Personal Training for a Lifetime: Al Pieper's Better Living Fitness Journey

I realized [Better Living Fitness Center founder] Mark would be the best choice for me as a trainer because of the breadth of his knowledge. A lot of personal trainers are fine if you have a narrow range of goals – if you just want to drop twenty pounds, for example, or you want to train for a particular event. But Mark is so well-rounded, I knew we'd be able to develop a long-term working relationship.
-- 10-year Better Living Fitness client Al Pieper, who turns 79 years old this week

Al Pieper has been working out with a Better Living Fitness personal trainer since he was sixty-nine years old.

Ten years later, Al is about to enjoy his seventy-ninth birthday – and he says he's looking forward to many more birthdays, too, “...thanks to my Better Living trainer!”

Unlike some of our clients, Al didn't wait until his older years to start exercising. Instead, his fitness journey first started about forty years ago, when he was working in Detroit.

“I was developing 'executive overhang' – my stomach hung over my belt,” he remembered, laughing. So, Al found a fitness center near his office, and for the rest of his career he worked out instead of going out to lunch.

But as he retired and became older, Al's fitness needs changed and he decided he wanted to work with a professional personal trainer. Eventually, Al met Better Living Founder Mark Thiesmeyer.

During their initial consultation, Al says, “I realized Mark would be the best choice for me as a trainer because of the breadth of his knowledge. A lot of personal trainers are fine if you have a narrow range of goals – if you just want to drop twenty pounds, for example, or you want to train for a particular event.

But Mark is so well-rounded, I knew we'd be able to develop a long-term working relationship.”

Al's relationship with Mark – and the entire Better Living training staff – started with sessions geared to help Al improve his running. But when Al broke his hip and running stopped being an option, Mark developed a different fitness routine to speed Al's overall recovery.

“Physical therapy is great, but physical therapists only concentrate on returning functionality to the part of your body that's healing – not on the rest of your body,” Al says. “Mark and the other Better Living personal trainers helped make sure that my whole body recovered from my hip replacement, and also from a surgery I had on my spine.”

Medical issues aside, it's also a fact that our fitness needs change as we age. Al says that, these days, his personal training sessions are focused on a combination of strength training, flexibility, and balance exercises. In addition, Al has changed his weekly routine – instead of three personal training sessions every week, Al does a training session twice a week and comes to Full-Body Fit every weekend.
 
“I like the cardio aspect of Full-Body Fit,” he says. “I walk my dog a few miles a

day, but my dog is getting older, too, so it's not like we get a lot of cardio from our walks. Full-Body Fit gives me the cardio, and I like the group environment.” 

Whether you're training for a particular goal -- like weight loss or athletic performance -- or you want a long-term relationship with a personal trainer to keep you healthy for life, Better Living has a trainer and a program for you. Contact us today to arrange your free initial consultation!

Better Living Fitness Center is proud to participate in Silver Sneakers.