It’s been almost 7 weeks of training, 6 days a week, at Gym Jones—I’ve also been eating a reasonably healthy diet. Since my first workout over here at Gym Jones in April, my weight has dropped significantly from 200 pounds to the low 180s. So, I wanted to take the opportunity to share some of my personal journey and info about my progress on my blog.
I first heard of Gym Jones several years ago… in the Special Operations community, you eventually hear of their workouts, which were often compared to CrossFit. They both use similar equipment like dumbbells, kettlebells, row machines, gymnastics rings, exercises with a barbell, sled pushes, etc, yet I always remember Gym Jones workouts spoken of as a “next level” fitness program.
Naturally, I avoided them…haha. I think the first couple Gym Jones routines I experienced were 2-3 minutes of 30 second intervals of overhead dumbbell push presses, followed by a 30 seconds overhead dumbbell holds. I don’t recall the weight but I do remember thinking it sounded pretty easy… I quickly realized I was very mistaken. Another seemingly easy workout was 400m of 5x leg lunges with a 45 pound bar followed by 5x push presses with the bar – without putting the bar down.
Once again, I was extremely relieved when it was over.
Fast forward several years toward the end of my 12 years in the Navy — I found it increasingly difficult to hold myself to a strict workout program and I signed up for an online membership to the Gym Jones website, which gave me access to a variety of fitness programs. I had already seen the movie 300 and recently watched Man of Steel, both of which Gym Jones had an integral part in the physical and mental training for the cast… so naturally I selected the “Movie” training plan, ha!
A few shorts weeks later my travels had an upcoming layover in Salt Lake City, where Gym Jones is located, so I got in touch with the primary trainers (Hutch, Jason and Michael) and mentioned while I was in town I’d love to stop by to see the place I’d heard so much about. They enthusiastically agreed, and casually aka ominously informed me I should bring some shoes and workout clothes.
Here’s a breakdown of the workout:
After a 10 minute warm up with a row machine and AirDyne, one of the regular athletes and I began 6 rounds of:
10 push press w/ 25# dumbbells
10 cal ski erg
10 KB swings w/ 24kg
10cal assault bike
10 ring pulls
10 cal row
10 ball slams w/ 20#
**Done with a continuously running clock. Each exercise begins every minute on the minute, and after each round you increase by 1 rep or calorie. So, by round 6 your rests are shorter because you’re doing 16 reps or cals / minute.
After I had a couple minutes to catch my breath and chug water from the faucet (rookie move not bringing a water bottle), I was allowed to embarrass myself with a 1-minute max effort on the assault bike. I think I got a whopping 34 calories, which I’ve since seen Jason complete in under 17 seconds… I’m positive my 10-minute cool down on the AirDyne was focused on maintaining consciousness and regaining the color in my face.
My late May separation date from the Navy was quickly approaching and my next career was not supposed to begin until October. I made the decision to train at Gym Jones in Salt Lake City for the interim four months so I focused my remaining four weeks in San Diego on increasing my physical fitness so I would be ready to hit the ground running in slightly better shape.
I arrived in SLC on June 5th and started training at the gym regularly beginning the next morning. I’ve since attended a Gym Jones Fundamentals Seminar and am grateful to have the opportunity to train along world-class athletes and extremely fit regulars that push me on a daily basis. The owner of the gym, Lisa Boshard, is one of the kindest people you could meet and I can honestly say this has been one of the best summers of my life.
I’m kind of anti-“shirtless selfies” but even in the photos below you can see a drastic change in my body type and composition.
April 12, 2018
June 30, 2018
Hope you enjoyed reading the article, stay tuned for more updates in the future! Although I’m not a licensed physical trainer, physical therapist, nutritionist or any other fitness-related expert, I’m more than open to share my personal experiences in future blog posts. Send me a message and let me know if there’s anything in particular you’d like me to write about! View more information about the gym at GymJones.com
Joseph Benevento originally published this article on JosephBenevento.org
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