Update on Andrew

 It's been been a few months since I wrote about the big man. Last we checked in he weighed 389 lbs for a loss of 111 lbs around the middle of March. His last weigh in was July 14th and his weight was 342lbs. A total loss of 158lbs . 
 To be totally honest I never thought that Andrew would have made past a few workouts when he walked into my gym the first time. Nobody quite understands and I didnt before training him how hard it is for a big person to actually lose the weight. There are a lot of ignorant people out there that think its a matter of getting off their asses, hitting the gym and putting the cheeseburgers down then they will magically lose 300 lbs. Try strapping 300lbs over your shoulders and walk to the end of your driveway. Big people like Andrew have a hard time standing for more then a few minutes and you could see why if you think about carrying that weight. Now try going to a traditional gym like the rec center. The machines are not designed for guys his size. The bike, the rowing machine, treadmill, stair climber......name it and try putting a person of that size on it.  So for a big person hitting the local gym is not very useful. 
 I have never trained a 500lb man before I started with Andrew so it was as much of a learning curve to me as it was to him. This was a challenge really for both of us. I am a pretty old school guy and if I make a promise I will keep it. I promised Andrew if he showed up to the club I would train him. He made me a promise and that was he wouldnt miss any workouts.The guy has only missed 1 session since we started may 2013 and it was a solid reason. When his mother died in April he worked out twice as hard that month.
His mother was another person I made a promise to as well. She called me a couple months before she passed and asked me to see this through knowing she didnt have much time left. That phone call was one of the toughest  calls I ever had to take. I balled my eyes out knowing how tough it was going to be on Andrew. The nicest guy in the world that cant catch a break. Of course I am going to see this through. That guy is going to be smaller then me when Im done with him and by the way things are going that wont be too long from now. The amount of weight he has lost already is mind blowing
 I always look forward to weigh in day which is every 3 weeks. Seeing that number drop and thinking of the things that weigh the same. Our first weigh in he only lost a few pound so I imagined a few sticks of butter. Then it was 50lbs..... the weight of my lazy bulldog. Then it was 75lbs.......I thought about a huge sack of potatoes. Then 1oolbs ..... 125......135 the size of my girlfriend......now 158lbs .......Frankie Edgar ( ufc fighter). Its blown away to think he will be in the 2 hundreds by Christmas.
  Andrew is pumped about all this. He has conquered so many goals to this point. Camping, fishing, dating, riding a bike, dropping weight, swimming and running just to name a few. He sets realistic goals that are achievable. Then he does them. Simple as that. Baby steps to success. This is one of the main reasons he is there every week. A sense of accomplishment is important when you have to go a long way. 
  We owe most of his success from changing his diet but also the types of workouts I have been doing with him. Like i said earlier, gym equipment is not built for guys his size. I mostly work with kettlebells and do TRX workouts with him. TRX is my substitute for all those machines and equipment at big gyms. Modifying traditional exercises, stretching and focusing mostly on his core and agility has been really working for him. He is moving fast and for longer then ever before.
 This weekend July 20th he will be competing once again in the annual charity wrestling event that happens at the band hall. Last year we worked hard so that he would be able to get in the ring so he could compete. This year he is going to be strong enough to be able to use more moves and compete at a higher level. (Tickets to this charitable event are still available).
 The doctors are more then happy with his progress. They have been monitoring Andrew's health step by step. So far they have taken him off all his meds because of what he has been doing and for dropping so much weight he doesnt need them anymore. Basically he was saving his own life when  he started doing this.
 Its getting late and I got to beat on the big man tomorrow so Im going to shut down. But before I do I just want to say one thing. If a man that was this far gone can make a come back and change his life around. ANYONE CAN !!!
 If you're not living you're dying

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