I have been training with Pat Gilles with Online Coaching for about 15 months. I have never regretted a moment of it. It has helped me come back from a broken leg. I broke my leg playing football. After the leg was healed, I was out of shape. I was struggling physically and emotionally. I didn’t know where to start in terms of getting my strength and fitness back while rehabbing from the injury. So, when I started at Pat’s Gym, I was really just wanting to rebuild a solid foundation – rebuilding my strength and mobility and starting to even out imbalances. After 15 months of Online Coaching, I’ve become a much more well-rounded athlete, and have been happier and more productive in my day-to-day life.
Over time, after Pat helped me rebuild a solid foundation, I wanted to focus on other long- and short-term goals. The goals have varied from decreasing my body fat percentage, getting in shape for different sports I play outside (I played rugby for the first time this fall) and I’m focused on particular events like the 1k Ski competition/challenge. By the way, this year I won the Concept2 World Competition for the 1K SkiErg Sprint.
I love the variety of exercises incorporated into my workouts. I love seeing the measurable performance improvements I’ve made over time (max deadlift, 1k SK, etc. But I really value the friendships I’ve made with the coaches and other athletes in the gym. I was a D1 athlete in the past, so it is really motivating to again be surrounded by people who are serious about fitness and work hard to make it a priority in their lives.
Online Coaching is a great way to train. I have to plan ahead to make sure I get my workouts in. I travel a lot, both for work and leisure; however, even when I’m home my schedule is unpredictable. Online Coaching forces me to take a pointed look at my schedule for the upcoming week, and plan for when I’ll be able to fit in a workout. I can identify days where I’ll be short on time and be sure to prioritize a quick workout at some point during the day.
Online Coaching is perfect for me since I’m not home often and private sessions didn’t make much sense logistically – it wouldn’t provide the continuity consistency I need in a training regimen. Additionally, I use the time I spend working out to recharge mentally. I like having that time for myself to workout independently and think about how I can work through issues while getting rid of stress.
The flexibility and individualized program I get with Online Coaching are such a great value, especially with 24/7 gym access so I can complete workouts whenever it is convenient (even if that means 3am!). In particular, I continue to be impressed with Pat’s responsiveness – I can usually get a response in a few minutes if I send him a quick question over text, and as my plans change unexpectedly, even on the same day (sickness, flight delays, etc.), I usually have a modified workout within a couple hours.
