Former Professional Athlete Rises to New Challenge

He says his goal of getting back to his playing weight is now within reach.

Words by Arlinda Smith Broady

Photos by George Hunter

From left to right Steven Fan, David Wolensky and John Otting were very concerning to me and my doctor,” wrote Peachtree Corners resident David Wolensky in his application to join the Life Time Fitness 60Day Challenge.

Below, David Wolensky coaches his sons’ baseball team at Pinckneyville Park and trains pitchers professionally.

Wolensky grew up in Brookhaven and had always been “super athletic.” Like most active young men, he was always in shape. He went to college on a baseball scholarship and eventually played for the Los Angeles Angels Major League Baseball team. At six feet tall, he weighed 185 pounds.

“When I got done playing professionally and went back to college, I was so over having a personal trainer, telling me what to do 24/7, that I kind of got out of shape,” explained Wolensky.

At one point, he and his wife got back in shape together, but then life snuck in. “We had our second child and after that, there was no time to work out, so I gained a lot of weight. At that point, I’d say it late last year, I was 305 pounds,”

Unless you’re gearing up for an Oscar-winning acting role like Brendan Frasier did for “The Whale,” most people don’t intentionally become overweight. And many are caught by surprise when the few holiday pounds are joined by a dessert-every-night cushion that can turn a chubby hubby into a portly papa.

“My last doctor visit jarred me into desperately wanting a change of lifestyle. My cholesterol and blood pressure, combined with my weight, he said.

Inspired to get fit

In January, his doctor told him that if he didn’t change his habits, he would be in for major health problems. “My cholesterol was like 435, and he’s like, ‘You’re probably gonna have a heart attack soon if you don’t start taking your health seriously,’” Wolensky said.

His family had had the same doctor for generations, and Wolensky knew he wasn’t joking. So, he started his journey by cutting out junk food — fast foods, fried foods, greasy pizza and sugar — and started eating better. His wife used to be a fitness model, so she gave him advice on healthy eating.

“I said to myself, ‘I can sustain this diet. It’s not horrible,’” he said. “I quit drinking alcohol mainly because when you come home and you have a bourbon, you don’t feel like going to the gym after that.”

The next step was hitting the gym.

“I hadn’t been to the gym in seven years, but I kept telling myself, ‘Let’s go!’ So I walked into Life Time and …I wasn’t sure what to expect,” he said.

Wolensky said he had tried other gyms with no success, but at Life Time’s Peachtree Corners location, “…it was the only time I ever lost weight. I really liked their gym.”

As he was signing up, he saw that a weight loss contest was about to begin. “It literally started the day after I signed up, and I was like, ‘Alright, this will be a great catalyst to a new healthy 2023,” he said.

But it wasn’t easy at first. “I kept getting really, really sore,” he said. “Imagine trying to work out with a 100-pound weight vest on.”

Feeling and looking better

About the halfway check-in point, Wolensky got very positive feedback from the trainer.

“He was like, ‘Wow, you’re really doing good,” said Wolensky, who hadn’t really noticed the slow and steady progress up until then.

“You see yourself in the mirror every day and you really don’t recognize the subtle change.”

That boost was motivation enough to get him to kick it up a

“Thirty days later, I thought I could see the change,” he said. “And I thought the funniest part was my facial recognition on my phone wouldn’t work. I had to reset everything because my phone didn’t recognize me.”

Besides getting closer to his goal weight of 220 pounds, Wolensky’s neck size went from 18.75 inches to 17.25 inches. And he’s got nearly as much energy as he had during his college days.

He coaches his sons’ baseball team at Pinckneyville Park and trains pitchers professionally. His transformation has altered his appearance so much that some clients didn’t recognize him. One guy walked right past him looking for the “heavy” instructor. Wolensky said losing weight made him feel so great, he did his own 60-day challenge right after. “Being super competitive, I gave myself another challenge and I just finished my second 60Day Challenge and lost another 15 pounds. And so now I’m starting another one,” he said. “I’m hoping that after the next 60 days, I’ll have hit my goal weight and be back down to the weight I was when I played baseball.”

Win by losing

Although the real reward is looking and feeling better, Life Time Fitness gave away about $7,500 worth of prizes to four grand prize winners to show appreciation for their hard work. ##