events, you’ll see an all out effort of screaming, yelling -all the while keeping his trademark impecable hairstyle.

I’m of the opinion that we need more of these type of competitors here at Empower. Keep ‘em coming Smith Barney!

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Matthew Alegre, CSCS Master Trainer
With over 10 years of experience in the health and fitness industry, Matthew has trained clients from a variety of fitness backgrounds. His expertise extends from those with special needs and disabilities to Olympic level athletes. For more information about Empower Personal Training please call (919) 401-8024.

Spotlight (Dennis Wallace)

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Dennis is a warrior.

I’ve been training him for close to a year and a half now. Not once has he ever questioned what we do, he does it. He works hard. He puts himself, and all of himself, in every workout that we do. Some succeed, some don’t. Sometimes he’s got more than enough, sometimes he doesn’t. But through it all, Dennis never stops moving forward.

In June of 08 Dennis was doing modified deadlifts. Today he can pull 240# for a 1RM. In Aug 08 Dennis was doing modified pushups on the squat rack (at #3 for those who know what that means.) Today Dennis can bust out sets of 20 or 25 full pushups, depending on the call of the workout. In March of 09 Dennis rowed 1k in 4:39 seconds. On 7/20/09 Dennis rowed 1k in 4:10. 0:29 second improvement, but the real testament to how good that time is comes from the workout after the warmup row.

Dennis’s body composition has dropped approximately 5% in this year. He’s leaner, he’s more toned and folks who knew him a year ago see it.

Dennis is someone I love to train. He’s all heart. He knows that the only way to achieve is through hard work. There are no shortcuts. There are no workarounds. Bust your butt, rest and then do it again.

Dennis Wallace is a warrior.

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Mike Babbitt, M.F.A, M.A., CSCS, ACSM-HFI
USA Triathlon Level 1 Coach, Master Trainer
Mike is a Master Level trainer at Empower Personal Training. He has a unique approach to fitness that combines his scientific foundation of research and applied exercise physiology with his artistic experience as a professional stage actor. For more information about Empower Personal Training please call (919) 401-8024

It's Never Too Late

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A typical excuse I hear from people considering starting to work with a trainer is “I’m going to wait until I get into better shape before I start working with a trainer” or “I’m just too old to start a formal exercise regimen.” I never really gave any real attention to these comments, rather I just passed them off as another excuse not to try. I have a client that I’ve been working with since March 4th who personifies why I’m right to dismiss such statements. Her name is Jill Bashore.

Jill is 63 years old and by far one of my favorite clients. Never having followed any formal exercise regimen in her life, Jill came to me with only several years of gardening experience and chronic hip and IT band pain/tightness. In the course of six months Jill has lost 20 lbs., 10.8% bodyfat, lowered her total body fat weight by 40%, increased her pushups from 30 to 55 reps (on the knees). increased her curl-up test from 43 to 74 reps and alleviated her hip/IT band pain while increasing her overall flexibility! This all done the while keeping a great attitude and always showing upready to put in the work. It’s clients like this that make me look forward to going to work each day. Thanks Jill. Keep up the good work!

Posted by:

Matthew Alegre, CSCS Master Trainer
With over 10 years of experience in the health and fitness industry, Matthew has trained clients from a variety of fitness backgrounds. His expertise extends from those with special needs and disabilities to Olympic level athletes. For more information about Empower Personal Training please call (919) 401-8024.