“We all have to start somewhere… Everyone is a beginner in the beginning… It’s hard now, but it’ll get better…”

We’ve all heard these sayings many times, and while we know they are true, sometimes the people saying them are difficult to believe.  What did the beginning look like for Michon? I mean really…  Can you imagine Brittany struggling at her start?  Jessica, three kids under 6? All your Freestyle Fitness instructors have amazing backgrounds and stories of their beginnings and struggles, but sometimes it’s just more believable when you hear those stories from your peers, the ones beginning with you.  Am I right?

Jill Koontz is one of our very own.  Her story and her commitment are inspiring to all of us.

Being just over 6 feet tall you get a pass on being a big girl. I never thought of my weight as an issue, I was always in my average weight bracket. I had clothes that fit. I had friends, a boyfriend, and I was happy. I didn’t think I needed to exercise or eat especially well. I ate my vegetables at dinner and could complete the mile in high school gym without being last. Joining Freestyle Fitness changed everything I thought I knew about health, my body, what I could accomplish and most of all what I was capable of.

I started taking kickboxing classes in high school with a friend. I didn’t take my fitness too seriously and only went to classes on and off. I would quit, try the gym, come back, go on and off again and then eventually I stopped exercising completely. I was always secure with how I looked. I had always been bigger, and I was okay with that. I didn’t think there was another option.

I started back at Freestyle for the third time in the fall of 2011. I went to Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning kickboxing classes. Originally it was just to take better care of myself. The beginning was terribly rough. I’d wake up sore and go to bed even sorer and what was frustrating was in the first few months nothing really changed. I was getting better at the many moves, faster and just a little stronger. But physically nothing was different. At this point I was going to my classes religiously. I realized how much I wanted to be better, wanted to be stronger, wanted to excel. I’d been training three times a week without fail for about 3 months when Judith asked me my name. She told me she noticed the amount of dedication I was giving to my fitness. That was all I needed to push that tiny extra bit. Just a small compliment from my instructor held so much weight with me. Judith must see dozens and dozens of people every week but she noticed me and my progress. It meant so much to me. After that my transformation really began.

Since the fall of 2011 I have completed a Freestyle Fitness Challenge and taken Kardio Kombat, Total Body Bootcamp and Fighter’s Physique classes and all those things have helped me lose just over 50 pounds and drop three pants sizes. They’ve helped me build muscle and tone my body into a slim figure- one I didn’t know I had the option to obtain. I shocked myself most of all at my amazing results because I wasn’t planning on anything as amazing as what Freestyle gave me. The teachers and the other people at Freestyle gave me more than just weight loss and toned muscles though. I’ve worked out a gym and seen people regularly and we would nod and smile. But working out at Freestyle is being part of a community, being part of a family. You are celebrated for your accomplishments, pushed in your moments of doubt, assisted in injury and are never ever left behind. The men and women who lead these classes, Judith, Brittany, Michon, Jessica, Asa, Erica, Danelle, Tori, Amy and Danae- they all have different styles and attitudes and motivations to keep you going through every day and every workout. They post your hard work on their page after every workout. They tell you they notice your changes, and they’ll even tell you your butt looks great in a pair of new workout pants. Does anyone in a gym do that? Not one I’ve ever been to.

At first impression I’m a tall, pale, friendly, kind and funny girl. I’m not one who solves problems with violence. But if you watch me do a combo in kickboxing, attack a ground bag in Fighter’s Physique or go at a bag in Total Body, you’d be scared to face me in a dark alley. Freestyle Fitness has taught me self defense but more than that they’ve taught me self discipline. This place with its three padded rooms, mirrored walls and spirited teachers has changed my life. I’ve made friends who I look up to and who I aspire to be as strong as someday. There are days when I feel on the ball, and I use that energy to pick others up, and there are days when I need a leg up, and there is always someone there to give it to me.

To those who are just starting I would say believe in yourself. I started this program as an uncoordinated, out of shape 200 plus pound person who didn’t really care if I changed how I looked. Now I’m a whole new me starting an entirely new chapter in my life. If you believe in yourself the push you will get from this program will only further your goals. I was never an athletic person, even when I played high school sports and Freestyle and its teachers alone made working out fun for me. There’s not enough I can say to thank this program for what it’s given me. As long as I am in this city this will be where I go to sweat it out.