I’m going to tell you the transformation story of one of our members today. I’m going to call her Judy.
Judy is a powerhouse of a woman outside the gym. Confident, bold and has been helping people navigate through their leadership troubles for years…
But in the gym, she wasn’t the same person. Anxious, intimidated and self conscious could be some words to describe how she possibly felt every time she walked into the doors of Defy. A place where she couldn’t dominate like other areas of her life. A place where confidence didn’t fill her and she was unsure of every move she made.
This is not uncommon. I have worked with doctors, lawyers, accountants and many other people who have dedicated themselves to learning and pursuing a complex career only to find themselves unable to do some of the basic human movements like running, push ups and pull ups; because they had neglected to prioritize their health and fitness.
It’s hard to be such a big player in one area of your life and then enter an environment where you are back at the bottom and have to work really really hard just to keep up. Type A’s like to be Type A’s in all areas of their life.
But fitness isn’t free, being strong isn’t permanent. You can only rent your fitness and rent is due daily to keep it up!
Back to Judy. It’s been a long journey so far; 3 years with us at Defy. 100’s of hours training with our coaches and many sessions in our nutrition program. Everything has come together magically over the last 3 months…
3 years of consistency but most of the progress has come over the last 3 months. Think of it this way. You work tirelessly for years at medical school but you only officially become a Doctor when you pass your final exams. That’s what’s happened with Judy.
She has been studying for years and now she’s become a ‘gym rat’. A person who prioritizes their health and fitness above all else. The crazy thing is that the transformation has happened between the ears. Paired with one of our best coaches, she has finally understood what she is capable of and she’s doing things even I never thought she would do.
I share this story because it can be relatable to many. Although Judy has come a long way, there’s even more to come and I’m excited to see how it all turns out. If she would have given up in year 2, non of this would have happened. She hadn’t put in enough work to get over the hurdle; it was still possible to fail back then. Now I don’t think it is.
It takes time for that switch to stay permanently on. It’s why so many people quit their journey before they have got to the point where failure isn’t possible. When that switch is always on – you can’t fail because your now the person that does what is needed to put their fitness as a priority.
I hope this can inspire you to keep pushing if you haven’t got to that point yet. Keep showing up every day and you’ll be rewarded for your efforts. It’s not about motivation, it’s about discipline. It may come natural for you and that’s great. Others may have to work at it for a while and like Judy, it could take years. It doesn’t matter – just don’t quit!
Edit: I’m going to add a quick note here to highlight the transformation of Judy a bit more. She went from a person who hated working out, had no confidence in her ability to doing our DefyFit Challenge and now has plans to register for a HYROX race later this year. That may be hard to understand for some but let me tell you, that’s a crazy shift in confidence and self belief but also to be ok with putting herself in these uncomfortable, unfamiliar situations!
