Breakthrough Spotlight Jim Queen
Our Breakthrough Spotlight Member for July is Jim Queen! Jim’s is a great example of how having the right mindset is a big part of getting fitness results. We love his dedication, positive attitude and the bright smile he brings to our morning training sessions!
Breakthrough: Jim, thanks so much for being our Spotlight member for July! Can you start by sharing a bit about how you were feeling and what was going on with you before you started training with us?
Jim: In 2015 I was training at Equinox on my own, and I would look online about training, and I started following Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s workout routine… And I started noticing some positive changes, but I didn’t have anyone telling me how to do things correctly. Of course now I know I was doing things wrong, because I’ve learned better with the things you guys have shown me. Things were going ok, but then I started feeling physically like I was getting old… I remember my parents when they turned 60, they slowed down. And I’m thinking, well now I’m in my 60s, so maybe I’m just slowing down naturally. Around this time, I needed to have a hip replacement, and I went to the orthopedic surgeon and had to get an exam to be pre-screened for surgery. The doctor found that I had a malfunction in my parathyroid, and had to have a parathyroidectomy because my calcium levels were too high. I did a little research and discovered that this can make you feel old and achy…
Breakthrough: Ah! So that’s what was going on…
Jim: Yes, so that was in early 2017, then I had the hip surgery later that year, then I came to you guys a couple of months after the hip surgery. So 2017 was kind of a big year!
Breakthrough: That is a big year!
Jim: And for me, my main goal for my training is to stay fit as I get older, and I think Caleb wrote an article about exercise being the fountain of youth, and I really believe that! I see people my age just sitting, or driving to places instead of walking and hiking, sitting watching television and it’s just going to snowball if they don’t get up and start moving.
Breakthrough: I remember when we first met, you hadn’t worked with a trainer before, so would you say the hip replacement was the motivation for joining a gym like ours and working with coaches?
Jim: Well, after the parathyroidectomy, I started feeling better! I was more alive, more awake, my head felt clear and I had more energy. And then after the hip replacement, I had physical therapy for a couple of months and I started to see the benefits of working with someone. So I researched around for what I wanted to do going forward, and found Pavel and StrongFirst, and that’s where I found you guys. Coming here was a pretty amazing transition from the physical therapy I did, and I was really impressed with how that dovetailed together.
Breakthrough: Oh good! Yes, it’s really great to be able to come out of physical therapy and keep building on what you did there because the rehab process goes on for quite a while.
Jim: There are definitely some areas I’m still strengthening. And one of the things I enjoy here is that I can work on that while still getting my heart rate elevated and training my cardio, at the same time that I’m getting stronger and more mobile. Something else that drew me to this style of training is that it seems to build you up and leave you more energy, whereas I noticed at places like Equinox, the emphasis seems to be on just exhausting yourself.
Breakthrough: Right! We want you to work hard, but your training should leave you with plenty of energy to do your other activities you enjoy… and you also run your own business, so you need your energy for that!
Jim: I think there is a lot to be said for having an athletic mindset. You treat yourself like an athlete, you eat well, you exercise, you put on a headset to take phone calls so you can walk around. You are in a different mindset when you treat yourself like that rather than just sitting down.
Breakthrough: And you are a better leader to your team when you are treating yourself that way too! So tell me a little bit about how you are feeling now? What differences have you noticed from training with us for almost a year now?
Jim: Well, my shirts fit tighter now… in all the right ways! I stopped accusing my wife of putting my shirts in the dryer – haha! I feel stronger, I have better posture, we go hiking on the weekends. I also notice if I’m doing work around the house or lifting things it’s much easier. I’m definitely much stronger than I used to be. And I’ll say this too, even though the workouts are challenging, it’s been very rare that I wake up the next day and I’m overly sore. I always feel like I can train again the next day or have plenty of energy to do the things I want to do.
Breakthrough: That’s exactly as it should be! Maybe a couple of times a year you might push it hard in your training, but everyday isn’t marathon day or competition day.
Jim: I also really love that there is a strategy to all the programs. I can see that you guys have thought of where you want to take my training, and it’s very well thought out and well designed to get me from one point to the next.
Breakthrough: Well we really enjoying designing programs and creating plans to help people get where they want to go, so I’m glad you are seeing the benefit of that. Now, we always like people to share their “why”… this is your deep motivation or intention for why you prioritize your training.
Jim: I have a deep abiding desire to want to live and be productive. I’ll be 68 in December, and I think life comes to you in stretches of 30 years. So your first 30 years, you are establishing yourself and figuring out who you are, and the next 30 years maybe you are focusing on raising a family and all the stuff that goes along with that. The next 30 years are your own. My wife is 10 years younger than me, and I like being with her and doing things together and being active and everything that goes along with being a couple. And I have this morning routine that I do where I invest 15 minutes of my time and read over a scripted thing that I have about the man that I want to be. And it reminds me of the things I need to do everyday in order to not violate that promise to myself. So my thing now is “The 96”. I want to live to be a healthy, active 96. So, whenever I’m tempted to go grab a Snickers bar from the vending machine, I think about The 96. Whenever I’ve been sitting too long and my Apple Watch say to get up, I do it because of The 96.
Breakthrough: I absolutely love that! Such a powerful “why”! It really shows in your consistency and motivation, and the attitude you bring every time you train. Thank you so much for sharing, Jim!