Member Spotlight: Billy Walsh

This is a running series. Every few weeks we sit down with someone training under the Lions Lair name. 

Before

Six months ago, Billy Walsh was carrying more weight than his body could manage and taking blood pressure medication to get through the day. That was the baseline. Not a goal he’d been putting off, a prescription he’d been handed. 

He also lives out of state, which rules out the version of this story where someone walks through our doors and everything changes. Billy has never trained a single session on our floor. Every part of what follows happened remotely: programming, nutrition, weekly check-ins, all of it run through our app. 

He’d worked with trainers before. It hadn’t really gone anywhere. “I’ve worked with a trainer in the past. Don’t get me wrong, it was nice to have someone to correct my form on exercise and things like that. But it was nowhere near the scope of what working with Sandee has been like.” So when he reached out to Sandee Lark, his expectations were calibrated to what he’d experienced. A consultation, some back and forth, a start date somewhere down the line. 

“It was difficult in the beginning. I spoke with Sandee and expected to get started sometime next week. But within the day I had a training program and meal plan uploaded and it was go time.” 

The Work

The first stretch did not go perfectly, and Billy is direct about why. 

“When I first started, my discipline was not where it should’ve been. I was not fully committed right away and Sandee knew that. We had a brief correction and ever since then I’ve been fully bought in and committed to the program and it’s been incredible.” 

That paragraph is the reason this post exists. Every transformation story that skips from “signed up” to “look at him now” is selling something, because the middle is where people actually quit. Billy didn’t start committed. He started, drifted, got called on it, and corrected. The results came after that, not before it. 

What the six months have looked like since: weekly check-ins with adjustments made off what the previous week actually produced, rather than a static program handed over on day one and left alone. Training and nutrition running together instead of separately. And a coach reachable between check-ins. 

“It’s been fantastic. I’ve worked with personal trainers in the past and it hasn’t been         nearly as productive as it has been with Sandee. We do check-ins every week and make  adjustments on a weekly basis. But beyond that, even if I have a question about an exercise or something on the meal plan throughout the week, I message her in the app and she’s quick to respond.” 

We asked the obvious question: is something lost coaching entirely online, versus standing in the same room as your coach every week? 

“Absolutely not. Do I think that my progress in this program would be better if I was seeing Sandee daily or weekly? I don’t think so. Sure it would be nice, and when I’m in town next of course I’ll work out at Lions Lair. But I don’t feel that it’s necessary. The program is so well thought out, it’s easy to use, to understand, all of it. And like I said, if you have any questions about anything, you get an answer within the hour.” 

Now

Six months in, Billy is down 68 pounds. His primary care physician recently took him off his blood pressure medication entirely, the outcome he named at the very beginning, and the one he says he cared most about. 

The number on the scale is the headline. It isn’t the part he talks about longest. 

“Everything has seen significant improvement and Sandee has helped me with it all. From monitoring my sleep, to noticing an increase in my day to day energy, it’s all gotten better. For example, six months ago I could barely complete a one or two mile hike. It was exhausting. Now, I am able to complete four or five or six mile runs. Something I thought was beyond me, that was for a younger me, I am able to do on a weekly basis and feel good afterwards.” 

A one mile hike that wore him out, to a six-mile run he recovers from. Same person, six months apart, and the second version of him believes it’s available to him weekly. 

What Billy would tell you

We closed by asking what he’d say to someone who’s been thinking about coaching and hasn’t started. 

“My advice would be to get on the phone today. Don’t wait like I did, don’t find the right time. The truth is there is no right time, no matter how you feel about your current position, waiting won’t help. So I’d say get on the phone today, get started, but remember that it’s up to you at the end of the day. Sandee isn’t going to waste your time or money, so you must be disciplined. There have been times I’ve had to decline a dinner invite because I knew it wasn’t right for my program. That isn’t easy, especially the first few times. But it gets easier and the progress continues as long as you stay disciplined and consistent. I feel my story speaks for itself. Down 68 pounds in six months, running five miles, no longer on my medication. So obviously the program Sandee puts together works. My advice is don’t wait, stay consistent, and you’ll be rewarded massively.”

Get Started With Coaching Today

If you or anyone you know is thinking about coaching, just like Billy was, don’t hesitate to reach out! Give us a call at (719) 922-1480 or send an email to slark@lionslairprogym.com to get started today. 

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