In October 2012 I was 283lbs and in a size 40 pants! I ran out of energy easily doing any kind of physical activity and everyday tasks we take for granted, like tying my shoe, were becoming increasingly difficult. I was having low back pain due to my disks having to compensate for the lack of abdominal/back muscles to support the excess weight. My knees were achy which my physician told me was due to being overweight. All the while I had been a member of a gym for the past 5 years but rarely went…I was one of those New Year’s resolution gym members.
I grew up playing sports and weight was never an issue. After high school I had to make some slight adjustments and in college I got back to a manageable weight and working out regularly. Though life has a way of taking up our time and working in IT at a physician’s office I packed on 65lbs+ in 5 years! When my wife got pregnant I decided this was not going to define me and it was my responsibility to raise my child to have healthy habits in life. I didn’t want to be one of those dads who couldn’t get down and play with my son and at the rate I was gaining weight I would have been well over 325lbs by the time he turned 6. I was taught that when you want something to find people who live in it and people working to achieve it and surround yourself with them. That is where High Octane Bootcamp comes in!!!
To start Chad Jones and Shannon Dahlum are AWESOME coaches! I started off looking for coaches/trainers to help motivate me and write workouts for me but I got SO much more! The best way I can describe the environment is as a family of fitness minded people. Doesn’t matter where you are at one your journey to a healthy lifestyle, you will fit right in! No matter how challenging a workout is, I know I will always laugh and have people there to cheer me on, if not jump down and help me finish my workout (though quitting sounds so much easier). I can remember my first bootcamp class. I could not keep up with the warm up, let alone the workout. People I didn’t know where encouraging me to do my best and telling me it will get “easier”. To not give up! I remember on my second workout I was done for and Chad jump down and finished those awesome bear squats/dips with me! It was a pleasant surprise when I found out they also taught nutrition…that I have started working to implement in my life! I was hooked week 1 and never looked back! I hesitate to give a weight but that is what a lot of people use to measure their success so I will give it. I was down to 236lbs but lately I average between 245lbs - 250lbs. I say that to explain why I do not use weight as a measure of success. While my weight has went up my clothes have gotten looser…simply meaning I have added 10lbs+ in muscle. Since I do not measure my success by weight loss but a byproduct of healthy living; here are my milestones that I have passed in my first year on my journey.
I have a new problem, my size 36 pants are to baggy in the waist but 34s are too tight in the thighs…not a bad problem to have in my opinion! I used to wear XXL shirts now I wear a Large/XL depending on how the size runs. Even more exciting is I started not being able to run 400 meters without walking. Since I started bootcamp I have ran 1 mile, numerous 5ks, and a 10k, plus Proven Grounds! To top it off I have tons of energy and no back or knee pain anymore!!!! High Octane Bootcamp isn’t something I just do, it is something I believe in! They truly are there to help people like me and my family change their lives!