I’m Amy Booher, and I have been a Courthouse member for the better part of 15 years now. I have a condition called hydrocephalus, which is the inability of the brain to drain spinal fluid properly. I’ve battled this illness since my late teens, and in May of 2012 I had my 5th and most recent surgery, to place a shunt to help drain the fluid. I had been pretty inactive leading up to that surgery, and afterwards I realized that I really needed to get stronger and in better physical shape in order to help me combat the future ahead of me. My husband Clifton had met Joe Locascio at the West club, and suggested that I talk to Joe about training once I was cleared by my doctor to do so. I found Joe to be very knowledgeable, and although I was unfamiliar with the functional movement approach to training, I was willing to give it a try. We started training at the beginning of July 2012.

My training and fitness journey has been incredible. In the beginning I had one goal- that was to get strong, and at that point not only was I terribly weak, but I was really struggling with my balance and equilibrium. We started with a lot of corrective exercise, breathing, and balance training, and slowly built my program as I got stronger. I was super motivated to gain the ability to physically feel better, and I threw myself into my training wholeheartedly. Joe was supportive and kind, but also let me have my space while I figured out my new set of circumstances, which is always an ever-changing battle. We pushed through changes in my pain, headaches, adjusted to things as I healed- and I celebrated as the little victories started rolling in….like being able to balance enough to lean over and tee up my golf ball without falling!

As I improved in the gym, I also learned how to eat and hydrate to fuel this new active life, and my husband joined me in that. Although weight loss has never been the focus of my training, within the first 9 months of training, I lost close to 50 lbs of fat, and gained roughly 10 lbs of lean mass. I’m 6′ tall, so that equates to a size 14 to a size 4.

My strength and fitness has allowed me to do a lot of things that I want to do- I’ve enjoyed golfing, hiking, boxing, along with my newfound love for weight lifting. Clifton has been training with Joe as well, so we get to workout together and support each other in our goals. I’m clearly in the best shape of my life, and I am really thankful for that. I no longer refer to Joe as my “personal trainer”- he’s my friend, and my strength coach.

Thank you,
Amy Booher