People of Apex

The People of Apex Project highlights the stories of the clients at Apex Personal Training.  We do think that the physical results matter, but we believe that who you become on your journey equally matters.  Whether it’s weight loss, strength, or climbing a mountain, those are results of the story.  And we believe that it’s the stories that inspire.    At Apex we believe in our clients and invest in their physical results but also understand the mental and emotional side that comes with physical transformations.  This project highlights the stories and the journey that clients have gone through.  For some Apex is motivation, for others it’s accountability and for some, it has been life-changing. It’s truly different for everyone.  We encourage you to read the stories and our hope is that you will be inspired to “Do Something Epic”.

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Every week is busy and many times stressful – I let a lot of things drag me down but no matter what the day brings as long as I make it to Apex I always l leave feeling much better – hence my happy place! I have been with Joel since the beginning – he has been solid support for all my endeavors from running to fitness competitions or even when I need a to take it easy for a while. Apex Personal Training is definitely the place to be!

Strength. It means more than being strong to me. I started at Apex to turn a new page and find an exercise routine that I could stick with, and I found way more than that! I found mental strength, commitment, confidence, challenge, and that “Whoa, look what I can do” feeling! Not only have I improved my well-being, but my husband joined and he is just as dedicated as I am! We are very happy that we started this Apex adventure.

My experience with Apex has been life-changing. I started with Joel in August of last year after my doctor had recommended bariatric surgery. I was at my heaviest weight and absolutely miserable. I had no energy and a long list of excuses of why I couldn’t lose weight. I started with 30 minute private sessions with Joel 2-3 times a week, then worked up to completing 1 hour group sessions 3-4 times a week. Joel worked with me through everything, and even helped me implement a nutritional system to support my goals. Nine months later, I’m down almost 100lbs and I am an entirely different person.

Apex gives me self-confidence but not because of the results I’ve gotten from training there necessarily. I have seen results and I’m excited about them but working out is a rigorous commitment. Training with my brother Joel and the other people who workout at the same times as I do gives me confidence in myself that I am making progress towards bettering myself. Each burpee, squat, and rope slam, I am confident in the fact that I am bettering myself and that I am working out in a fun and non-judgemental environment. Let Joel kick your butt. It sucks, but it’s worth it.

Apex personal training for me is re-starting my journey into fitness and living a healthy life again. I have a wife and two children and there is always a built-in excuse to wait until tomorrow or the next day. Starting this process has re-energized my excitement for working out and pushing myself again. I am almost a month in and I already feel significantly stronger and have more energy than when I started! I usually start to lose interest in workout plans around this time. Things start to get stale or boring, however, Joel does an amazing job at Apex changing things up and keeping things fresh. The structure of the workouts are mostly similar but every time I go it’s something new. That really helps me stay motivated and interested in the workouts. Joel is very easy to work with and he helps you stay motivated by making a real connection with you first! Beginning my training with Apex has really helped me understand it is on me to make the changes in my life. I have always known that, but knowledge doesn’t change behavior, for me, motivation does. I have already noticed positive changes in my life and can’t wait to see what else is in store for me here at Apex!

Joel is the definition of Accountability, everything our sub-conscious naturally tells us to do and be, he reminds you to be just THAT. He’s kind of a two for one…Trainer/Life coach. Not only does he understand the body & nutrition, he understands human beings. I can honestly say my mind has strengthened as much as my body. If the two muscles are not congruent, your success with Apex will be short-lived. As Joel always says, “You have to trust the process.” But that is WHY Joel is so talented with his mission. He can see the potential in you before you even get started. His clients thrive off of his energy and sense of humor. I have never been a “gym” person, and I still don’t consider myself one. I just feel like the healthiest me, inside and out. My favorite part of Joel’s groups is the community that is consistently growing. It’s kind of like “Cheers” minus the beer, Norm, and the mailman.

Family. I met Joel nearly seven years ago, shortly after a mastectomy, but prior to chemotherapy. I declined one of the drugs recommended by my oncologist and made a pact to myself that, instead of taking the drug, I would exercise regularly, eat more healthfully, and work on losing some weight. Enter Joel. I was a member at the gym where he worked, so I scheduled an appointment. I was certain that I would work with Joel once or twice and then work out on my own, using his workouts as guides. Joel made the workouts fun! I would go to the gym and try to do the same workouts we had done the week before, but inevitably ended up quitting halfway through. It was boring and too easy to quit. I have worked with a personal trainer 2-3 times a week ever since. When my son came home from college, I brought him with me and paid for a few sessions with Joel. Six years later, he’s still working out with Joel. Then I brought my husband, and he comes to group with me once a week. Now my daughter works out with Joel 2-3 times a week. So when I say “family,” I mean it in two ways. One, most of my family now works out with Joel–not because I’ve “made” them, but because Joel and Apex make working out so much more enjoyable than working out alone in a gym. The second way is that having worked with Joel for the past six years, I feel like he’s part of my family. We exchange Christmas gifts, we’ve golfed together, we talk about all kinds of things. He’s mentored my kids, he’s put up with my crap, and he’s become a part of my family.

I love using our workouts with Apex for team building and doing something together with my team members at Skol Marketing. It’s an awesome feeling working out as a team and everyone trying to obtain different goals but similar when it comes to fitness and health. It helps us motivate each other and bring us closer together as a unit. Training may not be the first thing people think of as a work group activity but it has been really unique, fun and beneficial for us, SKOL!

Once I got to college, I lost a lot of the motivation I had to work out because I was no longer part of a team that held me accountable. It only got worse when I graduated, started working and spent most of my time traveling, and I hit a point where I needed to make a change. I wasn’t happy with the weight I had gained or how out of shape I felt. After a few failed attempts at getting into different fitness fads, I decided to try personal training and loved it. When I moved back to the Twin Cities in March, I gave Apex a try.

Whether it is a 1:1 or group session, Apex is bringing that accountability factor back into play, and I’m already noticing changes in how I look and how I feel. It’s definitely challenging, and there are times I question putting “fun” on that board, but I have never left regretting a workout. I’m stronger, leaner, and healthier than I was when I started a few month ago. I still have a long way to go, but for the first time in a long time, I’m optimistic about reaching my fitness goals and am starting feel like my old athletic self again!

“I joined Apex looking for something different than the average box gym. I was hooked after my first workout with Joel. I’m the kind of person that likes those red face, can’t breathe, ripped hands, can’t walk the next day kind of workouts. Weird, I know. But I also doubt myself and Joel pushes me beyond what I think I could do constantly. On top of that, we tease and give each other crap (can I say that?) like none other. That’s why it’s so fun!!

I mention recovery because Joel is very attentive to injuries and when his clients need recovery. I was in a bad car accident which took my workouts from lifting some serious weight and complex movements to starting back at ground zero. Even though I badly wanted to and tried to do those same workouts, I physically couldn’t. Joel knew that about me and worked with me giving me workouts that he knew would build me up slowly and also keeping me motivated. After some time, I was back to where I was and beyond, hitting PR’s and more intense workouts than before. That’s because Joel took his time to think about me and what I needed.

Fast forward a couple years, I had my first child!! I worked out my entire pregnancy, even up to 41 weeks, because Joel took the time to personalize my workouts that would be safe and conducive to every stage of pregnancy… and ensure I didn’t get bored. Now post-baby, I’m back at Apex! It’s extremely tough mentally not being in the shape I feel I should be. He’s pushing me and building me up slowly and I’m loving it! My baby boy even loves hanging out and taking selfies with Joel while I get my workout in.
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Working out was never a fun or important part of my life, in fact, it wasn’t a part of my life at all before I joined APEX. I had joined different gyms and tried some classes here and there; all attempts to push myself into “working out.” The problem was that I had no idea what I was doing or really, what I NEEDED to be doing to get the body I wanted. I simply grew tired of forcing the gym on myself and eventually stopped trying altogether. Then I met Joel at APEX and everything changed.

Seven months ago, I would have never believed that working out would no longer be a struggle. I am (willingly) in the gym 3-4 times a week and actually look forward to that hour of my day. For me, APEX is all about ENCOURAGEMENT and ACCOUNTABILITY- two things I could never get at the big corporate gyms.

APEX hasn’t just help me transform my body and my diet, it has pushed me to do things I never thought I could…like push-ups 🙂

Being healthy has always felt like a struggle for me. I’ve never particularly enjoyed working out or eating healthy. Despite not wanting to workout, my husband talked me into seeing Joel with Apex for a workout, just to see how I liked it. At this point, I couldn’t even do one pushup. At my first workout with Joel, I was supposed to do 10. He helped me learn the correct way to do a pushup, and soon after that, I was doing 40 pushups a session.

My healthy lifestyle is something I am continuously working on. Sometimes, it’s harder to be healthy than others. Joel helps keep me accountable because he remembers my goals even when I forget.

Through Joel & the Apex group, I have gained a support system, a more positive outlook on fitness, and a healthy lifestyle.

Apex, to me, is motivation not only because of Joel but also because of the atmosphere of the group. Everyone is there to work as hard as they can, Joel is there to push you just a little bit past your limit, and having a workout written specifically for me with my goals in mind it motivates me to complete it. I know it is all stuff I can do if I push through it, not just some generic workout written for a bunch of people to interpret themselves. I workout better and more often with Apex than I do when I’m on my own, and that’s mostly because of Joel and the personal touch he brings.

I grew up doing endurance running and swimming. After facing several injuries and set backs, I decided to try something different. I started coming to the Apex groups for conditioning workouts which quickly led me to lifting. Not only have I been able to incorporate running back into my daily routine, I have also increased my strength and confidence! Apex and LedBetter fitness continuously challenge me to push myself in a supportive and friendly environment. Apex and LedBetter push me to be the best that I can be!

A few years ago I tore my ACL while playing basketball. At this point, I thought that my active lifestyle playing ultimate frisbee and pickup sports was over. Recovery from an injury can be tough, especially if you try to do it on your own. Working with Joel and the team at Apex Personal Training has helped me get from feeling as if I was done playing sports, to feeling stronger and healthier than I was before my ACL injury. For me, Apex has helped me stay committed to staying fit and changing my lifestyle.

Let’s Do Something Epic!

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