Day One Journey: Meet Juan
In late 2021, we asked our members, “What’s Your Day One?” Dozens of members shared their 2022 fitness goals with us, and we chose four members to follow on their journeys from Day One to Goal Accomplished! First up, let’s meet Juan!
Juan joined the FFC Family in 2012 after graduating from college. Over the years, Juan has worked on and off with a personal trainer and has also come to the club for cardio and lifting workouts on his own. One thing he hasn’t tried in his 10 years of membership with FFC? Swimming.
“Usually when I’m in a pool, I’m holding an alcoholic beverage,” Juan said with a laugh.
In his submission video, Juan said that it has been his goal to learn how to swim since joining the club.
“I have not achieved that goal yet, but I’m hoping that you all can help me learn how to swim and lead a healthier lifestyle of having that routine of swimming,” Juan said.
Typically, Juan hits the gym about three times a week, but he had a busy few months near the end of 2021 in his career as a Data Analytics Manager. By learning how to swim with our Day One program, Juan hopes that swimming will give him another reason to visit the club regularly.
Related: How To Stay Motivated To Reach Your Fitness Goals
“I also want to learn how to swim just to have a new life skill,” Juan said. “Global warming, riding sea tides, you never know,” he joked.
Each of the participants in our Day One program is paired with a FFC Personal Trainer to help them achieve their goals. Juan is paired with Joy Miles, a 40+-time triathlete who has worked at FFC as a Personal Trainer for more than 12 years.
“I love teaching people, especially adults, how to learn to swim,” Joy said.
Joy learned how to swim just three months before her first triathlon, and her advice to new swimmers is to get in the pool often.
“Swimming is more technical than golf,” Joy said. “If you can get into the pool at least three times a week when you’re first learning how to swim, your swim IQ is going to jump dramatically, versus just swimming once a week.”
Related: Check out this beginner’s core workout from Joy!
During her first sessions with Juan, Joy introduced some balance drills and helped him get comfortable with putting his face in the water, which she said is one of the biggest learning curves for people when they are learning to swim.
“One of my homework assignments for [Juan] is to get the largest mixing bowl that you have, fill it with water, put your goggles on, and put your face in the water,” Joy said. “Exhale out in the water and turn your head to get that air.”
After he is more comfortable with breathing in the water, Joy will be working on stroke development with Juan. She said she is excited to be working with someone who is motivated and who is taking their swim lessons seriously.
“His attitude is really good, really positive for this because he wants to do this,” Joy said. “And that makes all the difference when it comes to learning how to swim.”
Joy is confident in Juan’s abilities to reach his goal, and Juan is looking forward to seeing how the program progresses over these 12 weeks.
“This is my first time doing something like this,” Juan said. “I just want to fully take it all in, learn a new skill and hopefully be up in the pool every day working out and getting my summer body in shape.”
Watch below for a sneak peek on all 4 of our Day One participants!
Post written by FFC Contributor Natalie Casper.
