Member Testimonials

Personal Training + Nutrition Coaching

Janet's Story: What Her Neurologist Ordered

Janet lives with Multiple Sclerosis. It isn't a footnote to her story, it's the reason her story matters. When your neurologist tells you that building muscle is a non negotiable part of managing your disease, you don't have room for guesswork. You don't have time to waste on fads, quick fixes, or a program that sounds good and doesn't deliver. You need something that actually works.

Before Blue Eagle, Janet's fitness routine had one setting: cardio. Walking into a weight room was about as far outside her comfort zone as it gets.

"My idea of strength training was wrestling a 40 pack of paper towels into the cart at Costco. Cardio was the only language I spoke. Hello, Peloton, my old faithful."

Her husband, Will, had been encouraging her toward strength training for years. This time, that encouragement met a reason serious enough to act on.

"He's been pushing, and I've been pushing back, on each other's health goals for three decades now, on and off. This time, he pushed hard enough that I actually listened."

But the decision was hers to make, and given what was at stake, she wasn't willing to keep putting it off. Will was already training at Blue Eagle, and Janet had noticed the difference it was making, not just in his health, but in how he talked about the people he trained with.

"At some point, listening to him gush for the hundredth time, I figured I either had to join the gym or start being suspicious. I picked the gym."

In January 2024, Janet started training with Coach Meg. Meg's approach wasn't to overhaul everything on day one.

"Meg meets you exactly where you are. She took the time to understand my strengths and weaknesses from day one, then got savvy about addressing the tough spots, never head on and overwhelming, but building me up around them until I was ready."

The turning point came when Janet moved from training two days a week to three.

"I saw a significant change in my results. Every session felt intentional, like she was always a step ahead of what I needed next."

But Janet measures the change differently.

"I can walk into a weight room without feeling like I wandered into the wrong class. I can rack a barbell, actually recover between sets instead of just catching my breath, and tell a total beginner, 'you've got this,' and mean it, because I remember exactly how intimidating that first step felt."

Her message to anyone standing where she stood two and a half years ago:

"You don't need to know what you're doing. You just need to show up. The rest, the confidence, the strength, the ability to give someone else a pep talk with a straight face, comes later."

Janet Lewis Personal Training & Nutrition Coaching, member since 2024, trains with Coach Meg

CrossFit + Nutrition Coaching

Jon's Story: The Photos He Couldn't Look At

Before Blue Eagle, Jon was overweight, his diet was poor, and he was on medication to manage high blood pressure. He'd been fit before. He knew what it felt like to lose it, and that made this harder to swallow.

The moment that named the problem happened on vacation, two weeks before he walked through our door. He and some friends had rented a house in Mexico, perched at the top of a hill.

"The last block up to the house was a straight climb, either up the street or up a long flight of stairs. I was out of breath every single time, and it was embarrassing."

It wasn't just the stairs.

"I was upset with myself that I had let myself get that out of shape again."

Back home, the vacation photos finished the job the stairs had started.

"I kept looking at the photos we took of ourselves and I hated what I saw. My face looked fat in every photo, and I hated it. That's what drove me to start looking for some help."

Jon had tried CrossFit once before, years earlier in Illinois, and it hadn't stuck. The workouts weren't the problem.

"That gym was very competitive, and I never felt like I fit in. I felt like everyone else was way better physically than me, and I felt intimidated. So I worried about trying CrossFit again, not because of the workouts, but because of the culture."

He decided to try again anyway. Four years later, at 51 years old, Jon is lifting heavier than he was on day one. Last week, he set a personal record on his squat clean.

"By my six month mark, I knew for sure it was working. I had gained 3 pounds of muscle, but I had lost 20 pounds of fat mass."

Today, nutrition, sleep, and movement have all improved together. Jon's message to anyone standing where he stood outside that AirBnB in Mexico:

"Just give it a try. Commit yourself to the program for at least three months consistently, and I guarantee you will see results. It will be tough in the beginning, but keep showing up consistently, and it will pay off."

Jon Fritschle CrossFit & Nutrition Coaching, member since 2022

CrossFit Group Classes

Tom's Story: From Burrito Mornings to Handstand Push Ups

For a while, Tom's Saturday mornings had a routine. Drive over, grab a breakfast burrito, watch the Blue Eagle team working out across the street.

"I was overweight, tired, low energy and knew I needed to do something different."

He didn't need someone to tell him he needed a change. He needed a reason to stop watching and start walking. That reason showed up on an ordinary Saturday in late January 2022.

"I would go get burritos on Saturday morning and see the team working out across the street. I knew I needed to make a change and wanted to make a change, so one morning in late January 2022 I did it. I walked in on the Saturday morning workout and Bryan jumped out and came over and talked to me."

Before that morning, Tom had his doubts, and they were the kind almost everyone carries to the door.

"I wondered if I had the time and the willingness to make a commitment to getting fit."

Four and a half years later, the doubts are gone and the results are not up for debate.

"I lost 30 pounds. I look better, feel better and can do things in my 50's that I didn't think possible five years ago. I have much more energy than before."

There was a moment it clicked, and it wasn't dramatic. It was quiet, and then it was undeniable.

"I remember the first time I did a handstand push up. I had not been working on them and really had not tried, but one day I could just do it."

His message to anyone standing where he stood outside that gym, burrito in hand:

"Just make the commitment and be consistent for two months and you will notice a difference. For me it has changed my life and it has become a part of my life. I have never regretted going to a workout, especially when I don't feel like it."

Tom Jacques CrossFit Group Classes, member since 2022