Become Better Sport Performance and Personal Training
Client of The Month: September 2023
And the winner is…
Jeane Criss
Jeane is one of our oldest clients (84 years old) and also one of the longest tenured clients we have at Become Better. She joined ~7 years ago with her daughter after her grandson and son in law first joined about a year prior.
My most memorable moment when she first started was she tried to hold a plank by supporting her body with her head to help her arms. Obviously I stopped this immediately, but then she was unable to hold the plank for more than a few seconds. Besides this, Jeane mostly started by doing what most 77 year olds would do with deadlifting 20 lbs, pressing small weights, and maybe pushing the sled with some assistance.
After 7 years of consistent effort and an open mind to try new exercises, Jeane is now one of the biggest bad asses in the gym. In September, she accidently lifted 50 kg (110 lbs) for 3 sets of 13 reps. Just before September she also completed a weighted plank with 10 kg on her back for a full 60 seconds. She also doesn’t have any problem pushing a sled (by herself, with weight) or getting on any of the cardio machines and going for 8-10 minutes of intervals. Although her goals aren’t necessarily to lift more and more weight, her improvements from where she started is a perfect example of how it’s never too late to get started on your health and fitness. Jeane Criss is a role model and who everyone says they want to be like when they get to her age.
The Other Nominees…
Brandon Hanson
September 2023 marks 10 years of training for Brandon Hanson (with some breaks due to college). 10 years ago, Brandon was 6’5, 150 lbs, and very average at volleyball. Today, he stands 6’6, over 200 lbs, and one of the best middles (a volleyball position) in all of Pittsburgh proven by his play for the “professional” team, the Pittsburgh Surge. All thanks to Coach Dan and his training. Maybe a little credit should be due to his dedication over the years to do everything in his power to Become Better. Even after all of this time, in September he PR’d his standing vertical. Over the last year he has also added a solid 10+ kg to his back squat and 20+ kg to his deadlift putting him at 125 kg (275 lb) and 160 kg (352 lb) respectively. He is also now able to do over 10 chin-ups and Bench almost his body weight (still not very good). Brandon also does a great job of supporting the business by owning 20+ apparel items of Become Better. His support has brought in 2 previous Client of the Month nominees/winners (Sandy Hanson, and Steve Jordan). Thank you for all of your support, but mostly, you’re welcome.
P.S. It’s White Shirt Wednesday, not Redsday.
Disclaimer: Brandon is Coach Dan’s best friend and these remarks, although true, were meant to be comical.
Jen Hartman
Jen Hartman finally started training with us at Become Better after almost 2 years of persuasion from us and her husband and Client of the month winner from March, Kerry… Jen, who is a runner at heart, has made some great accomplishments in the gym. She came to us barely able to do 1 push up and hit a PR of 12 this last month! Jen also hit a PR for her Trap Bar Deadlift at 105kg (also 10%+ improvement from previous Olympics) actually she went way over because she is bad at gym math… Jen also improved easily on her 1 rep pause bench (28k) along with her 1 rep max squat (56k) and Conventional Deadlift (70kg).