Ramona’s Trainer: Changing Lives
By Peter San Nicolas
Besides my faith in Jesus Christ, fitness has changed my life more than anything else. Those of you who have had fitness transformations know how awesome fitness and a better self-image can be.
You may not know this, but at one time I was a shy and quiet kid who was afraid to even answer the door. Like many pre-teen boys I dealt with anger and a bad temper that comes with increased hormone levels. At this time my mom bought me a weight bench and later a membership to Ramona Fitness Center. This was the beginning of a changed life that was prompted by an introduction to fitness.
Fitness gave me confidence, an outlet for anger, a job and now a career of sharing the infinite benefits that come along with being a part of thousands of people’s fitness journey. You may have been changed through fitness or you may be thinking about making the decision to start a fitness program.
Let me tell you about two clients that I have been able to pay it forward to. Picture this — jump squats, walking lunges, run the stairs three times, then right to pushups, followed by 10 ladder drills. Sound like a professional athlete workout? Nope, this is Nadine’s Dynamic Warmup.
Get this — she’s 74 years old and grandmother to one of my high school classmates. Don’t get me wrong. She does the work, she puts in the effort and she’s the committed one, but it is truly an honor to be a part of her program and I’m so thankful she has trusted me with her fitness.
He’s 300 pounds and can’t climb the stairs without being completely out of breath. He loves taking his sand rail to the desert, but it’s a workout just loading the gear. He’s a supervisor for one the largest air conditioning service providers in the area, and climbing ladders and getting to roof tops is tough. He saw a picture of himself and wonders why his friends didn’t tell him he looked like that.
Fast forward six months. Scott contacted me and wanted help and was ready to make the commitment. Fast forward another six months. Scott is one of the fitness members in the club and his co-workers look to him as a fitness and nutrition resource. He teaches them about bodybugg and encourages them to take the first step toward a new them!
Now for those of you who have been touched and changed, it is time to PAY IT FORWARD! WE CHANGE LIVES. That’s my motto and you who have been changed by this fitness thing, that should be your motto as well.
If you haven’t been changed, now is the time to start with you. Don’t stop there; go out and help others do the same!
Peter San Nicolas, owner of Ramona Fitness Center at 558 Main St., is a National Academy of Sports Medicine certified fitness professional and a Titleist Performance Institute certified golf fitness professional.