TESTIMONIALS

|

I push hard for a goal that may be unreachable, but I’d rather push too hard than give up.

Elizabeth W.

READ MORE

As someone who has battled various illnesses since the day I decided to come out of my mother’s womb (early, I might add), I’ve never felt like a “healthy” individual. Throughout each season of my life, from birth to childhood to college and adulthood, I struggled with these different illnesses and it took a toll on me mentally – so much so that, in order to not see any extra doctors, I became very lazy with my health and lazy at life in general. 

Because of my illnesses medication became a daily part of my life. The week before BootCamp started I was at 5 prescribed meds a day; I wanted to change, I wanted energy, I wanted to be able to pick up a back of feed. I had to make a choice -sit idle or get off my butt. The day we had our weigh-ins and bloodwork, I happened to end up talking with “Nurse on Duty” at the sign-in table. She informed me about having my blood work checked. Of all the years I’ve suffered no one had ever checked my blood. I made an appointment for the following week. Over the weekend I got very sick, but I wasn’t missing a day if possible. My appointment for the bloodwork was already set for Tuesday, so I just held out. Tuesday came and I got 3 more pills and the doctor asked about getting blood work. When they did the blood work, I had an awful migraine- the sick kind. My doctor ordered a magnesium drip and a pain shot. Blood work came back on Wednesday and I discovered my magnesium and potassium were in the pot. Now I have 2 more vitamins to add to my other 2. It was a total of 4 vitamins, 3 antibiotics for a kidney infection, and 4 daily pills to keep the depression and pain away at the time. I also had another bag full of emergency meds, stuff prescribed to help keep me from the emergency room and their nasty bills.

However during that time, I only missed Wednesday because I couldn’t drive from the pain meds given at the hospital. I may not be able to run and I may struggle, but I’m determined to finish everything I can. If I’m not dead I better keep moving, and I haven’t died yet. I began to notice that I was more productive in my daily activities outside of BootCamp. I continued for 3 weeks without a headache of any true notice. The week we started week 4 I got a horrible migraine, but I went to BootCamp. A missed day can lead to another, and I can’t make excuses. 

Why that long history? Because in 3 weeks I actually have gotten answers. I no longer have to take 2 of my daily meds. I take more vitamins, but they actually work. There are more vitamins in a bottle than the prescriptions, and they are cheaper. My husband has noticed a difference, and thanks to the MyFitnessPal I’m eating more. I don’t skip days without food. I make myself find something. I cook more now since I’m not fatigued and exhausted. And after my next appointment I may be down to 1 prescription and the vitamins. I’ve never felt more “normal” in my life. I haven’t had this much energy without a Redbull in a really long time.

This is just week 4, and I still have 8 more weeks to go. If I keep pushing myself and getting the support of the coaches; there’s no telling where I’ll end up. I truly have high hopes for the ending. My husband said there’s a massive difference that he can see. I also can count my meds and see a difference. I’m happier than I have been in a while. I push hard for a goal that may be unreachable, but I’d rather push too hard than give up. If I give up, I might never stop wearing my 26-year old’s shirts. If I keep going, I might get to give them back (even though they don’t fit him anymore). As he struggles to work out and stay active, I’ll be able to say I did this. Thank you, Paul Lacoste!

I put on weight. The most I have ever been in my life—up to 270 pounds (and gaining). I work at Stan King GM dealership here in Brookhaven, Mississippi and one day a friend came by and told me, “Rich I want you to meet a friend of mine, Paul Lacoste.” Paul was a mountain of a man, and an ex-NFL football player and he was starting a new 12-week fitness program here in Brookhaven. My friend and Paul said I should sign up for it, and that it would be an intense fitness program that included watching what I ate.

Well, I felt that God had been telling me that I needed to lose some weight and watch what I was eating as I was a heart attack waiting to happen. God opened this door for me and then said, “Ok Rich the door is open for you…what are you going to do?” Well my wife had been starting to lose weight and had been encouraging me as well, so when God opened the door, I knew I had to do it.

I knew this was going to take commitment on my­ part, and as a veteran of the United States Navy Seabee’s, our motto was and is always “Can Do”. So, I entered the program with a ‘Can Do’ spirit. It being a 12-week program, I just looked at it as back to boot camp a bit.

Part of the commitment required me getting up at 4:15 a.m. every morning to be at the class. It meant keeping track on a daily log of everything that I ate or drank. It meant showing up at the work out every morning, giving it my personal best, and leaving the work out every morning knowing I gave it everything.

My eating habits have improved greatly. It’s amazing what it does when you see the calories and nutritional level of everything your putting into your body.

I have just finished my first 6 weeks and I have another 6 weeks to go. At the weigh in this morning, I was happy to see I have dropped below 250 pounds.

Anything good you want in life, be it your health, a great marriage, a good education, or just about anything, it requires commitment. It requires a mindset of a ‘Can Do’ spirit, and an understanding that a commitment means sometimes you have to fight through the tough times. It gets too easy for so many folks today to give up when things get a bit too hard, or they realize what they want requires a stronger sense of commitment then when they first started something.

I am thankful for Paul Lacoste Sports. It probably saved my live to be honest. I may be able to walk my daughter down the aisle one day, and maybe one day be able to chase after grandchildren all because of Paul Lacoste Sports and the power of a committed soul.

Paul Lacoste Sports is a tool to help you to a better, healthier you. They will provide many tools to help, but the one thing they cannot provide and you must provide is a commitment level.

That being said, as they say all the time at Paul Lacoste Fitness, NEXT LEVEL!

|

The greatest impact of this program is on my spiritual life. The status quo is not enough. It has awakened a deeper desire. Now, I want an even more healthy relationship with my Lord Jesus Christ. Like the Apostle Paul, I want to know Him more. I want more focus, less baggage, more productive activity without a sense of hurriedness and anxiety – I want to be more like Jesus.  I want to take it to the Next Level and inspire others to do the same. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be in the Paul Lacoste Next Level boot camp.

Greg W.

READ MORE

Hi, I’m Greg W. I am a Christian who is blessed with a beautiful wife, Terri, of 34 years. We have two grown sons, a daughter-in-law, and a newborn grandson. I have served as a minister in churches for 36 years. While I do not feel like 57 years of age, the reality is, at best, I’m entering the fourth quarter of my professional career. Prior to the day Paul Lacoste and his friend, Whit Hughes walked into my office, I was in the weakest physical shape of my adult life. Though my weight was in the normal range, every other measure of strength was, well, sad.

When Paul and Whit began sharing about the Next Level boot camp and how it was sponsored by the State of Mississippi, First Families, Kings Daughters Medical Center and others, I was immediately interested. Now after seven weeks in this program I have seen incredible changes. The first is my perspective on exercise.  My weak condition was not because of old nagging strains and injuries, my age or a demanding schedule. I thought I knew best. I thought I could do it on my own and did not need help. My pride was limiting me. The Paul Lacoste Next Level boot camp has made it clear. I need coaching. I need intensity and I need to be on a team wanting to go to the Next Level. Walking and occasional interval jogging was not enough to improve my health. Also, the required use of a food diary on the MyFitnessPal app has been eye-opening. It has taken my appreciation for healthy eating to the Next Level.   

Another blessing is meeting new people who are seeking life change. It’s people like – Rich the Road Warrior, Mrs. Ann, Soul Fire, Firecracker, Mr. Martin, Joey, Junior, Doc, William the Great, Awesome Amanda, Nick and Jill and so many more. Each one in their own way inspire me and challenge me. And I also need the challenge that coaches bring. I admire coaches, but I have not had a coach since high school. Coach Paul Lacoste, Coach Neil Woodall and our team of local coaches have pushed, instructed, corrected and encouraged me to a restored level of strength. But there is still more. And I want more.  

The greatest impact of this program is on my spiritual life. The status quo is not enough. It has awakened a deeper desire. Now, I want an even more healthy relationship with my Lord Jesus Christ. Like the Apostle Paul, I want to know Him more. I want more focus, less baggage, more productive activity without a sense of hurriedness and anxiety – I want to be more like Jesus.  I want to take it to the Next Level and inspire others to do the same. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be in the Paul Lacoste Next Level boot camp.

|

“Twelve weeks later the only voice I hear is my own telling me that I am enough and that I deserve better. I can do anything I set my mind to. I am stronger than I think.”

Holly W.

READ MORE

Most people think that these programs are about losing weight. My reason was because I was struggling. I had weight to lose and I needed to get in shape, but my reason was more because I was looking for something. I needed to replace the voice inside my head that wasn’t my own that continued to tell me I wasn’t enough. That I couldn’t do it, that I wasn’t smart enough, pretty enough. I was stuck in a cycle of negative thoughts. I needed to break that. Needed to get out of my comfort zone, let my guard down. PLS stretched me in ways I can’t even explain, it changed me. Physically I’m thinner, stronger, and I have actual muscle definition. Those are the things you can see, but this program is about so much more than the physical changes. Some days it’s about going out onto the field and doing battle with your demons, it’s in those times where the healing takes place. I remembered the woman I once was. The one who didn’t care what others thought of her, the one who hadn’t withdrawn so far from the world that she hardly recognized her own self in the mirror. I knew she was still there underneath the “comfortable” clothes. I wanted that woman back. I liked her.

The first days of PLS I struggled. I wanted to quit. I thought about it daily. I was sure that

I would fail. I got frustrated. Still, I kept showing up. Daily the voice that wasn’t my own faded. Twelve weeks later the only voice I hear is my own telling me that I am enough and that I deserve better. I can do anything I set my mind to. I am stronger than I think. The voice also recognizes for the first time that I am a survivor of emotional abuse. I didn’t just escape; I survived. My PLS family didn’t know my story; however, they cheered me on, supported me, and believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. Looking back I see I have needed different things at different phases of my life. Teenage me wanted to be a part of a team and wanted

to belong. During my twenties and thirties I wanted solitude. Now in the beginning of my forties I want and need community. PLS gave me my life back.

|

I can’t afford a personal trainer and for Coach Paul to do this in honor of his brother while joining with Families First and Mississippi Department of Human Services it is such a beautiful blessing. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity!

Angela S.

READ MORE

I am Angie S., a wife and mom of four. I started the program to help me be a better Angie. In the past I have lost weight for other things but never for myself. In 2018 I vowed to make a change for myself in all areas of my life. The opportunity came for Paul Lacoste Sports Bootcamp and it was right on time. This program help changed me physically, mentally and spiritually. It allowed me to really look at myself in the mirror and not only desire change but to be the change. I value health more and I am more aware of what I am putting in my body.

During the one-mile run for the pre-fitness test, I cried the entire time and I finished it at 17:52. During the post-fitness test I was more confident and ran it at 12:32, that’s a 5:20 difference! I have lost one pant size and 6.5 inches off my waist.

Coach Paul did a great job in selecting the coaches because the entire staff was knowledgeable and they saw our potential and pushed us to our Next Level. They also molded us to be like family. Every teammate motivated each other every day.

I can’t afford a personal trainer and for Coach Paul to do this in honor of his brother while joining with Families First and Mississippi Department of Human Services it is such a beautiful blessing. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity!

|

This journey has not been easy but, if you really want it, you will do the work.

Latonya S.

READ MORE

First, I would like to thank all the coaches for their hard work and for helping me accomplish my goals. When I started my weight was 181 and I was on medication for high blood pressure and cholesterol. I also had a cracked tailbone and a previous injury (ankle) from overseas. I began this program to get my weight down and get off the pills. Initially I thought I had set my goals too high, then I saw that all of my teammates had set high goals for themselves, too.

Two weeks into the class I went to a doctor’s appointment and he took me off all the pills. He told me that I no longer needed the pills and my weight was down. I was overjoyed!

I also no longer need shots to help with my tailbone. In all I have lost 24.6 pounds. This journey has not been easy but, if you really want it, you will do the work. It’s easy to put the weight on but hard to take it off. My 5 a.m. group is a family. I will miss them and I am thankful for what we accomplished together.

|

“Other benefits of participating in PLS again were: a major decrease in arthritis pain, less popping of the joints, a decrease in waist and hip measurements, better fitting clothes, a few pounds lighter, and a bigger smile! I plan to implement some of the exercises from PLS to keep in shape. What a great set of coaches too!”

Lashetta W.

READ MORE

Being a part of the PLS program has been very beneficial to me. When I first entered the program in January 2012, I was severely overweight at 214 pounds and my mother had expired the preceding December. I needed a wake-up call and PLS was “right on time.”

I was able to rejuvenate myself physically and mentally. I did not lose as much weight as I wanted to but it was a start to a three-year journey that allowed me to keep my weight at reasonable levels. However, I made my way back up to 200lbs in the summer of 2017 and found myself struggling to stay below that number.

Year 2018 was a very hard year. I lost one brother from complications of diabetes and

heart failure. The day before his funeral, my youngest brother was in the hospital suffering from heart issues and also suffered a stroke later in the year. As I write this note, he is hospitalized and awaiting evaluation as a heart transplant candidate. His trauma has forced me to re-examine my own health, in terms, prompting me to sign up for a heart scan which I completed last November (and the results were excellent).

Heart disease, stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure, and chronic heart failure have touched my parents and three of the males in my family. When you total all the indicators, you can see why PLS is more important to me than ever.

Although age has limited my ability to perform some of the PLS physical tasks, I see improvement in performing other tasks and enjoy beating some of the younger participants. PLS doesn’t expect perfection, but they do want you to move and be the best that you can be.

One unexpected benefit from PLS that I learned is the actual “real importance of hydration.” On Saturday, February 11, 2017, I ate a small breakfast, consumed water, went for a walk, and then to the local Wal-Mart and collapsed. I was dumb-founded to find a customer looking down at me on the floor. In the end, I spent the night at St. Dominic’s for observation. The main contributing factor to that incident was dehydration. When we reported to PLS for medical evaluation, I again was dehydrated and had to sit and drink and drink until I was hydrated enough for a blood draw. At the post exam, it was no problem. Thanks to PLS, I can enjoy the benefits of one needle stick to draw blood. That is a blessing! Now, I know to always stay hydrated.

Other benefits of participating in PLS again were: a major decrease in arthritis pain, less popping of the joints, a decrease in waist and hip measurements, better fitting clothes, a few pounds lighter, and a bigger smile! I plan to implement some of the exercises from PLS to keep in shape. What a great set of coaches too!

I want to thank the MS Dept. of Human Services and Families First for their continued support of PLS. Thanks for letting us be a part of PLS. You truly take us to the NEXT LEVEL!!!

|

Anything good you want in life, be it your health, a great marriage, a good education, or just about anything, it requires commitment. It requires a mindset of a ‘Can Do’ spirit, and an understanding that a commitment means sometimes you have to fight through the tough times. It gets too easy for so many folks today to give up when things get a bit too hard, or they realize what they want requires a stronger sense of commitment then when they first started something.

Rich H.

READ MORE

The doctors told me I was diabetic, and had very high cholesterol. In spite of this, I continued to eat whatever -donuts, candy, cakes, cookies, pizza, big hamburgers, etc. I was working in an office staring at a computer all day and snacking all day as well.  

I put on weight, up to the most I have ever been in my life at 270 pounds and still gaining. I work  here in Brookhaven and one day a friend came by and told me that he wanted me to meet a friend of his, who happened to be Paul Lacoste. Paul was a mountain of a man and an ex-NFL football player, and I found out he was starting up a new 12-week fitness program here in Brookhaven. My friend told me to sign up for it and I felt like this was a door that God opened up for me at the perfect time so I knew I had to do it.

I knew this was going to take commitment on my part, and as a veteran of the United States Navy Seabee’s,our motto was and is always “Can Do”, so I entered the program with a “Can Do” spirit. Part of the commitment required me getting up at 4:15 am every morning to be at the class. It meant keeping track on a daily log of everything that I ate or drank. It meant showing up at the workout every morning and giving it my personal best.

My eating habits have improved greatly. It’s amazing what it does when you see the calories and nutritional level of everything you’re putting in your body. I have just finished my first 6 weeks and I have another 6 weeks to go. At the weigh in this morning, I was happy to see I have dropped below 250 pounds. 

Anything good you want in life – whether it be your health, a great marriage, a good education, or just about anything – requires commitment. It requires a mindset of a “Can Do” spirit, and an understanding that a commitment means sometimes you have to fight through the tough times. It gets easy for so many folks today to give up when things get a bit too hard or they realize what they want requires a stronger sense of commitment then when they first started something. 

I am thankful for Paul Lacoste fitness. It probably saved my live to be honest. I may be able to walk my daughter down the aisle one day, and may be able to chase after grandchildren because of Paul Lacoste Fitness and the power of a committed soul.

Paul Lacoste Fitness is a tool to help you be a better and healthier you. They will provide many tools to help, but the one thing they can not provide and you must provide is a commitment level.

That being said, as they say all the time at Paul Lacoste Fitness, let’s take it to the NEXT LEVEL!!!

|

Not only do I feel so much better and stronger, but it’s also helped instill more discipline to every other aspect of my life as well.  I recently visited my diabetic doctor in Jackson and received the best report and A1C number I’ve had in 4 years!

William W.

READ MORE

My name is Will W. and I am 20 years old.  Although my fitness journey hasn’t been longest, it certainly has had its struggles.  Growing up throughout school I was always labeled as the bigger kid within my group of friends.  I was the heaviest and slowest but I was alright with that, until that changed very quickly one summer.  In the summer of 2013, I had lost at least 20 pounds over the course of a month and was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I was admitted into the hospital with an A1C of 12.8. Once I was released from the hospital, I tried to slowly begin working out again and playing sports, but soon realized that my normal lifestyle would not be the same.  Not only was keeping my sugar constantly regulated a struggle, but also I did not have the same strength that I had prior to being diagnosed. Very upset and depressed over my physical state, I soon stopped playing ball and focused on operating my family’s large cattle ranch. After finishing high school, I went to Junior College in Lubbock, TX.  I have had very little physical activity these last 2 years and gained more weight during my freshman and sophomore years. This past May my mom sent my family a flyer about the Paul Lacoste Sports program coming to Brookhaven. I was not interested in attending when I first saw it, but my mom and sister were all in. Then, (as most sibling rivalries do) my sister began messing with me about not being able to do it or complete the full 12 weeks until finally I had enough and signed up. I wasn’t expecting to experience a life change.  The first week was brutal and exhausting, but as each week passed I have enjoyed it more and more. Not only do I feel so much better and stronger, but it’s also helped instill more discipline to every other aspect of my life as well. I recently visited my diabetic doctor in Jackson and received the best report and A1C number I’ve had in 4 years! I’m very excited about the remainder of this program and can’t wait to continue working out once this program is completed with all that I’ve learned this far.  

|

More than probably any other time in my life, I have a hunger to beat my body into shape, to develop better habits with nutrition, to be more disciplined in my walk with God, and to stretch myself to become a better encourager to those around me.  In the weeks ahead I look forward to more sweaty, near-puking workouts, to strengthening bonds with my coaches and teammates, and to more opportunities to watch myself and those around me grow as we all take it to the #NextLevel!

Jarod A.

READ MORE

Perhaps it’s odd to be going into a boot camp style fitness program NOT focused on physical fitness – at least not as a primary focus – but that’s kind of how it was for me.  Was I working on a nice little spare tire around the mid-section from years of sitting at a computer all day and questionable-to-outright-poor eating habits? Yep! Could I tell that almost any type of physical labor was more difficult because my muscles had atrophied over the years?  You bet! Did I want to address these areas by getting in better shape, losing a few pounds, and maybe even watching what I ate more closely? Absolutely! But despite those things, my mind and my heart had a different set of goals at the forefront. Going into this Next Level Mississippi program there were two words dominating my thoughts.

The first word was ‘discipline’.  And having listened to the testimonies of my fellow athletes over the past several weeks, I realize I’m not alone in wanting to develop a little more of this in my life.  I’ve learned that, left to my own devices, I can be pretty undisciplined. Whether it be with physical fitness, eating habits, or making consistent daily efforts in my spiritual life, if I don’t have some accountability, I tend to put it off … or at best, I go in spurts … like a teenage me learning to drive a stick-shift for the first time.  So I wanted a change. I wanted something to help me develop some new and better patterns in my life going forward. I knew, just as the Apostle Paul indicated in his letter to the church at Corinth, that through this training as I “discipline my body and keep it under control” the discipline I built would spider out into other, more important areas of my life.  I want it to have that effect. I need it to have that effect! And while that may seem like a lot of weight and expectation to put on a fitness bootcamp, hearing Coach Paul (the bald guy, not the apostle this time), Coach Neil, and our other coaches speak, I know their desire is for this program to do exactly that for each of us. And it’s working! I may not always pop out of bed at 4am, but I do look forward to our workouts.  I look forward to doing something on our off-days to keep the momentum going. I never expected to have the energy to do that … much less the desire! I’ve realized I can push myself – physically, mentally, emotionally – much further than I ever thought possible. This program is teaching me to expand my view of what I can achieve.

The second word on my heart going into this was ‘encourager’.  A few short weeks before the program started and only days after signing up, a man who had become a dear friend to our little family unexpectedly passed away.  One thing that was always constant with this man was his gift to encourage those around him with a heartfelt word, a big smile, a listening ear, or an embrace that clearly communicated his care and appreciation.  Though we considered him part of our family, his gift wasn’t reserved for only those close to him. He took it with him and shared it wherever he went. In losing my friend and encourager, my prayer became that God would develop in me that same trait and that same boldness to share it.  If you have even an inkling of what goes on during the workouts each day, you understand there are MANY opportunities to encourage each other! I want to encourage my teammates. I want to encourage my wife and kids, not just assuming they know how much I appreciate them and how proud I am of them.  I’m thankful for my teammates modeling this each day, encouraging me with their words and their efforts. As an introvert to the core (who can fake being outgoing for short periods), striving for this goal has stretched me and worked me as much as the circuits and weights and running have worked my muscles!

I appreciate the variety of opportunities this program has provided for growth, and I’m incredibly encouraged by the changes I’ve already seen in my body and my habits.  But I’m a work in progress! We may have several weeks left in the program, but I know full-well that the end of week 12 is not the end of my journey … and I don’t want it to be!  More than probably any other time in my life, I have a hunger to beat my body into shape, to develop better habits with nutrition, to be more disciplined in my walk with God, and to stretch myself to become a better encourager to those around me.  In the weeks ahead I look forward to more sweaty, near-puking workouts, to strengthening bonds with my coaches and teammates, and to more opportunities to watch myself and those around me grow as we all take it to the #NextLevel!

|

This program has been LIFE-CHANGING.

Yes I have lost a few pounds and lost a few inches, but mostly the confidence this has given me – I stand taller, bolder, and happier – is the best part. I am the person I always wanted to be, and I am NOT going to feel guilty about it. I LIKE MYSELF!!! for the first time, ever.

Elizabeth B.

READ MORE

We were asked what is our purpose for committing to the 12-week Paul Lacoste training.  

My daughter sent me an email and I told her, “If you do it, I will.” My plan was to be there for her to encourage and push her, but after the first week I found myself doing it for ME.  I won’t be the first, in fact I might be the last, but my goal now is to cross the finish line of the 5K. It will take fighting like a monkey but I will cross that line, for me.

Growing up I heard three things:

  1.   you can’t do that
  2.   she is not worth the effort
  3.   who is ever going to love you

It took many years to beat those demons, but I know that Christ loves me. If I was not worth it then God would have never made me a part of His body and I know that I can because I can do anything through Christ! 

Raising 8 kids and starting and maintaining a business working with children for 35 years will do a number on a body- especially when it is neglected. The guilt will overtake a person’s mind and spirit when you do something for yourself by making you feel selfish and I struggled with this.

Now, for the past 10 years or so all my effort goes to taking care of a husband who is physically unable to perform daily tasks. However, this program has been LIFE-CHANGING. 

REGISTER NOW FOR 2019 FALL TRAINING

Training locations in Biloxi, Brookhaven, Flowood, Greenville, Madison, and Pascagoula.

Contact

(601) 398-0950

Paul Lacoste Sports
Post Office Box 1998
Ridgeland, MS 39158

Follow