Healthtrax Comeback Story Winner!
Valerie S. North Dartmouth Member
Comeback stories make the most inspirational, memorable, stories. And the truth is that most great success stories have painful, sometimes even tragic failure, prior to being the awesome stories of triumph that inspire the masses.
I've got a comeback story to share with you that involves a lot of pain and failure, however, it also involves a lot of triumph and dedication. To give you a little insight on who I am, I have been in recovery from a serious drug addiction for almost 12 years. I have overdosed and died on many occasions. I was deemed hopeless by doctors and psychiatrists'. I was told that I would never make it to the age of 30....however, I am now almost 39.
I will spare you the details because that life was torture for me. After my first couple years in recovery I started to gain a lot of weight. My drug addiction had now turned into a food addiction. At that time I weighed 300lbs. I had a very unhealthy relationship with food. I didn't workout at all. Five years ago I decided that I wanted to take care of myself, mind, body and spirit. I changed my life and my unhealthy habits that I acquired over the years. This was not easy to do. It took, and still takes, a lot of dedication and consistency. Exercising has now become my outlet. While I was going to a different gym about a year and a half ago I found myself starting to become bored. I stopped becoming excited about working out. I found myself starting to experience setbacks or straight up halting stops on my fitness journey. But now I realize that a comeback is always preceded by a setback.
We have all been there. The fitness journey is going well. 'I got my first double unders, my run times are improving, I am going down a band on my pull-ups, my deadlift went up 3 times this month!
Burpees...well burpees still suck but woohoo anyways, I am getting into the best shape of my life!'
Then life takes a turn. Your schedule changes, you go on vacation, you get sick, the kids' schedule takes over life, and before you know it you haven't been to class in weeks. The weeks turn into months, and then you get those daunting thoughts; "I can't do this. I want to get back but I'm scared. I don't have the time." Blah blah blah. All those excuses that we tell ourselves to keep us from becoming the best version of ourselves, mostly our of fear of failure. I knew I needed a fresh start at a gym. I just had to walk through the fear. I met a friend who told me about pound at Healthtrax and said that I should try it. I was a little hesitant at first because I didn't think I would be any good at it...to be honest, I didn't really know what to expect. I have never done any kind of exercise like this before. After giving it some thought, knowing that I was getting bored at the gym I was attending at the time, I decided to try it. Everyone, both members and staff, were so friendly and kind. I felt that I fit in right away. I decided to become a member that day. I never took any of the classes (pound, spin, power) prior to Healthtrax. I started to come and take the classes. If you would have told me over a year ago that the friendships and community that I would build at the gym I would've sold myself short. I have even become friends with the staff.
The people who work at Healthtrax truly care about their members and our wellbeing. It shows in all that they do. Between the staff and the friends I have now made and the progress that I have made in my own fitness journey, this has been an amazing come back story. I went from a 300 lb drug addict to a 140 lb woman who lives life with dignity and honor today. Sometimes I fail but I always learn from my failures and I pick myself back up and get my butt to the gym...After all, it's like therapy for me.
- Valerie S.