lwengle posted on June 17, 2009 10:52
By Maryanne Kocis MacLeod, Macomb Daily Staff Writer
Kids have a gift for bluntness.
Lori Wengle, certified personal trainer and creator of the just-launched Trainer in a Box, recalls the time her then 6-year-old daughter, Victoria, told a full classroom that her mother's favorite thing to do was "rest."
"Everybody was looking at me," said Wengle, who, at 5-foot-3-inches tall and 243 pounds, had just squeezed into a child's chair to listen to the first-grade presentation. The accompanying illustration depicted Wengle lying in bed. "I was so embarrassed. Darn it. I didn't want to be that kind of mom."
The experience was enough to propel Wengle, who was also going through a divorce, in a fresh direction.
"I'd kept making mistakes with guys, related to weight issues and self-esteem," said Wengle, a 1988 graduate of South Lake High School and current Howell resident. "I didn't want to make any more mistakes. My daughter and I deserved better than that."
Wengle started her new life by focusing only on her daughter and herself.
"It was time to be by ourselves for a while," she said.
She fended off food cravings by embracing her job as a dealer/trainer for a mobile phone company. Results on the scale and in the plus column of her bottom line were equally impressive.
By the time she met her husband Jeff, Wengle was the author of several successful training manuals, committed to regular cardio workouts, happier, reasonably confident and 60 pounds lighter.
"But I was still struggling," Wengle said.
Because she'd lost the weight quickly through crash dieting, her eating habits weren't optimum. Also, though aerobic exercise had made a difference in her energy level and metabolism, something was missing.
"I'd lost a lot of muscle through weight loss and was looking pretty flabby," Wengle said. "Jeff kept saying: 'You have to work out with weights.' Finally, I listened."
Wengle hired a personal trainer and, just like that, found her mojo.
"In six weeks, I got the same results that I got with 10 months of cardio," Wengle said. "At rest, one pound of fat burns one calorie a day. One pound of muscle burns 35 calories a day."
She lost the remaining weight and threw herself into research to learn more. Lifting weights, she discovered, wasn't the whole story.
"It comes down to muscle confusion," explained Wengle, who now weighs 135 and wears a size 6. "If you do the same thing over and over, your body gets used to it. You have to push yourself every time. Increase the reps, switch out muscle groups. I'm telling you, the results feel so much like a miracle."
She eventually pursued certification as a personal trainer and has
helped clients change the direction of their lives for the past two years.
"Once I get them into weight training, they love it," Wengle said. "I've only had two people in all this time fall off the wagon."
But seeing current and former clients working out at the gym made Wengle realize one more thing: Most people need gentle but regular reminders.
"They'd forget this tip or that guideline, or just be doing some exercise totally wrong," Wengle said. She began writing out guidelines for each client to take with them to the gym, and that was the precursor for Personal Trainer in a Box.
Released nationally earlier this year, the handy cardboard box contains 144 sturdy cards that help users easily customize their workout strategy based on gender, training level and number of workouts per week. The product has already sold in 48 states, and Wengle is shooting an infomercial to further pump sales.
"You don't do the same workout for five weeks," Wengle said. "And there's enough to keep you busy for a whole year."
"Everybody, including myself, wants it right now," continued Wengle, who advocates for a strong, traditionally feminine figure over society's stick-thin definitions of beauty. "But if you're patient and keep working, you'll achieve what you want to change — besides having a lot more energy to get through the day."
"It's just so easy to use," said stay-at-home mom Tricia Mollard, 36, of Brighton. "I try to work out at the gym three times a week, but if you have a sick kid, or whatever, that's not always possible."
Since she started using the product in January, Mollard, who does not have a weight problem, lost 16 and three-quarter inches.
"I got especially good results on my arms and midsection, which were the areas that I wanted to target and improve," Mollard said. "The cards lay it all out for you. It's like working out with a trainer, but without spending $50 an hour."
Personal Trainer in a Box retails for $99.95. For more information or to order, visit www.changeyourworldfitness.com.