Miguel
walked into Starke just over one year ago needing a change in his life. He was
“enjoying” life, the food, the drinks, and the late nights. His lifestyle and
lack of physical activity was catching up with him and he was tired of it all.
He needed something new in his life and the motivation to drive him to success.
He kept on driving past Starke and curiosity finally pushed him to sign up for
a free class to check it out. After doing his free class, Miguel instantly
signed up for the Foundations program.
“I
was super nervous coming in for the first time. There would be a ton of new
people I had never met, I was coming into the unknown, I didn’t know what to
expect. Who would I be in class with? Would I get along with everyone? Was I
going to be in way worse shape then everyone else? Would I be embarrassed? My
insecurities were starting to get the best of me. But after that first class,
all of that went out the window! Everyone was amazing, there were a ton of
different levels of fitness, and everyone was there to better himself or
herself, just like me. Most of all, Paul Dyck was the best coach and mentor I
had ever had. I instantly signed up for a membership after finishing
Foundations.” Miguel shares. “I fell in love with Starke, it was like hanging out
with a bunch of friends every day! The workouts were great, challenging,
intense, and always made you push yourself farther then you ever thought
possible.”
Setting
yourself up for success isn’t always the easiest task. Visualizing where Miguel
was to where he wanted to be was hard, but the road to get there was even
harder. In the beginning it was a struggle physically, he was sore and tired
regularly. But he made it a priority to come in on a regular basis. “It was
mental for the most part, I wanted to change, I really wanted to get in shape, and I wanted a healthier life for
myself moving forward,” Miguel says.
When
Miguel first started health and fitness was not his number one priority. As the
time passed he simply started to lessen the amount he went out and would stay
committed to his workouts, making it a priority. “Everything changed in a
positive way, I was feeling way better mentally and physically. Now I make it out to Starke six days a week,
and I am focused on clean eating, limiting my alcohol intake, and eating out
less.”
One
year ago, Miguel would have struggled with a 200m run, attempting a pull-up,
getting up against the wall in a handstand position, and his lack of mobility
would never have allowed him to squat. After one year at Starke, Miguel can run
one full mile no problem, he’s mastered his pull-ups and can even do set of 3
pull-ups with 100lbs hanging off his waist. He can now accomplish handstand
push-ups and his mobility has changed drastically. It wasn’t easy and it’s been
challenging to progress, but he now has the determination and endurance to do
it!
Moving
forward, Miguel would like to compete in a competition feeling confident in his
abilities, he’d like to continue to progress in his Olympic Lifts, and continue
to better himself in his health and fitness.
“I
walked through Starke’s doors and fell in love with the place, the people, the
workouts, and now I look forward to coming every day. This place essentially
changed my life and I have the utmost gratitude towards Paul and the community
he’s created here at Starke. I think twice about making positive choices in my
life and I have Starke to thank for that.” – Miguel Jovel
At Starke we usually have two workout options, the CrossFit workout of
the day and a fitness workout option. Cathy had been consistently choosing the
fitness option due to her frustration with her mobility. But, because she’s
Cathy, she started putting in a lot of consistent effort and would do at least 20
minutes of mobility exercises at home each night. She started to see more
gains, started squatting deeper, she had better positioning, and her Olympic
lifts were getting better! This was not a quick process, it came slowly but
over past year she has made the most amount of gains. Paul shares, “the look on
Cathy’s face after she does a challenging CrossFit workout is amazing! Before
she wasn’t able to do a number of the movements and now she can. It’s rewarding
because of all her time and effort she put in to it. She’s also mentioned that
she’ll be on a cloud all weekend because of a CrossFit workout on Friday she
was able to accomplish. That makes me proud!”
