"In 1945 I was a student of Joseph Pilates at his original studio in New York. As a ballet dancer I have an understanding of the body, and I knew that his method of exercise was vital to keeping myself in prime physical condition, although many of my friends thought we Pilates' students were kooks. And no wonder! I remember climbing those spooky stairs, the strange looking machines, and Joseph's wife, Clara, in her nurse's uniform. Those workouts, though, were just wonderful. In those days, Pilates referred to what we now call the mat work as "contrology." Contrology consisted of 34 movements on the mat, the core of the Pilates method. Joe was pictured doing the mat exercises at age 60 and was the epitome of long-lasting youth. Larry has taken 21 of those core exercises to make up the foundation of the 21st Century Fitness formula. I enjoy training with him not only because it's quick and complete, but to see the youth Larry exhibits inspires and exhilarates me. It's a quality of fitness I remember in my old trainer Joe."
Lyle Allen, 55
"I was a student of Yoga for many years, and over time I became an instructor. Gradually, my ability to perform complicated stretches increased my strength and flexibility to a point where I believed I was in exceptional condition, and to a certain extent I was. My wife, however, had begun searching for a more effective exercise program. More effective than Yoga? How could that be possible? Soon she said she'd found an exercise class that called for her to use her body and muscles in a new way. Her enthusiasm for the methods taught in her new class and her claims that they might be better than Yoga, piqued my curiosity. I had to see for myself. While watching one of my wife's classes, I became intrigued with what I began to realize was a specific formula. It appeared that maybe my wife was right, and soon I joined her in her classes with Larry. The first thing I discovered was the weakness of what Larry termed my "powerhouse." I thought my stomach muscles were well-developed, but Larry showed me how much stronger they could be. As the months progressed I found myself more and more committed to his formula, and I particularly enjoyed seeing the result of using dumbbells. Given my long association with Yoga, I was aware of the important benefits of deep stretching, but now I was realizing it was stretching coupled with resistance that made the difference in building supple strength. When combined with a nutritional plan built on common sense, I realized I was in possession of an extremely well-balanced regimen. Within another month or two my body had strengthened and realigned to a point where my posture improved significantly. Now I realize that while certainly there are benefits that come from practicing Yoga, alone it fails to provide a complete and balanced formula like 21st Century Fitness."
Chuck Jennings, 43
"It was March of '98, and I was 35. I was struggling through yet another workout at the Wellness Center of the Medical University of South Carolina, where it's said, "If you don't get fit here, you won't get fit anywhere." The Wellness Center was not my first attempt at getting fit. Since college I had tried everything I knew of and worked at each one diligently: weight training, circuit training, jogging, assorted aerobic classes, yoga, kick-boxing, Tai Chi, Stairmasters, stationary bikes, rowing machines, treadmills...you get the picture? It's hard to describe my frustration caused by exercising hard and dieting rigorously to end up with a body that's misshapen—head pitched forward, curved spine, sloped shoulders, caved-in chest, wide hips and flared thighs. Even though my muscles had become more toned, my structure was still flawed. I suppose, yes, I had become fitter, but the proportions remained. As I honed in on middle age I was becoming convinced that I was doomed to be a genetic pear. Huffing and puffing, dripping wet, I happened to look across the room and noticed a man talking to one of the personal trainers. What got my attention was that I could tell he was somewhat older than the trainer, and yet he looked much fitter. It was a different kind of fitness, though. He had the body of a young athlete—sleek, stretched and muscular without bulk, but what struck me the most was his high chest and straight shoulders. Suddenly it dawned on me that in all the years of trying to get fit, I never knew exactly what I wanted, but finally there it was. For the first time I was seeing it. Up until then the trainers I had worked under were my models, but I suddenly realized it wasn't their muscular bulk that I wanted, but that long, lean look like the man across the room. Thirty minutes later, having reinforced my gloom by looking in the mirror, I came out of the showers and three lockers from mine was this man with a different kind of fitness. Larry introduced himself, and I began talking. I told him how hard I'd worked to get such poor results, and I asked him what he did. He told me he followed a formula that he had developed over the years, that it was quick, easy, and that it filled in the links missing in conventional fitness programs. He went on to explain that the foundation for the formula was a floorwork routine that reshaped and realigned the body. I was surprised to discover he was a trainer, and I was impressed enough to schedule a workout. But after two months I had my doubts. I was showing progress, but nothing much more than I had achieved in the past. I could always lose weight, so the only difference was that I seemed to be more flexible, and I was feeling muscles that I had never felt before. However, changes were not happening fast enough. I was getting tempted to do more, and everyone was suggesting something better. In the past I had succumbed to that temptation to do more and more, but without success. This time, for some reason, I kept listening to Larry. He told me I didn't need more, that I didn't need anything else, that all I needed was to simply follow the formula. "Do it over and over and over, again and again and again. Don't waver. You will get the 8 Essentials of Fitness." I did it over and over, again and again. I did not waver, and in twelve months my waist went from a 39 plus to 31 inches. My "genetic" hips and thighs literally melted away. My shoulders grew high, my caved chest became full, and my neck straightened. Physically, I became everything I wanted to be, and it was because of this exact exercise regimen and nutritional plan. Weight loss and a conventional exercise regimen would never have come close to giving me what I have today. It never did."
