Just do it! Says Ben...

Ben joined Studio ME over a year ago with his wife Elizabeth.  Since them he has been working hard and it has been so much getting to know him and have him as part of our crew! We are excited to see your continued success this year!

Ben's journey started very similar to many of our members.

"I had started getting into running before being a member, it wasn’t something I was doing a lot of but I wanted to keep up and be able to do the Disney events with Elizabeth. We are big fans of the parks and enjoy their events. They do the best of any runs, plus we get to tie in a vacation to the trip. We enjoy traveling all over the world but the great thing about a Disney vacation is that I don’t have to use my brain or feel rushed that I might miss something."

Ben's fitness experience with mostly with running. "Other than that, I haven’t had a good workout regimen. I always tried to start up, joined a gym, one of the big ones with no help, I would go, try to figure out the machines and just get frustrated and leave. Canceling out membership after our time ran up, feeling defeated."

Ben's journey started when his wife, Elizabeth, found Studio ME and went to her first class with Megan teaching it. She came back with a smile on her face and wore out from the class. "I was like, WOAH if she enjoys this then I will! (Elizabeth doesn’t enjoy running that much)."

When I first signed up my goal was...

..."to get in better shape. I work in an industry that is mostly older 50+, overweight men. I never want to get like them and I also have a goal to never miss out on something because I’m out of shape. We went on a hike in Alaska one time and they don’t tell you about part of it, due to if the group is to slow you can’t see it. We made it, we were not that slow and it turned out to be a glacier ice cave. One of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. I never want to miss out on something like that. I want to have those experiences and share them with Elizabeth."

I've has this goal for a few years but didn't know how to start. "I didn't have the right guidance or the right people in my physical fitness world," says Ben.

I tried different gyms and workout plans but none of them helped.

When I first started at Studio ME I was "feeling good overall I didn’t know what to expect but I was excited about it. Something different to help me in my non run days."

The best part of studio me are the people! "It’s the people teaching and in the classes, that keep me coming back to Studio ME."

People I don’t see but once or twice a year have said to me I look much bigger in my upper body. I’ve never been a strong person in my arms nor chest. So that made me feel great. 

When asked how Ben feels about his future...

GREAT! AWESOME! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (ric flair).

Ben's advice to anyone considering getting going with a fitness routine is to

"Do it! (Not to infringe on Nike Trademarks) There are days I don’t want to work out, days I want to hit the cancel button BUT those are the days I make myself to not do it because after that workout I feel so much better, happy with myself that I went to class and I did it. Nothing there is going to kill me (well maybe Siri when I get smart with her) but it’s so worth it."

It's not always easy...

"I’ll go down a rabbit hole here for a moment. My father retired a few years ago and not much long after he was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia.  He worked all his life to get to where he was, born in poverty to work his way through life to retire after he sold his own company and now he can’t do anything. Literally the American dream to work hard, provide for your family and here he is. Now needing help with everything he does we do daily. Now I’m not saying this to tell you a sob story and make you sad, I’m telling you this to help you live.

I’ve concluded after seeing this, that all of us should be live our lives in the moments we are given. Be a great person to those around you and you will surround yourself with great people. Take time and enjoy the time you have with your friends and family. Live life as the best person you can be, be emotional; if something makes you sad, be sad; if something makes you happy, be happy! Talk to people about your feelings, be honest and if you need it, ask for help from those you care about. Not everyone is going to like everyone, so if you don’t like someone or thing, move on. Stop stressing about it and move on. Life is WAY too short to waste time complaining about it for longer then you should."

"At Studio ME I’ve found people that drive me to push harder in workouts, people that make me smile and people that make me frown (when Megan tells me to get up to 30+ strokes per minute). This is what makes life great, the friendships I’ve made and the ones I’m excited to make in the future."

Congrats Ben! Love having you in classes and part of the crew! His signature move is laying on the floor after a tough Shockwave or rowing class... :)