What we do at WRP...we touch lives!

Happy Friday Everyone,

Part of what I love about my job is that we can literally change people's lives for the better! We can give them more freedom to do more things, and we can give them happiness as they achieve things they previously could not. Most people live in Central Oregon because of the "quality of life" that we have here. Our longest commute means we have to cross Business 97 which unless we are stopped by the train, might mean a 15 minute drive from west to east sides of Bend. Heck I can run from the west side to Costco in 30 minutes :) Sorry I am getting off track. Anyway, people come to us because they want to be able to enjoy all the outdoor fun Central Oregon has to offer. Recently one of my clients graciously wrote the following to tell me how much we have done for him. I thought I would share it with you all...please enjoy. And know that the changes Tom saw, you could see too!

Kyle,> > I told you a few weeks ago I would send you an email about how much your training has helped me, changed me. I have been doing tri's for at least 9 years now, and always content to finish in the bottom third. Once in a while I would finish in the middle, but never better. I could not figure out how guys could bike and run so damn fast and figured it was just genetic. After all, I would ride thousands of miles a year, and run hundreds of miles a year and would slightly improve my times.> > I started your class in January of this year. Six months later I did the Pacific Crest Half Ironman for my 8th consecutive year. I have never broken 6 hours on that race, and my fastest previous time for that course was 6 hrs and 14 minutes. This year I did the race in 5 hrs 51 minutes, a 23 minute improvement! And I felt great at the finish. I also finished 14th in my age group out of 40. A few weeks later I did both the Olympic and Sprint distance triathlons at Deschutes Dash. I improved my best Olympic distance time by nearly 30 minutes, and my sprint time by nearly 24 minutes. Better yet, I finished 8th in my age group on the Olympic and 3rd on the Sprint. I have never finished in the top three of an age group. More amazing was that I was only 12 minutes off the winning time overall.> > All of this I am achieving while riding my bike less than prior years, and running less than prior years. Your class is the only thing I am doing differently than in prior years with very impressive results.> > While I love to compete, I ran with some friends that I have not run with in more than a year recently. I could never keep up with them, ever. Two weekends in a row on very long runs I completely smoked them by more than 10 minutes. I was dropping them on the climbs, which I have never been able to do. Both wanted to know what I am taking to have so much improvement. I told them its your class. More importantly, its just a lot of fun to run and not be the food for the wildlife dying off the back of the pack.> > Besides all the racing and competing benefits, I just simply feel better. I feel stronger, I have less injuries, and I feel for the first time in my life that I actually have some throttle response. I used to be the diesel that could go a long way, slowly and take miles to ramp up my speed. Now, If I want to pick up the pace, I can do it effortlessly and very quickly. Its just fun and makes me feel a lot younger.> > So thank you and I am now curious to see what I will be able to achieve next summer after being in your class for more than a year.

Image is Everything!

Good Morning Everyone,
I had a very interesting conversation with one of our members the other day. She loves what we are doing and wanted to give me some constructive criticism that might help us market who we are and what we do, which I welcomed. Most of the things she said were no surprise and things that I have thought before but just taken the time to correct or follow through with. There was one thing that although not a surprise was a bit frustrating. She said essentially, "no one knows about you and if they do they think you train only elite athletes". Now I have heard this before to a certain extent, but I thought it had changed. It is true that we have some extremely talented and hardworking clients, and it is true that I believe I at times push clients harder than just about anyone else in town. However it is also very true, that I train currently or have at one time, an 80 year old women with sever scoliosis (longest standing client at 10+ years), a recovering stroke victim, a parkinson's patient, a female triathlete recovering from a complete hip reconstruction (not replacement, that would have been easier), and more... Additionally our other trainers have clients ranging in age from 12 - 85, some up to 100lbs overweight, some in wheelchairs, many "off the couch" moms and dads just wanting to get in shape or stay in shape. At WRP, we can and do train and work with truly all ages and abilities!!! At a time when we have to scratch and claw for every new client both because of the economy and the amount of competition in this town, it just kills me to think people are choosing to go elsewhere because they think we are to "elite". Honestly that is why we go by WRP instead of WillRace Performance! We are not just for elite performance...we are for everyone! So if you or any of your friends have thought about trying us out but feared we were too intense, please give us another shot. I promise you will be pleasantly surprised. Not to mention we have the best personal training facility in Bend. Do it today or pass this along to your friends. Free classes through September 7th for all new members and $55 an hour personal training rates for one on one for all new clients. Our Group Personal Training is only $67 a month for unlimited personal training...again the best deal in town! Call today :)

How do you know if your trainer is good?

I have to say I have one of the best jobs in the world. Not just because I get to work outside all day in the summertime, or not just because I get to workout a lot and call it work. And not just because I get to wear workout clothes all day everyday and I am considered "appropriately dressed". No I get to help people change their lives for the better!! I have the ability to add years to peoples lives, to save them money and get them off of Cholesterol/Blood Pressure/diabetes medication. I help contribute to the betterment of their quality of life. I can help to give them memories they might not have otherwise had. With that being said, I have to say I am appalled and disgusted by the number of "trainers" out there that make false claims about their "expertise" or their experience, or for that matter decide that our job seems easy and fun so they go online and take a test and then start calling themselves personal trainers. Now don't get me wrong there are a ton of fantastic trainers out there, many of whom I admire and respect greatly. However there are also a very large number who have decided that our job looks like a good one, and they spend a matter of weeks studying and taking a test only to put initials behind their name. Years ago, our industry went about trying to weed out those certification agencies that were giving out personal training certs like they were candy. And to a large degree they have done that. But for the vast majority of the public out shopping for a trainer, none of those initials mean anything other than "my trainer is certified". The general public doesn't know which agencies are good and which are "fly by night". And unfortunately most people just trust blindly. As many of you know I work in a town that is extremely health conscious and outdoorsy. A lot of people in this town use trainers, and when the economy was booming, personal trainers were popping out of the woodwork at a steady stream. They still are and unfortunately the economy is not booming anymore and it is harder and harder to gain new business, especially with all the competition. I have seen recently advertisements for Running Clinics led by trainers who have no running background and have been training for a mere months. I have seen weight loss and nutrition clinics led by people who are teachers, but "have been training themselves all their lives". And I have seen trainers train without regard for their INDIVIDUAL client, putting clients through the same workouts over and over because they don't have the knowledge/background/and creativity to actually train to their client. It is called PERSONAL TRAINING for a reason. It is supposed to be personal. What works for the 50+ year old housewife should be different from the 30+ year old competitive Mtn Biker, and certainly should be different from what works for the 70 year old Grandfather recently retired. I strongly encourage everyone out there who is seeking the help of a trainer/yoga instructor/pilates instructor/masseuse, etc... do your homework. Make sure the person you are trusting your health and life with is capable. And I actually would say, make sure they are more than capable. Find someone with years of experience. Someone with a 4 year degree in Exercise Science or something related. Find someone who actually does what they are training you for, or have done it at some point in their life. If I wanted to learn to dance, I don't think I would hire a dnace instructor that runs marathons more often than they dance. And I want to stress too, that even those trainers with years of experience and degrees still may not be good trainers. So ask for references...ask to talk to other clients. Ask for a free session to "test drive" the trainer to make sure they ask questions about you, about your history, about why you came to them, and what success means to you. Make sure they are willing to invest in you before you invest money in them. I promise you will not regret the extra investigating. You may however regret it if you don't!! Happy Health and Fitness to you all!