We’ve recently heard from our member Najee, and his HOLOFIT story was just so inspiring that we had to share it with you. Enjoy!
My name is Najee Williams, a 61-year-old man, and I’m kinda proud of myself.
Almost 8 years ago, I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. My doctor said I probably developed it because of my sedentary lifestyle. He prescribed medications and told me to exercise. I purchased a gym-quality rowing machine (Concept 2 Model D) so I could get in shape. The problem was I would get tired OF rowing before I got tired FROM rowing. It was boring, monotonous, and redundant. So, it became a beautiful piece of furniture. Just a dust collector.
All that changed a couple of months ago (the end of April 2020). I discovered a virtual reality (VR) app called Holofit. Instead of just rowing, seeing the wall go back in forth, now I could be in a different environment (i.e. ancient Babylon, a tropical rainforest, Paris, Cambridge, snowy mountains, etc). I knew absolutely nothing about virtual reality. I called my youngest son, Jason, and asked him about it. He owned the Oculus Quest and he gave me some information and I was intrigued. So, my son Jamaal purchased me an Oculus Quest VR headset as an early “Father’s Day” present and I started using Holofit on May 15th.
I was so out of shape, I could barely row for 5 minutes before getting winded. However, I knew I wanted to do 30 minutes per day, so I decided to do 5 minutes 6 times throughout the day. After 4 days of that, I noticed I was able to do 5 minutes 4 times AND A 10 MINUTE SESSION. In a few more days, I was doing 3 ten minute sessions. I literally rowed more in those 2 weeks of May than I had in the previous 7 1/2 years of owning the rower.
For the month of June, I resolved to average 30 minutes for the 30 days of June. I was able to do it. Now, I’m working on 45 minutes per day for the month of July. August will be 1 hour per day.
So, what has rowing done for me? Well, since June 1st, I’ve lost 3 inches off my belly. My endurance and stamina are way up. My longest single session was today’s 46 minutes! I am off of 3 of my type 2 diabetes medications and my blood glucose levels are in the normal ranges for the first time in 7 years.
Since May 15th, I’ve rowed 266.85 kilometers (165.8 miles). I have burnt 133,840 calories. I am no longer bored of exercising. As a matter of fact, I look forward to it.
Holofit has been a complete gamechanger. Even with all the meds I was taking, by blood glucose levels were always out of control. Now, they are normal, even dropping 3 of the meds. My blood pressure is completely normal, also.
I’m happy with how I started. I would recommend anyone new to rowing to start off like I did; nice and slow. Resolve and commit to 30 minutes per day, even if you have to break it up into six 5 minute sessions. The effects are cumulative. Let your body adjust to the new exercise. Within a few days, you will be able to do longer sessions. Your muscles will acclimate. Your lung capacity will quickly grow. You will really enjoy it, and with Holofit, your mind will be off of the rowing and into the environment.
Remember, exercise is medicine. It is vital to maintaining good health. So, if you’re gonna have to exercise, you might as well enjoy it, right? You will with Holofit.