My Story

What Got Me Started

My discovery and introduction to proper exercise happened back in March of 2010 with Fred Fornicola and Premiere Personal Fitness. I was tired and out of shape and generally feeling unwell and frankly, old…certainly older than my years. At the time, I was having bouts with rheumatoid arthritis and my doctor had recommended I see a physical therapist. After a couple of visits, I was becoming dissatisfied with spending time and money doing something that provided me no relief or benefits. In short, it was just not a good fit for me. I explained my situation to a friend and she highly recommended that I make an appointment to see Fred. She explained that Fred could help me perform the prescribed exercises I needed to do to improve my situation with my RA and that the fees were comparable to what I was spending with the physical therapist. So, I figured I had little to lose by having a sit down with Fred. I made my appointment for a free consultation and Fred did a full health history evaluation with me. As we proceeded through the consultation, he notices a bit of hesitation on my part and told me to call him when I was ready to commit to improving my health. Well, a few months later I was ready and began my program.

Why I Stayed

I am not particularly athletic and avoided exercise like the plague up to this point, but I was committed to showing up for my sessions and seeing where this would lead to. To be honest, I didn’t enjoy training at first and mentally had to talk myself into showing up and working. I would think of all the other more pleasant things I could be doing and was determined to improve my functionality and reduce the pain from my arthritis. Slowly, the idea of exercising got easier, things didn’t seem so foreign and my body started toning up. I began to realize that my stiff, arthritic joints were feeling loose and comfortable immediately after my training sessions. Even into the next day I was feeling more mobile and had incredible amounts of energy. I no longer had to mentally fight with myself to get to the gym as I was now one of “those people” I was always intrigued by, those who enjoy exercising and use the gym as their “drug”.

My Progress

At the one year mark I had lost over 25 pounds of fat, toned up dramatically, became more functional in daily life and felt the clock turn back 10 years. The benefits I have experienced have been overwhelming to my health and self-esteem. Meeting and working with Fred and his powerful influence made all the difference in this once tired, sick, middle aged woman. Without his guidance, I don’t know if all of this would have been possible.

My Epiphany

So impressed with my changes (and encouragement from Fred), I decided to enroll in Brookdale Community College’s Certified Personal Training Program. He told me that when I graduated he would like me to train people at his facility and that is why I am at Premiere Personal Fitness today so I can help others become healthier and more purposeful in life. My pledge to you is to provide a safe, fun and challenging exercise program that will help improve your strength, flexibility, endurance, body composition and confidence. Hey, I’m the first to say that I don’t have the perfect body, but I am perfectly strong and perfectly healthy and you can be too! - Ellen