JPecoraAGE: 33

PROFESSION: Marketing

HOMETOWN: Grew up in the Northeast (CT & NJ) then high school in Wisconsin.

COLLEGE: University of Arizona

FAVORITE FOOD: Pizza. All kinds of pizza, but I like East Coast pizza the most.

FAVORITE PLACE VISITED: Southern part of Thailand

PLACE YOU WANT TO VISIT: London

FAVORITE MOVIE: Three of my favorites are: Rocky 2, Caddyshack, & Terminator 2.

FAVORITE SINGER: O.A.R.

HOBBIES: I’m a big sports fan (Arizona Wildcats, Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Phillies are my favorite teams), love playing basketball, and enjoy watching movies.

BACKGROUND: My girlfriend has participated in Sonki Fitness for several years, and she pushed me to join. I was going to a gym few mornings a week but wasn’t really pushing myself. I didn’t consider myself out of shape (6’5”, 220lbs), was playing basketball and running each week, but I was never seeing any results. That all changed after starting Sonki Fitness. Since joining Sonki Fitness, I’ve lost 15 lbs in the first 4 months. And I’ve doubled my upper body strength (from doing 24 push-ups in a minute to 50), significantly increased my core strength (from doing 57 sit-ups in 2 min to 88), and dropped my mile time from almost 8 min to 6:34. I hope to break the 6 min/mile soon.

What is your current exercise routine? I participate in Sonki Fitness 3x per week at the 6:30am class in Santa Monica, play basketball 2x per week, and play softball over the summer. I’m currently also training for the Malibu Triathlon which is in September.

What is your greatest challenge to staying in shape? I spend about 50 hours a week sitting at a desk job, so finding the time to work out isn’t always the easiest. I really enjoy that Sonki offers a 6:30am class to allow me to get my workout in before heading to the office. Getting up in the morning is probably the greatest challenge, but I’m always glad I do.

What is your key to success? The class environment pushes me to my limits. Growing up playing team sports, I thrive in a group environment where I push myself against others and myself. I also focused on improving my diet with Sonki because it seemed like a waste to do hardcore training at Sonki Fitness and then eat unhealthy during the day.

What do you like about Sonki Fitness Boot Camp and how has it affected your life? Sonki motivates and pushes his members with a full body workout. There is a great mix of cardio, upper, and lower body routines to get an all-around workout. At the beginning of the year, I was able to do only 24 push-ups in a minute and in just 3 months I was able to double that to 50. My results from Sonki Fitness have given me the motivation and confidence to sign up for my very first triathlon, which I expect to do well despite my lack of experience in this sport.

What advice would you give to others about fitness? Find a routine that works for you and the right time of day to fit it in so that you can stay consistent. The same routine doesn’t work for everyone, but Sonki Fitness works for me and for others in my class who are at all different fitness levels.