Which LAB product did you use?
Group classes and bootcamp in Lumphini Park.
Who were your coaches?
Rich for Bootcamp and every instructor for group classes pretty much.
Lots of Paan, Veronica, Free and Vishal. But the others as well.
What’s your background and how did you start training with The LAB?
I am a retired FBI Agent and I was first assigned to Bangkok with the FBI in 2008. I was stationed here until 2012 and then returned for a second tour of duty from 2014 until my retirement in 2019.
Throughout my life I have always been into sports. Growing up, I loved playing ice hockey and still play today. I also played soccer and exercised to stay in shape, like running and occasionally hitting the gym on my own. But other than playing hockey, no exercise regime ever stuck. I had never tried group exercise classes as I didn’t know what they were all about, plus, my work schedule didn’t really allow it.
I have never been overweight, but felt like I could lose between 5-10 pounds. Last year, I decided to make a big effort to lose weight… the wrong way. Whilst I had been intermittent fasting for a couple of years, I started over-fasting, fasting for days at a time. I lost almost 30 pounds. I was running too much and not doing any strength training. I was too focused on losing weight instead of being healthy and I became too skinny, often being told I looked unhealthy.
After I retired, and my schedule opened up, the opportunity to try classes was something I wanted to take advantage of. I tried another gym first and got a feel for the class vibe and structure, which I liked. I knew The LAB was closer and had heard good things, so I decided to try it out and from the first class (Simply Shredded with Coach Vishal), I was hooked.
Tell us about your experience at The LAB.
I started training at The LAB in January and quickly began going to as many classes as I could. I didn’t focus on any particular type of class and tried most of them. After the first month, I already noticed improvement in my cardiovascular performance and overall strength.
Then, the Covid-19 lockdowns started and soon after, the gym closed. The LAB team did an amazing job of quickly moving to an online format.
I took it upon myself to “attend” one online class every day, which I did. I can honestly say, those 40 days or so pushed me from feeling like I was getting in shape, to knowing I was in good shape.
When the gym finally opened, and I was in group classes again, I could really see my effort paying off. Not that it is a competition, but to see where my fitness was compared to other class participants gave me a good idea of my fitness level improvement.
Tell us about your results.
The LAB does a good job of helping you see results. Their TANITA scale helped check my body composition numbers. I can visually see improvements in my physique as well as feel them and the proof is in the numbers – weight, body fat percentage, metabolic age, visceral fat etc.
These statistics keep me motivated and are satisfying for sure.
Like anyone, it’s great to hear other people notice my hard work paying off and in the past month or so, my friends and relatives have been commenting on how I look.
That is just icing on the cake.
How do you feel about your training at The LAB?
I can’t say enough positive things about The LAB. The great choices of classes, the attitude and knowledge of the trainers, the family atmosphere, the helpful front desk staff, and the desire to help everyone get the results they desire. And added to all of this, the way in which Rich and the rest of the team stepped up during the Covid-19 situation was truly amazing.
Tell us what else you want to achieve.
I want to keep improving. I have really never been in this situation before, where I have the look and feel that I am so proud of. As I said, I’ve always been pretty athletic, played various sports and always felt I was “in-shape”, but what I feel and how I look now makes me very proud of what I have achieved, and has motivated me to keep going. So, keeping up with the consistent improvement to how I feel and the improvement to my overall health, staying consistent would be a goal. And of course, continued positive feedback from friends and family wouldn’t be the worst thing.
