ROSEMOUNT, Minn. — Exercise may not be pretty, but the biggest payoff comes from feeling stronger.

Becky Panser can't feel most of that progress.

"I'm paralyzed from the chest down," Panser said. "I was disabled in 2011 with a blood clot that landed on my spine."

Panser uses a wheelchair and walker to get around in most circumstances, but when she entered the doors of Lifetime Fitness in Rosemount earlier this year, that changed.

"I was just amazed that nobody saw the wheelchair," Panser said. "I met a very special gal, Ashley, and she’s like ‘You absolutely can do barre.’"

From fitness classes to long sessions on the exercise bike, Panser felt a new sensation: the desire to walk a mile.

"The biggest thing is figuring out your new center of balance," Panser said.

To reach the 5,

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