The Wood family consists of parents Janet and Philip and their two sons, Jason and Eric. They enjoy being active and playing sports together as a family. The parents were active in sports growing up and have passed this on to their children. They make regular visits to the gym together to do cardio and strength training workouts in order to stay healthy and set a good example for their sons. The family finds that being active together has brought them closer and given them quality time to spend with each other.

1. I first met the Wood family about a year ago. The Wood family consists of Janet
(Mom), Philip (Dad), Jason (oldest son) and Eric (the youngest). The first family
member I met was Philip and then Jason. Jason started working with Rob for his
Youth Orientation program. Jason was quite interested in his Youth Orientation; he
absorbed all the details of weight lifting and cardiovascular activity. Following his
completion of the program, Philip and Jason became regulars to the facility. I later
met Janet in passing; she was on her way to a fitness class. This family has shown
me that the value and concept of family still exists today. It has been a great pleas-
ure seeing this family working together, working out together, encouraging each
other during their workouts and making physical fitness a habit in their lifestyle. Not
only have I witnessed this first hand, but I have seen the mannerisms, politeness,
and friendliness that the world has seen displayed by Janet and Philip’s sons. If
you have not met these individuals, I highly recommended taking five minutes to
introduce yourself to this family. Chances are, you will not only leave with a smile
on your face and be in a happier mood, but you will be reminded that there are still
good people in this world. You just may find yourself taking a quality or two away
from this family making yourself a better person.
“Being supportive is important.” The Wood family states that there are days that it may not be “easy” to get to the gym, but
they encourage each other to do it anyway. It is important to try and make it a family routine. They try to incorporate fitness as
a family activity and have fun – much like playing a game or going to the movies. The Wood family has always been active in
sports. Philip grew up playing organized sports throughout high school, and comes from a big family where his brothers and
sisters all played competitive sports. This habit has been handed down to the kids, who have enjoyed playing organized base-
ball and football since they were young.
The family became active due to their love of sports and the influence to engage everyone in play. They enjoy being outdoors
and playing sports, riding bikes, etc. You may find the family on the basketball court playing basketball or shooting hoops. The
second major influence Janet states is most likely watching our parents’ generation and their lack of commitment to physical
activity and realizing the negative consequences of poor habits later in life. The family comes to Hershey from the northeast
(you will enjoy hearing their accents when talking to them), skiing was their winter sport of choice and they taught the boys to
ski beginning at the age of 3. The Wood family is avid downhill skiers and really enjoy when they get a chance to go “home”
and ski in NH and VT.
The boys are quite active and really get involved in their workouts when coming to the fitness center. The boys are inspired to
be physically fit and healthy by the examples set by their parents. They see that as parents, they are dedicated to getting to
the gym to work out despite their busy lives. “They see us making it a priority and that helps.” They also have coaches for
their respective sports that emphasize the importance of being fit so they can perform their best when they are in a game or a
match. Janet does state that sometimes they make the children go to the gym. But mostly the children see the results. Jason
and Eric see they are getting stronger, literally discovering muscles that they didn’t know they even had. One day Eric noticed
he was getting some definition in his triceps. He looked at Janet and said, “I didn’t even know there was muscle there.” The
family as a whole sees the benefits of having more energy and genuinely having fun with working out.
As a family, they don’t look at their weight at all. The Wood family eats healthy at home, and they don’t buy or eat a lot of junk
food. The kids don’t drink soda at home; they prefer water, juices, and milk, so they avoid a lot of unhealthy sugar. As a fam-
ily, it really is about the cardio and strength training to “stay in shape.” The Wood family tries to get to the gym at least three to
four times per week. Cardio and core are always part of each workout. They also do strength training on alternate days.

2. The family tries to mix in different activities. As an example, the boys don’t always like to run on treadmills, so they will run or
bike to the gym instead. Mixing in new exercises or taking different classes also helps keep the family interested and en-
gaged.
Janet and Philip try as parents to make sure they balance their lives in a way that keeps everyone healthy so that they can
enjoy life to the fullest. They look at their workouts as a down payment to avoiding unhealthy experiences later in life. For
the kids, they are motivated by trying to position themselves to play well in their activities, and they see their parents doing it.
The family is fairly motivated to staying physically fit; Philip wins the vote within the family, who despite a demanding, irregu-
lar work schedule never misses his three to four days per week.
Recently I had a lengthy discussion with Janet and Philip following the Sandy Hook shooting. We talked about how they
dealt with the issue with their children. It was so nice to see parents so emotionally involved, loving and caring when talking
about the boys. The Wood family is such a strong testament to the word “family.” Philip states the boys are “best friends”
and rely on each other, along with being strong supporters to one another. The Wood family is inspiring; along with giving
the word “HOPE” to all of us in this not so friendly world, that good people exist. We can all learn from example and talking
with this family that kindness, values, family and love exist.