Throughout my journey with IR, I’ve had family and friends ask about what kind of gym I belong to. As I explain to them how I’ve drug a chain around the block a few times, pushed iron sleds around the astro turf, slung kettlebells around, or played keep-away with “swords” around a gigantic tire, they either look at me like I’m completely nuts or assume it must be another one of those “crossfit places.” I’ll readily admit that I have to have a few screws loose to enjoy swinging a 16kg kettlebell around for 5 to 10 minutes at a time, but IR is the furthest thing from the crossfit craze. Let me explain…
About three years ago, I began training with Aaron’s now wife, Keri. From the moment I walked into the gym, I felt a warmth and positive energy that was contagious.
Being out of shape at the time, I felt slightly apprehensive joining a new fitness community fearful of my inability to keep up with those around me. Keri began where all IR training does, working on my mindset.
As I reflect on the ways IR has changed my life, I realize that while my physical strength was dormant, my mental fortitude needed a lot of work. As a full-time student and employee, I often found myself frustrated, tired, and easily giving up when stress seemed to be at every corner of my life. During the summer of my first year at IR, Keri trained me for the one-mile rope pull—one of IR’s notorious fitness challenges. At first, I thought it seemed nearly impossible to yank a thick rope 16 times around a pole in the dead heat of summer. Chipping away at each pull, Keri pushed me to reach beyond what I thought my physical limits were; one mile of rope and two blistered hands later, I completed the challenge. From that moment I was hooked on the ways of IR, and I became a glutton for their butt-kicking, mind-over-matter, brutal workouts (insert towel taz, bear crawls, jungle gym relays and slosh pipe jump squats here).
Fast forward a few years, and throw training with Aaron into the mix…talk about reaching a new level of fitness. I took a few months off in 2013 returned to the new facility. I thought IR was rad before, but the new place blew me away. It is a complete embodiment of what Innovative Results stands for. Fitness is a lifestyle; it isn’t stagnant or confined within a room of steel (that half of the members don’t even know how to use correctly), or flexing your muscular ability to the gym-goer next to you. IR understands fitness as a whole and makes “working out” functional to our lives. I’ll be honest, I was totally a closet gym rat who saw progress as a means of perfecting my dead-lift form, or maxing out a few unrealistic-weighted squats.
For the past 12 months, Aaron has guided me through a significant growth not only as an athlete, as well as my outlook on life. He introduced me to my most recent fitness addiction of Givroy Sport… a time saving translation: swinging a kettlebell as many times as you can within ten minutes with perfect form and mental focus to not give up. I faced a couple set backs that prevented me to reach my ultimate goal of competing with the rest of IR’s kettlebell addicts. Whether it was school on the weekends or a back injury, Aaron coached me through some pretty frustrating plateaus. Ultimately teaching me to dig deep and keep the bigger picture in perspective, turning negative emotions into motivation to push further and harder than I have yet. I’ve shared the following thought with Aaron before, but it is worth sharing with the rest of the IR community and those who are looking to start their own fitness journey…I can honestly say that my preconceived understanding of ‘fitness’ completely morphed through kb training. It’s so easily confined within a definition that is restrictive in its physical or aesthetic attributes. I totally dig that perk of being fit (I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a factor), but that is only scratching the surface. The mental fortitude and clarity I’ve developed gives ‘fitness’ a new level of awesome in its meaning both inside the IR playground and my everyday life.
So, for those of you who are reading my story who are on the fence about making a lifestyle change, wanting to drop a few pounds, or add a new dynamic to your life… let Innovative Results get you there. I promise, it will be the best decision you make and don’t be surprised if you find yourself craving a metabolic workout in the middle of your day. Thank you Aaron, and the rest of the Innovative Results Team for the muscles I never thought I would have. Oh and most of all, the sanity to get through my non-stop week through your insane workouts and smile you bring to my face the moment I walk through the door. You’ve changed my life for the better.
