I am stronger, more flexible, have more energy, eat better, am more confident, have become a fighter, and feel better about myself inside and out!!!!

I joined Breakthrough on March 4, 2016. After working out at the YMCA, doing Zumba, and Kickboxing and losing 35 pounds on my own, I hit a plateau and wasn’t losing the additional 50 pounds the doctor advised me I had to lose.

I was pre-diabetic, had high cholesterol and was considered level two obesity. I was on a downhill spiral and going back to the way I used to eat due to a life changing event causing depression.

I needed to make a change and invest in myself!

Hiring a personal coach was my best choice – I needed the support both mentally and physically.

After researching available options, I found Breakthrough Personal Coaching & Wellness in Dover.

After speaking to Chris at Breakthrough and learning about the types of “Workouts” they offered – and understanding that there would be no exercise equipment involved such as bikes, treadmills, or ellipticals, (all of which I was bored with), I knew this was the way to go for me to get “Fit” – I was sold!

Thinking about my first visit/workout had me scared I wouldn’t be able to do it or keep up with the others.

I had always worked out with close friends, but lost that means of support when I moved back to Smyrna several years ago.

I knew I wouldn’t know anyone at Breakthrough and this was out of my comfort zone – I was completely taken off guard by how friendly and supportive everyone was.

I was impressed with all the screenings Chris did to determine how my workout should be structured so I would achieve the best results.

I have never heard of a color band system before, (having to clear one band to advance up into the program) but it made sense – and the system gave me something to work towards at a healthy pace.

I knew this was a new beginning that I needed. I LOVED IT!!

I took the first nutrition class available to help me get back on track and I got into a weekly routine of food prep every Saturday for the entire week.

My life is a grab and go environment, so this works perfectly. Most importantly – I started caring about me again!!!

After being in the program 7 months another life changing event happened.

I was laid off after 29 years and was diagnosed as being a full diabetic.

When the nurse called me with the blood test results and said I needed to start working out and go on a low-fat diet, I almost screamed! I was working out 2 hours a day and already on a low-fat diet. Why wasn’t my body accepting what I was doing?

Having extra time on my hands I started working out at the gym even more.

I met with Chris and asked him for help with the diabetes – I refused to go on medication.

I only had 3 months to get my diabetes under control before the doctors were going to put me on medication, Chris suggested the Little Black Dress diet – and it WORKED!

I beat the diabetes and lost 9 pounds!

The doctor was ecstatic and said I was on a better diet than what they had given me.

I have been able to beat the diabetes for 7 months now and lost 16 pounds.

I know, and the doctor agreed, that by continuing this routine the rest of my life – will allow me to continue beating the diabetes going forward.

The support and guidance you receive at Breakthrough, no matter what your situation is – will help any person that wants or needs the help.

I love my 5 A.M. workout family and my yoga sessions.

I have had more success at this gym than all the other efforts and activities I have ever tried.

I would recommend this gym to anyone, no matter what health or physical restrictions you have.

You must remember it’s not about the number on the scale, its how you feel, and the fat loss. As Chris says, throw the scale out!!

In May I will be with my daughter as she gets married on the beach in Florida. My intention is to lose the additional weight requested by the doctors and wear a beautiful dress three to four sizes smaller than when I started my journey.

I will continue to challenge myself to beat the diabetes, keep gaining extra confidence, and strive to be the strongest, healthiest, and happiest person I deserve to be.

Sandy Wiley

I started with Breakthrough over a year ago around March 2015, I believe, based on an ad that offered a free trial.

I was looking for a small gym that met the hours I needed.  I came in and met with Chris who inquired about my fitness goals which were the typical: lose weight, tone up, and get fit.

But what struck me as different was he put me through the functional testing to gauge my physical limitations so that I wouldn’t get hurt when working out.

What I found out was just how out functionally out of shape I was. All the things I thought I could do, I couldn’t.

I knew this in the back of my mind because I had been struggling for over 8 years with bad knees, having had multiple arthroscopic surgeries and now my hips were also failing but until the testing I had brushed it aside.

My orthopedic doctor said I needed hip and knee replacements as soon as possible or I would eventually not be able to walk.

Shortly after joining Breakthrough, I had a left hip replacement.

I came back after 6 weeks and Chris modified my workout to accommodate newer limitations while encouraging me to do as much as I could.

The 4pm workout team was very supportive and as I grew stronger, I could do more things but was still limited because of my knees.

In 2016, I took time off from Breakthrough to have both knees replaced at the same time.

I came back after 8 weeks and again, Chris modified my workouts to help me increase the strength in my legs.

When I went back to the orthopedic doctor 6 months later to have a mid-year recheck he was very pleased with my progress of being able to do squats and have more functional movement in my legs.

However, he also felt that I would not improve much more than where I was at.

That set me on a mission and I have been determined to get to the top of my game in with my lower body, so I now not only do corrective exercises at Breakthrough but at home too.

I am not where I want to be, currently working on hip flexor and shoulder movements, but I am a long way from where I was when I started with Breakthrough thanks to Chris and the Breakthrough team.

I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without Breakthrough.

Chris, Karen, Krista, and Jim have been extremely supportive as I have embarked on this journey to be able to move like a normal person.

I am so grateful for the 4pm team that consisted of Patty Shirey-Pierson and several others, as well as the 6am team of Kim, Jane and others.

We encourage each other while improving our individual selves.

Breakthrough offers a lot: fun personalized challenging workouts, community service, nutrition, various challenges, and they even send birthday and Christmas cards to each person.

Breakthrough is definitely not your normal gym.

Breakthrough is a family that I look forward to coming to see and be with a few times a week.

-Nina Graves

My recent success began when I was invited and accepted into the “Breakthrough Fitness Family”.

I previously felt like I was broken; and I didn’t know where to begin, or even believe that I could possibly put the pieces back together.

My downhill slide began very gradually and comfort food slowly became my best friend, so I thought, which allowed me to eat myself into a very unhealthy state.

I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and that was only the start of numerous health hurdles; such as, hypothyroidism, hypertension, depression, hearing loss, vitamin D deficiency, and the worst – kidney failure.

Prior to joining the “Breakthrough Family” my last visit to the nephrologist, wasn’t so good, she was quite concerned about my weight gain and pleaded with me to lose just 1 pound before my next visit.

My kidneys couldn’t handle the excessive weight, so she prescribed a third hypertension medication.

I left her office very depressed and had a full book of excuses as to why I couldn’t lose weight, hypothyroidism, bad knees, and no time to work out with a full time job.

Fortunately, my path crossed with an old friend, who filled me in on Breakthrough.

I followed her link on Facebook and at that time Breakthrough was offering a free trial.

So, I took a deep breath and started with one small step forward by signing up and taking advantage of the free trial.

It only took a few days to realize my new “Family” truly cared about me and put my needs first, coaching and guiding me into a new routine that has ultimately transformed my life.

Their support, guidance, and patience has allowed me to shop from the back of my closet!

I honesty never thought I would ever fit into those clothes again.

My short adventure and small success with my new “Family” has allowed me to regain my confidence and overcome a life full of obstacles.

I’ve realized my new friends are real people just like me, bonding together, there to lean on and to support each other every day, every workout, and every challenge.

Breakthrough is an amazing place with an interesting name. I would imagine we all have our own interpretation of “Breakthrough”.

To me, it’s a unique name for a remarkable organization, with an awesome family behind it. One which has welcomed me with open arms and given me the tools and guidance to enjoy life to the fullest.

Cheryl Whitney

 

I am a six month member of Breakthrough Personal Training and two months into my program I tore a muscle in my lower back while landscaping in my backyard.  I was in extreme pain and thought it’s all over for me.

I had missed out on over a month of classes and was getting depressed.  I finally decided to join a strength training program to take care of me and look what happens!

Deciding after three weeks that the pain was too much, Chris suggested I see Rob at CORE Physical Training to help relieve me of my pain.  Rob worked miracles and I felt better faster than I expected so I begged him to let me rejoin my classes.

I was already missing the workouts and was worried that this setback would be the excuse I needed to give up on myself as I had done so many other times in the past.

During this time Chris was in constant contact with me checking in to see how I was feeling and to support me when I felt that overwhelming urge to give up.

His words of encouragement meant a lot to me.

When I was cleared by Rob he suggested that I ease myself slowly back in and that I talk to Chris and have him put together a one on one program for me.  Chris came up with a routine that also included a weekly yoga class and off we went.

When I started my training eight weeks ago I was embarrassed at how little strength and control I had.  It’s easy to get lost in the crowd but now it was all me out there.

What in my mind should be a simple exercise was not so simple to my body.  It took me a while to stop beating myself up and stop over thinking the movements.

Chris has been patient and supportive through it all and always starts our session off with how are you feeling?

In retrospect, the individual training has been the best thing that has happened to me.  I am amazed at how much stronger and in control I feel and my back pain is gone.

I have my confidence back and am in a place physically that I never thought I’d ever be in.  I’ve even discovered yoga which I go to twice a week!

Now I’m off to strengthening other body parts!

This is what I had hoped Breakthrough would be for me the day I signed up and Chris has not let me down one day.

This is an amazing total body program that I’m excited to be a part of.

Leslie Donovan

Embrace all that Breakthrough has to offer.

It’s life changing!

One year ago I was depressed over my weight and tired of being exhausted all the time.

I was diagnosed pre-diabetic, high blood pressure, an my risk of stroke was high.

Mentally, I carried everyone else’s baggage and it sure was weighing me down.

I joined Breakthrough back in October after finishing my first Total Transformation Challenge, which is an 8 week challenge focused on group accountability and support.

I thought I was on my way to big losses with my weight, and improving physically during cardio sessions.

But after 3-4 months of what I thought was eating right and working out, I realized something wasn’t right.

I needed more guidance, and that’s when I reached out to Chris for 1 on 1 nutrition coaching.

During our consultations we dug deep into what my goals were and why they were important to me.

We fine tuned my meals until we found out what worked for me.

And boy did things start to fall in place!

Fat started dropping, and started gaining muscle too.

After 30 years of struggling I’ve never felt better, and I realized I can do this! You can too!

Reach out-don’t wait.

Invest in yourself.

I did and couldn’t be happier!-Patty Pierson

Looking at these pictures it reminds me why I signed up, for twelve months, with Chris Gray.

Just the week prior to signing my contract, I had a routine Doctors visit, where I weighed in at 216 pounds.

The previous months were the darkest times I have ever experienced.

I had too much free time and nothing productive to keep myself from spiraling downwards

It was November 2014 the week of Thanksgiving when I first walked through the doors of Breakthrough.

I was uncomfortable, and I did not want to be there.

I could not finish most of the exercises, but I can still remember the burn the next day from those first few workouts.

The aches and pains from the gym, were nothing in comparison to the emotional pain I struggled with.

Twelve months have passed since I signed up for my first Total Transformation Challenge.

It was a last minute decision to participate, for no other reason than it would give me something to do with my free time.

I went all in and gave up alcohol, sugar, all fast food meals, like McDonalds.

I even dropped caffeine from my diet.

Who in their right mind quits coffee??

I can remember the pounding headaches during workouts, as my body adjusted to the withdrawal of its usual highs.

For the next 90 days I followed the program, and documented my progress with some embarrassing selfies, which for one brief moment were posted on FB.

I think Krista (one of the Boot Camp trainers) was the only one who got to see them.

I went to the meetings but I was not ready to share my ‘why’ with everyone.

A part of me wanted to share, but I still find it difficult to control my emotions when talking about it.

The conclusion of the challenge was somewhat of an anti-climax for me.

It was St. Paddy’s day, and I took an intentional leap off the wagon from the diet.

A couple of weeks later I had restored a few pounds and enjoyed a few pints with friends.

Inspired by others at my 6pm session at Breakthrough, I went right back into the workout schedule.

Without you all, there by my side, it would not have been possible, and nowhere near as much fun!!

Keep crushing the walnuts.

The next few months I continued with the gym and nutrition program, for the most part.

I took what I had learned and used what worked for me.

Making healthier choices with portion control really made a difference.

In August I was asked to share my story as Champion of the month.

I did not know whether to laugh or cry.

At the time, I believed I did not meet the definition of a champion.

I once believed Champions had won something, or they are on top of the world.

You see, the previous August my wife lost her battle with lung cancer.

I declined to share my story as I felt more like a survivor in this game of life we are all playing.

I felt had lost, and did not feel like a Champion.

I still don’t consider myself a champion in the true sense, I did not win a race.

For me it is not a race.

This is my journey.

I am ready to begin the rest of my life, and see it through.

A very dear friend (you know who you are) has since convinced me a champion is someone who sticks at something and sees it through.

I am going to make the most of my opportunities every day instead of wishing my life away.

I don’t want to be sad anymore.

So I write this story with the hope it inspires someone to do something with the rest of their life.

Don’t live with regret.

Take one small step at a time, but take it.

One small step consistently every day will make a huge difference.

Enjoy every day and love those around you.

A huge thank you to everyone for the words of encouragement and all of your support over the last year!