Brooke
has been coming to Starke CrossFit for two years now. Originally her mother had
encouraged her to do something about her health, she tried other local gyms in
the city but realized they were not for her. Starke was close to home so she
decided to give it a try, and now two years later we just can’t get rid of her!
Her initial love for Starke was due to the fact that every day was a full body
workout, there was no leg day or chest day; it was always a full body workout.
The workouts were tough, varied, and led by coaches that worked with you on
proper movement and intensity relative to your fitness level.
Two
years ago Brooke walked through these doors weighing in at 300lbs. “Ever since
I was young I could never fit into the clothes appropriate for my age. I wanted
to be able to walk into any store out there and be able to buy whatever
clothing I’d like because they would have my size available,” Brooke shares. She
had goals and determination to do something about her weight, but it was truly
the first 60-Day Challenge that gave her the kick-start to put those goals in
action.
In
September 2014, Brooke started her first ever 60-Day Challenge and weighed in
at 270lbs. She learned all about clean eating, training, and staying true to
your goals. She set out on 60 full days of clean eating, she cut out all
alcohol and eating out, and she worked out in the gym 3-5 times a week. When
the challenge was done she not only completed it but she won the challenge and her
final weigh in was 235lbs! It was the first time in years Brooke felt driven to
chase her goals and had the motivation to lead her to success.
Less
than half a year later, Starke decided to host another 60-Day Challenge
starting in March 2015. Brooke of course jumped on board with even more goals
to met and exceed. She weighed in this time at 239lbs, stuck with the clean
eating, no alcohol or eating out, and started working out 5-6 times a week
while fitting in yoga 5 times a week to encourage stretching and allow her to
continue her training comfortably. Brooke destroyed her second challenge
completing the 60 days, her final weigh in being 215.6lbs, her percentage of
weight lost being 10.02%.
“Being
focused on my health and fitness has changed everything in the last two years. It’s
unreal to think of what I used to be able to do (or lack thereof) compared to
what I can do now. When I first started at Starke it would take me 15 minutes
to run a mile, now it takes me 15 minutes to run double that, I couldn’t skip
and now can do double unders, I couldn’t even hang on a bar from the rack and
now I can do beat swings and knees to elbows, and my Olympic lifting is way
heavier and way faster. Everything is so much easier, but most importantly it’s
more enjoyable.” – Brooke Pluta
Moving
forward Brooke is definitely focused on continuing her clean eating habits, keeping
the “eating out” at a minimum, and going to the gym several times a week as
it’s now become part of her schedule.
Having
achieved so many of her goals to date, Brooke has placed some new ones to
strive for. She would like to do a weightlifting competition and to reach her
100lbs weight loss goal by weighing in at 200lbs. Last, and as mentioned above,
she would like to walk in to any store and buy whatever item of clothing she
wants because they have her size available. All amazing goals, and all
achievable!
“Starke
changed my life forever, and the 60 Day Challenge was my motivation to get
started for real this time! Two years ago I wouldn’t have believed you if you
said that I could drop 100lbs and feel this great. It’s been hard work, but the
coaches and the other athletes at Starke make it real, achievable, and fun.” – Brooke Pluta
