"About two years ago, I met Paul for a performance assessment. After years of running and working as a guitarist and composer, I had some nagging injuries and weakness in my hips and back and wanted to strengthen my way out of chronic pain. Now I’d love to say that I improved immediately. A recurring ache in my hip got worse over time, and six months into training, I was in a debilitated state, unable to train, barely able to get into my own bed, and grasping for solutions. Worst of all, I’m a professional musician, and I was canceling shows. I tried chiropractic, acupuncture, and just about every other modality under the sun.

It took several MRIs, doctors, and being stranded alone in a hotel with my 8-year-old daughter, unable to move without acute pain, before I would figure things out. I ended up in the ER and was told back surgery was my best hope for relief. With a solid diagnosis, I had surgery and recovered pain-free but terrified that one wrong move in the gym could leave me in another tough spot on stage or with my family. As soon as I was cleared to get back in, the Resilient team patiently worked on a plan to progress slowly and steadily in a way that felt safe but also pushed me. I started out deadlifting a tiny kettlebell off a platform. Block after block, things evolved, I felt stronger and pulled a little more each time. The first time my hips and back hurt, I swear I would have quit if they weren’t there reassuring me that it was just soreness, and giving me a solid timeline for assessing my recovery before freaking out. I’m also certain that without their guidance, I would have fallen into a moderate routine and never progressed the way I have over the last year.

Weight training has improved my life in a way I had never imagined when I started. Aside from feeling stronger and safer in my movements and work outside the gym, it has been a place, unlike many other parts of my life, where I know that if I put in the work, I’ll see the results. The coaches come to the process armed with a solid, evidence-based approach, without fads or hype, treating it as the science it is. Beyond the accountability and support of working with a coach, I feel it is crucial to know that the valuable time I spend in the gym, which I could be spending with my family or on my own business, is as impactful as it can be. I try to get the most out of the Resilient team’s training because I know they get the most out of me." -Ravi