The Wellness Center's Blog

Member Spotlight: John DeGeorge

By: Chelsea Staff

January 1, 2021, 9:00 am - Categories: Fitness Tips

John DeGeorge struggled with chronic pain from arthritis. Degeneration in the disks in his back caused him fear of having pain which sequentially caused him to not exercise. Activities of daily living became a challenge. After a visit with his doctor, John wanted to learn how to exercise again without the fear of pain. The first step to achieving his goal was to go through physical therapy (PT). After completion of PT, John participated in the Chelsea Wellness Center’s Next Steps Fitness Program™. Here he had succeeded in routine exercise.

John joined the Chelsea Wellness Center in May of 2018. Initially, John felt nervous excitement towards the Wellness Center but has since felt it become more of a home. John appreciates the welcoming atmosphere and respectful members. John has also had great experiences with the fitness staff here at the Wellness Center. John denotes the success to strength training with a personal trainer. John works with Tyler, who has helped him with his form and also provided modifications to his routine. Within his full-body workout, John uses free weights, machines, cables, and bodyweight exercises. In addition, John uses the therapy pool, further helping his arthritis.

Since joining the center, John set a goal to decrease his weight from 309 to 270. That goal was achieved and he set a second goal getting down to 250 lbs. This was achieved and has now set out to decrease it further to 235 lbs. As of December, John weighed-in at an impressive 236 pounds!

Due to achieving his goals, John has much more energy and is in less pain. More importantly, his activities of daily living are easier to accomplish now! John’s new exercise habits have extended to persuade his children and they are losing weight and feeling the overall benefits physical activity can have. John is most proud of his physical improvements, most notably his 10% decrease in body fat percentage!

John’s fitness advice is, “Get a personal trainer. Best money I ever spent.”

John is a current resident in Jackson and is employed as an embedded software engineer. When he is not working, John enjoys cooking, fishing and boating. In July 2019, he was able to sit long enough without pain to fish in his rowboat! John emphasizes that he is living proof it’s never too late to start exercising. Keep up the great work, John! We appreciate all of your hard work and determination!