First off, congratulations to all competitors on embarking on a journey to challenge yourself and change your life.  Well Done Team Kozak, I hope you will inspire many more to become healthier individuals.

We have come to the conclusion of our journey and what a ride it has been.  As a trainer, I can’t remember when I have felt as compelled to help a group of individuals.  We frequently have clients come in to the gym, maybe as individuals or partners, but rarely are you put in a situation where you have a small group of individuals striving towards the exact same goal.  In the past 13 weeks, I have learned a tremendous amount about myself and all of you.  I am reminded of how differently individuals can be when put in a relatively similar situation.  This was as much a challenge for me as it was for you, (in a completely different way of course) which was partly the reason I took it on in the first place.

We had many successes during our time together.  Weight loss aside, we learned many new techniques and strategies towards healthy living.  It has shown us what we are capable of when we thought we had ‘nothing left in the tank’ so to speak.  Now, all of you are more than capable of setting up your own programs and nutrition plans through the information given to you.  We have shown you the benefits of having a trainer, if you have not had one before.  You have now seen how a trainer can motivate you and take you to the next level.  I think the real benefit here is to realize the times when you where without a trainer and how you motivated yourself.  I truly believe the sole purpose of this journey was to look deeper into yourself for motivation.

I want to thank our trainers Geoff, Jeremy, Kylee, and Craig  for giving up their time and effort to represent Serratus and help you all towards your goals.  They were extremely valuable in stepping in to train whenever they could and providing an extra “you can do it” shout when they were busy with clients.

Thanks to our team captain, Brad Oswald at the Winnipeg Free Press for his time and providing us with coverage on Hot 103.  As well, thank-you to Colin and the gang at Hot 103 for your help and this opportunity.

I think I speak for all of us here and want to commend you all on a job well done.  I hope this was only a snippet of what you are all capable and I want to hear about all your success in the future!

You asked occasionally what benefits I get out of this journey:  I am a better, more understanding trainer because of you all.  Danielle, Lindsay, Lou and Nathan… I thank you.

Train Hard!

Regards,

Corwin and The Serratus Team

Corwin Materuk

Owner/Personal Trainer

Serratus Personal Training

#11-1700 Corydon Ave

Winnipeg, MB  R3N 0K1

487-4253

www.serratus.ca

Pam, Christa,Stephanie & Jarret it’s been a wonderful experience training you guys for Winnipeg’s Biggest Loser Challenge. The hard work you have put in to your health and fitness over the last 3 months has been amazing. Everyone on Team Fantini should be please with the overall 187 pounds drop in weight. Thank you Pam,Christa,Stephanie and Jarret.

I’ll see you at camp tonight.

Jason P Brown

www.WinnipegBootCamp.com

This past month and a half has been one of the most stressful times I’ve ever encountered, school work, finances and a death in the family have taken their toll however, I’ve managed my stress by going to the gym, and not sitting on the couch feeling sorry for myself

Thanks for this amazing experience, it has changed my life in so many ways, I’ve begun eating proper portions and getting a more restful sleep because of a better diet and exercise routine. Working with out with Jodi has taught me to prepare in advance, you know, snack bags of fruit or veggies. 

I’m now totally into living a healthier lifestyle!  I’ve actually purchased a bike and trailer for my girls to ride along and that, coupled with my sister’s MP3 player, and we’re hitting the road instead of driving or taking a bus. 

I am truly grateful to everyone who has given me this opportunity to become more healthy and active.  From the bottom of my heart and on behalf of my family, thank you.  You’ve helped save my life!  God Bless.

Who could have known the secret to happiness really was at our fingertips, at our feet and under our butts! It’s right where we are. It’s easy but it’s hard. It’s cheap but it costs. Anyone can get it easily but it’s difficult to find.

Who could have known that eating normal, one ingredient wholesome foods would make you full of energy and help you sleep? Make you strong and make you slim. It’s uncommon today…with our 20 ingredient processed foods.

Who could have known that moving your body one foot, one arm, one leg at a time, then more – would actually make the weak say they’re strong?

Who could have known? We all know it. So why don’t we do it? Cause we need each other. We need knowledge. We need a plan.

We need QX104 and HOT103. Whoever is the genius behind Winnipeg’s Biggest Loser should get a medal and a great big hug. Cause you’ve changed our lives forever!!!!!! We’ve learned the secret to happiness.

We’ve also had the most wonderful workouts. I was very impressed with our trainers because since I had issues with my knees, I did not think I could do much. But slowly, gradually, carefully – Karly and Sherwin built up my knees, legs, and everything else till I could do 1,000 reps of burpees, lunges, pushups, dips, and all kinds of other stuff. Before this competition I couldn’t run at all. I thought my knees were too weak. But with their help I was able to do a half marathon in New Orleans last month. Unbelievable!!! Now I’m jogging 10 laps around Roxy Park with my pug instead of sitting on the park bench with my coffee mug!

It’s kinda cool when people come up to you and say “You’re looking so great!” Yeah, and I’m feeling great, too! Life is good. Thank you, ‘Biggest Loser’ organizers. You have turned my life around. Who would have thought that losing 40 pounds would have changed my life so much?

I just checked my blood pressure…108/74. Three months ago it was 165/96. My doctor wanted to put me on meds, but it looks like I was saved!

How’s that for renewal, restoration, recovery and yes, redemption!

Once again, congratulations to everyone involved in this competition! Keep it up!

“LAST DAY!!!!!!! Our lives have changed, our bodies have changed, our futures have changed…THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to Snap fitness (especially Derek, Sara and Stephanie) you are stuck with me; A Huge thank you to Caroline Hunter, you are now and for ever my sweat sister (better than blood sister); QX104/HOT103 you rock (well neither of you are rock, but you know what I mean); Thank you to the team for working so hard, and mostly THANK YOU to my amazing son ARI for being so cool and putting up with my workout schedule, mood swings, constant reinforcement, and teenage wisdom….Thanks for changing my life; I am done with the dying.”

Back at you sweat sister – life can be sweet!!

Caroline

 Sat at 3:02pm · Comment ·LikeUnlike · Report

Why we do it

As the competition wraps up, I think back on the past 3 months and wonder  if we have really changed lives.  I think so.  I wish the winner of the competition wasn’t determined by weight loss, but by what the participants have learned, the medications they no longer have to take and the wonderful new things they are now capable of doing.

Why do we exercise?  Most people call it “working out” and do it strictly for aesthetic purposes.   At CrossFit Winnipeg, we call it training and the staff are called “coaches” and the customers are called “athletes”.   The slogan on my T-Shirt says it all – we train for life and Shirley, Jerri-Lynn, Marie and Trish are truly athletes.  We have a whiteboard in the gym to keep track of our athletes personal records, and also the top performances in the gym.  One of our Hot 103 Team Intern athletes has made the leader board.  Congrats Marie for the 245lbs Deadlift at 4 reps!  Won’t be long before you’re pulling 300lbs!

Here’s a collage of photos celebrating Team Intern’s accomplishments and some favourite moments.

Jerri-Lynn

And now, for Jerri-Lynn’s Story…

So, today was our team’s last day together. It was kind of sad to go to Crossfit Winnipeg today. To walk though those doors one last time as this competition was coming to a close. I remembered walking into Crossfit Winnipeg for the first time. It’s not your typical gym. I wondered where all the treadmills and elliptical trainers where. I wondered HOW I was going to get fit with no gym equipment. When I first looked around I saw 3 massive tractor tires, gymnastic rings, rowing machines, GHD’s, and chin up/monkey bars and a WHOLE lot of weights. Wow, I thought, this was going to be a challenge. Tania, our trainer, and owner of Crossfit, took us under her wing and showed us all a new way of exercising. It was awesome. I can flip over those massive tractor tires. I can deadlift 175 lbs. I am stronger because of Tania and her team. Being able to use your own body and what equipment Crossfit had, made for a really intense, but great workout. Workouts that are possible and doable at home too. The coaches who helped us along the way were also awesome, they all took time out to help teach us and care for us and this competition.

Because of the great generosity of my friends and trainers, I was able to do this. When this first started, I has just had a baby. She was almost four months old. I was kind of scared. I didn’t know how I would do this. But they helped me by holding her, by giving me some slack when I had to stop during a workout to nurse her. They made this experience possible for me, and to them I am thankful. Oh, and I totally cannot forget about LTI. He would come and workout with our team when he could, and he would also help with baby Monique. Just so you all know….YOU GUYS ROCK!!

What an experience! I learned so many great things that I will take with me in life! I will never EVER forget this wonderful journey! And all the awesome people I got to meet, and to make already great relationships, even better.

Thank you HOT 103/QX 104 for picking our team, you really don’t know how much you have helped make our lives better, great big virtual bear hugs!!! :0)

–Jerri-Lynn Chester

Trish

I haven’t posted in a while, but I thought it would be worth passing along Trish’s story:

Hey there, this is Trish from “Team Intern.” From the very moment I heard our team’s name announced on the radio three months ago, I knew our lives were about to change. I knew that I was part of something beyond my wildest imagination, and I knew the journey before us would be rewarding yet challenging. And challenging it was!

We started off by meeting at our assigned gym where we were warmly welcomed and encouraged by the staff and members. From that point, Tania, our personal trainer and compass, led us on a journey through health and fitness–a journey that encompassed better choices and self-worth– things I had long lost.

Things have certainly changed. Each time I enter the parking lot of the Crossfit Winnipeg gym, reality disappears and my game face is on. My soul becomes what has been described as a “Warrior.” The training we do continues to challenge me every time I workout, and I now know what “good pain” means. Sweating, hardened calluses and wanting more is how I leave the gym. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I have lost 30 lbs. so far along with several inches, 5.10 off my thighs, 5.9 off my hips, 5.10 off my chest and 7 inches off my waist. I have a genuine smile on my face and both my confidence and energy levels radiate to reflect my self worth. I took full advantage of this opportunity and am so proud of what I have lost and what I have gained. I have made some lifelong friendships, discovered a new confidence, and found a place where I push myself to a level of athletic abilities that I had locked away since childhood.

The past 3 months have been an amazing stepping stone to the lifelong changes I have decided to make, and my journey won’t end on May 3rd. I want this lifestyle for myself because I am worth it, and for my children because I am their role model. My life has changed because of the Winnipeg’s Biggest Loser contest and I am so proud to have accomplished all I did in the given time with the support of my amazing coaches and fellow team members.

–Trish

We are just completing the final week of Winnipeg’s Biggest Loser and I feel like I had won the lottery being chosen for this competition.  When we were picked as one of the teams I was extremely excited and couldn’t believe it…I knew in my heart that this was something that was going to change my life forever.  Who wouldn’t want a personal trainer for 3 months! 

I have been trying for years to lose weight, tried all the fad diets which never work and usually gain more weight in the mean time.  I use to feel uncomfortable standing in fast food lines thinking everyone was staring at me as I was overweight.  I was always told that I had a pretty face, but I knew that rest of me need some help…

Just to let everyone know the only diet that works is to eat healthy, drink your water and exercise.  Soon thereafter, you will see the pounds coming off and the definition of your body changing everyday.  I had lost 32 pounds from Dec 1, 2009 to Feb 1, 2010.  What a great start I’m thinking.  Since working out at Impact Fitness Feb 1, 2010 to present I have lost another 22 pounds.  I see so many differences in my body, I have curves again, definition on my arms and have lost quite of few inches in the stomach area.  My goal for this competition was to lose enough weight to wear a dress to my daughters 18 birthday in October 2010.  I have never worn a dress in 18 years as I was never comfortable or to big to wear something nice.  I want to eat healthy and exercise as I want to be around for my 4 children and my awesome husband.

When we first got picked and met our trainers, I was kinda apprehensive and didn’t know what they had in store for me.  After what I thought was our first ‘workout’, it turned out to be just the evaluation.  I couldn’t move for at least 3 days. As we started to attend the gym on a regular basis, five and sometimes seven days a week, I got comfortable with the workouts and for once felt like I fit in.  

I loved working will all my team members, and I would like to give a big thank you to Sean Brown and Katelyn Combs for there undivided attention during these past 3 months.  I would like to thank the other staff at Impact Fitness they are amazing as well, a big kudos to Erin, Dave and Danielle you guys are awesome.  I big thank you as well to Hot 103 /QX104 for making this happen, if it wasn’t for you we all wouldn’t be on the road to a healthy life.