About Our Team

I have struggled with my weight my entire life. I have tried many different programs to address this and have been successful for periods of time but the weight has always crept back on. I have also exercised regularly off and on over the years, but “life” always seems to get in the way of maintaining any lasting exercise routine. I am a perfectionist so if I am not exercising “perfectly” or eating healthy “perfectly” I feel like I am failing and have often just given up. Over the years I developed high blood pressure and have been on medication for many years. I had to have orthopedic surgery a couple of years ago after which I was unable to exercise and I had not been able to do anything consistently since then. I have had increasing “aches and pains” that interfered with my sleep and general sense of well-being. I got to the point that I was taking Ibuprofen most days. My children will both be in college this year and as I looked forward to the future I realized that I wanted to feel better, have more energy and to be able to “get down on the floor and play” with my future grandchildren. I decided to try one more time and got set up to work with Dennis on a supervised exercise program. I was nervous at first because I knew that I had some limitations due to my orthopedic issues. I was also afraid to “try again” since I had “failed” so many times over the years. I started 7 months ago and have been able to lose 38 pounds and come off my blood pressure medication all together. Even more important to me is my improved endurance and much decreased aches and pains. I can’t remember the last time I took Ibuprofen. Dennis has been patient and worked with me to find things that I can do. He has gone above and beyond during this crazy quarantine time making videos of himself demonstrating exercises that he sent to me. He has been a cheer leader and has helped me to set reasonable and obtainable exercise goals that I could achieve. When I think about what I have been able to achieve I am still in dis-belief that I am where I am today. I excited for the future and to see what new things that I can achieve!

Please accept this as an unbiased anonymous testimonial from a 76 year old white male who underwent Triple By-Pass Surgery in January 2006 and is currently on medication for hypertension, but not beta-blockers.

I have spent my entire life avoiding stressful cardiopulmonary activities such as running, sprinting, long distance swimming, and similar because of shortness of breath. About 15 years ago I started weight lifting at the Healthplex which I enjoy and continue.

For the last 15-20 years I have been aware of increasing shortness of breath associated with certain activities such as rapidly going up a flight of steps. Recent medical exams have shown that my heart is stable and healthy considering my past. My lung function is normal. Since at least 2006 my resting pulse has been about 60 and never above 80 during exercise. The conclusion was that cardiac conditioning would be appropriate.

Utilizing the smartwatch, over the first month, I have been able to increase my cardio exercise from 10-minute intervals to 45 minute stretches. At the beginning, I was very short of breath and exhausted with a heart rate in the high 90s. Now I am much more comfortable and my average pulse during exercise is slowly but steadily dropping. This is consistent with cardiac conditioning.

I am a 61 year old female who always had issues with weight. I am also not a true fan of routine exercise and I love to eat being Italian. I also work long hours as a physician which has been a great excuse for not exercising. After turning 60, I had an even harder time keeping weight off. I tried on my own to lose weight through cutting back what I ate and going to a few Zumba classes. I did lose 6 initial easy pounds but hit a plateau.
I got very motivated to start a program that made sense to me as a physician and saw the supervised exercise program on the Crozer EMR and gave it a try. I met Dennis Mathias who designed an exercise program for me which I could accomplish at my home for 30 minutes 3-4 times per week with equipment I owned but was not using. He taught me how to use this equipment to be successful. He tracked my average heart rate and calories burned during each session with the use of a wrist tracker which I would sync to my phone each time I would exercise.
Dennis is amazing and caring for your success and he gives you motivation to continue your work outs. I found out my Zumba class (which is so much fun and hard work!) could expend over 700 calories of energy in one hour using my tracker so it kept me motivated to go there twice a week. I also use my elliptical in between with the tracker starting at 30 minute sessions. During the summer, I also began biking regularly which I would substitute for the elliptical when at the shore. I even road my bike from the Cape May Ferry and back in 90 degree weather (not much fun!)! After 3 months, I am now increasing the time on the elliptical to expend further calories during my workouts. Dennis not only emails you regularly to motivate and educate you on your efforts, but he provides a weekly summary so you can compare to previous weeks and get back on track if life takes you off your health path. I truly have enjoyed the first 3 months of this program and now have lost an additional 6 pounds of weight, 7 pounds of fat with many additional health benefits! I believe my health has improved with better balance, endurance, flexibility and strength. I look forward to obtaining routine blood work in January to see if this program has improved other objective indices such as cholesterol levels.
Overall I have made this program a way of life. I plan my exercise for the week scheduled around long clinic days and night time meetings. I still have my ups and downs but I am doing my best. I also know I am in this for the long run and have signed up to continue the program for the next year. Thanks Dennis for all your support and I hope to make you proud! And as discussed I will start sending you as many cancer patients as you want.

I have to say I was very excited to see my success in losing weight and lowering my body fat percentage very quickly. Before using the Remote Training System I worked out regularly but had no way of monitoring my effort. This has helped me be able to make every minute spent in my cardio workout more efficient because I can track my effort via heart rate as I go. Before I would come in to the gym, do 20 arbitrary minutes on one of the cardio machines and call it a day. Now I'm putting in a better effort, burning more calories and seeing results.

As for the recent weigh in, I am definitely happy about being able to push through my plateau to bring off the last few pounds that I just assumed would always stay with me. But I am even more impressed with the change in body fat %!! Now I want to continue to work on that so that I can get into the bottom of the body fat % range for my age.

I think that having the fitness technology as a minute -to -minute gauge has helped me to step it up and to see the benefits of this new "work out smarter" routine. Also, knowing that someone is looking over my shoulder, so to speak, makes me want to push harder, not miss workouts, and to continue to challenge myself.

Love using a fitness tracker! You can see your heart rate at all times and adjust your work out based on that information. I love the fact that I know exactly how many calories I burned and what my maximum heart rate was. I have lost 12 lbs and am constantly improving my cardio conditioning which has jumped dramatically since using the tracker. The tracker has also improved my performance on the tennis court. More stamina, and a better win record. I love the feedback I get from my coach Dennis! Who has seen first-hand in the numbers of my workout and physical weight. I have not really adjusted my diet, just mindful of what I am putting in my mouth! Like Dennis says it is like a bank account you have to put the dollars in (exercise) before you take it out (eat food, calories). Bottom line I love the fitness tracker! I have limited time to work out and it is a huge plus to know what I have done each day!

My fitness tracker does the measuring, and makes sense of the data by providing actionable feedback that gives me the best shot at success with my weight loss goals. Dennis and my tracker give me the tools I need. The rest is up to me.