Train tracking

One couple’s continuing quest for healthier, prettier selves

Last August, my husband (and fellow Voice contributor) Ryan Daly and I decided to hire a personal trainer. We were two attractive people wondering if we could be even more attractive. Seriously though, staring down our 30th birthdays, we felt like we could do better at taking care of ourselves. Here, in our own words, is what it’s been like to turn our soft writer bodies into super-chiseled statues worthy of the Philbrook.

Motivation

Ashley: I’d been watching “Extreme Makeover: Weight-loss Edition” over the summer and thought, “If they can lose 200 pounds in a year, I can lose 20 pounds in four months.” Good old television­—a motivating force in my life.

Ryan: I was tired of being sweaty and out of breath doing normal things—climbing stairs, changing the 5-gallon jug on the office water cooler—and of being the guy everyone assumed would eat their leftovers.

Why hire a personal trainer? Couldn’t we just eat less? We’d both been on and off a series of diets and health kicks since college, and nothing stuck. It was clear we needed professional help.

The right trainer

Our one and only requirement, and one that everyone should have, was finding someone with proper training, experience and credentials. Our trainer, Jessica Sprenkel, has a Master’s degree in kinesiology. Beyond that, do what makes you feel most comfortable.

Ryan: I was a big guy with sensitive feelings and a shocking lack of upper body strength, so working out with some mega-jock in a gym full of people wasn’t appealing to me. Our training sessions are private, and although she is definitely stronger than I am, Sprenkel never makes me feel self-conscious about it.

Ashley: We met Sprenkel through a friend and trained with her a few times before we committed to anything. A trainer knows your weight, your hopes and your dreams; and, if you’re anything like me, you’ll probably toot in front of her while doing squats at least once, so you’ll want someone you’re extremely comfortable with.

The training

Ashley: We see her once a week for a personal session and once a week with a group, and she gives us a workout plan for each week. We text her when we’re done with our workouts, and she sends back a fist-bump emoji. I never imagined I would so desperately seek someone’s approval in emoji form.

Ryan: Even when we don’t have a lot of time to commit, she makes it count. One Sunday, we did a 10-minute workout in which we did 100 burpees. I can say without a doubt that it was one of the most painful, exhausting 10 minutes of my life.

The results

Ryan: I am really vain, so all of my goals going into this had to do with my weight. Sprenkel makes us set what she calls non-scale goals—physical feats or lifestyle changes. I quit drinking the insane quantities of Diet Coke I was consuming each day, and I set a goal to do 20 pull-ups. Right now, if I kick my feet and cuss enough, I can do three, which is progress.

Ashley: There are going to be roadblocks. I used to run marathons. Although I could go long distances, I was not, apparently, very good at stretching and cross training, which caused some muscle imbalances. Long story short, I’ve had to stop running for a while, which is super disheartening. But, it brought me back to the core of my goals: overall health and wellness.

The future

Five months later, we’re still in progress. We’ve hit some goals, are still striving for some, and we’ve abandoned a few that are no longer important to us. Are we more attractive? Yes, and every day more so. But what really matters is that we’ve made a steady, honest effort to prioritize our health for nearly half a year now, and—thankfully—there is no end in sight.

Can people do this without a trainer? Yes. But the odds were much more in our favor this way. We need her knowledge, well-rounded approach and emoji-based encouragement.

Want more from Ashley and Ryan? Read about Ashley's stand-up experiment and Ryan's how-to's for loving on your local musicians and collecting vinyl.