Dan Zane

“Lost 26lbs, 10.5% Body Fat, 3.5” Waist Line”

“What sports did you play in high school and college?” Rob asked me one March morning during a workout.  “Dungeons and Dragons.” I replied.  This previous level of commitment to physical fitness is part of the reason I joined RobZFitness.  Allow me a moment to explain.

Flashback to December of 2010.  My sister’s annual Christmas visit is in full swing, the two of us are discussing a “photo excursion” vacation over shrimp cocktail and cocktails.  We decided to visit Arches National Park in Utah and Antelope Canyon in Arizona.  We’d go on hikes, take pictures and have a grand time.  We got excited about the prospect and airline tickets were soon bought.  About this time I realized this trip would require me to carry several pounds of gear for several miles.  I also realized that, although I had lost some weight by biking the previous year, I was in no shape to carry all that gear.  I needed help.  I needed direction.  I needed something I could commit to, after all, the airline tickets were nonrefundable.  Having seen Rob’s storefront, and having read a testimonial from one of his pupils at my daughters’ dance studio, I thought I’d see what he had to offer.

Being 42 years old, weighing 216 pounds, and having had a lifelong aversion to gyms, it took me a couple weeks to muster the courage before I could walk through the door.  I met Taylor that day and explained my plight.  He listened to my tale, was nonjudgmental and told me they could get me ready for my hike.  When I met Rob he reiterated Taylor’s confidence, they would have me hike ready in three months. I wasn’t so sure.  I set up my initial consultation with Rob and discovered 56.2 pounds of my 216 came from fat and 81% of men my age were in better shape than me.  This is also when Rob start pressing me to enroll in the Fight for Air Climb for Team RobZFitness.

The Climb, as I’ve come to think of it, takes place at the Bank of America building in Tampa.  Participants climb 42 stories, or 914 stairs, to raise money for the American Lung Association.  I thought of it as something other people do, not me.  Mentally I dug my heels in and told myself Rob would not get me to sign up for The Climb.  Then something shifted within.  A couple weeks after the Dungeons and Dragons comment I signed up for The Climb.  I spent the next week worrying.  I worried about being able to walk the next day.  I worried about failing.

I have a new number that will hold special meaning for the rest of my life.  That number is 12.24.  It took 12.24 minutes to climb those stairs and to realize I had become one of those other people whom I thought did The Climb.  I cannot overstate how powerfully completing The Climb affected me.  A month has passed and I still look back in wonder.  If you’ve never participated in an event like The Climb, I strongly encourage you to train and join me on Rob’s team next year.

It has been three months and this morning the scale read 195 pounds, and only 15.6% of it is fat.  I also have a new wardrobe, it seems 3.5 inches have gone missing from my waist.  I feel better, I have more energy and taking what I’ve learned from Rob and his crew I have a new commitment to physical fitness.  Can I interest anyone in a used Dungeons and Dragons set?