My wife and I learned of Karla from our involvement with the Loma Linda Lopers.  I had been concerned about my lack of core and upper body strength.  I have always been a runner (slow) and a biker but have never done much to tax or develop upper body and core strength.  In fact, my upper body muscle endurance and strength deteriorated as I aged.

I have had a gym membership for several years, but I had not gone consistently.  I would try weights for a while with little results.  After reading the book “Younger Next Year,” a great book for men fifty and over, I decided it was time to get serious about strength training.  The authors really made the case for strength training at least one hour two days a week along with four days of aerobic training for those of us fifty and over.  I generally came close to the aerobic training, but not the strength training goal.

My wife, also a marathoner, and I decided to meet with Karla about her training program.  We both decided to try her program for three months with some question as to whether working with a trainer would be worth the cost.  Now, after three months, there is no question that training with Karla has been a wonderful investment for our good health.

Karla set training routines for each workout that were appropriate for my strength level.  I quickly saw why my hit and miss weight training had been ineffective.  Karla’s routines involved an element of circuit training which maintained a training heart rate level in addition to the anaerobic work I was doing.  Karla monitored the work I was doing to make sure she was pushing me beyond what I thought I could do.  There is no wasted time.  No question about it, Karla makes you work hard!  She made sure I did the exercises correctly to maximize the benefit and prevent injuries.  I am pleasantly surprised how much my upper body strength and muscle endurance have improved in three months. Although I have always been thin, I lost a little body fat and added muscle mass.  My wife and I are continuing our training with Karla to build on the significant progress we have made.

-Lynn Pletcher

Linda and Lynn Pletcher