Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/920099
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2018 35 NATHANIEL MILNER Friendly and attainable Wellness 360 begins with Eric Chen. e University of California, Davis–educated nutritionist and certified personal trainer brims with enthusiasm for the program. His excitement is infectious. Every week, he summarizes his clients' previous seven days and plans for the next. "e schedule helps individuals come up with their own workouts once the program is over," says Eric, who always keeps one eye trained on the long term. "We love seeing participants contin- ue with personal training and fitness activities aer those initial eight weeks of Wellness 360," WAC Fitness Programs Manager George Sommerrock says. George helps connect members with personal trainers and was part of the WAC team that created Wellness 360. "Personal training allows members to receive customized coaching," George says. "at really helps reduce the risk of injury and sets the foundation for sustainable success." "at's key," says Eric. "It's not about eight weeks. It's about creating lifelong change." For WAC member Nathaniel Milner, meeting with Eric was like getting great advice from a friend. Instead of launch- ing into a prepackaged plan, Eric began by asking about and creating a blueprint built around Nathaniel's life. During check-ins, they'd cover a range of top- ics—maybe 30 different things, Nathaniel says. en Eric would follow up with an email later that day, nailing every topic. "You know how sometimes you meet with someone who is trying to help you, and you're like, 'I know you're not really listening to me,'" Nathaniel says. Meet- ings with Eric are the exact opposite. "He really cares." Now 35, Nathaniel was a college athlete and worked out regularly prior to moving to Seattle in 2015 to take a demanding post at Amazon Restaurants. In the past four years, he's also had two children. One side effect of these devel- opments? irty extra pounds. Nathaniel found the Wellness 360 commitment totally manageable. "It felt really attainable," he says. With an average of three visits to the WAC a week, Nathaniel says he hit his goal, which was to feel good and have energy. Shortly aer finishing his initial eight weeks, he moved his goalposts. "Now I want to reduce my body fat even more—and I want to do this and I want to do that," he says. Listening to him, you can feel his self-confidence, a common outcome of the Wellness 360 program. "Regular exercise has many under- lying benefits on top of great physical improvements," Eric says. "Not only do you feel good about seeing your body change, but the action itself also leads to increased self-confidence." "It's not about eight weeks. It's about creating lifelong change." —Eric Chen