Roger Bolens of Indianapolis, 46, died January 11 at Methodist Hospital. Bolens, who was eleven days into his ninth consecutive new year's resolution to get healthy, died of massive organ failure a day after collapsing during a workout. Working with his friend Dave Collins, who holds no professional credentials but by his own estimation "is pretty ripped and totally knows personal training," Bolens was determined to trim his 5'9", 284 pound frame. "It was day 10 of my program," reported Collins. "Most trainers say to start out light and easy and work your way up. I think that's dumb. I mean, you need the most help when you're all big and fat, so I say start at the maximum and ease up as you get to where you want to be." Collins' program had Bolens on 800 calories of food and 256 ounces of water per day, and in the homemade gym in Collins' garage for up to six hours per day. "He was in a lot of pain," admitted Collins, "but I told him that was just weakness leaving his body. So each day we'd spend some time re-working the muscles that hurt the worst from the day before. No pain, no gain, y'know? I'll give him points for determination, that's for sure--especially since he couldn't really lift his arms or walk after the first couple of days." Bolens is survived by his wife Cathy, to whom Collins has offered a discounted rate should she wish to take over her late husband's sessions.
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