The Miami-based ob-gyn renewed her strength and found confidence in the Club with the help of her Coach.
Forged at Equinox is a series highlighting an Equinox member’s foray into a new workout regimen, with help from an expert Coach. The following conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Patricia Perfetto first began to suspect that her current wellness routine needed a refresh when she went on a ski trip with her family back in December 2022. The ob-gyn, who was active before medical school forced her to cut back her regimen years ago, remembers lacking the strength she used to have to move the equipment under her feet. Even more so, she was afraid of falling.
She began grumbling about her waning fitness to her husband. But still, Patricia put off making true changes. “It was a very hectic year, and you start noticing that something is falling apart, but you don't [fully] realize it,” she says, “because you're focused on your work and your family and all these responsibilities — except for yourself.”
That’s when her husband stepped in with a Mother’s Day gift: personal training sessions with Jakub Syzlak, a COACH X at Equinox Coral Gables. “I [was] like, ‘Okay, I'm not ready for this. I have never been in a gym. I have never been with a trainer,’” she recalls. “At the beginning, it was a little bit — I'm not gonna say scary — but yes, a challenge to me, especially to find the time.”
After just six months of training — focusing on mobility, plyometrics, and strength training — Patricia picked up her skis again. This time, she performed better — and felt more confident, she says. Today, after more than a year together, Jakub and Patricia also incorporate jogging into her cool-downs and, along with those basics, occasionally play with Animal Flow.
“I think that's also part of keeping our dynamic movements fun,” says Jakub. “It may be odd-looking at times, but I’m just a full believer in being able to know how to load and move your body in [different] directions to keep everything elastic, pliable, strong, and ready for anything that comes at us.”
Here, Patricia and Jakub open up about their experience training together, the goals they’ve achieved, and the targets they still have their sights set on.
What were your initial goals, and what challenges did you first overcome?
Jakub: “Short term, [the goal] was getting confident with moving with weights. At any age, it’s very important just to feel confident being at the gym, using dumbbells, using kettlebells, and eventually, even using barbells. Getting comfortable with our basic compound movements, and then safely lifting some heavier weights. Again, being exposed to all of our movement patterns — pushing, pulling, squatting, hinging, carrying, a little bit of jumping, running.”
Patricia: “I think that overall getting used to the weight, understanding how to do it, was a challenge. The other part was being afraid to injure myself. That's been a very big step in this process. I wanted this to be smooth, and I didn’t want to get injured and then move backward on everything that we had been working on. So at the beginning, it was challenging because I had never been with a trainer; it was like, ‘What am I doing here?’ And then on the other hand, your mind is, like, usually the gyms are for young people [who are] very athletic. And then when you are there, you realize, ‘Well, I'm not the only one. This is not to be athletic — this is to be healthy.’”
When you first began training together, how did you ensure the experience felt comfortable?
Jakub: “As with anyone, I wanted to be approachable and listen to what our goals are — what was really important to our ‘why.’ We went through the COACH X Assessment, sat down, and went over her results. I think the most important piece that I think helped her feel more confident was when we went over the results and looked over what a long macro-cycle training looks like; where we're starting, where we’re looking to go, and the steps that it's going to take.”
Patricia: “I'm a physician, and, because the science is behind me all the time, I feel like I'm always asking, ‘Why are we doing this? What muscle are we stretching or what muscle are we working with?’ I'm always obsessed with trying to do it right.”
Jakub: “At the beginning, that's an expectation I set with everybody. I want you to feel comfortable asking ‘Why?’ and Patricia took that [to heart]. So I really do appreciate her asking, like, ‘Why is this the focus this month?’ I think it's on us as coaches to be able to explain the why [behind] what it is that we're doing.
“[My approach] is client-centered; I'm listening to how she's doing, what's going on with work, how her body’s feeling, and we'll make adjustments throughout the workout to take some time and work on those areas. But then there's always the focus around getting her stronger, getting durable, which she mentioned was really important for her.”
The main goal is being healthy, being able to move, not falling, and to enjoy my eldest times without requiring the help of anybody.
How has Jakub ensured your training aligns with your everyday life?
Patricia: “In December, I told Jakub that I was thankful that, somehow, we crossed each other. I think maybe he's learning something about menopause. I’ve talked to him about menopause and hormones — how crappy we feel and how every time you wake up with some kind of pain. We talk about my pains and aches, and I think that maybe it's something that has challenged him. I noticed that he's a very good trainer because he does modify exercises in order for me to do it. And that's super important because it gives me confidence.
“He tells me how important it is to sleep, to eat properly and [get] enough protein. He actually adapts a lot of things to my job. Sometimes I go to train and I say, ‘Listen, I haven't slept two hours, but I didn't want to miss the training.’ So he's like, ‘Okay, I know your energy level is low today, so we're going to do this.’ I think that's important that he understands my life in order for me to adapt better.
“Little by little, he, of course, tried to lift the bar for me, but in a way that I have been able to do it so I don't feel frustrated. Even though I frustrate easily — sometimes I want to lift [a weight] and I can’t and I get frustrated. He has [been] very good managing all those little little points at all these sessions. We laugh because I do crazy things and I do things wrong and I don't understand what he's telling me. But I think he has made a lot of changes; I can see the changes in my body. I can feel the strength. I'm very proud of the job that he's done with me.”
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What improvements have you seen in the Club and your daily life?
Jakub: “Yesterday with her chin-ups, we brought down the boxes she uses to start chin-ups, and she was at a just-over-90-degree angle, with where her forearm and shoulder were. She was able to get almost fully extended without jumping and pulling herself up yesterday. That's a new PR.
“Thinking about cardio, we've been working on our cool-downs, keeping a low-duration run pace for 10 to 12 minutes straight; she's felt an improvement there. There's been her dumbbell split squats; she's getting heavier with that, holding up to almost 27.5 pounds on each arm, which has been great. And then the overall goal was her overall body weight goal, which took some time.”
Patricia: “I had to [focus on] weight gain. I was underweight and had a very poor muscle mass. And I think we have gotten up. It’s a long way [to go]. Sometimes I just want things to happen so quickly. I'm trying to keep up — I cannot go [to the Club] every day — but I'm trying to be committed and give the best I can.”
What goals do you hope to achieve moving forward?
Jakub: “Moving forward, we’re sticking to our monthly check-ins, some bi-weekly to check up on her overall goal which is to continue to increase her overall body weight — and we’re on the track to do so. We want to make sure that we're doing that while improving her muscle mass and increasing her body fat percentage to as little of an extent along the way. Her body has been adapting really well to the weights in general. In terms of the phase of training that we're in, it's continuing to work towards an unassisted single pull-up. Yesterday was her biggest progress jump from when we started to where she is now, which has almost been a little over eight weeks.
“But I think it's always important to reflect on what you do and what your day-to-day is like; it’s very busy and you're still making time to come in and train and work on yourself, making time for you, making time to make adjustments, not just to what you do in the gym but outside the gym. Those are the really big variables that I feel like I've really helped you get to where you are today.”
Patricia: “One thing that worries me is that I don't want my son to take care of me. I want to be able to age healthily and be able to do things. Of course, there is a part of me that’s like, ‘Oh yeah, I want to have my six-pack.’ But that's not my main goal. I would love it if it happens, but for me, the main goal is being healthy, being able to move, not falling, and to enjoy my eldest times without requiring the help of anybody. That's what I want.”
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What makes an Equinox COACH stand out?
Patricia: “I have a very good coach because I can see what he does: how he’s eating, seeing him doing his activities. We talk about sleeping, about resting, about mindfulness, about breath. Those are things that you know [to do] if you’re in the health business. But how difficult is it to do it for yourself?”
Want to train with Jakub? Do so virtually with his curated workout plan. Click here to get started.
Photos by Katelyn Kopenhaver