Patty Porter, Current Student & mother of Fernside Alumni

“I thought that since I had been doing pilates and yoga I was in pretty good shape. Gary hooked me up with Tim Dempsey and that first workout was when I realized that I couldn’t even do basic lifts. That was when I decided I would like to workout here. Over the course of time I’ve had a knee replacement so I’ve used the Riekes Center to get one side of my body as strong as the other. Between Tim and Robbie I think I’m doing great and am now pretty balanced with my body. I think that as you get older you need to sweat everyday, workout, and be agile and balanced. All those things are important to staying healthy. So the Riekes Center has become a part of my life.”

“One of the things that I like about working with the trainers here is they physically watch you the whole time. They make sure you are always in the proper form and working the correct muscle. If you are ever doing it wrong they stop you and make corrections. Whereas when I used trainers at the other gyms they would just tell me to do my reps, but didn’t really focus on my form. So that’s one of the big things I think is wonderful here.”