“Some advice I gave myself shortly after getting started was, “You may not always like going to the gym but you will always love leaving.”‘
Have you ever felt like going to the gym to workout was out of the question? Well I did not too long ago. But over the past 90 days my life has changed in many great ways. I began to live life differently think differently and have learned many things that have made a positive effect on my life. 90 days ago I started doing High Intensity Interval Resistance Training (H.I.I.R.T) for the third time in the past two years. I lasted about six weeks in my first two attempts both times as soon as I felt back pain (which I have had on and off again most of my adult life) I quit, telling I need to save myself for work. Boy was I wrong. After doing this 90-day Challenge and finishing strong, I feel better than I have in a long time. This last 90 days has changed my life in many ways. But the most outstanding improvements have been diminished back pain, increase in strength and muscle size, an overall health and wellness. To start off with the help and encouragement of my chiropractor Toby Shaffer (also a Fitmaniac) and Sherry Sterling Fernandez (Fitmania Owner) I started this challenge with severe sciatic nerve pain. And over the last 90 days I went from 2400 milligrams of ibuprofen a day (which still wasn’t enough for my pain) two very minimal pain and no medications whatsoever. The increase in my overall strength and muscle growth is something that surprised me the most. After being run over in 1966 by a tractor tire, and 2 surgeries and 2 years on the couch, my action days are over. Or at least that’s what I thought. Once I started, slowly but surely I began making progress. This is after I started I felt the same adrenaline and excitement I experience during Sports in school. The 90-day challenge is what really helped me keep my workout schedule go into gear, even though I drive long hours and many miles a day I still looked forward to my next workout, although sometimes I had to go to different times and places to get my workout in. A long time ago I realized if I didn’t go to work I didn’t get paid. So I decided to use the same philosophy in my workout routine. I made my first goal to go 5 days in a row once I did that knew there was no looking back. By the end of the challenge the transformation was surprising to me while the change was obvious as the pictures show. My overall health and wellness has improved vastly since the start of the challenge. I sleep, eat, and overall live a healthier lifestyle since I began working out at Fitmania. There is always someone at Fitmania to help with any concerns I have regarding a healthy lifestyle regardless of what it is and if they didn’t know they would point you to someone who did. The thing I noticed most was my increase in energy. During the day I used to come home and hit the couch for a nap. Now after a workout I have a ton of energy whether I work out at 5 a.m. or 4:30 p.m. the energy I get last for a long time. Before I began working out at Fitmania I thought my athletic days were over. Until after a couple of weeks at the gym I began setting goals for myself. After a while working out became something I craved and look forward too especially once I told myself going to the gym is just like going to work if you don’t go you won’t get paid. During the challenge I’ve learned a lot of different things. The ones I found that help me the most were, only eat real food no experiments. Even if you have trouble eating right this is the best advice for anyone trying to get fit. Another helpful tip I heard a lot was you can always do more than you think you can. I am still realizing the truth of this every day during my workouts. And for some advice I gave myself shortly after getting started was ” you may not always like going to the gym but you will always love leaving.”