My TT Journey:
At the end of 2015 I had gained another 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. Something that seemed to happen every year. In January 2016 and weighing 245 pounds, two friends asked me to join them in a 6-week challenge at Sheboygan Fit Body Boot Camp (SFBBC). They had been going there for a while and had lost weight and looked great. So, I agreed to give it a try, figuring I would only make it a few days at the most.
I made it through the 6-week challenge and lost 18 pounds. I continued at SFBBC for another 2.5 months after the challenge and lost a total of 34 pounds. And then I quit! (Not smart).
I am very active in the summer and autumn. May through September I am in a distance cycling program and mid-April through mid-November I golf, a lot. I had been attending SFBBC workouts in the evening after work and there was not time to do all three.
By then end of September I had gained 10 pounds and returned to SFBBC. I was still off-track on nutrition and by Christmas had gained another 5 pounds. On Christmas Eve, my two friends told me about a 12-week Turbulence Training (TT) challenge that was starting in 36 hours, and they thought I needed to do it. So, I accepted the challenge and switched to morning workouts for to do Boot Camp sessions year around.
There were two main themes for me during this challenge: self-awareness, and persevering through adversity.
Self-awareness is being aware of why you over-eat, or eat poorly. Being aware of the intensity of your workouts, or lack there off. Being aware of your meal prep habits. Being aware of how much sleep you are getting. Being aware of your daily water intake. Being aware of when you are getting off-track and making plans A, B, and C to get back, and stay on track. About awareness to develop good habits and counter-act the bad, because I have learned that failing to plan is planning to fail.
Self-awareness about progress during the challenge and correcting course when getting off track. I had made good progress weeks 1 through 8, but had negative progress in weeks 9 and 10 (Long hours at work, eating out more, lack of meal prep, bad weather limiting activities). I was able to correct course and finish strong in the challenge.
Persevering through adversity in this challenge means persevering through injuries. Two strained knees, and then a shoulder from shoveling heavy wet snow. Every day the coaches at SFBBC worked with me on exercise modifiers so that I could have a successful workout. They did not let me give up and stay home.
This 12-week TT challenge has been a success for me. I have lost 8 inches from my waist, 25.8 pounds and just over 2% body fat. I am below 200 pounds for the first times in almost 20 years. But most importantly I learned this about transformation: It's not about the foods you eat, though that is important. It's not about the exercises you, that is important too. The biggest transformation in a TT challenge in the transformation that happens between your ears; The transformation of your relationship with yourself.
I'd like to thank my friends Lu and Tara for brining me to Sheboygan Fit Body Boot Camp and the TT Challenge, and also the SFBBC trainers Brent, Nick, Alyssa, Brittany and Todd for their encouragement and support. My goals are to keep up the progress weight loss and nutrition I have going as we enter the active summer season.
-Quentin Blacklock
