What’s your excuse? What’s stopping you from making that change you so desperately want to make in your life? I know, I know. You’re starting tomorrow, or Monday, or next week. The funny thing is, all too often, tomorrow/Monday/next week never seem to come around. Sound familiar? There seems to be an epidemic of procrastination, especially within the health and fitness world. As a trainer, I hear these excuses all the time. I’m even guilty of it myself, I’m far from perfect. Now is the time to say no, no more. No more excuses. No more procrastination. Stop trying to find time, and make time. We all have 24 hours in a day, what’s important is how you use them.

I want to share a rather interesting success story with you. It’s a bit of a rollercoaster, so strap in and hold on. I’d like you to meet a client of mine, Jacquie Brockett. Jacquie began her fitness journey with quite a ways to go, but after a few false starts, she finally said enough is enough!

Jacquie took the first step and joined Oulder Hill Leisure Complex, swimming a mile a day every single day! After hitting a plateau, she decided to take advantage of the free fitness programming that the gym offers, booking a handful of 1 to 1 sessions a week with the fantastic trainers. This was when the real changes began.

To challenge herself, and in aid of charity, Jacquie took part in the Aspire Swim Challenge which meant swimming 22 miles in 12 weeks. But she had to take the challenge to the next level, and set a goal to complete it in 12 days. After absolutely smashing this challenge, there was no stopping her. Jacquie went from a size 24 to a size 16 over the next year or so, and was feeling great about herself.

Then the universe stepped in. In March of 2017, Jacquie suffered a devastating brain haemorrhage  and had to undergo life-threatening brain surgery. This left her unable to train for 3 whole months. However, as I said, there was no stopping her. As soon as she was able, Jacquie was back in the pool building up her strength. Before too long, she was back in the gym doing her 1 to 1 sessions, albeit pacing herself.

 

 

In September of 2017, Jacquie once again conquered the Aspire Swim Challenge, but this time she completed it in just 7 days, blowing her old record out of the water! (Pun intended) In addition to this huge feet, she took part in an 8km Memory Walk for Dementia. Now Jacquie has gained her momentum again and is doing us all proud. Jacquie is not just any client. She is an inspiration. A beacon of perseverance and determination. A single mother of 2 kids, and I am extremely proud to say I am one of them. That’s right, my mum. My idol. Making me proud every single day.

 

This next tale is about a young man named Ben. I met Ben early in 2017, he was a fresh face in the gym and he had determination like I’ve never seen in a kid that age. He was keen to learn and always showed up with a positive attitude. I’ll let him take the story from here…

 

“I was doing my Duke of Edinburgh Silver when I realised just how unfit I was. I was chafing like crazy and I couldn’t keep up with my team at all. Quite frankly it was embarrassing. My friends would take their T-Shirts off on warm days and I would never have the confidence to. A few people were commenting on my weight and even close friends were starting to notice.”

 

 

 

“I turned 16 in December 2016, and I decided I’d had enough. As soon as January came I joined Oulder Hill Leisure Complex. They had a pool and monthly challenges so I dedicated myself to swim half a mile every night for a month straight. I realised that I knew nothing about both diet and exercise so I started booking 1 to 1 sessions with the instructors in the gym. The first few times I booked in with trainers I realised that there was a lot to learn, but they had started to motivate me.”

“When I started to train with Mitchell, he started getting to know me and motivating me personally. After a short while, I started to see my fitness increase and my physical appearance improve. After around 5-6 months of eating cleaner and training almost every day, I had seen incredible results. My strength had sky-rocketed and my physical appearance was

 

something I could finally be proud of. I was taking progress pictures and for the first time, I started showing people. My progress had massively boosted my confidence and I decided to apply for a lifeguard position at the leisure centre. I only passed the timed swims because of the effort that bot

 

h Mitch and I had put into this transformation. So far I have managed to lose around 4 stone and I’ve toned up to a point where I am confident within myself and I do get the odd compliment here and there.”

 

“When I started working I was juggling college, coursework and my social life too, so I stopped going to the gym as regularly. However Mitch’s new business and his new app allowed him to be there when he’s actually not there to keep me on schedule. He was even more helpful and motivating, assisting me with my nutrition so now I have no excuses. I’m finally back on track to creating the best version of myself.”

 

So there you have it. Whether you’ve had a brain haemorrhage followed by life-threatening surgery, or you’re simply struggling to juggle all the things life keeps throwing at you, there is always a way to make it work. Take responsibility for your own life and start making those big, bold decisions today. Not tomorrow, not Monday, not next week. Make it happen today. #makeithappen