When Paolo Aninag started working with us he had 3 goals:

• Lose 70 lbs
• Gain the strength, speed, agility, and endurance to get into the military
• Recover from a shoulder injury

Completing the first two goals are challenging (but possible), but meeting the requirements of pullups and pushups, with an injured shoulder, makes it much more difficult.  We started personal training right away to help Paolo accomplish his goals.

In Paolo’s situation, we had to prioritize his goals in order to ensure he accomplished his goals as quick as possible. We started by working on his diet and his shoulder. We knew if we could get his weight down and his shoulder stabilized, his ability to pass his physical tests to get into the military would increase significantly. In the last few months he has made tremendous progress and is close to achieving his weight loss goals.  For his shoulder we focused on rotator cuff exercises, rhomboid strengthening, and we decreased the weight and frequency of chest exercises. His shoulder is much more stable and he is now able to do weight-assisted pullups for reps for the first time. He can complete unassisted pullups one at a time, but we are going to focus on weight assisted pullups so he can build up his muscular endurance without straining the muscles in his shoulder complex.  Over the next 3 months we are going to help him lose 20 more pounds, which will also make it easier for him to achieve his quota of 10 pullups.

I’m proud of this young man and want to brag on him for his accomplishments. He has worked hard to achieve some amazing results so far, and I know he will complete his long-term goals very soon. He dug in, committed, and stayed focus on what he needed to do. That is not easy. I’m very proud of him for wanting to enroll in the military. It is not an easy thing to do, but I’m proud of him for going after what he wants to do. Well done Paolo, we are proud of you.