Fitness: Introducing the F45 Freaks
If you've been following my F45 Journey you'll know that I've just wrapped up my first 8 Week Challenge with F45 Training Newmarket. I was a virgin to the whole gig, I'd never done any High-Intensity Training (HIT) style workouts that cover the entire body before. I was fresh, but I had the right attitude which was to attack it hard or go home. And after at least 3-4 sessions a week over a 2 month period, I got some seriously good results from it which you can find out here.
F45 isn't just something you pick up for a few weeks and then put down. Sure you can do that, but trust me life is better when it's made part of your routine. When it's a regular mark in your calendar and when it's something you look forward to as much as your morning coffee. It's a chance to put your body in the number one priority spot and to be honest it does just as much good for your mental heath as your body too. So with my initial 2 months completed, and with loads of friends and followers interested in trying this style of training at F45 Training Newmarket, I thought why not enlist a few of my good mates to get together as a gang and challenge ourselves and each other to complete the next 8 Week Challenge which kicked off last week as we ticked over into the month of May.
Here's the gang, we're calling ourselves the F45 Freaks. Has quite a nice ring to it, but not convinced we'll get it printed on our hoodies 🤣 We're collectively going to share our experiences in and outside of the F45 studio. We'll tell you straight up the challenges we face, how'll we keep each other motivated, the results and how we're feeling along the way. We're in this to help each other reach our personal goals and cement F45 as a part of our lifestyle. Plus we're all competitive so we'll see who comes out as the biggest winner at the end of it all!
Samuel
Starting weight: 105kg Starting body fat: 11%
You've seen him before, he's been at F45 with me since the beginning of my journey and he's back again after seeing some great results from the first round (dropped 5% body fat) This time he's even more serious, just as serious as his business Serious Smoothies which he is the Co-Founder and Co-Director of. Samuel is also big on Judo and represented NZ at the Commonwealth Olympics only a few years back. This goal is to see how far below 10% body fat he can get and one of his biggest challenges is eating clean as he's a self proclaimed lover of all food.
Nick
Starting weight: 102.10kg Starting body fat: 19.2%
Nick splits half of his time and life between Hamilton and Auckland with his partner. He works in the fitness equipment industry for Life Fitness and isn't shy of being dedicated to getting fit as he's also dabbled in some professional bodybuilding a few years back. So for Nick this 8 Week Challenge is the kickstart he needed to get back into good shape and also a chance to catch up with mates along the way. Nick knows how important the diet is to making gains and getting results so as a team we'll be relying on him to share his knowledge on how to pull together nutritious meals and snacks. The big challenge for Nick will be keeping up a regular routine as he has to travel from Hamilton, but we'll be right on his case making sure he's burning those calories.
That's also his little princess Porsha in the team shot.
Eddie
Starting weight: 96kgs Starting body fat: 18%
Eddie's brand new to F45 and was easily convinced to join the gang on this new 8 Week Challenge when he saw Mike was surviving each session. He's a corporate man working for Platypus, leading a very busy life so this is the chance for him lock down a regular routine, and be encouraged by his mates to push for his personal goals. Eddie's biggest challenge will be making sure he gets to as many sessions as possible and gets that work/fitness balance right and ensure he's sticking to healthy sneaks as he often loves eating chips (I have the same addiction!).
Eddie's got the tats, now he needs the abs.
Mike
Starting weight: 91.3kg Starting body fat: 15.8%
McClure as we call him is a father, husband and all round bloody good dude. He's a freelancer as a Visual Merchandiser and retail pro currently working on multiple projects for well-known brands such as Amazon/Billabong, Nike and Merchant. Mike's historically had a love/hate relationship with exercise, but has always been in fairly good condition. When I got him along a few weeks back for a free 7 day trial, he loved it, so signing him in for the challenge was a breeze.
McClure is a big foodie, so he'll be a big influencer on our food journey throughout the 8 Weeks and the F45 Challenge App, will be integral to guiding us all through nutritional meal options.
Rhys
Starting weight: 88.4kgs Starting body fat: 13.3%
Rhys is a legend, he's one of the trainers at F45 Training Newmarket and when he heard about our little challenge he was keen to sign on as both a F45 Freak and as a mentor. Rhys is the kinda dude that knows when you've got more left in you, when you can push it harder and he'll be right there next to you doing the burpees or press-ups to help you finish the set. It's going to be epic having him on the team.
He apparently has a weakness for bread.
Me
Starting weight: 75.95kg Starting body fat: 12.63%
I don't need to write about myself do I? I just want to have abs for the first time in my life to be real with you. My biggest obstacles will be definitely sticking to a healthy diet and avoiding naughty treats like chocolate. For this new round of the 8 Week challenge, I'm really keen to step it up from 3-4 sessions a week to 5-6. Challenge accepted.
THE STARTLINE. WEEK ONE.
My first week has been an unexpected and unfortunate big challenge, and not in the physical sense either. I had spent the prior weekend away on a stag do (oh here we go!) up in Omaha with 15 lads, and one of the activities was completing a confidence course as a team. The course was built for the army and had us swimming cold dirty rivers and crawling through mud without getting electrocuted. And what do you know a day later a bunch of us had sore throats and colds. We had caught the lurgy from the yuck water, which had eels in it by the way (and possibly the drinking didn't help the cause). So only one session down the first week due to my man flu, where to be honest I had to go very light as I wasn't a 100% it hasn't been ideal- but that's just life. It won't always go according to plan, you've just gotta get back into your training gear and get back into the routine as soon as you can, and go harder to make up for it.
So this is the gang, we're all in this challenge together and we're pretty pumped about it. We've got some exciting activities and things lined up for the next few weeks to keep us motivated and get the body guessing what the heck is coming at it next. Sign up to my newsletter to be updated on our progress and be sure to be following my social channels on Facebook & Instagram to see snippets of what we're up to.
And more importantly, if you'd love to give F45 a go, sign up online for a Free 7-Day Trial or get in touch with me, it'd be awesome to have you there training with us. Don't worry if you haven't exercised in yonks, are nervous about trying something new, or are scared of gyms. This F45 training method is different. It's welcoming and it's set up in a way that is easy to follow and understand regardless of your history with any type of training. All you need is a towel, a drink bottle and an appetite to get some real tangible results.
jb
Thanks to our awesome team of sponsors who are helping us through the challenge. New Balance NZ for the fresh new season tops, shorts and runners, Whey House for the much-needed post workout protein (use code jahebbarnett for 10% off your purchase) and Serious Smoothies for the delicious and easy refuelling healthy pre-packed smoothies.