Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Motiv8 Success Stories!


 Motiv8 Success Stories!

Dave Valenti!

When it comes to exercise, there are numerous choices – swimming, cycling, the gym, running, crossfit, bootcamp. As a college athlete, I participated in many of them. But like many people, in my 30s and 40s, work and family overtook many parts of my life including my fitness. As I neared 50, I decided it was time to concentrate on getting back in shape and living a healthy lifestyle. That is when I found Motiv8.


The community that Motiv8 has developed has been key to my transformation. As with any lifestyle change, change can be slow at first. It was for me. Ultimately, it’s consistency that brings about greater change. And the Motiv8 community helps develop consistency. Knowing that I will be working out with coaches and campers that are my friends, people I can joke with, people I can compete with, is what brings me back day after day. My goal when I started was to be in better shape at 50 than I was at 30. And with the help and encouragement of my Motiv8 family, I have exceeded my expectations. Motiv8 is not just a method of exercise for me, it is an integral part of my life.

Kaci Madden!

Signing up for Motiv8 was one of the best decisions that I have made since moving to Austin. I truly enjoy waking up every morning to put in an epic workout with the wonderful Motiv8 campers and Coach Ty. So many aspects of Motiv8 keep me coming back day after day. The workouts are fun, challenging, and always different. The people who work out with Motiv8 are amazing. They are so much fun to be around (laughter is almost as guaranteed as a muscle burn), keep me accountable, and push me to do my best during each workout.

Coach Ty’s passion for improving others’ lives is contagious. He is always armed with advice about nutrition or exercise, helps us define goals to work toward, and is ready to give us the motivation we need to conquer our day. He provides us with all of the tools we need to be successful, we just have to show up to camp, work hard, and soak it all in. For all of these reasons, Motiv8 has created an atmosphere that is so welcoming, fun (and competitive if we want it to be), supportive, and always positive. I never once felt like I was alone in trying to conquer my goal of getting fit.

Now, almost a year out from starting Motiv8 classes, I almost never miss a weekday workout, have adopted a cleaner diet, and am starting to run for fun. As a result, I have lost some weight, gained muscle, and feel great! My mood has improved, my productivity at grad school has increased, and I have the motivation to go out and try new epic things (like running my first marathon). Being a part of the Motiv8 community has helped improve my quality of life and inspired me to take action toward becoming the person I want to be.


Ryan Shonts!

Prior to joining Motiv8 I thought I lived an active lifestyle; I would hike the Barton Springs Greenbelt, ride my bike, go for a swim, or walk around town lake on the weekends. In retrospect I was living a pretty sedentary lifestyle; fitness and eating well were not a huge priority in my life. The active things I would do were more of a leisure activity or opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. We are all busy, going way too fast, wrapped up in our day to day lives; working long days at the office, running errands, keeping up with a social life, and for those of you with kids - I don't know how you do it.
 

I love to travel, I use it as a time to check in with myself, meet interesting people, and be exposed to other cultures. I went to Ireland in August which opened my eyes to many things; most importantly, I want to be able to travel, explore, hike, and climb for a really long time. There were so many tourists in wheelchairs or overweight or with other health problems that were unable to see so much of Ireland's historical landmarks and nature. I realized that there are hundreds of reasons for the current circumstances of these other tourists; but I made up my mind that I was going to be proactive about my present and future health.

I live a few blocks from Ramsey Park and had seen the Motiv8 group a few times. I decided to do a little more research on other gyms, trainers, and programs; I finally committed to joining in mid September. My first workout was tough, but all the other Motiv8ers were positive, encouraging, and on a similar journey to the one I am on - the pursuit of a healthier life. I love a good challenge; to improve, to become more efficient, and faster. Why would I not treat my health in the same way?

What I didn't know during that first Motiv8 SET in the middle of September was that I was going to do a lot more than go to a "boot camp" a few times a week. Ty and the 7:30AM Ramsey group have become a part of my daily routine and lifestyle, we show up, we sweat, we make funny noises, we laugh; we get stronger, happier and healthier. Starting my day with Motiv8 means I am beginning the day doing something for myself. I focus on my mind and body, I don't worry about what happened yesterday or what my outlook calendar and inbox have waiting for me. I start my day with a challenge for myself, a community, and the intent to improve. Whatever happens for the rest of my day I can feel good knowing that I started out the day with a decision invest in myself.

Motiv8 has been instrumental in helping me with my fitness and diet goals; always offering helpful tips on how to improve form, eating, and overall wellness. The biggest accomplishment and benefit that Motiv8 has helped me with is a holistic approach to my health. Outside of our workout, I try to implement as many of Ty and other motiv8r's tips as possible. Other than going to SET 4-5 times a week the biggest change I have made has been my shift from eating processed foods, boxed meals, and other easy, fast prep foods. I stick to a vegetarian diet, focused on whole foods and simple ingredients; keeping track of my calories, making sure I have the proper nutrition to fuel my workouts.

With all of these changes I began to notice that I had more energy, consistently throughout the day and that my body wanted to do more. Avoiding the processed foods eliminates the "haze" or "food coma" feeling. Showing up for SET keeps me accountable and Ty constantly changing up the workout routine keeps me engaged. I have more energy during and after work to go for a walk or other light exercise and attend social events. On the weekends I still want to do all the outdoorsy things I enjoy; I have even started going for 30 minute jogs.

I have enjoyed seeing all of the progress I have made in my health in just 5 months and learning what motiv8's me. I look forward to seeing what I can accomplish in the future and enjoy getting to motiv8 others along the way."


Julia Howell!

I'm 35 and have spent years trying to achieve somesense of health or self or some sense of control over my life. So I spent some time chatting with my Coach Joe and I started realizing that if nothing changes, nothing can change. What I really wanted from myself was to be strong and confident in my own body. I knew I had to do several things:

1. Be consistent: show up everyday, try, and push myself daily
2. Treat my body like a tool: eat right, drink lots of water, stretch and not be disappointed if I couldn't do something yet.
3. Accept where I was at the moment: self acceptance was huge for me, realizing where I was, pointed me in the direction to where I wanted to go.

Once I knew what I wanted to do I started looking for inspiration and got to work. I made it a mission to get my 4 SETS in a week, eating healthy and clean, and started listening to Joe's tips of the day and trying to incorporate that into my daily life, the results are amazing! I started feeling better, more relaxed, less anxiety and most importantly stronger. That's not to say that it suddenly was easy because it wasn't, old habits die hard and I'm no exception. But what I think helped push through those really hard moments, those dreaded plateaus was the community I had surrounded myself with. My fellow Motiv8ers are truly my heroes, we've created a community that truly embraces who we are and encourages what we are capable of. The accountability and responsibility to be the person that my friends know I can be has helped shape me to be a better person, I'm forever thankful.

 

Along with my 4 SETS a week (Zilker 8am), I've also been utilizing their running program. With Coach Joe's and Coach Ty's help I've gone from not really being able to run a 5k to running a 30k. Both coaches have also helped me reshape my nutrition habits, going from a day full of processed foods and snacking, to a day of fresh whole foods that help fuel me for my workouts and help me recover as well.

As a result so far with Motiv8 I've lost 10lbs, gone from a size 12 to about a size 8-10, I've improved my mile time from around 9:30 mins to 7:40 mins. I've also established a close knit support system that I know I can rely on for Motiv8-tion, support, or just people to hang out with. I couldn't recommend these guys enough!