David and Maria

Drayner — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:59:20 GMT

“When I used to run, that was my identity” Crunch member Dave Pinto tells me. “I loved to race.” Sadly, Dave was forced to give up racing during college when he injured one of his knees. But, amazingly, at 44, after a hiatus from which he never thought he’d return, Dave is back in track shoes. It’s a return that’s roots can be traced to a conversation with Crunch personal trainer Maria Rutter.

The conversation had been about nutrition: Dave was an 8-year veteran of semi-regular exercise and had worked with trainers before but, with a naturally trim frame, he had never paid much attention to what he ate; and, perhaps because of that naturally trim frame, none of those trainers had ever clued him in to its importance. He was now starting to put on weight and Maria explained that, with both exercise AND diet, she could help him take it off. The two began working together shortly thereafter.

Using dotFIT as a resource, Maria put together a sensible diet plan for Dave, teaching him about basic nutritional concepts in the process and giving him the tools to make sound choices on his own. In tandem, she devised a circuit and strength training workout regimen meant to build both his power and endurance. The results were stellar: 12% body fat shed in only 8 weeks! And, not only does Dave credit Maria’s program with helping him to slim his waistline, he also believes it’s what’s allowed him to return to running, having built up the small stabilizers around his injured knee.

“He’s just alive after he did that Bay to Breakers” Maria tells me, referring to Dave’s first race in decades; his smile suggests this isn’t hyperbole. And, there have been three races since, each one seeing his overall time improve. “I never thought I could run a sub 6-minute mile for 3 miles at age 44” Dave beams. When I ask him if he has any advice or words of inspiration to offer he does not hesitate: “No matter how old you are, no matter what kind of shape you are, anything’s possible. It’s having a goal and having that direction.” “Make sure that you’re ready and make sure that you’re committed because if you are you’re going to see results”, Maria adds. Indeed, you may see results you never expected.

David and Roya

Drayner — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:59:07 GMT

“From the onset I was told that I was terminal; I was surprised that I even survived at all. At my worst point I was blind and deaf and paralyzed from the waist down.” When David tells me this, my jaw drops. Before meeting him I’d been told that he was legally blind, that he had been for eight-and-a-half years, but I didn’t know all of circumstances: that that blindness was the result of Spinal Meningitis; that the Meningitis had also caused paralysis; that the medication he was on had caused him to lose his hearing.

Fortunately, both David’s hearing loss and paralysis were temporary, but it would take him two years worth of home-based physical therapy before he was mobile enough to do much on his own. Additionally, once he was able to get around again, he had to learn to get around without the aid of sight. Getting back to a ‘normal’ routine would have been hard for anyone, but for someone like David, someone who had always enjoyed an active lifestyle that included regular exercise, it would be particularly tough – but certainly not impossible. When he had gained enough independence, David moved from his parent’s home to South Florida; and, when he got there, he resolved to make working out a part of his life again.

“When I walk into a new place I have to figure out where everything is. And, from the beginning everyone was very helpful with that.” David is speaking in reference to his initial experiences at both Crunch Alton Road, the location he first joined when he moved to Miami Beach, and Crunch Washington Avenue, the location he now frequents more often. “They let me come in after hours and memorize the layout.” Trainer Roya Siroospour chuckles at this. “He knows where things are that I don’t.”

Roya became good friends with David while working as his trainer and confides that getting to know him has made a positive impact on her – and others too. “People watch him and are inspired. It’s really something.” And, helping to inspire people is something that David likes being able to do. In his role as the chairman of the Miami Disability Access Committee he’s worked, not only to raise awareness of the area’s disabled population, but also to get that population involved with exercise. And, in Crunch, he’s found a partner to help do just that.

On October 23^rdof last year, Miami Beach’s first ever Disability Awareness Day (DAD) – the fruition of an idea that David had pitched to the town’s Mayor only weeks before – Crunch joined David in spreading a fitness-friendly message to the area’s disabled population via an informational booth and 6 donated memberships. This year for DAD, David hopes to up the ante with a 10k run in which “people with all kinds of abilities and disabilities can be involved”. “When you’re a person with a disability it’s important for you – perhaps more than anyone else – to stay active” he explains. “I get a lot of inspiration from the gym.”

Newsletters Feed

David and Maria

David and Roya