INSPIRATION - J's 8 Week Transformation

If you're looking for inspiration, you need to check out this story about Jennine, who conquered her first 10+ mile, 20+ obstacle mud run course last month. For this event she had to climb over walls, crawl through mud under barbed wire, run up a half-pipe, scale a peg board, and was subjected to shocks of 10,000 volts while navigating through a field of live electrical wires. And if that doesn’t sound impressive enough, she did the event at an elevation of 8,000 feet where oxygen is in thin supply and with only 8 weeks of training.

Jennine's only question after being asked to join the team with only 8 weeks until race day was, "What would my training look like?" After hearing that she could be race-ready with an hour of working out consisting of a mix of cardio and strength training six days a week, she agreed to take on the challenge. At this point, Jennine’s activity consisted of dance fitness classes a couple times a week and an occasional hike with friends. Knowing she’d have to step it up, she completed a comprehensive Fitness Assessment, set some goals, and was all in. She was given a training plan to follow, and follow it she did. During the week, she would get up before 4am to work out before heading off to work, and on the weekends she attended boot camps, group runs, and group hikes.

When Jennine started her training, running more than a mile was a challenge and her pace was right around 12 minutes per mile. Six weeks into her training, she was able to cross off one of the goals she had set for herself when she ran 6 miles in under an hour – an improvement in pace by two minutes per mile! This phenomenal improvement would be the equivalent of shaving more than 12 minutes off a 10K time. She also tackled two of her other pre-race goals by losing over 10 pounds in the 8 weeks and knocking out 30 consecutive full push-ups on her toes. Throughout her eight weeks of training, she remained focused, followed her training plan, stayed consistent with her training, and food journaled regularly – and her results reflect it! Her story and success in only 8 weeks is a reminder that when you stay motivated, consistent, and stick to your training, you can accomplish a lot - even in a short period of time.

Jennine’s thoughts:

“I didn’t realize how having a challenging event to train for would help me stay motivated and focused. Completing the Fitness Assessment and filling out my goal sheet helped me with my starting point and figuring out how far I needed to push myself. Having a training plan definitely helped me stay on track and helped me progress week after week. Attending boot camps and working out with people who are motivated themselves, hilarious to be around, and just have the best attitudes made training that much more fun and enjoyable. As much as I hate to admit it, food journaling had a big impact with my weight loss success and made me more aware of the foods I was eating – but don’t tell Adam I said that. I plan on doing another Tough Mudder because I had so much fun with this one, and I look forward to having more than 8 weeks to train for it so that I can dominate every obstacle. I would recommend to anyone who wants to, or is thinking about doing any kind of athletic event - just do it. If I can do it, so can you!!!”

Are YOU ready to begin YOUR transformation?