This Weeks Motivational Story by Helya Glen, Owner and Personal trainer at The Studio in Ventura, CA.
It was a typical 6 am Monday morning class, everyone half asleep and walking in slowly, picking up their weights, trying not to trip over their feet. Except today I had a new face, a shy one at that as she didn’t make eye contact other than to tell me her name was Ashley and this was her first class. We were using the barbells that day so everyone routinely put the bumpers on and locked them in with their collars. Everyone except Ashley, of course. Now these weights were not heavy and we were not olympic lifting, but as soon as she put the bar over her shoulders all of the bumpers fell down one by one. Embarrassed, she looked at me with big begging eyes. We all laughed and she decided she would laugh it off too. After class I made sure to check in with her. “Can we meet one on one?” she asked, before I really had a chance to ask her much. I was delighted and we set up a meeting right away.
That started a journey of no missed classes, no matter what. So many times she was the only one in class, but that didn’t deter her either. She was determined. A few months later, she came to me with her papers. She said that 3 months ago she had gone to the doctor and he had laid down the law, telling her that she was on the road to a very very early death (that’s exactly what he said). She on the verge of fatty liver disease, definitely diabetic, add high blood pressure and cholesterol through the roof and … she was only 30 years old. Although the doctor was extremely harsh, she said that’s what it took to get her butt into gear. She stopped drinking, gave up fast food and started to exercise. Apparently that’s the first day I met her.
Since then Ashley is down over 75 lbs, her body fat is down to 20% and she is still keeping up her healthy eating and going to classes almost daily (I made her take rest days, it was a struggle!). She is an inspiration to us all because she didn’t just give up when the doctor told her where she was. Oh and the best part, her numbers were off the charts! She is the healthiest she has ever been and it didn’t take surgery or some crazy fad diet, it took dedication, healthy eating and exercise.