“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.” -Conrad Hilton

Success comes in various forms, and does not only start and end with oneself. Being a full-time night nurse I would find it easy to skip out on my workouts, attributing it to being burned out from the night’s shift. Working throughout the night I would have to resort to the local vending machine, with my meal consisting of candy and potato chips. I felt myself in a stagnant state, circling down this never-ending chain of lackluster diet and excuses. I wanted to reform not only for myself but rather to set an example that healthcare workers should be for patients. Too many times I would scold my patients for eating their fries and chips, only to go and eat my personal junk foods. Major reform was needed. I experimented with multiple gyms, but to no avail with similar haphazard results. After being referred to the Life Time 60-Day Challenge by some close friends, I figured this was the excuse I needed to kick-start not only my exercise, but rather to TAKE ACTION towards an improved lifestyle.

I was surprised by the numerous tools and support systems Life Time would offer with the Try-It Tuesdays, seemingly endless fitness classes, and delicious food recipes. It would always feel nice to walk in and be greeted by name, no matter how many people would fly throughout the door. It was a bit of a shock to go from eat-out to cooking my own meals, counting calories, and a very stringent workout program.

After the first couple weeks I was able to see the building blocks of the hard work that was to come. Even patients, coworkers, and family were complementing me on my newfound lifestyle. When asked what I had done to achieve such discipline, I would explain how I took the leap into Life Time. How easy it was to actually enjoy my workouts, with sports such as basketball and rock climbing to break the monotony. With the Life Time app I was able to expand my knowledge bank of exercises with the tutorial videos that delve through step-by-step. I would always think to myself, “Dead lifts, squats, no those are exercises for the body builders.” Now because of a small, yet impactful video, I was able to attain new heights.

I plan to utilize all the tools gathered up through this experience and look forward to broadening my goals. I have proven it to myself that with discipline and heart, anything can be achieved. Toward the end of the Challenge, my colleagues saw my results and we are currently organizing our own fitness challenge. Life Time was not only able to motivate me, but also created a ripple to start a lifetime of change for others. I would eventually like to further push myself to compete in a Spartan Race. I was able to push myself from exercising on and off 4-5 times per month to nearly every single day for the duration of the Challenge. With the proper foundation and groundwork, anything is attainable in my lifetime.