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Jim Swanson has been my privledge to know from the very first day I met him. For the last several years he has proved himself as not only an amazing person and friend but as an exceptional personal trainer. My first experience with Forever Fitness was the fall of 2006 and I have been a loyal client ever since.
Not only has Jim expanded my already extensive fitness back round with nutritional and weight training knowledge, but he has continued invest himself in any daily struggle that arose for me…he made sure he was a constant support in every aspect of my training.
What makes Jim even more special is that he’s a man that doesn’t just show up to work and go through the motions but is a person that really lives and loves his job. His commitment and work ethic is unparalleled by anyone I’ve encountered in my lifetime. The personal success’s I’ve seen in my own life reminds me of how lucky I am to have had him in my corner, for there is no question in my mind that I could not have gotten to where I am today without the guidance of Jim Swanson.
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As an aspiring bodybuilder, I knew it was a matter of time before I had to bite the bullet and really learn how to get shredded. The two previous years, I had dieted down on my own, and gotten into what I considered fairly decent condition. However, I knew that once I committed to doing my first show, I would have to take my conditioning to the next level. That's when I decided to enlist the services of Jim Swanson.
I knew Jim as a well-known national-level competitor, with a reputation for getting his clients into the best shape of their lives. I had a rough working knowledge of what I had to do, but I wanted somebody who walked the walk, and who had competed at a much higher and more prestigious level, to lend me an objective set of eyes. Working with Jim, I had the full confidence that I would look great on show day. I didn't have to second-guess myself or worry about so many of the little things that most people worry about regarding diet and cardio programming. Whether I was feeling great or nervous during any particular meeting, Jim could always put everything into perspective and make sure I was doing what had to be done in order to achieve my goals.
When I first approached Jim, I weighed 278lbs and my body fat was very high. I knew the muscle was there underneath, I just had to chisel away the fat to get to it. Through outlining a proper nutrition and cardiovascular approach, I dropped nearly 70lbs in 20 weeks, and ended up on stage at 210lbs!
All in all, I was incredibly happy with my showing, taking second place in the Men's Open division of a highly-contested show with good talent. I beat out several competitors who had been competing for a much longer period of time, including the pervious year's winner. In large part, my great showing was due to Jim's tireless efforts and quality guidance with my overall training template.
I also work as a personal trainer, and love helping to push people and motivate others to achieve their goals. So many that work in this industry have no passion, no love for their craft, and get by on ten-cent certifications. When you find an individual like Jim Swanson-- who lives, breathes, and LOVES his chosen career and is passionate about his work-- you have truly found somebody that you can trust and respect.
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I began training with Jim Swanson in October of 2004. Before working with Jim, I had always been athletic and competed at the varsity level in Football and Wrestling. I heard of Jim Swanson’s experience throughout multiple gyms. I decided to take my take my training to the next level and knew I could not do it by myself. I contacted Jim, we met and he asked me about my goals, and he told me what it would to achieve them. I had thought of myself as an expert, but after my first week with Jim, I quickly realized that my physical and mental conditioning had not yet reached its full potential.
I had trained with Jim for 2 months, and I had already exceeded my short term goals. Jim suggested setting long term goals. I was interested in bringing my physical fitness to a competitive level, Jim was supportive. Jim is very knowledgeable in this industry, and was able to help me plan out my competitive future. He let me know what it would take to get me in competitive condition, I followed all his recommendations.
Jim Swanson trained me through 2 State Bodybuilding Titles. I continue to work with Jim to stay motivated, and to stay on the best possible path to success. Jim’s passion for physical fitness has inspired me to also peruse a career in this industry. I am now a Personal Trainer, and continue to practice what I have learned from Jim Swanson. I consider Jim’s training to be the current industry standard and essential for all people trying to improve their personal fitness.
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I have always been physically active throughout my life. I played basketball for years and stopped playing when I came to college, but continued to stay physically active. Even though I was weight training and doing cardio in the proper heart rate zones at least 5 times a week, I was unable able to achieve the body physique I wanted. I did not know what I was doing wrong so I consulted with a physician. I was told that my adrenals were not functioning properly. This may have been playing a role in how my body was responding and why I was not able to achieve the body physique I sought after. By living a healthy lifestyle with direction from Jim Swanson, I was able to finally achieve the body physique I wanted. Jim provided me with valuable information pertaining to the importance of nutrition, resistance training, and cardio. All of these things play a major role in living a healthy life style and achieving one’s goals. Due to the changes I was seeing in my body by following Jim’s program, I decided to compete in an amateur body building competition at Northern Illinois University. In the short time of only ten weeks, I went from weighing 182 lbs to 147 lbs the day of the competition and continued gaining strength and dropping body fat percentage throughout the course of my training. I placed second at the competition and was able to achieve this due to the commitment I made to my diet, cardio, and resistance training Jim had personally created for me. After the show, I am able to maintain a weight of 165 lbs while appearing leaner than before. This experience has inspired me to live a healthy lifestyle outside of training and also to participate in future competitions. I cannot thank Jim Swanson enough for the impact he has had on my life.
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As a stand out athlete in high school and college I came to Jim Swanson to take my strength and size to the next level. After various interviews with many trainers I decided to go with Jim because of his passion and knowledge in bettering the human body. I came to gym at 6'3 180lbs at age 24 and had begun training for the NFL Free Agent combine. In a span of about 4 months of two a week sessions with Jim I walked into the combine at 6'3 203lbs and was benching 225lbs for 18 reps which improved from 10 reps. Not only did Jim put size and strength on me he taught me how to get my body to the next phase by diet and exercise. He constantly called during the weeks to make sure I was keeping on the right track and was there for me at any time day or night if I had questions about my diet or workouts. I have recently made a semi-pro football team out of the Chicago land area and have tryouts with 3 Arena teams and I could never have come as far as I have without his help. He has inspired me and educated me more then I could ever ask for and I recommend him to anyone who is looking to take his abilities to the next level.
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My name is Pedro and I started training with Jim Swanson 3 years ago. Before meeting Jim, I was 320 pounds and had no concept of dieting or working out. I was following fad diets and stressing by body with too many cardio workouts. Meeting Jim helped give structure to my diets and workouts. I finally had a plan, a blueprint on how to workout, lose body fat and gain muscle mass. Jim put me on a customized meal plan to specifically meet the demands of my workouts. Jim showed me how to strength train appropriately, starting off slowly and easing me into more challenging exercises and learning how to apply cardio into my workouts. Jim always held me accountable for maintaining my diets and keeping up with my exercise programs when we did not have the opportunity to meet. Jim was always there as a support system to help guide me through this emotionally and physically challenging process. Jim helped me to structure goals that were realistic and attainable in the short and the long term. Today I am 220 pounds and still challenging my body in new and different ways. To this day it is a journey where we are continually setting new goals to help transform our physique.
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Hello, my name is Pete. I have always participated in different sorts of sports throughout my life. Weather it was soccer for conditioning, judo for explosiveness and over all full body power, or just running to stay in shaper I always felt like I was missing something. Like something better and more rewarding is waiting for me. Meeting Jim was exactly what I needed. Lifting weights was always something I participated in but until our first meeting I really had no idea what was needed to be any good at it. Jim thought me more about nutrition, proper training, different types of exercises in order to be on the way of reaching my full potential. As it was always something I have craved for while looking at the bodybuilding magazines from my teenage years until now, it was never really clear to me what really needed to be done and how. Training with him for 6 months made me a better man and I mean that literally. You know the saying: "Strong body, strong mind!"? Well, it is not just a cliché for me, it really is what it means and understanding it made me what I am today. I train 5 days a week continuing my bodybuilding progress, feel like a million dollars since my body is getting all of the much needed nutrition, and my mind is as sharp as a raiser's edge. My next step will be getting up on the stage and really putting my self to the test and if it wasn't for Jim the though would never cross my mind so here is to you….thanks buddy.
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I wasted about a year going to the gym not knowing what I was doing. I didn't have direction, know how or experience to understand what it took to make a change in my body. This lead to very non-consistent training and diet and almost no results. After being discouraged with no results I finally I made the decision to get help and that's when I met Jim. Soon after talking with him it became obvious Jim had the positive attitude and knowledge that I needed to succeed. He easily put together a plan to help me make a change and his expertise in making the right nutrition plan for me made all the difference in the world. The consistent positive reinforcement that that he provides to his clients is what I needed to succeed. I would recommend Jim to anyone looking for real professional help that works!
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