Spotlight: Dakota Strohl

If someone came up to me and asked why he or she should join Dedicated Fitness, I would respond by saying that joining will change their life because it forever has changed mine.
 I am a recent Palmerton graduate and while at Palmerton I was involved in soccer and basketball. I started going to Dedicated Fitness as a part of the boys basketball team my freshman and sophomore years.

After my sophomore year my good friend Austin Shupp asked me to take CrossTrain classes at the gym with him. When I walked in I felt intimidated. I was the smallest guy there, and I certainly asked myself what I'd gotten myself into. Little did I know that what I joined wasn't just a class or a gym, but I joined a new family.

Everyone at the gym is respectful. Dedicated Fitness has the friendliest environment I've ever been around. You don't dread working out when you know you're comfortable and going to have fun. It doesn't matter if you're the best because every one motivates each other to do their best. If there is a challenge presented in a class, those that finish first are always the loudest cheerleaders to those still working their butt off. No one lets you quit. You get told that you WILL and CAN finish the challenge.

The gym didn't change my life just because I'm physically in the best shape of my life; however, it changed my life because it changed my perspective on life. The motto Positive is Powerful is short and simple, but it holds a lot of meaning. Positivity comes in all shapes and sizes. Being positive is simply complementing someone. You never know how much of an impact a few kind words can have. Positive is where you push others to become their very best. Positive looks like going out of your way to help someone even if you don't even know his or her name. Every choice or predicament you encounter can be made positive if you change your perspective.

I would say that I was relatively a happy person, but after joining Dedicated Fitness and after being around the most inspirational person I know, Kerri Jahelka, I know what it's truly like to be happy. I'm the happiest when I'm working at the gym because I love seeing people improve. You should try to improve every single day of your life. There is always room to improve, but you should be proud of every ounce of progress you make. If you aren't where you want to be, you are closer than you were yesterday and that is all that should matter. It is okay to fail because failure means you tried, but quitting is unacceptable. 

Dedicated Fitness makes you physically AND mentally stronger. When you think you can't do anymore, someone is right there to tell you that you can. You break barriers and go further than you ever could've imagined. I have witnessed all different ages benefit from the classes provided at Dedicated Fitness, and it's truly remarkable. Leaving for college will be tough because of DF, but I will take everything it has taught me into the next part of my life.

Letter written by Dakota Strohl.