Josh Bowen: On the #TeamRP vs. #TeamJYB3 Fitness Challenge

They say you can never go home again. I would have to disagree.

I am very much “home again.” In 2007 I made a dramatic jump from being a personal trainer to lead 30 plus gyms in 7 states. That ride has recently come to an even more dramatic end. So I decided to go home once again, back to my roots as a trainer and fitness coach. Life has never been better. It has been a challenge but I am glad to be home.

Flashback to 2005 and a very green trainer meet the then Kentucky State Treasurer; a Harvard graduate, accomplished writer, diplomat and family man with a bad back no one could fix. I was the green trainer and your very own, Jonathan Miller was the State Treasurer and Harvard graduate.

At the time I knew very little about how personal training worked but was very passionate about people and helping them achieve their fitness goals. To that point I had zero experience with injuries and did not really know what to make of Jonathan’s back situation; and on top of that I was nervous I was working with such an intelligent and dignified man.

Josh and The RP circa 2005

Putting away all my inexperience, I decided to research as much as I could about his condition and was determined to help him. Through trial and error we put together a plan that would help his back and at the same time help him achieve other fitness goals as well. At the end of our road together we strengthen his back and developed a love/hate relationship with a few new exercises (dance, dance revolution, as he called it comes to mind).  Through our 2 years working together we developed a unique trainer/client bond and I grew to respect him not just as a politician but as a great person. To this day I have a copy of his first book that has a dedication to me, something that means a lot more than he probably knows.

Fast forward to now. 6 years ago I left training clients to develop and train other trainers, now I am back working full time doing what I love to do. I reached out to Jonathan 4 weeks about training and he had some doctor visits to attend and said he would get with me when he was cleared. The time has come and he is ready and he is not coming alone. Kentucky’s own John Y. Brown III will be participating with us as well. This is a challenge between two very competitive people, destined to get into the best shape of their lives.

With my help and the help of another colleague we are going to whip these two middle aged men into shape. The time is right and the time is now. Join Jonathan, JYB, myself and the other trainers at Fitness Plus 2 as we take you down a path of fitness greatness, weight loss and muscle growth the likes a middle age man has never seen before.

All things through fitness!