The Big Day Fitness Show

When Ross Pettit joined Big Day Fitness in Norwell, he figured he'd last three months, six at most. He gets bored easily, he doesn't like repetition, and he'd always been all-or-nothing. That was three years and 14 days ago.Ross talks with Bobby and Maria about why he stuck with it this time. He never did more than two sessions a week, and he cancelled plenty of them. He started a GLP-1 knowing it would take muscle with it, so he paired it with strength training from day one. He's 61 now, and he says he's healthier than he was at 57.Chapters(0:00) Intro(0:28) Meet Ross(1:36) Why he stayed(2:38) Booking keeps him accountable(4:10) The gym around the corner(5:20) Working out in Istanbul(6:14) Life 70 pounds lighter(8:07) Two days a week, three years(8:56) Bulgarian split squats at home(10:20) Imperfect beats all-or-nothing(11:48) Not fixed in 30 minutes(12:44) Labs in the green(13:20) Back to refereeing soccer(16:18) Healthier at 61 than at 57(16:45) Moderation, not extremes(17:46) GLP-1s and strength training(18:42) Small changes that add up(20:27) The real barrier(23:03) From the UK to Norwell(24:26) We struggle with it too(25:19) Advice to his younger self(26:27) Stop worrying what others think(26:53) When life gets in the way(27:46) Getting himself out the door(28:36) Gym friends and coaches(29:33) How to reach usWant to train with us? Big Day Fitness is a small-group personal training gym for adults 40+ in Norwell and Duxbury, MA.Email: [email protected]: bigdayfit.comInstagram: @bigday_fitnessThe Big Day Fitness Show airs on 95.9 WATD-FM.

Early in 2025, Dan Donovan had a bad ski crash that tore up his shoulder. Five months of physical therapy later, he was told to keep doing the exercises on his own. He didn't. Then ski season came around and he knew he wasn't ready.Dan has been in sales his whole career, so when he started shopping gyms, he graded their sales pitches as much as their programs. Seven months into training at Big Day Fitness in Duxbury, he talks with Bobby and Maria about accountability, getting back to running at 51, keeping his workouts going in a Hawaii hotel gym, and why he's planning to get back on the slopes this winter.Chapters:(00:00) Intro(00:28) Meet Dan Donovan(01:04) The ski injury(02:15) PT isn't the finish line(03:50) Booked in with a coach waiting(05:07) A call that wasn't a sales pitch(06:33) Trainer once a week vs. six days(08:06) Back to running, faster at 51(09:33) Working at your own pace(10:25) Days you don't feel like going(11:08) Same days, same faces(12:14) Taking the program to Hawaii(14:58) How Dan frames it(17:01) Why a 10-minute drive matters(18:24) Shopping gyms as a salesman(20:09) "How's the shoulder?"(20:58) Small group vs. one-on-one(22:04) Trust goes both ways(24:25) His wife's hip replacement(25:54) Why the weekly texts mattered(28:08) Romanticize the future(30:02) Back on the slopes this winter?(30:23) How to reach usWant to train with us in Norwell or Duxbury? Visit bigdayfit.com, follow @bigday_fitness on Instagram, or email [email protected] Big Day Fitness Show airs on 95.9 WATD-FM.

When Duxbury member Ali Marie Galindo first came to Big Day Fitness, she was in pain 90% of the time. She's a nursing professor who works in women's health, she was about to turn 60, and she felt like she was 80. Thirteen months later she's about 90% pain-free.Ali talks about dropping the "no pain, no gain" mindset, why being known in a small group matters, what it took to stick with it for four months before she could push herself, and how her strength showed up when she spent four days helping her daughter through labor with her first granddaughter.Chapters:(00:00) Intro(00:28) Meet Ali(01:10) Afraid to start while in pain(03:13) Modifying is okay(03:55) From 90% pain to 90% pain-free(04:30) The four-month turning point(04:53) Some movement beats none(05:51) It's not about weight loss(07:00) Becoming a grandmother(08:09) Balance, hiking and the Airstream(09:06) Why modifying takes courage(10:59) Reaching out while hurting(12:22) The day she was pain-free(13:33) A nurse on movement as medicine(16:35) Work around your inability(17:34) Bit by bit beats perfect(18:44) You don't need to lift 300 lbs(20:09) Four days of labor support(23:00) No pain with gain(24:03) If you think it's too late(26:22) Why Duxbury needed this(29:16) How to train with usWant to train with Ali and the Big Day Fitness crew? Visit bigdayfit.com, email [email protected], or find us on Instagram at @bigday_fit. Locations in Norwell and Duxbury, MA.The Big Day Fitness Show airs on 95.9 WATD-FM, hosted by Bobby Gasdia and Maria Gutierrez.

At 64, Ann Marie Luchessi drives an hour from her Cape Cod beach house to train at Big Day Fitness in Duxbury. Four years in, she’s gone from taping her knee every morning (and being told she needed a knee replacement) to more than two years pain-free, bounced back from breast cancer surgery so fast her doctors were surprised, and turned into the gym’s biggest recruiter.Bobby and Maria talk with Ann Marie about what small-group training really feels like, why you should train around pain instead of through it, the habits that changed her household, and why the October Standard is about momentum, not perfection.Chapters:(00:00) Intro(00:28) Meet Ann Marie: four years at Big Day(00:53) Why she picked Big Day Fitness(01:31) Commuting from the Cape(02:12) Two sizes down, keeping up(02:55) Small groups and privates(03:39) From knee tape to pain-free(04:36) Taking it outside the gym(05:59) Referring a friend(07:13) The change people notice(08:05) The high school reunion(09:13) Why this gym works for her(10:25) The post-workout high(11:36) A fast cancer surgery recovery(14:10) Greece and daily walks(15:06) How hard is a workout, really?(16:52) Is a small gym intimidating?(17:47) Getting Bill on board(19:03) Working out with a sore back(20:34) Train around pain, not through it(21:18) Skipping the knee replacement(22:26) Moving better, more energy(23:05) Protein and dropping alcohol(25:05) The October Standard(27:36) Progress over perfection(28:06) Counting every last rep(28:41) How to reach usIf you’re 40+ and want a place to get stronger, move better, and feel at home, visit bigdayfit.com, follow @bigday_fit on Instagram, or email [email protected]. We’re in Norwell and Duxbury, MA.

Greg Smith has been a Big Day Fitness member since the day we opened in November 2020, and he's trained with Bobby for ten years. He joins Bobby and Maria to talk about what a decade of showing up two or three days a week looks like: why he calls himself a "process person," how his goals shifted from the heavy bag to walking 18 holes and skiing for as long as he can, and why an injury is a reason to get back in the gym, not stay on the couch.Greg also shares the quiet habit that changed his mornings: a 17-minute drive to the gym with the radio off, used to pre-play his day. Plus why he'd never give up the community, how the coaches figure out "which Greg" walked in that morning, and what he's seen watching Bobby go from college kid to gym owner.Big Day Fitness is small-group personal training for adults 40–70 in Norwell and Duxbury, MA. Learn more at bigdayfit.com or email [email protected](0:00) Intro(0:28) A member since day one(1:21) "I'm a process person"(2:28) How kids changed his reason to train(4:14) Golf, skiing, and staying mobile(5:05) Trusting the process(5:42) Why he doesn't care about a six-pack(6:49) The day Greg said "I'm not doing that"(7:45) Know yourself(8:34) Beginners and veterans side by side(9:14) The nudge and the bigger dumbbell(9:48) Chatty Greg or quiet Greg(11:12) Coming back from an injury(12:38) Effort, not the couch(13:42) Off-ramps and on-ramps(14:46) Don't draw a limit on your future(15:15) What makes a good gym(16:12) Why showing up is the hardest part(16:51) Breaking the social barrier(18:00) Why he'd never work out alone again(18:48) "Everyone has something to offer"(20:15) Being curious about people(21:15) "You see more of the real me"(23:07) The 17-minute drive in silence(24:12) "It's too far" and time for you(26:17) Wall therapy and distraction(27:19) Why the Friday emails get read(28:15) Gym Greg vs. the real Greg(28:51) Watching Bobby grow up(30:41) Choosing the people around you(31:02) How to reach us

Cathleen Johnson asked her doctor for Ozempic. He said no. So she joined Big Day Fitness.A former 50-marathon, 10-ultra runner who stopped cold for almost a decade, Cathleen hit her breaking point when she couldn't open her dog's prescription bottle. Her bloodwork was going the wrong way and she was pre-diabetic.Four months and three sessions a week later: LDL down 40, A1C down, body fat from 38.4% to 33.4% with muscle unchanged, a four-minute plank, and a plan to run the Boston Marathon at 60 with her daughter.Bobby and Maria get into the two food rules she made, Maria's "add a zero" lean protein trick, what Cathleen eats for protein, and where Ozempic fits when you're doing the work alongside it.Chapters:(0:00) Intro(0:28) Meet Cathleen Johnson(1:02) The dog's prescription bottle(2:54) Gym intimidation after 50 marathons(6:12) First consult with husband Ron(6:39) InBody: 170 to 155, muscle unchanged(7:49) Bloodwork: LDL down 40, A1C down(8:23) Four months, three days a week(10:13) Trying this before medication(11:55) The pants that fell to the floor(13:05) Candy corn and the two food rules(14:57) Maria's "add a zero" protein trick(17:23) What Cathleen eats for protein(20:22) The goal: Boston Marathon at 60(22:29) The run-walk plan(25:38) Ozempic face and doing the work(28:03) Candy corn pro(28:41) How to reach Big Day FitnessBig Day Fitness is a small-group training gym for adults 40+ in Norwell and Duxbury, MA. Reach us at bigdayfit.com, [email protected], or @bigday_fit on Instagram.

Big Day Fitness member Sarah Filandrianos joins Bobby and Maria to talk about what changed when she stopped chasing perfect and started just showing up. A lifelong all-or-nothing person, Sarah used to need a Monday, a first-of-the-month, and a big goal before she'd start anything. Now she's booked three days a week whether her eating is on point or not — and the results have followed her onto the Appalachian Trail, into a six-person hot tub, and through a year with almost no injuries.We cover why small-group training makes you braver than one-on-one, how letting go of the perfect plan finally got Sarah through a marathon, hiking alongside her daughter's 146-day Appalachian Trail thru-hike, the "add before you subtract" nutrition frame, and why taking a week and a half off made her knee hurt more, not less. CHAPTERS(0:00) Intro(0:28) Driving from Duxbury to Norwell(2:00) No Big Day nearby? Not moving(2:52) Why small-group beats one-on-one(4:56) Community in her own town(7:06) From all-or-nothing to showing up(8:58) Letting go of perfect: the marathon(10:40) Walking challenge, golf, and Maine(11:16) Her daughter's Appalachian Trail hike(14:14) Setting an example for grown kids(15:03) Hot tub buckets = med ball warm-up(17:03) Advice for all-or-nothing people(18:51) Add before you subtract(20:09) Helping her parents eat better(22:25) Dairy Queen and being starving(24:11) Why a week off hurt her knee more(25:56) Five alternatives for every exercise(27:02) A year with almost no injuries(29:09) Blue Hills hike and how to reach us Big Day Fitness is small-group personal training for adults 40-70 in Norwell and Duxbury, MA. Learn more at bigdayfit.com, follow @bigday_fit on Instagram, or email [email protected].

Four years ago, Amanda Rand answered a Facebook ad, then said "I don't have time" — three times. Maria kept calling. Today Amanda is a 5 a.m. regular who went from not being able to do a single sit-up (after two C-sections and a spinal fusion) to knocking out 20 push-ups from the floor.Amanda, a teacher and mom of two, joins Bobby and Maria to talk about why she stopped putting herself last: losing both parents young, the gym schedule that lives on the family fridge calendar, monthly mental health days, and why "no is a full sentence." Plus: the therapist who told her she needed to hit things, going alcohol-free, recruiting her best friend Lindsay, and the Poshmark side hustle that pays for it all. And yes — the wool t-shirt story.The Big Day Fitness Show is hosted by Bobby Gasdia and Maria Gutierrez of Big Day Fitness, with locations in Norwell and Duxbury, MA, specializing in strength training for adults over 40.Visit bigdayfit.com, email [email protected], or call/text 781-886-7444.Chapters:(0:00) The wool t-shirt story(3:12) Saying no three times(4:45) Losing her parents young(5:54) The fridge calendar(6:53) Mental health days(8:37) "No is a full sentence"(9:39) Oxygen masks and mom guilt(10:35) Boxing out the rage(11:26) Rebuilding after C-sections(13:36) Still on the fence(14:35) Accountability and community(15:28) Lindsay's dead hang record(19:41) 20 push-ups from the floor(22:31) Alcohol-free since 2020(23:31) Becoming a 5 a.m. person(26:36) Protein and diet changes(27:41) Three fun facts and Poshmark(28:57) Get in touch

Ten years of coaching adults over 40 boiled down to the tips that actually change how you feel: why you need to breathe when you stretch, why you should never train through pain, why leaving the gym wrecked is a mistake, and why two or three strength sessions a week beats six. Bobby and Maria walk through the underrated rules they run Big Day Fitness on, including the "battleship, not a canoe" way to think about your core, and close with the one piece of advice each would give their younger self.WHAT WE COVER- Why breathing makes stretching and foam rolling actually work (and what cold showers taught Bobby about anxiety)- Never train through pain: how to work around aches and still get stronger- Why you should leave the gym with gas in the tank- The 50-something guy training 6-7 days a week and getting nowhere- How to actually engage your core: ribs over hips, brace for a gut check, blow out the candles- Every exercise is a core exercise and a posture exercise- Movements, not muscles: six patterns that hit your whole body in 45 minutes- What Bobby and Maria would tell themselves 10 years agoCHAPTERS00:00 Intro00:29 Tip 1: Breathe when you stretch02:59 Cold showers and calming your nervous system05:04 Tip 2: Never train through pain07:28 Tip 3: Don't leave the gym smoked09:55 Tip 4: Strength train 2-3x a week11:59 Tip 5: Feel core exercises in your core13:33 How to actually engage your core15:16 Tip 6: Every exercise is a core exercise15:37 Battleship vs canoe17:43 Why coaches ask "where do you feel that?"19:59 Every exercise is a posture exercise21:27 Tip 7: Movements, not muscles23:30 Bone density and compound movements24:50 Advice for your younger self28:17 How to reach usBig Day Fitness has locations in Norwell and Duxbury, MA, specializing in strength training for adults over 40. Email [email protected], visit bigdayfit.com, or find us on Instagram @bigday_fitness.The Big Day Fitness Show airs on 95.9 WATD-FM. Follow the show wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

He's one of the best-known real estate agents on the South Shore — and two years ago, Billy D was out of shape, frustrated, and had already quit every gym he'd ever joined. Nothing stuck past six months. In this episode, Bobby and Maria sit down with Billy to unpack what changed: nearly 200 workouts in two years, 25 pounds down, 10 pounds of muscle up, and a training session his 17-year-old son couldn't finish.What we cover:- Why a guy in his early 50s who never trained finally started, and stayed- The day-one goal (lose 25, gain 10) and hitting it in about nine months- Working around injuries instead of through them- Why every other gym failed to stick, and the trainer difference- The 35-minute drive test: how far you'll go when it's actually working- Out-training a 17-year-old who calls him "old man"- Creatine, a gallon of water a day, and keeping the smoker in the rotation- Leading 94 agents: how fitness became a leadership toolChapters:0:00 - Intro0:28 - Meet Billy D1:56 - Two years, nearly 200 workouts3:54 - Out of shape in his early 50s5:20 - Goal: lose 25 lbs, gain 106:59 - Trusting the process7:35 - Training around injuries12:53 - Why other gyms never stuck14:58 - The 35-minute drive test16:42 - Training style & accountability18:06 - Non-scale wins & confidence19:29 - Out-training his teenage son22:39 - Creatine, water & BBQ balance25:29 - Fitness as leadership26:54 - Wrap-upBig Day Fitness helps adults over 40 move better, get stronger, and live bigger — with locations in Norwell and Duxbury, MA. Find us at bigdayfit.com, on Instagram at @bigday_fitness, or email [email protected]. Hear the show on 95.9 WATD-FM.If this episode hit home, follow the show and share it with someone who keeps saying "I'll start Monday."