Monday, February 3, 2020

Happy Monday!

I cannot believe February is already here and into our second month of 2020!

The average American has long given up on their “New Year’s Resolutions”, but not you! I know you are going strong as we enter week 3 of our NYNY challenge and believe that 2020 is going to be YOUR year of greatness!!

And thinking of new year’s resolutions, it got me to reflect on my own fitness transformation which came in January of 2007.

So I wanted to take a minute to be vulnerable and share my story with you; in the hopes to provide you some inspiration to keep going when times get tough (which if they haven’t already, they definitely will)…

While I wasn’t massively overweight, I had a less than desirable physique of having an extra 15 lbs. of fat and 15 lbs. less on muscle on my frame.

But more than that, I lacked confidence, self-esteem, enthusiasm and the ZEST FOR LIFE that I now possess.

I had moved to Los Angeles about 18 months prior from the Midwest where I went to grammar school, high school and university.

The sunshine and faster pace life of Southern California was certainly an upgrade in many respects..

But being 21 years young, having very little life and professional experience, virtually no valuable skillset to offer any employer aside from effort, and moving 2,300 miles from home without a solid network of family/ friends, all while moving to the “plastic capital of the world”  had its big challenges.

Providing full insight, there were many more dark days than light ones.

But after I gutted through the first year of Los Angeles living, a fortuitous situation happened… A friend from college named Adam Hartwell moved from Michigan to Orange County and we decided to become roommates.

And at the time I didn’t know it, but my life was about to change.

You see…Adam was BUFF, he was a fitness guy who was in incredible shape! He had 6 pack abs, chiseled muscles, tons of confidence, all the girls attention and was seemingly always high on life!

I looked up to him and at first, was a bit intimidated at the thought of living together due to my own insecurities! But after some reflection decided to view it as an opportunity to learn about “Fitness, lifting weights and eating clean” which I knew very little about.

So after we moved in and got settled after a few weeks; I decided to muster up enough courage and asked him if I could tag along with him for his work outs, and if he would be willing to teach me how to “get fit” like he was.

Without hesitation, he said yes; but that only if I was serious.  And if so, I had to be ready every day at 6pm with my gym clothes on, and ready for an intense work out, no excuses.

I eagerly accepted and tagged along for what seemed like an eternity during the first 60 days, which turned out up being nearly 2 years of training together.

We would go to the gym every day, hit the weights through an intense circuit, and drink a protein shake, veggies and a gallon of water every night.  It was absolutely grueling! There were many times I wanted to quit as the sore muscle, body was tired and taste buds salivating for candy/sweets seemingly never ended.

But every time when I was about to throw in the towel,  I dug deep and stuck it out with my internal motto “I can quit tomorrow, just not today.”

And then something magical happened…

Within about 3 months, my physique begin to change. I remember seeing myself in the mirror in April from a side angle; and barely recognized myself as my face had thinned.

Throughout all the pain; it was ACTUALLY WORKING!!

And then once I saw progress, I became inspired! As Tony Robbins says “progress equals motivation!!”

So I dug in further; and after about handful of months, my initial fitness transformation was realized.

Ironically my weight stayed the exact same (starting and ending at roughly 180lbs), but ripped off 15 lbs. of fat and put 15lbs of muscle. And while I had accomplished my goal of acquiring a better physique, I got a whole lot more than I bargained for as the real transformation wasn’t physical, the vast majority of it was mental!

My identity and mindset began to change. I had more energy, more mental clarity and enthusiasm to live life. I acquired more confidence and consequently, turned into the most successful sales rep of my company.

I was able to take on new challenges, which led to me moving abroad, learning a foreign language and ultimately starting a fitness company with Tatiana, where we are both able to serve our team and clients.

And humbling myself, all this came from fitness, coaching and accountability.

And this my friends is why I am so passionate to serve you. I was in pain, depressed, and lacked confidence. And what I found through fitness, absolutely changed my life and know it can for you!!!

So keep your head up. Know it’s not easy and you will have many tough times where you think of quitting just like I did. But if you keep at it, keep coming to boot camp, keep tapping into your coaches and fit family and think to yourself, “I can QUIT TOMORROW, just NOT TODAY”.

And just like me, 13 years later you will be going STRONGER!

Let’s make in an INCREDIBLE WEEK!

Committed to YOUR success,

Coach Bryce