Melody Fasselin and Curt Maughan

First, allow me to set the record straight: I am not an athlete. I merely had the good fortune (or misfortune depending on your perspective) to marry one, thus finding myself in the position of having to significantly up my game in order to make a show of ‘keeping up”.

This kind of worked when I was younger, but became more problematic with age, resulting in annual injuries that took ever more time to resolve with each subsequent assault.

Thus our introduction to Brad and CVSC.

A little over 3 1/2 years ago we met some friends for a “farewell to Cache Valley” lunch. It was fun to talk and make future plans to meet up somewhere, sometime in the future. But what I couldn’t help noticing and focusing on was that these guys were buff. They were both older than us, and looked really good.

Mid-conversation, I interrupted and asked what was responsible for the transformation. They responded they had been working out under the guidance of this guy named Brad Thorne at his gym and maybe we should check him out.

Immediately after lunch, I went home and began the process of contacting this Brad Thorne person. I was nursing another knee injury and needed to do something different. Curt was a bit more reluctant to sign on. His shoulder was bothering him and he didn’t want to aggravate it.

A week later we walked through the door of CVSC for the first time. Expecting us, Brad greeted us, introduced himself, then looking at my face, asked if I was nervous. I said I was a little anxious, but in my head I was ticking off all the reasons I shouldn’t be there: people were lifting impossibly heavy weights, I was too old, it was a big open room with no place to hide, I would never be able to do “that” (fill in the blank), etc.

Brad took Curt and me into the gym and slowly, kindly began an introduction to conditioning basics - the first step to transformation had begun.

I wish I could claim 3 plus years of working out at CVSC has transformed us into athletes capable of performing amazing feats of strength, speed, and agility.

It has not.

Instead our trajectories have been more subtle: the shoulder no longer hurts, it’s easier to get out of a chair, we sleep better. And more substantial: blood pressures lowered, stamina improved, DEXA results stable and NO injuries for 3 years, even as we have continued to hike or ski multiple times a week.  In short, CVSC has allowed us to continue to do what we love to do and enjoy it.

We still feel like beginners, so we concentrate on the basics: trying to improve our squats or  figure out if a move requires a hinge or a squat, or put our hands beneath our shoulders, or making an arrow shape.  For our older bodies good form is essential and Brad has been a absolute treasure of information and help.  Every session is an opportunity to pay attention and improve something. Every session we try not to focus on what we can’t do, rather trying to improve what we can do.  Who knows, maybe someday I will be able to do a legitimate push-up; not a goal so much as a “I’ve never done that before” moment.

Our earlier concerns of not belonging were dispelled long ago, replaced by the realization that the only expectations were that you showed up and you tried.  Realizing that you have to start where you are at rather than where you wish you were has been facilitated by this place.  We are so grateful for having found a place, a community, and a coach that allows us to do just that.