+ D$ Story

SWEAT WITH JESS IN A WORD IS CONFIDENCE! I NEVER WANTED TO DO "GROUP FITNESS" AND I NOW REALIZE THAT IT IS SO NOT YOUR CLICHÉ FITNESS CLASS. THE SENSE OF COMMUNITY IS REAL AND I HAVE ENJOYED IT! CRAZY HOW BEING AROUND POSITIVE PEOPLE MAKES YOU A MORE POSITIVE PERSON! BEING IN THIS GROUP AND DOING THE WORK I HAVE DONE HAS MADE ME INTO A BETTER VERSION OF MYSELF. I STILL HAVE MY DAYS OF SELF-DOUBT BUT THEN #SHOWUP AND YOU HAVE A HOST OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE YOUR BACK. JUST A HIGH FIVE OR AN ENCOURAGING NOD FROM JESS IS ALL YOU NEED TO MAKE YOUR DAY.

I NEVER WOULD HAVE RAN A 1/2 MARATHON, CLIMB A MOUNTAIN, RAN THE RAGNAR WITH STRANGERS, AND EVEN CONTEMPLATE A TRIATHLON IF IT WEREN'T FOR THE STRENGTH THAT I HAVE BUILT PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY WITH JESS. EVEN THOUGH I AM NOT ON TRACK ALL THE TIME AND I HAVE BAD DAYS TOO, I STILL KEEP COMING BACK FOR MORE. JESS IS SO GENEROUS WITH HER TIME AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ANY ASPECT OF TRAINING AND NUTRITION, WHICH IS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG. HER EXPLANATIONS OF THE WORKOUTS HAVE GIVEN ME THE KNOWLEDGE TO GO INTO A GYM AND PROGRAM MY OWN WORKOUT FROM ALL THAT I HAVE LEARNED. THAT IS HUGE. SECONDLY, SCHOOL. DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THAT BEAST. I HAVE LITERALLY BEEN TERRIFIED OF THIS FOR A DECADE OR MORE. SO....SOMETHING LIT A FIRE. WE MAY NOT ALWAYS AGREE; I WANT TO DRINK BEERS, SHE SAYS NO. I WANT 3 ROUNDS, SHE SAYS 5, BUT I CONSIDER JESS AS A FRIEND AND I AM GLAD SHE IS IN MY CORNER FOR MY FITNESS JOURNEY AND MY LIFE GOALS! THANKS SWEAT WITH JESS!

+ Ryan Farel's Story

I TOOK SOME TIME TO REFLECT ON THE IMPACT SWEAT HAS HAD ON MY LIFE. OVERALL, I FEEL AS THOUGH I AM A BETTER PERSON BECAUSE OF SWEAT, BUT I'M UNSURE IF I CAN ACCURATELY PORTRAY THIS IN WORDS. SUCH IS THE LIMITATIONS OF LANGUAGE, BUT ANYWAY, HERE GOES NOTHING.

STARTING WITH THE OBVIOUS, I AM STRONGER NOW THAN I HAVE EVER BEEN IN MY LIFE IN BOTH STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE. WHILE THIS NOT BE SAYING MUCH (I'VE ONLY BEEN SERIOUSLY WORKING OUT FOR ABOUT 4 YEARS,) I'VE STILL COME A LONG WAY. COULD I BE WHERE I AM IF I NEVER JOINED SWEAT? POSSIBLY. COULD I HAVE MADE THE SAME PROGRESS OVER THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME? NO. I HAVE MADE GAINS I DIDN'T THINK WERE POSSIBLE THANKS TO SWEAT. I USED TO THINK OF CLIMBING A MOUNTAIN AS A METAPHOR FOR LOSING WEIGHT LOSS. SOME DAYS THE CLIMB IS EASY, BUT OTHERS FEEL LIKE TRYING TO CLIMB UP MUD. NOWADAYS, I FEEL THE SAME METAPHOR APPLIES TO LIFE IN GENERAL. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THE PEAK WILL NEVER BE PASSED. I CAN ALWAYS KEEP GOING FORWARD, AND I WOULDN'T HAVE IT ANY OTHER WAY.

WHILE THE WORKOUTS ARE CHALLENGING, THE BIGGEST STRENGTH FOR SWEAT I FEEL IS THE COMMUNITY. I HAVE HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING PEOPLE I WOULD NOT HAVE MET OTHERWISE. SERIOUSLY, THE CHANCES OF ME SO MUCH AS CROSSING PATHS WITH ANY MEMBER OF THE SWEAT COMMUNITY IS SO SMALL IT'S PRACTICALLY ZERO. LIFE CAN BE ENRICHED BY THE PEOPLE IN IT, AND THIS CRAZY CREW KEEPS ME COMING BACK FOR MORE. EVERY DAY AT SWEAT, I SEE HOW HARD EVERYONE PUSHES THEMSELVES. THIS, IN TURN, MAKES ME PUSH MYSELF HARD AS WELL. THE FACT THAT I USE HEAVIER WEIGHTS MAKES NO DIFFERENCE TO ME. IF THEY USE CHALLENGING WEIGHTS, I'LL FOLLOW SUIT. ONE MORE THING, SPEAKING AS AN ONLINE GAMER, IT IS IMMENSELY REFRESHING TO BE A PART OF TEAMS THAT DON'T MAKE ME QUESTION THEIR ABILITY TO OPERATE PANTS.

I HAVE BEEN INCREDIBLY FORTUNATE TO HAVE SWEAT IN MY LIFE. WHEN THINGS WERE AT THEIR DARKEST SWEAT WAS ONE THING (SOMETIMES THE ONLY THING) I COULD LOOK FORWARD TO. NO MATTER HOW I FELT GOING IN, I ALWAYS FELT BETTER WHEN IT WAS OVER. OF COURSE THINGS WOULD CHANGE WHEN THE DOMS SET IN, BUT IT WAS THE GOOD KIND OF PAIN. AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT I TELL MYSELF. NOW I HAVE A JOB THAT I ENJOY AND, JUST AS IMPORTANTLY, ALLOWS ME TO CONTINUE TO COME TO SWEAT. THINGS ARE BRIGHTER FOR ME NOW THAN THEY HAVE BEEN IN A LONG WHILE. THE SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES THAT BROUGHT ME AMAZE ME. IF ANY ONE OF COUNTLESS EVENTS HAD PLAYED OUT DIFFERENTLY, I WOULD NOT BE WHERE I AM TODAY. I WOULD MOST LIKELY BE ON THE VERGE OF A MENTAL BREAKDOWN AND POSSIBLY STILL OVERWEIGHT. IT'S FUNNY HOW FATE WORKS SOMETIMES.

+ Leslie Platzer's Story

JESS'S REFUSAL TO ALLOW NEGATIVE SELF-TALK DURING A WORKOUT HAS ROLLED OVER TO THE REST OF MY LIFE. I FIND MYSELF QUOTING HER IN MY HEAD AT WORK WHEN I AM OVERWHELMED, WHILE MOTIVATING MY FRIENDS TO MAKE HEALTHIER LIFE CHOICES, AND LOOKING FOR MODIFICATIONS WHEN I AM STRUGGLING.