Success Story: from Couch potato to Athlete
I love sharing stories of my successful clients. I’m going to tell you about a guy I started training 3 years ago who has made a major physical transformation with his body. He literally went from couch potato to athlete in just one year!
In 2007, he hired me to help him reach his fitness and weight goals. He was honest about his lack of passion for fitness and told me he really didn’t enjoy working out and only wanted to commit two days per week to exercise. My experience with clients who lack motivation is that they are not going to enjoy a workout or exercising if they are not doing something they actually enjoy.
We started working out and included a variety of exercises such as running, swimming, stair running, and weight training. Ozo discovered he liked to run and swim.
I wanted to discover what Ozo did enjoy doing for exercise so I began by started trying a variety of activity to find out what exercise he will enjoy. He brought me a list of his fitness goals: lose weight, eat better, get stronger, workout more. At that time he was not active and did not workout. So, we started weight training twice per week.
I didn’t feel like he was enjoying the workouts and wasn’t getting much out of it. I agree, if you are not having fun its hard to show up with a good attitude and a hard work ethic.
Then, one day my client mentioned how he used to swim and how much he really enjoyed it. So, the next workout we went to the pool. It wasn’t easy, but we did a swim workout and he worked really hard.We started swimming once per week as part of the fitness program.A few weeks later I mentioned that we should go outside and run. He agreed.
Soon, we were swimming and running two and three workouts each week. Before long, he ran his first 5k which then led to his first triathlon. Today he has run over four triathlon races and recently completed his first 10k.
Posted by admin | in Clients, Faster Marathon Time, Marathon, Run, Run Training, Running, Success Story, Training | 4 Comments
What a great story!
The work Jill has done with Ozo is amazing!! I never knew I married a Tri-Guy!
Seriuosly… Im so inspired by this story. I think Jill is one of the best trainers for triathletes in all of Seattle.
Hiking with your Dad on Mt. Wheeler in NMexico this past week, he suggested I reach out to you. I took up hiking(as well as core training, Zumba and step) after losing almost 70 pounds six years ago. At 56, I weighed 115lbs but as an adult used food to deal with my life issues and would successfully lose weight only to gain it all back within a year, each time adding pounds to my previous high.
My success is four part program.
1. I used a therapist(psychologist) to deal with my life issues rather than stuffing down my feelings with food.
2. I eat anything I want, but I focus on getting 5-10 fruits and vegetables a day eaten in ways I enjoy and aim for high fiber foods.
3. I exercise 2 hours a day, a brisk walk for an hour in the morning clears my head and an hour of core training or Zumba or step..on weekends I aim for 3 hours a day.
4. I start my day with prayer/meditation to aim for “present moment”.
Your website is inspirational..glad your Dad told me about you.
Susan from TN