Introduction:

This week’s feature client is Katie. Katie has a great attitude and loves to laugh, we call her Giggles because she laughs so much during her work outs. The only disability in life is a bad attitude. – Scott Hamilton

Katie’s story is told by her mother…

Katie is 26-years-old and has been wheelchair-bound for a majority of her life; she stopped growing in Utero and only weighed 4.15 pounds when born. Up until her first birthday, Katie developed normally, but after she was 1 year old, she lost some of her developmental milestones. Even though doctors are still unable to pinpoint the reason behind Katie’s condition, she has been able to gain a good bit of strength by working extremely hard and putting forth her best efforts. One of Katie’s favorite things to do is horseback riding – she lives for horses. If she’s not riding them, then she is watching shows about them or playing computer games that feature horses. Katie loves horses so much that if you’ve seen a horse toy or product in a store, I guarantee she already owns it.

Why did you start at Repke Fitness or what made you choose to train at Repke Fitness?

For her entire life, Katie was in physical therapy – sometimes even doing PT on a horse. However, when a child turns 18 years old, insurance companies make it more difficult to get coverage for physical therapy, limiting the amount of sessions one can have per year. I (Debbie) had been training with Louben and asked if he could possibly help Katie. Louben was willing to give it a try and Katie has been training with him ever since.

What year did you start training at Repke Fitness?

Katie – like her parents – starting personal fitness training at Repke Fitness in early 2011. When Louben had his personal training studio in Severna Park, MD.

What has personal training allowed you to do OR what fitness goals have you accomplished by training with Repke Fitness?

Since training at Repke Fitness, Katie really notices a difference when horseback riding. Her entire team has noticed her increased strength; she is able to sit more upright on the horse and her posting, which is sitting up and down on the horse, has significantly improved. Katie’s endurance has also gotten better.

Personal training has helped Katie in her daily life as well. When being transferred in and out of her chair, Katie is able to help more. She also uses her increased core strength to sit more upright in her chair, which allows her to breathe better.

What do you like best about Repke Fitness?

Katie’s favorite thing about Repke Fitness is the staff – she loves Louben, Rob and Sara. What she loves best is the fact that they work her hard, but make it fun at the same time. When Katie first started fitness training, she loved working out with Louben because he doesn’t see any limitations in her and expects her to give 100 percent like he does with the rest of his clients.

What’s your favorite exercise?

Katie’s favorite exercise is doing sit-to-stands, which is basically a wheel chair squat. She also likes abdominal exercises.

What is your least favorite exercise?

Katie’s least favorite exercise is Katie Jacks, which is a modified version of jumping jacks that were created by Louben and named after yours truly, Katie! As you can see, like most people, Katie doesn’t like cardio.

What is your favorite phrase to use with your trainer?

After each of Katie’s fitness training sessions, she logs onto Facebook to check-in to Repke Fitness and posts, “Thanks for working me hard.”

Katie is a fun client to work out with. She has a great attitude and loves to work hard. We love having Katie as a client at Repke Fitness. She inspires everyone around her to push themselves. Katie has accomplished so much and we want to remind everyone, “The only disability in life is a bad attitude.” – Scott Hamilton