PLANET FITNESS GIVES CONTESTANT NEW LEASE ON LIFE

PLANET FITNESS GIVES CONTESTANT NEW LEASE ON LIFE

Jacques Theron has been in and out of gyms his whole life, but has never had the luxury of a personal trainer – until he was chosen to take part in the Sanlam Lighter Side of Life challenge, that is!

Jacques says: “In the beginning I even waived the ‘free first session’ option every other time I signed up, as I really didn't think I needed to be told how the machines work or where to find the bikes. I got personal trainer sessions sponsored for me in the LSoL challenge and at first I was more impressed by the free water bottle than by the trainer sessions, as I figured that I would probably drop this guy gracefully and do my own thing!

“I couldn't have been more wrong! A personal trainer called Louis was assigned to me at Planet Fitness Plattekloof. I didn't choose him and couldn’t really be bothered at first. But after my first training session, as fat (121.2kg starting weight) and unfit as I was, I started to see the light…

“In the photo (left) you see me doing ‘lunges’ in the car-park at the gym – some days I did lunges without the weights and on level ground. Then one day Louis made me do them on a slope in the car-park, and I discovered muscles I never knew I had!

Louis has really been the difference for me in this challenge, and is helping me with short-term goals: to reach double figures (below 100kg) for my birthday present (30 November) and to have a six-pack by Christmas! I would really urge anyone who joins a gym to look at the personal trainer option…”

Jacques is not shy about his ‘medium fat’ photo, because “I used to look like a slob in my gym clothes!”