From Feeling Numbness To Feeling Fit! Listen To Kathy's Journey.

What issues were you dealing with and how long were you dealing with them before you found Cornerstone Health?

– So, my name’s Kathy and I’ve been living in Evanston for a long time time and before I came in to Cornerstone Health, I had two kids and was also dealing with just some numbness issues, kind of up and down the right side of my body. And so, that’s what first brought me in. I knew Ben. Had known him for a couple of years and knew what he did and so I reached out to him and asked if he could help me with that.

What issues were you dealing with prior to starting the foundational fitness program and what goals did you have?

Yeah, so after I had seen Dr. Ben for awhile and addressed some of the just immediate issues that I was feeling like the numbness and kind of rebuilding my core, I knew I wanted to get back into exercise but didn’t really know where to start and was kind of nervous about re-injuring some of the places that we had already worked on. 

Did you have any concerns before joining the foundational fitness program?

I was nervous about the three day a week commitment ’cause that was the ideal frequency. I had previously not ever committed to coming to something three times a week. And so I was nervous about just making sure that I could actually do that and that that would work with my schedule. I guess that was the main concern, actually but I think the thing that gave me reassurance was just having known the people that were working here already and I felt confident that if I could make that commitment that I would see progress.

How long have you been in the foundational fitness program and what improvements have you seen?

So I came in in January and I had been running in the fall. I had just started running and didn’t really wanna run through the winter and so, I was looking for something to do in the cold months and so, I joined in January and basically came for about four months before it got warmer again to go running. Ideally, I remember Dr. Ben saying, “This is something people would do up to a year.” But we worked out a plan and set some goals according to the things that I wanted to see happen and I definitely saw progress. I really actually didn’t know what to expect, but I was amazed to see how much stronger I’d gotten in just in four months.

What specifically did you like most about the foundation fitness program?

The thing that I enjoyed the most working with Denny was that every single time we came, there was always some sort of new exercise to target different areas, and sometimes it would just be like a small variation of something we had already done, but I think coming in each time, having somebody tell me what to do and also explain what muscles it was working, why it was good, and then I think the other key thing also, was just the posture of all the different exercises. ‘Cause as I was sort of weighing different options, whether to do this class or just kind of figure something out by myself at home, or at the gym, one of the concerns I had was re-injury and so working with somebody that could really show me what the best positions were and how to do things was a huge reason why I really enjoyed the class. 

How has the foundational fitness program improved your quality of life?

Yeah, I think just overall strength. I mean that probably the area that I saw the greatest strength was actually in my core. My lower body always was pretty strong, but I think strengthening the core and that’s where a lot of the injuries were post-pregnancy. That just really made a big difference in terms of just being able to carry things or I think it also helped in terms of my stamina and cardio and things like that. 

What would you say to someone that maybe hesitant about joining the foundation fitness program?

I would say just try it out. And I would also recommend that you even just come in and visit the space. Part of what also helps make it easier to join the class was I already knew all the people who were working at Cornerstone, and just already felt like I had seen progress in my just one-on-one appointments with them before I started taking the class and so coming in and getting to know the staff, looking at the facilities, trying a class, and they’re really easy to work with. I feel like you can share your concerns with them and talk about even just schedule limitations and work out a plan that works for you.