MY TRANSFORMATION

I’ve always been a pretty active girl by playing sports and considered myself “fit”, but that all went out the door when I entered college and no longer had any type of accountability or program to keep me motivated to “keep it movin”. I let the stress of being the overachiever college student (nerd alert ;-) ) while also maintaining a part-time internship for the government nearly 40 miles away be my excuse for not working out, and I let my health slip. I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) just 2 weeks shy of my 21st birthday and in an instant my entire life changed. I was told by doctors that I had to eat healthy, work out, and minimize ALL stress in my life on top of the other therapies I needed to fight the MS. Um, you’re telling this to a college student?!?!…how in the world was I supposed to be “Little Miss Perfect” at THAT age and in THAT environment?? That was my turning point when I discovered group exercise classes at the gym and fell in love with Turbo Kick®. I will forever be grateful to Chalene Johnson for nearly saving my life with Turbo Kick®!

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I gained my confidence and reclaimed my health and set a goal to conquer my first ultimate fitness challenge: the Colorado Bike MS ride, which meant riding 150 miles in two days through the Colorado mountains. I “upped” my group exercise workouts and trained like crazy on my bike (losing 10 pounds in the meantime), and sure enough, completed the ride! The ride was the worst and best experience I had every endured (hey, it was a tough ride that involved a few tears), but since then I have challenged myself every year to win the battle at Colorado’s Bike MS ride.

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In the meantime, I became that “front row rockstar” in Turbo Kick® class who was happy to show the rest of the folks the choreography when they couldn’t see the instructor, but wasn’t confident enough to actually teach class myself. One day I just made myself attend the certification and I am SO happy that I did! I didn’t teach much when I was in Colorado, but when I moved to DC and realized there were a shortage of Turbo Kick® classes and instructors, I challenged myself once again and was committed to paying it forward: I wanted to inspire and share the same class and format that nearly saved my life and brought the fun and healthiness back in. I am now a “Chalene Johnson” junkie and teach her Turbo Kick® and Hip Hop Hustle® formats throughout DC, and love using her ChaLEAN Extreme and Turbo Fire programs at home! Now working out isn’t a drag: it’s something I enjoy and the benefits are simply perks that come with the fun. ;-) With my exercise routines, I have been able to maintain my weight and tone up my muscles, and best of all I have improved what’s most important: my HEALTH!

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How great is it to ENJOY working out?!

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Decide. Commit. Succeed! DO MORE!!!