When I first set out on my 60day challenge journey, my goals were similar to many. Lose weight and look better in the mirror. But, very early into the 60day my goals changed.

Like so many, I had put on the pandemic 20-30 extra pounds. But by October 2020, my health took a drastic turn for the worse. I took a horrific fall on roller skates and completely blew out my ankle and broke my leg. A gruesome sight to see as I watched my ankle completely hang motionless off the side of my leg. What followed was major corrective surgery requiring screws, bolts, and metal plates. I was sentenced to non-weight bearing recovery for 60 – 80 days followed by physical therapy.

During this time, I contracted Covid. And then, 24 hours after being released from covid quarantine, I started to experience sharp pain in my back. That pain exponentially increased to sharp shooting pain that became unbearable. I was rushed to the hospital where I was diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening blood clot in my lung. This scared the hell out of me and my family. I recovered from the clot, but it left my physical health in shambles I was excited to start the 60day because I knew I needed to kick things into overdrive.

So it started out as, “Man, I need to lose some weight”.

But soon after the challenge started, I was venting to my personal trainer George S. about how I was rapidly gaining more weight. As a former trainer/strength conditioning coach, athlete, and fitness competitor, I know when something wasn’t right.

That’s when my trainer gave me some perspective that may have saved my life. He suggested that I go and get some blood work done.

The result of the bloodwork was mind-blowing. I, a former D1 athlete was diagnosed with high blood pressure, pre-diabetic sugar levels, elevated liver enzymes, and hormonal imbalances in addition to now…..a history of blood clotting.

I was literally a walking time-bomb. The 60day challenge took on an entirely new focus. I wasn’t competing against a before and after picture….I was literally fighting for my life. Armed with these diagnoses, we went to work. This wasn’t a matter of seeing a chiseled physique and a 6-pack. This was a matter of life and death. This was for my family.

My trainer mapped out a protocol for me with details around my workouts and nutrition. We literally never saw each other in person. We went about this 100% virtually. The only time we saw each other was on a couple of check-in FaceTime calls.

The Life Time Training app is absolutely amazing. It held me accountable. I didn’t have to think about what I was going to do when I got to the gym. It was already spelled out in detail, all the way down to the amount of rest in between sets.

For me, the tracking workouts, the volume, and “personal bests” were so important to my progress. The app left room for slacking. The app didn’t care if I was tired or having a bad day. It simply said to me…” Hey Perry, this is what you lifted last week. Are you gonna punk out or get better?”

Getting 1% better every day. Because of the app and the words of encouragement from my trainer, I got better EVERY workout. I never took a step back. I made the commitment to always put up better numbers than I did the week before.

As an entrepreneur, I believe in this success formula. Systems + Coaching + Team = SUCCESS.

The 60day provided all of 3.

I am so surprised by the lifestyle changes I have made. They seemed small, but over 60say it was a game-changer.

I stopped drinking alcohol during the week. Only weekend drinks.

I drank more water.

I realized that I can fit 2 short workouts into my day pretty easily by waking up earlier in the morning.

I realized that due to my age, I need certain supplements to support my health.

I realize the importance of SLEEP. I went to be earlier than I ever have in my adult life, sometimes going to bed at 9:30 PM… LOL…..and loving it.

I realized I can push myself much more than I ever realized. I see how much I was leaving in the tank.

The 60day gave me something that is so important in life…… It gave me momentum!!!!

Why stop? I truly believe that life is a series of sprints. Sprint, Rest, Sprint Rest.

I plan to ride this momentum. Now that I have my blood pressure, blood sugar, hormones and sleep under control, I am going to set another short-term goal to build upon the foundation that the 60day helped me establish.

I will be turning 45 this year and I want to be able to play full-court basketball with my daughters before the end of the year. My stretch goal is to be able to dunk by my 45th birthday in September.

I still have another surgery on my ankle in May, but with the help of my trainer and the momentum we have generated, I believe we can get there.

Thank You to my Family, my Trainer, and Lifetime for this wonderful platform.