My F.I.T. Story

The road to losing weight is one of the longest journeys a person can possibly go on. There are hills and valleys, mountains, canyons, and other seemingly impossible things to get over, around and through along the way. Having been on this journey myself for the last eight months, I can tell you with all honesty that losing weight, trying to get in shape, trying to change your life to be healthy can seem never ending. I can’t, and won’t speak for everyone that’s ever gone on this journey. I can only speak for myself. Here is my F.I.T story…

In April of 2010 I found myself as a nanny/housekeeper for a high maintenance family in the Lakes Region. I hated going to work every day, wishing that my ten hour shift would be over quicker than the day before. I hated the way they treated me, the way they talked to me, the way they looked at me. One day, as I was washing a load of laundry I thought to myself, this is not my life. While the money I made at this job was enough to keep me afloat financially, I had finally hit my breaking point. I decided that I didn’t go to graduate school and obtain my Master’s degree at the age of 24, to be washing dirty underwear a year later. I decided then and there that the money I was making was not worth the misery I felt every day when I woke up, so I gave my two weeks notice and quit.

In my last two weeks at that job, while trying to reason with my brain that being broke was better than being miserable, I made the choice that if I was going to stop doing things in life that made me unhappy, I needed to start doing things that made me happy. Having obtained my Master’s degree at a young age (and being a teacher), I knew that my education was solid. I also knew that I had a good personality. I had great friends, could make people laugh, make people feel comfortable and was in general a “good person”, so I knew that I didn’t really need to focus on that part of myself either. It was time for me to look in the mirror and finally face what I had avoided for my entire life, changing my appearance and losing the weight I knew I needed to. How to go about doing this though was an even bigger issue for me.

I’ve been overweight my entire life. While it always kind of lurked in the back of my mind, I never really focused on it because well, at least I thought I was cute. I could always pass off my weight on the fact that at least I had a cute face and I’d much rather be “the cute big girl” than “the ugly skinny girl”. As much as you try to avoid it, as much as you try to ignore that label, it eventually wears on you, and while today I’d still much rather be “the cute big girl” than “the ugly skinny girl”, somewhere along the way I realized that I just wanted to be “the cute girl”.

It was my own personal challenge. I was going to finally conquer my weight! The only problem I faced now was the fact that I hated exercise. I hated the word exercise, the thought of doing it, but most of all I hated the fact that I never was able to do it. In high school, I even got an exemption so that I didn’t have to complete a full year of gym class. I’d think about your typical gym, the exercise equipment that I knew I’d use wrong, the super muscular people that would be looking at me and judging me as I tried to motivate myself not to give up, and the idiots behind the desk that looked so perfect that I’d get discouraged about looking anything like them before I even signed the year long agreement. I knew that if that’s what it took to change my life, I’d do it, but I was not looking forward to it. I got on Google, typed in gyms in Concord, NH, looked around, clicked on a few sites, sent a few e-mails and then I found Fun Intelligent Training. I clicked on the website, read every part of every section, then sent them an e-mail inquiring about the Bootcamp they were advertising. Tony e-mailed me back within a few hours. I’m still waiting to hear back from the other gyms I sent e-mails to. Tony invited me in to observe or try a class. I agreed.

When I first walked into F.I.T, I had no idea what to expect. There was no bulky equipment, no idiot girls running around half naked, no meathead men lifting weights. Instead, there was Tony and Eric talking about the session that was going to start in the next few minutes. Tony asked if I was going to try it out, I told him, “No thanks. I’ll just watch this time around”. He went to coach the three women that were there and I sat with Eric. I could tell that Eric was hesitant about me, and quite frankly he had no reason not to be. He didn’t know me from a hole in the wall, and by the looks of me and my lack of motivation to even try a class, I would have been hesitant of me too. He however did answer all of the questions I had and made a point of letting me know that if he didn’t think this workout was right for someone, he had no problem letting them know that perhaps they should look elsewhere. I appreciated his honesty, and kind of saw this as yet another challenge. I wanted to prove to him that I wasn’t going to be one of the people he asked to look elsewhere. After the session was finished and the other women had left, Tony asked if I would be there Friday, I told him no, that I needed one more weekend of freedom. He said, “I understand. I’ll see you Monday”.

When I left that morning I was perplexed. The class seemed hard, but not impossible. I was sure that if I at least tried it, I could do some of it. I decided that I would return Monday, as I told Tony, and feel it out some more. Well, Monday came and the warm up alone just about killed me. My brain started to catch up with the rest of me and told me to slow down, so I did….big time. The class was composed of me and another first timer. Tony explained the exercises in the circuit to us and then asked if we had questions. He started his timer and off we went, well off she went anyway. I was still pooped from the warm up so at every station I asked Tony to show me how to do that exercise again, and again, and again, until I eventually had maybe twenty seconds of that station left and then I half tried it out. I felt defeated and completely out of my element. I thought to myself, there’s no way I can do this, what was I thinking? I was about to give up when Tony told me he understood that the workout was tough and that I’d get it if I stuck with it. I said fine and came back two more times that week. I complained constantly, about everything and Tony not only listened to it, but gave me feedback, made jokes, made me laugh, even sang to me to get me motivated to keep going. It all worked and I figured if he would stick by me, I’d stick by him.

My first few months of workouts a F.I.T. were just me and Tony. Occasionally one or two other people would show up, but for the most part it was like personal training sessions and I couldn’t hide. He watched my every move, told me how to correct my stances, to do something quicker, and kept the clock running way beyond the minute if I stopped doing something for too long. At the time, Tony was the only person that stood by me on this journey and I could never thank him enough for that. He’s the reason I joined F.I.T., the reason I stayed with it, and a huge part of the reason I believe I’ll reach my goal today.

Then my schedule changed, and I was forced to abandon my 9:15 workout with Tony and pick up evenings on Tuesdays and Thursdays, something I dreaded as I knew Eric coached those classes. I had not seen Eric since my first observation, and I can’t say I was looking forward to his classes. I was worried he would always just see me the same way he did that first day. To my surprise, he gave me a shot to prove him wrong, and I think I was able to do just that. The evening classes were larger, so even though I may have been able to slack off a little more than I could have when it was just Tony and I, I felt the need to impress Eric and tried my hardest to keep up with Eric’s father, Tom. I knew that if I could carry the same amount of weight, or near it, he’d be watching and see that I was there for a reason. I’m happy to say that since I started training with him, Eric has grown on me, and I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual.

My first workout with F.I.T. was eight months ago, and in that time I’ve lost 75.8 pounds and 6 sizes. Something I never thought I’d be able to say. I cannot begin to say enough positive things about Fun Intelligent Training. Tony and Eric have changed my life forever. Bootcamp is about working hard, pushing yourself to your max, encouraging and supporting your fellow bootcampers and changing your life. Fun Intelligent Training has given me an opportunity to get healthy, build muscle, lose fat and create friendships of a lifetime. Bootcamp is tough, energizing, exhausting, and fun all at the same time. It is the perfect workout for the less than perfect person.

This is the first time C has expressed her initial thoughts of me and that in and of itself is worthy of praise for being so brave.  Some people say I’m  intimidating, but I have no idea where that comes from as you all know I am just a teddy bear, right? ; ) I just expect 100% and want what is best for each and every one of you EVERY day.

I give everyone a chance, no exceptions.  However if you were to have asked me immediately upon her walking out of the academy that first time if she would last my gut instinct would have been no.

This has nothing to do with the fact that she was heavy, had not exercised in a long time or any other physical trait.  I have worked with people well in excess of 400 pounds and have seen incredible success.  I have said it for years and continue to think that it is the single biggest attribute someone can bring to the table in taking a run at improved fitness:

I don’t care what type of shape you are in when you walk through that door as long as you are willing to lay it all on the line every day, WORK HARD, LISTEN and be willing to LEARN.  Period.

Did I think she had that killer instinct that day?  Two words: HELL NO!

You know what?  I don’t think she did either at that point in time.

As amazing as her story is, she actually sold herself short.  She forgot to mention that she has had something like 6 shoulder surgeries and is in constant pain.  I have to watch the look on her face to tell if she is hurtin’ even more than normal in order for me to modify her workout because she will NEVER say it is bothering her.

In addition to this she works 7 days/week, but guess what?  She come 3 days/week without fail.  She mentioned that she could barely do 20 seconds of work day one and that she now tries to keep up with the guys.  This is an understatement.  She maintains a torrid pace and uses the heaviest weight that I put out while maintaining perfect form.  Absolutely incredible transformation.

She, along with a huge amount of other people credit Tony and I with their progress.  That is bullshit.  It does not matter how skilled, experienced, inspirational, educated etc. a fitness professional is; it is all for naught if the person is not willing to commit to LISTENING, LEARNING AND WORKING HARD WITH CONSISTENCY.

That is something all of our members have shown, and noone more than the headless mystery lady at the top of this page.

Don’t thank us, THANK YOU!  You are the reason we bust our butts every day and are in fact our inspiration.  You have become an inspiration for most of our members and are now, like it or not, becoming an inspiration to many, many others.

It is only so long before that headless picture becomes complete.  Not into the big girl with the cute face, but the FIT girl with the cute face!

Tags: Bootcamp, fat-loss, fitness, Inspiration, results