Manny

Manny has been a member of Odyssey Fitness for over 33 years and there’s a reason he keeps coming back for more. Starting with just an occasional aerobic workout, Manny began to expand his fitness portfolio to include strength training and group fitness classes.

“At first, I started coming because I had high cholesterol. Over the years I have noticed a tremendous improvement in my cholesterol level.”

Manny has seen some other improvements in other areas as well. “I also lowered my blood pressure, have maintained a healthy 153 pounds for decades, and I feel very energetic.”

A big advocate of group exercise classes, Manny especially enjoys taking Zumba and Yoga.

He owes much gratitude to his instructors and comments that, “they are all very helpful.”

One of the best things that Manny enjoys about Odyssey Fitness is the all-inclusive price when it comes to going to classes. “The membership offers everything and there are a variety of programs that everyone can participate in. More people need to invest their time here.” Aside from the classes, and the strength training, Manny also enjoys spending time in the Sauna. “I spend 20 Minutes in the sauna 4 times a week!”

Andrew

Last Christmas Andy Sorber enjoyed his vacation to Florida over the Christmas holiday. He returned home and realized he didn’t like what he saw in his vacation pictures. He was at 225lbs. and a size 40 and wasn’t happy with his appearance, not to mention, his doctor was not at all happy with his cholesterol! His cholesterol was at 270 and the doctor feared he was headed for surgery.

Andy decided he needed to make a change. “I wanted to be motivated and stick to it,” Andy says of the idea to get healthier. He visited several gyms and chose Odyssey Fitness for the great variety of fitness options with the pool, basketball court, tennis and racquetball courts.
Upon starting membership, Andy took advantage of the free fitness assessment with Odyssey Trainer, Joe Klemunes. Joe explained some of the foods to avoid to help bring about a change: cut out pizza and hot dogs, two favorites of Andy’s. He’s issued a challenge for himself: “My goal is not to eat a hot dog for a year.” So far, so good.
Andy made the commitment to get healthier. He started using workouts generated by Workout on Demand and changed his eating habits. His routine is to consume 200 calories every 2 hours and his daily workout consists of 1 hour of cardio and 20 minutes of weight training followed by a half hour of swimming or cardio. Andy also gets a post workout, high protein, low cal beverage on his way out everyday.
His discipline has paid off! Andy weighed in at 185lbs. about a month ago and now is working to maintain this accomplishment. His doctor is thrilled with his cholesterol which is now around 170!
“I played sports in high school, I find a similar camaraderie here,” Andy says of his favorite thing about Odyssey Fitness.

Pascal

I decided to start going to Odyssey Fitness for many reasons. I was taking some medication and one of the side effects was weight gain. I decided that I needed to start working out and shed some of those pounds. Also, I wanted to start feeling better about myself and meet some new friends. So in March I took the plunge and started coming here. Working out here has become part of my daily routine ever since.

I love this club! The members and staff are friendly and helpful. Also, the hours are great and the location is very convenient. I am a big fan of the steam room. When I leave here I feel completely relaxed.

I enjoy taking classes here. One of my favorite classes to take is the cardio kickboxing because of the total body workout that it provides.

Yogalates has also become one of my favorites. I love pilates and yoga and the incorporation of the two is wonderful. Since I’ve started here I have lost nearly twenty pounds! My body has become more toned and defined. Also, my energy level has improved so much that my grandchildren are tired when they come visit me.

Lisa

Weight loss started for me after a family cruise when I complained to my daughter how I was never in any photos. I was always taking them. She had taken some candid pictures of me on the beach in a bikini. I didn’t know she did this until I got the pictures developed. I looked at them and thought, “I HAVE to lose some weight.”

My starting weight was 140, doesn’t seem like much, but I’m only 5’4”. Mary Majikes was using bodybugg® at the time so I asked her a lot of questions about it, saw her results. She suggested I try it. I got my bodybugg® for Christmas and started using it in January. I was also using Workout on Demand, and going to every spin class I could attend.

After 6 months of using bodybugg® I lost 15 pounds (my goal) and 2 clothes sizes. I weighed 125. It’s been over a year since using bodybugg® and I’ve kept the weight off.

I still come to Odyssey Fitness 5 times a week. I like to change up my workout. My favorite is still spin class, but when I can make it I do Kickboxing and POWER. If I have a bad day at work I like to go in the boxing room and hit the speed bag and punch the heavy bag. Thanks to Mary Majikes for giving me weight loss advice and thanks to my family for keeping me motivated! My Dad, husband and daughter are all members of Odyssey Fitness!

Cheri

Two years ago I weighed 176 pounds. It took me a year and a half to get down to 140. That’s when I joined Odyssey Fitness. I just couldn’t seem to get over that hump and lose the last 15 pounds until I found bodybugg®. It has changed my life completely! In the past I found dieting and exercising a struggle and torture, now I love it!

Over the 12 weeks I was on bodybugg® I lost 13 pounds successfully reaching my goal of a pound a week. The thing I liked most about bodybugg® was the goals set for me were not out of reach nor did you have to kill yourself to meet them. It was simple, burn 500 more calories than what you ate that day, and the program showed you exactly what you had to do for that. I was amazed to see how much I didn’t know about dieting until it was right in front of me.

I would recommend bodybugg® to anyone willing to put in a little work to get the results they want. I did what I thought was impossible and in half the time!

Down nearly 150 pounds …so far…Terri Homeier

The latest

Terri’s most recent weigh in showed that she has lost nearly 150 pounds since her journey began in October 2009.  She is still losing, and we are now ready to cheer her on as she gets ready for the Disney Half-Marathon later this month.

Terri recently joined our staff as manager at Odyssey Express, our facility for women only, located adjacent to Odyssey Fitness.  At Odyssey Express, women have easy access to a circuit, cardio equipment, weights and now ZUMBA in the Circuit.

Send Terri an email to cheer her on, or to ask her how’s she doing.

November 2010

In November, 2010, we were so happy to celebrate Terri’s 30th Birthday with her, where she announced she had so far lost 135 pounds. She is running in the mornings, and every day looks thinner!

We are so happy for her, especially because she has done this working with trainer, Mary Majikes, and by making lifestyle changes she can stick with once her goal weight is reached. She has been inspiring so many of our members with her success.

Next stop…Disney 1/2 Marathon!

Other updates

Sunday, September 26, she ran the Lupas Loop with her husband. On October 2, she ran in the Ben August 3 mile Memorial Run in Wilkes-Barre. Her husband got a medal for 2nd in his age rgroup, while she ran the whole 3.1 miles! Congratulations Terri!

Christina

After having my second child, I couldn’t lose the extra weight I had gained.

I joined ODYSSEY Fitness and tried to just do a lot of cardio, but nothing was happening. So I started training with Owen and after 12 weeks, I have lost 6% body fat, dropped 2 pant sizes and 8.25 inches overall! I am still training with Owen and could not be happier with my results.

Jessica

I figured I had 2 choices when it came to my body and my health: Continue complaining about the way I looked and felt or do something about it! It was time to start doing something about it…

I have been a member at Odyssey Fitness since January of 2009. Odyssey supplied me with an awesome trainer, Owen Christman, who I continue to workout with whenever I need a kick in the rear. Owen took the time to teach me a program I could stick to and would sculpt the parts of my body I wanted to change.

Odyssey also offers a great array of group fitness classes such as Cardio Sculpt and Zumba to keep me motivated and coming back daily. Also, Odyssey offers a great day care with caring staff to watch my 2 girls so I can feel comfortable about leaving them while I get a good workout. Since joining I reshaped, toned, and lost pounds and inches all over my body. I am in the best shape of my life and could not be happier about the decision to join!

Jill M

I started the bodybugg® program and personal training with George Hart in February of 2009. I was at a point where months of laziness, sitting too much at a desk all day, and poor food choices had finally caught up with me. I was tired of feeling sluggish and out of shape. I wanted to change, but I knew I wasn’t disciplined to do it all on my own. The bodybugg® and a trainer seemed like the perfect choice.

Within the first two or three weeks of the bodybugg® program and training with George, I lost several pounds and began to feel amazing. I had more energy and felt stronger. George came up with innovative workouts for me, doing things I hadn’t done before. He made me want to succeed and become the best athlete I can be. This motivation was exactly what I needed. The bodybugg® was an indispensable tool in keeping track of my calories and coming face-to-face with what I was eating every day. The bodybugg® alone has helped me make lasting, positive changes in my diet and lifestyle. Also, I can honestly say that it hasn’t even been a difficult transition. I still eat many treats and indulge in my favorite foods from time to time, but the bodybugg® helps me manage the total amount of calories I take in, so I know exactly when I need to cut back or when I can splurge.

In approximately 7 months, I have lost 27 pounds and three pants sizes. I ran a half marathon in May, and more recently completed the Baltimore Marathon with my best friend Cheryl. I feel healthier, more energetic, and stronger than I ever have before…and I actually look forward to working out! I couldn’t have done it without the bodybugg® and without George’s assistance. Starting this workout program has been the best decision I ever made for myself, and I would recommend it to anyone hoping to lose weight and become stronger!

Teresa

For years I’ve struggled with my weight. I would lose and then gain it back and then some. I tried numerous things to try to keep on the right track, but I always ended up falling off the track. After belonging to another gym, that only consisted of cardio machines and weights, I became bored with the same thing over and over, I decided to join a gym that had more to offer when it came to what I wanted to achieve, which was weight loss and toning. Odyssey Fitness was my choice and what a smart choice it was. I started at Odyssey in January, 2010. After the first week I signed up to start their Workout on Demand program I met with trainer, Mary Majikes, who took all my beginning measurements. The next day I began my program. What a great help the program was. Workout on Demand showed me exactly what machines to use, how many reps and how much weight. I also started going to the many classes that Odyssey has to offer, and found my favorite to be ZUMBA®. I go every chance I can. Not only is it a great workout, but after the class you don’t even feel like you worked out.

In April, I felt like I was at a bit of a standstill, so I purchased the bodybugg®. It put so much ease into losing weight for me, between showing me how many calories I’m burning and how many calories I’m taking in. The bodybugg® was and is a great tool in keeping my new life style right on track. I can only say that joining Odyssey Fitness was the best thing I could have done! Since January I’ve lost a total of 30 pounds, over 18 inches and dropped my body fat percentage 6%. I feel great, have so much more energy, and the compliments that I’ve received from people at work and at home are enough to keep me on the path to a better and healthier lifestyle. I’ll continue using all the tools that Odyssey Fitness has to offer to reach my goal weight and to maintain it once there.

Andrea

I wanted a trainer who would help me get toned and drop a few lingering pounds. The same old routine I was doing on my own just wasn’t cutting it.

When I began training with Ken, I knew things would be different right away. His approach to working out was far different than anything I had done in the past, and I loved it! (Even though I may have complained… a little…)

I think what also really helped me to achieve my fitness goal was logging everything I ate into the Apex bodybugg® Website. To actually see what you’re eating and how many calories you are consuming makes you far more conscious of what you’re shoveling in your mouth. And for me, I needed that!

In 10 weeks, I have lost 9 pounds, dropped 3% bodyfat, and lost 2 inches on my waist. I plan to keep up my workout and nutrition plan, as this has been the best shape I’ve been in EVER!

Thanks, Ken, for everything!

Chris O’Donnell

Ken showed me how some habits I developed over the years had contributed to my knee problem. He gave me some strengthening and flexibility exercises to do along with some stretching.

Since then, I’ve participated in Odyssey’s Indoor Triathlon, which includes a 2 mile run and a couple of community 5K runs. Each time I had improvement in my time and no injury to my knee!

Nick

All of my life I have been athletic. Whether it was baseball and basketball when I was a kid or Softball and Flag Football into adulthood, I have always been active keeping myself in relatively good shape. Then my story takes a unique turn. On August 31, 2007 I was in a near-fatal motorcycle crash. My injuries were so catastrophic, I spent the next four months in various hospitals and nursing homes recuperating. For most of that time I was confined to a bed or wheelchair, yet I hadn’t reached my 30th birthday. Throughout 2008 I was enrolled in Physical and Occupational Therapy at John Heinz on an outpatient basis. I worked hard to try to regain my previous lifestyle, but I was limited by physical ailments left over from the accident.

I felt that I could achieve more results if I had a more rigorous training program. So, in January of 2009 I joined Odyssey Fitness and was paired with Ken Wall as my Personal Trainer. Ken’s educational background and vast knowledge of his field was a perfect fit for me because of all my limitations and disabilities. Over the next year, with my hard work and determination, and a few corrective surgeries paired with Ken’s support and guidance, my results multiplied by leaps and bounds.

At the start of 2010, I was surpassing my goals of getting back to a “normal” life. I wanted more out of life than normalcy. I spoke with Ken and we decided to restructure my goals and training. This also made me take a good look at my life, making me realize that I had to start making healthier choices in my eating habits. I signed up with bodybugg® and started accounting for the health content of what I was eating. From this conscious decision to be healthier, I have found myself to be able to live a more satisfying life. It has given me a general feeling of self accomplishment. I feel that my life is back on track and I am extremely excited to continue on my journey. I know I put in a lot of hard work, but Ken Wall and Odyssey Fitness are a large part of my success. For that, I am forever grateful.

Shivaun’s Story

“In about May of 2009, I realized that I had slowly gained back much of the weight I had worked to lose a couple of years ago. Knowing what I
know about weight gain, I knew I had lost focus, was eating more than I should and was spending more energy avoiding exercise than I was
actually exercising!
I saw Jill Matthews having great success with bodybugg®, and I had a feeling it would get me back to where I wanted to be weight-wise. I was also inspired by a pair of jeans and a skirt I had purchased, thinking they would fit me, and when I tried them on at home I was greatly disappointed. I decided, rather than return them, I would work to get into them.

I started with bodybugg® on June 16th with the aim to get into the jeans and skirt by Labor Day. I worked with Trainer Mary Majikes who provided the additional professional guidance and motivation I needed.

As soon as I started entering food into bodybugg®, I was kind of alarmed at how
many calories I was consuming unconsciously. I was also alarmed at how little I was burning at first. I categorized myself as monderately active, but that was not the case when I started!

I began looking forward to exercise and seeing how many calories I would burn in various classes, and regular life activities. I found Zumba! Class to be the highest burner for me, outside of running. Interestingly enough, putting together a desk with
my son was the highest burn activity I had the entire 12 weeks. This was because it was sustained activity over 4.5 hours!

I also knew that my lifestyle is such that we don’t eat at home a lot, and I needed to find a way to make that work. Bodybugg® was perfect for that, as I could plan for eating out, by looking up foods in their database before I went out. I found myself making different choices, sharing desserts, but most importantly never feeling deprived.

I met my Labor Day goal, and have lost about 15 pounds, taken off several inches overall and reduced my body fat. I did all this while attending a lot of summer cookouts, a NASCAR race, several birthday parties and weddings.

Staying with the bodybugg® program helped me better solidify the amount of food and exercise that should be part of my lifestyle to maintain this weight.

Mary also helped get me ready for various 5k runs, and my time greatly inproved as
the summer went on.

I’m now in a size 4 or 6, depending on the brand, and I’ve made a commitment to staying at this weight by tossing my size 8′s and 10′s in the Salvation Army donation bin!”

Jill B

Jill became a member in February 2005 after her husband had purchased her membership for Valentine’s Day. Jill had developed arthritis before joining Odyssey Fitness and her doctor had told her that a knee replacement seemed probable. She noticed it too…unable to do the things she loved like golfing in a league or staying active.

Determined not to give in to the arthritis, Jill began taking the Aqua Aerobics Class offered each weekday. Taking Aqua Aerobics “is one you can do when you have arthritis. My muscles are getting much stronger. You just need to put your heart into it and really work at it.”

Jill also enjoys walking on the track (especially in the winter) and taking the Silver and Fit classes. She also loves the friends that she has made here. “One of the best parts of membership is the support network.”

Jill is happy to report that she does not need that knee replacement anymore. Her arthritis is not affecting her active lifestyle and her doctor is impressed with her health improvement. She remains committed to aerobics.

Jillian

In February of 2008 I decided to join Odyssey Fitness and make some changes in my life. Prior to joining the club my only source of fitness was taking the occasional walk in my neighborhood. My mother and father, both members here, encouraged me to join the club and train hard. Not having a strong fitness background I knew that I needed some help so I inquired about a trainer.

I began training with Mary two times a week for three months. She gave me the motivation and drive that I needed and if Mary didn’t kick my butt I wouldn’t have lost over 20 pounds! Not only that, but my energy level has increased substantially and I feel stronger all the time. She also taught me the importance and value of using exercise bands, which is great because I can also use them to train with at home.

My goal is to lose 30 pounds and I am well on my way! Aside from the gains made from training, I enjoy using the cardio theatre and the pool. My favorite part of being a member here is the pleasant attitude of the members and staff and the constant availability of the machines, especially the ellipticals and treadmills.

Courtney

In November of 2009, I reached my highest weight ever. Months and months of eating anything I wanted and never working out had finally caught up to me. I was tired all the time, hated having my picture taken, and felt so bad about myself that I just wanted to sit at home. I decided to join Odyssey Fitness hoping to lose the weight I’d put on and to feel better about myself.

I decided right away that I was going to enlist the help of a personal trainer. I was set up with Matt and I knew immediately I had the right trainer for me. Within just the first two weeks, I had more energy and had lost a few pounds. I felt great about myself and could not wait to get back into the gym every day.

Now, almost 6 months later, I’ve lost 18 pounds, 14 inches, and two dress sizes. I am 12 pounds away from my goal, and could not be more excited. I have more energy; I am never tired, and feel fantastic. I couldn’t have done this without Matt helping me every step of the way. I am so appreciative of the time he has spent with me and he is the reason I am where I am today. I wish everyone was lucky enough to have a trainer like Matt!

Chelsea

“…30 pounds lighter and 2 pants sizes smaller!”

I had never struggled with my weight up until the last two years. My eating habits and a new medication had caught up with me and it seemed like no matter how much I tried to work out, I wasn’t getting anywhere. I continued to put on weight and my self confidence plummeted. When you lose your self-esteem, you lose a big part of yourself and it was a very low point in my life. I met ODYSSEY Trainer Mary Majikes in September 2006. I needed that extra push that I knew Mary could give me and her passion for fitness inspired me to make goals and meet them. Mary is a very honest and tough trainer, but I knew she could only help me with so much. It was up to me to come in and eat right. I was ready and willing to make the commitment.

I started training in February, 2 days a week, 1 hour a day, and within no time I met my first goal of losing 10 pounds! Here we are, 8 months later, close to 30 pounds lighter and 2 pants sizes smaller! Not only did I lose weight, I gained a good deal of strength which is why I continue to train with her and tone my muscles.

I thank Mary so much for everything! She gave me back my confidence and I feel happier, healthier, and stronger. I tell everyone I meet, “I wish everyone could be lucky enough to have a trainer like Mary.