Why Not You?
One day while walking Lauren Schwed decided to sprint from the street corner to a stop sign up ahead. This doesn’t appear like it would be a hard task or any magnificent feat of fortitude. So what’s the big deal?
The big deal is that a little over a year before this, sprinting seemed impossible for Lauren. Lauren was born with a discoid meniscus in her left knee. When she was a child her knee would occasionally pop or lock, but it didn’t really cause her pain. She loved gymnastics, tennis, and ice skating. After Lauren’s second pregnancy she began spinning to lose the last of her baby weight, but started feeling tightness and pain in her knee. She went to get an MRI and this is when she first learned that she had a discoid meniscus with many tears. The doctor recommended surgery, but with Lauren having a 2 1/2 year old and 1 year old she decided to put off the surgery until her youngest child was 2. Finding out that she was pregnant once again she decided to postpone the surgery even longer. A few weeks after her third son was 2 she took her older sons ice skating. This was the nail in the coffin for Lauren’s knee. When she woke up the following day she could hardly walk. She went to get an MRI as soon as possible. The doctor told Lauren that it looked like a bomb went off in her knee and her only option was surgery now. Since the meniscus was left untreated for so long the pieces had broken off and had cut into her cartilage meaning that 80 percent of the cartilage around her left knee had to be removed in addition to a large portion of the meniscus. The surgery was followed by swelling and the prescribed physical therapy didn’t seem to get Lauren to 100%. She had to ice constantly and couldn’t stand or walk for more than 10 minute increments. Weight gain and depression started to set in as Lauren felt like her identity was stolen when her ability to be active was lost. She was told that she would never have full ability with her knee again. With the support of her husband she joined a gym which only led to pain and discomfort which put an end to that quickly. After a year of doing nothing she decided to start walking and had some success, but it wasn’t enough…
In comes Amir Lamdan and Robert DeCillis at TFW Long Island! Over the summer Lauren’s husband tried TFW Long Island. He told Amir and Rob about Lauren and her history with the surgery. Amir and Rob were confident that they could not only train Lauren, but help her knee function improve. Despite some fear and hesitation Lauren decided to give it a try. After one class Lauren knew she was in good hands. Many exercises were modified and she was able to get a great workout. She took things slow, using only arm drives instead of sprints and modifying when need be. She started seeing results in mere weeks. After a month she was able to sprint for the first time, after two she was able to run hurricanes. She can sprint, squat, deadlift and jump. Her confidence is through the roof and she is doing things that she didn’t think would be possible anymore! If that wasn’t enough, she also lost 5% body fat!
Amir and Rob are in the business of changing people’s lives. When I went to visit TFW Long Island I listened to Amir describe the difference between trainers and coaches. They are not trainers. They don’t just stand there and count reps and put weights on a bar. They are coaches; they change behaviors and improve the quality of life of their clients. They’ve had members increase mobility, lose body fat, and more importantly increase their level of health and confidence.
A quote from Rob DeCillis was one of my biggest takeaways, “Why Not You?” What’s stopping you from being the best you can be and living to your fullest potential? If there is an amazing MMA coach that you look up to, or a doctor, or a great athlete, why can’t that be you? Why not you? If you want something, go for it! Work hard, work diligently, work consistently and reach your goals. Don’t limit yourself. Lauren didn’t. She defied the odds, didn’t make excuses and didn’t let a physical limitation be a limitation for very long. Rob and Amir didn’t limit themselves. They opened the gym to touch more people’s lives. They thought big and went for it!
“If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.” -Bruce Lee
I’m so happy to say that today, November 2, 2013, is the official Grand Opening of TFW Long Island! Check them out and create your own success story!
2277 Bellmore Ave, Bellmore, New York 11710
(516) 679-0700
TFWLongIsland@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/TFWLongisland
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