Nga loses 17kg

10 years ago I reckon I was in the best shape in my life being young and as fit as a fiddle. At the time I was fully into playing sports keeping active and was working as a low impact and step instructor at Don Olivers gym.

As the years went by, things slowly diminished and I ended up finishing at the gym and played very little sports. I became quite lazy and pretty much just drank and partied up hard every week and ate everything I shouldn’t! As each year passed, my body got bigger and bigger and the weight began to pile on – getting to the point where I hated what I saw in the mirror! Double chin and beer gut just to name a few…

So I contacted a trainer by the name of Kat and we met at Les Mills, New Lynn. She brought me in a folder with training programs and illustrations, calendars etc and we sat and Kat explained our plan of attack, starting with a weigh in and measures.

I weighed in at 120kg with a body fat reading of 33.9%, which was incredibly high for a guy my age and height. The healthy percentage is around 20%, in other words I was obese!

From that day on, the hard work started. Firstly with a weights session and Oh My God -boy did my body get a shock! Up until that day I had never done weights before and it showed! So Kat started me off on light weights and focusing on technique, had to start somewhere. Nowadays, whatever Kat puts on the bar – I do it!

Next was a cardio session and yeah had to admit I was not as fit as I used to be – that’s for sure! Started off with a walk/jog on the treadmill then moved to the cross trainer and rower at the end. I had never felt so puffed! These days, cardio is a walk in the park for me (not literally – I mean I can handle it now!) thanks to Kat for pushing me to my limits and getting every little bit out of me!

After my first days in the gym, I was in so much pain and discomfort for the week and felt it in places and muscles I never thought existed! These days, I view that discomfort as a sign of success and if I don’t have it, I question myself as to whether I’ve worked hard enough.

I keep getting asked why I keep going to the gym and what keeps me motivated?

Firstly, it’s a habit now and hard to get out of and what keeps me motivated are people like Kat and comments I get from others saying “Man you look great keep it up!”

Those little things go a long way! Another big motivator for me is music, having my Ipod cranking with my favourite tunes helps me a lot.

So far I have lost 17kg and 12.9% in body fat and a total of 30cm from the chest, waist and hips.

I feel good about myself again and keep getting told I look good so I’m happy – but there’s always room for improvement. I recently ran my first half marathon and completed a triathlon, which had been my goal for many years.

“Motivation is what gets you started, habit is what keeps you going”