Having struggled the previous three years with a series of health-related challenges, including emergency surgery for a kidney stone too large to pass, Max knew something had to be done, and soon. At the encouragement of his wife, Max decided to join LA Fitness with the hope of becoming physically active again. This was the first step back to reclaiming his quickly deteriorating health.

While Max had been very active in sports as a boy and young man, time seemed to have taken its toll. A worsening knee problem had deprived him of even the most basic of physical activities – walking. In June of 2014, Max was approved for arthroscopic surgery (a minimally invasive surgical procedure to help treat joint problems). At the same time, he found himself suffering from migraine headaches, a weight of over 200 lbs., and a waist that had expanded to 43 inches.

Max’s original goal was to lose excess belly fat. He hoped that by increasing muscle tone, combined with mild cardio, it would help shed the weight. He also knew from the start that he wanted a trainer to help guide and encourage him along the way to achieving his desired fitness goal. And even though Max had done some weight training in his youth, he had never been properly trained on technique, or, on how to build a properly balanced exercise regime. This is where the training came in; it offered both encouragement and accountability.

In April 2015, Max was partnered with personal trainer, Alex B. He originally started training once a week before increasing his sessions to double that. With the help of Alex, Max was able to achieve incredible results. In roughly a six-month period, Max went from benching around 140 lbs. to a maximum bench press of 265 lbs.! Not only did he start feeling better, but his waist had begun to shrink too. However, like so many others, Max had a hard time making the commitment to a total life change and found himself not noticing a difference in his overall weight.

A Word From His Trainer

“I have trained Max for nearly three years. He’s had to overcome some obstacles along the way. At the start he was battling migraine headaches and vertigo and still hobbling from arthroscopic knee surgery. He could barely do pull-ups and only managed 140lbs on the bench press. But in time he started getting great results. In addition to losing nearly 30lbs his strength has increased, reaching 260lbs in the bench press and 25 pull-ups. I don’t recall ever seeing a 67 year old do that. He’s a great example that age is not a barrier or an excuse. Of all of Max’s successes I think the biggest is that he enjoys coming to the gym, and I believe he’ll stay at it for the rest of his life. As trainers our job isn’t just to take people through workouts but also to create a positive experience for the member in the gym so they will continue to train and develop. Max has been that guy and he is a great inspiration to other members who’ve watched his transformation.” – Alex B.