John Zoleo

On October 11th, I was rushed to the hospital because of severe chest pain. After a few tests, I ended up in the operating room having a 6 1/2 hour quintuple bypass surgery. When I woke up, I was still full of drugs and anesthesia so nothing seemed so painfully bad at that moment. Then I tried to move and realized I couldn’t. My chest was cracked open and a vein was harvested from my leg. The simplest movements were challenging and continued to be for weeks. Upon my arrival home, I weighed myself and freaked. I had lost over 20 lbs. I had no body fat to lose. What I lost was muscle, seemingly every last bit of it. I was a mess. I was depressed, but I had two choices: to lay down and be miserable or get up and start over.

I decided to call Ken and asked if he was up to the challenge of putting me back together. The day I started my personal training on Nov. 30th, (about six weeks after my surgery), my weight was 120 lbs, my biceps measured 10.5″, my forearms were 8”,my chest was 36″, my quads were 12”, and my calves were 11”. The only thing that hadn’t changed was my height of 5’6”.

Ken’s knowledge of the human body, his patience, and his willingness to alter every exercise to my specific physical challenges has made all the difference in my recovery both physically and psychologically. A clean high calorie, high protein diet, constant support/encouragement of my personal trainer and a lot of hard work has given me my body and confidence back! By June, I gained 22.5 Lbs, my biceps measured 13.5”, my forearms were 11”, my chest was 39”, my quads were 18.75″, and my calves were 13.5”. A great achievement! As of today, I still eat a clean diet and work out regularly and have maintained a regular, yet not obsessive exercise plan. I feel and look better than ever thanks to all the help from Ken!