“Hello, Muscles.” I noticed this slogan in t-shirts, banners, and flyers as I walked out of Dance Jam at Life Time.  A seemingly meaningless statement to me at the time, but for some reason, I couldn’t get it out of my mind. Over the following days I thought to myself: do I truly have what it takes to get the body of my dreams? More intrigued than ever, I knew I couldn’t waste any more time thinking. I had to take action!

The following morning, I entered Life Time as a man on a mission. I immediately sought the help of Brad B (a personal trainer at Life Time), and expressed to him my newfound inspiration to transform not just my body, but my life!

As a Life Time member of 7 years, I am an avid regular at the dance classes.  Over the years, I mainly utilized the gym as a social element and, although I have built great friendships with like-minded individuals, I never stepped out of my comfort zone.  This was my starting point, and it was the hardest step for me. Yet, I slowly started to gain momentum and eventually felt unstoppable!

In the past, I was far from healthy. I was overweight, unmotivated, lacked energy, and didn’t really put my health as a priority. I was a workaholic, with a successful career but my health was taking a toll.  I knew I couldn’t hesitate any longer, so I started to manifest my future. I had had enough. I put my career on hold and started to focus more on my health and well-being. I wanted to see change and, therefore, I became determined to give it my all. Trust me that when I said, “give it my all,” I most certainly meant it.

On March 5th, I signed up for the 60day Challenge. With the advice of Brad, my personal trainer throughout this incredible journey, we immediately devised a workout plan. With his help, I was more determined than ever to crush my goals! For the first 30 days, I focused heavily on my nutrition, which comprised of me intaking low carbs and high protein. In addition to my Life Time personal training sessions, I started to run, hike, swim, spin, rock climb, dance, do yoga, and conquer intense cardio workouts.

April came along and so did #LTClassDash. I asked myself, “Okay. How can I use all of these resources available to me?” I began to participate to the fullest extent in this monthly campaign and took full advantage of my LT BUCK$. Determined to do and successfully finish every group fitness class which Lifetime at the Rim offers, I took all the group fitness classes. Ranging from Yoga, Cycling, Xtreme, Cardio Kickboxing, Zumba, LifeBarre, etc. By no means am I saying that it is necessary to work out as much as me. In fact, I believe it is very important to keep a healthy, balanced lifestyle; yet, for the next 60 days, my #1 priority was fitness and nutrition. I went to the club every single day during this challenge, also took private master swimming classes with Life Time Coach Trisha.

My typical daily workout schedule started with a low-impact class, like yoga or barre. I followed this with high-intensity interval training classes, cycling, personal training sessions, and swimming. I truly embodied the “beast mode mentality.” My fellow Life Time club members and employees started noticing the changes in my life and physical appearance, as well. Soon much so that some told me my fitness journey inspired them to also take control of their lives and made them realize it was possible to make significant positive changes. I continued this incredible fitness journey for myself, but having the Life Time community in my life to keep me accountable was a fundamental source of support that kept me going throughout the entire 60day Challenge.

I would like to wholeheartedly thank everyone at Life Time who supported me throughout my journey. I truly did not expect this tremendous amount of encouragement from the gym and fitness community. To say the least, I never felt alone throughout this entire Challenge. If my story can serve as a personal testament to others struggling to find their reason to become healthier through exercise and clean eating, then I will know my sacrifices will have served a larger purpose.

I am a firm believer that if one surrounds his or herself with like-minded individuals, who want to achieve the same positive outcome, one will start to see significant changes in his or her life for the better. Things that you once thought were impossible can become a part of your daily reality. My journey certainly does not end here. Over the past 60 days, I have forged an unbreakable discipline and especially with the Life Time community to keep me accountable. This challenge helped me lose a stunning total of 32.6 pounds, from 245.1 to 212.5 pounds. My fat percentage drop was from 36.5% to 23.7% body fat, for a whopping total of 12.8% body fat drop which equates to 35% of my total fat mass. Fitness will always be a priority for me from now onward.  I will continue to challenge myself for a “Life Time”!’