Prestige Fitness — Attraction in Tucson

Prestige Fitness is unlike any experience you will find in Arizona. Sure, they have the best technology available to assist with your goals. The facility is aesthetically sexy. The atmosphere is upbeat and live. The owner, Ron, pulls up his sleeves and gets dirty...vacuuming, sweeping, cleaning equipment, and more. Ron's and Tara's heartfelt commitment to the holistic health of clients is beyond anything my fingers may type. These are things that you already may know from the photos and previous reviews. The purpose of my review extends beyond the surface. I need to share with you how Alex, my daughter's trainer, and Prestige Fitness is saving my daughter's life...something a photo will not reveal.

My girl has struggled with weight for as long as we can remember, and she is only eight. The doctors have no clear reason for her weight gain. All the tests show properly functioning organs, and there are no thyroid issues or such. However, she has elevated glucose and cholesterol, despite eating a healthy, organic, balanced diet. My baby weighed 142.5 pounds with over 50% fat tissue. She could not walk up a flight of stairs without having an asthma attack. Running was very difficult and nearly impossible. Finding clothes that fit was especially depressing, as she wore an adult's extra large due to girth but not length. When seated, her neck and chest restricted breathing. Her thighs rubbed together fiercely, causing painful rashes. She quit gymnastics because she was too heavy to complete the activities, too heavy for the instructor to lift and help her, and the children were brutally mean as they sat on the sidelines laughing, pointing, and calling her awful names. Finding a leotard for her size was impossible so she was also mocked for being too fat for proper gym attire. My daughter hated herself. Depressed and anxiety-ridden, she needed more than her mommy telling her she was beautiful. She needed a full support system, and that is exactly what Alex and Prestige Fitness offered her.

Alex has a true love for my daughter and has an amazing way of connecting with her. My daughter is not just some other client, as Alex treats everyone like family. As my daughter is going through interval training, she and Alex can be heard giggling and sharing jokes. They discuss the joys of life and the things one lives for. My daughter is and feels safe with Alex. Unjudged. Supported. Esteemed. Valued. Cherished. With Alex's help, my doll-face is stronger, trimmer, and most importantly - happily loving herself. She is now wearing adult small shirts and CHILD 14-16 bottoms! Recall she was wearing an adult extra large before meeting Alex. This is monumental, and we give praise and love to Alex every time we go shopping for smaller and smaller clothes. She is loving her transforming body and even wears a two-piece swimsuit which shows her tummy. The sweet girl just passed her first swim test, in which she had to swim 50 meters and tread water for 30 seconds. This was impossible before Alex. She is now on the basketball team and back in gymnastics sporting a beautiful blinged-out leotard. She is stronger and more flexible than kids half her size! Her favorite pastimes are now hiking and hitting the gym, whereas she use to lock herself in her room in despair.

My girl is loving life and has learned that she CAN do all things. My family loves Alex with all of our beating hearts. No one will ever be able to replace her nor the impact she has made on my daughter's health and happiness. My daughter did not want to live before meeting Alex, and now all she can do is talk about what's next on life's agenda. She wants to write a children's book to reach other children that struggle with weight, and her dedication will undoubtedly be to Alex, the woman that saved her from herself. Alex and Prestige Fitness, my family loves you to the moon and back! You gave me back my daughter, something a mother will...

If you are not a “self starter” at the gym I wrote this long winded account of my experience starting July 2016. I hope it inspires you to make your health and exercise a SHOULD. “If you have your health you have hope and if you have hope you have everything” If you value your health and know you NEED TO DO SOMETHING NOW, I highly recommend that you go to Prestige Fitness on First Ave near Wetmore and ask to meet Hannah, my personal trainer. In fact call them now and make an appt 334-0205. I really never imagined I could commit to getting in shape the way I have for the first time in my life. When it was nice outside we were walking our dogs. Summer hits and that stops. Sorry dogs. Even still that isn't enough exercise to keep your heart healthy. It’s hard to get going. My husband I went to the Tony Robbins Unleash the Power Within seminar and faced the pie chart of life. At this point i’m well over 30 and could no longer ignore that this was the time to face the “health” part of the pie. The funny part was it was like Tony Robbin’s says, “write it down and your subconscious will go to work on it”. The UPW Robbin’s event had representatives from a posture fitness outfit called The Egoscue Method and I decided rather than signing up with them over the internet I would look locally in Tucson. Here I found Roxanne at Prestige Fitness. Roxanne is the real deal. She has a great story of recovery and you see she has experienced the magic of Egoscue which works on your entire posture to relieve unwanted pain. (there is even a class once a week taught by her). After our appt with Roxanne I asked to look around the gym. I am always looking for something to get me interested in exercise. (and now my subconscious is working on this as well) What I learned was that Prestige Fitness is a smaller intimate gym with a lot less people than the big chains. There are a lot of personal trainers working with individuals. This works well for you in two ways. One you are not left to just show up and exercise, you actually make appts and you are accountable to someone. Two, it costs enough money that you would be crazy to pay for it and not show up like a regular gym membership, which they also have. I had my first appt to measure my metabolism rate and do complete measurements of my body. That morning I met Hannah, my new personal trainer. She was immediately sweet and friendly like an old friend. She looks Amazing(see picture), and she’s a great inspiration. I immediately liked her and trusted her. As I imagined, I was completely out of shape. We got to work that afternoon. This is KEY. You need to get started NOW. When you are ACTUALLY doing something about your lack of exercise, you are on the right road. I have been working with Hannah now for a month. I am up to going 5 times a week. I pick the time of day and make appts online. She is easy to reach if you have questions and you really feel like you have a personal trainer who cares about you and your goals. When we do the exercises she is great at changing them around, keeping them fun and helping to keep your mind off the fact that you just did a well rounded hour of building and toning. They say exercise is addicting and believe me I find that impossible to believe. At the same time I can’t imagine not training with Hannah at this point. The way it works with a personal trainer is a whole new phenomenon for me but it’s working. I just keep showing up. Don’t wait. Call now. If you want a male trainer they have lots of them too. Hannah is a nutritionist as well as an ACE certified trainer. You know you are getting the best. They have a whole schedule of classes but I have not tried them yet. I love the fact that they are small groups and not crowded rooms like I experienced at the bigger chains. It is an upscale gym and when you get there you will see why. Write down 10 reasons why you have to DO IT NOW, make an appt and you will...

Prestige Fitness is the type of gym that is purpose built to individuals like me. A gym that's not meant to be a "one size fits all". A gym that combines physical activity, nutrition, posture optimization, and a highly focused, empathetic, 1-on-1 support/training model. How much or how little of those elements you decide to use, is up to you. In my case, I was looking for direction and guidance, and the complete package. I also wanted to be able to see signs of progress that would help me build a new enthusiasm for exercise. Boy am I getting that in spades.

I'm 49 years old and I always thought exercise is boring. That might across as a strange statement, but it's been my fitness barrier for a long time. I was never athletic nor played organized sports. When you combine years of low activity (I sit at a desk most of the day) with the attributes of a prolific gourmand, you end up with hypertension, elevated cholesterol, daily blood glucose levels in the high 200s, and an A1C1 (avg. glucose level in blood over the last 3 months) in the +9% range. A perfect recipe for a shortened lifespan.

Medical advice says, "Eat better, exercise, and take more medication." I can eat better, and I can exercise-but I'm not willing to take more medication. Enough is enough. I needed to make a big change in my life-right now. And by "big change", I don't mean just work out more, so I can just "check the box." No, I decided my goal would be the full reversal of my current ailments and eliminate the need for any medication. Along the way, it would be nice to become tone, gain some muscle mass, and improve core strength. So, now what? Enter Prestige Fitness.

My new journey started in January 2018, when after my preliminary assessment, I was paired with Dominic Matson as my personal trainer. After 9 months, I couldn’t imagine a better pairing. Dominic is an incredibly knowledgeable trainer that understands the mechanics of body movement and the effect of specific exercises. Once he understood my goals and learned how much I can be “pushed”, each session has become very specific to attaining those goals. Along the way, Dominic has become a mentor, a coach, and a cheerleader in my journey. He's not just a trainer, but my friend that also happens to know a lot about fitness.

So, has it worked? Over the last 9 months, I've gained 7 pounds of muscle, my daily glucose level has dropped into the low/mid-100s (previously mid/high 200s)), my cholesterol and blood pressure is consistently well in the normal range-- and my A1C is now 6.8. My ultimate goals is to reverse the effects of diabetes and be able to stop taking medication.

But the real hook to this story- I actually look forward to going to the gym. My recovery continues to get quicker and my workout more challenging (in a good way). I've been passionate about a lot of other things in my life, but this is the first time that I've been passionate and ecstatic about fitness and the journey is certainly as great as the destination.

There's a lot more that I can say but suffice it to say that if you're in a similar situation as me or if you just hate the traditional gym models, do yourself a favor and at least have a conversation with the good folks at Prestige Fitness. The worst that can happen is that you decide it's not for you and that's the end of it. The best thing that can happen, like a prized fighter, is that you gain a group of experts in your corner that have the demonstrable ability to help you tackle your toughest...