Everyones fitness journey started somewhere and this week ADO Fitness Coach Jennifer Ann shares with us her story.

I’ve learned a lot through fitness and it changed my life. Before I began to really “lift” I was a huge cardio bunny. I ate pretty healthy, but I ate a lot and was skinny fat. I was not happy with my body and my self-esteem was low. I felt flabby and the scale just kept creeping up. I would eat super healthy during the day but at night I would drink five out of seven days of the week. I would drink, and after I was buzzed or drunk I would eat a bunch of food and go to bed. I would repeat this yo-yo lifestyle over and over and over and I would lose weight and gain it right back it was very frustrating to say the least.

I remember when I began to lift and I would research different exercises to do off of YouTube. The first few weeks at the gym were a little intimidating learning all the new things on all the machines. It made me feel empowered and I knew I was hooked because I loved the way it made me feel. In just a short amount of time I’d say 5 to 6 weeks I began to see changes and I could see myself getting tighter and feel myself getting stronger. I love challenging myself with all the weight and at this time I still would go out drinking but it started to be less and less.

My sister and I decided to go to our first bodybuilding show in Omaha. I remember watching the bikini girls go out for the overall and I said to my sister, ” I want to do that.” Not even five days later we found a coach that was in a town nearby and we began talking to him about prepping for our first show. Now I had a goal and someone to guide me. I remember loving the diet and the workouts because they were so challenging it was unlike anything I had ever done before. This was a whole new world to me and it was very mentally challenging as well. As anyone knows who’s been on a prep,  drinking does not mix with that lifestyle so I had to give up completely on my partying.  At this point I was so motivated and so ready for a change in my life that giving up partying didn’t matter. And what’s crazy is not going out all the time made me so much happier. I didn’t realize how toxic the people were that I surrounded myself with. Some of my closest friends at the time put me down for working out so much and that’s when I realized they were not real friends. Friends help inspire you and lift you up, not try to make you fail your goals just because they want company to drink with. I spent many of the next few months alone, well I shouldn’t say I was completely alone because I did have my family. My family was extremely supportive especially my mother and my sister Sarah. And what was really cool is Sarah and I did our first prep together ❤️

After the first show I decided to continue with my fitness journey, and that’s exactly what it is a journey. I have learned so much about myself as a person and how strong my mind really is. Prepping for a show can be physically exhausting but it’s also extremely mentally exhausting and if your mind isn’t right you could really be in trouble. I never realized how strong my will power really was and how dedicated I was to reaching my new fitness goals. As I saw the strengths in myself even my self esteem began to improve. Fitness has made me a stronger person and not just physically. Now all I want to do is pass my passion for fitness on to others. To help inspire people to better their health and their overall life. To me fitness is not just something you do or hobby it’s a lifestyle. A lifestyle that always challenges me and makes me the absolute best version of myself. Once you feel how good your body is designed to feel you will be hooked too. An the friends that I have made along the way are some of the best people I have ever had the privilege to meet❤️. Everything happens for a reason and I’m so glad that I changed my life to a fitness one ??