GreatLIFE member experiences almost 100-pound weight loss – plus finds new gym community
Feb. 20, 2024
This paid piece is sponsored by GreatLIFE Golf & Fitness.
By the time the scale tipped around 300 pounds, it became clear Tyler Johnson had to make a change.
“I was very out of shape,” said the Lennox native, who now lives in Harrisburg.
“But in the last couple years, I’ve started really dialing in.”
At least five days a week, you’ll find Johnson at GreatLIFE’s Harrisburg fitness center, where he has found not just a place for cardio and strength training but also a community of support.
“It’s a very comforting place for me,” he said. “It’s close to where I live, and I’ve had nothing but great experiences with the staff. They’re always super friendly, and it’s a really nice place. It feels like family, but people you’re not related to, and it’s across the spectrum from kids still in high school to people like me out of college to older folks there working with trainers or walking on a treadmill. It’s a community on its own.”
Johnson began his fitness journey with a body scan and new knowledge about how to become more healthy and fit.
“A big thing was changing my diet, working in more whole foods and vegetables, and going to natural sugars like fruit if I had a sugar craving,” he said. “In the gym, it used to be all about being strong. But I started doing more cardio — even though I was never a fan of it — and then I found I look forward to biking, so all those things put together helped me get to where I am now. I feel a lot more confident as a person.”
As he ramped up his workouts, he also took advantage of GreatLIFE’s Recovery Lounge at the Harrisburg location.
“I think it’s one of the best additions they’ve ever done,” Johnson said.
He estimates he has dropped about 95 pounds in the past 12 to 18 months, plus embraced a new career that his increased fitness supports. He’s now a concrete finisher, transitioning to the concrete industry from a career in health care.
“I really didn’t have a passion for that anymore, so I found my way to this path and thought I would give it a shot,” he said. “I enjoy that it’s physically demanding because I like to work out. There was a week I worked 60 hours during the summer, and I was still at the gym six days a week just because I like being there.”
Since he joined GreatLIFE a few years ago, he has noticed the community within the Harrisburg location expand. Soon, the growing numbers of GreatLIFE members who work out there will have even more space to enjoy.
An addition will almost double the size of the fitness center, adding more turf, cardio, strength training and free weights, plus its first basketball hoops.
Johnson said he’s looking forward to the extra space – but equally happy he found the gym in the first place.
“It feels like I always have a safe place to go there. Whether I’m happy or sad, I can go in and get a good workout,” he said. “Just seeing the people behind the counter boosts my day, and I know it does that for other people too.”
To begin your GreatLIFE fitness journey, stop in any location or click here to learn more.
