Tired of feeling tired?
This month’s Success Story is Charlotte Evans
Charlotte Evans felt exactly the same way last year. She was athletic in high school and college, but afterwards, her adult life became busy. Charlotte’s career as a juvenile defense attorney in Cobb County kept her in the office and sedentary. And at age 41, she decided to rise up and change her lifestyle.
Follow along with the Success Story this month as we interview Charlotte about how she became a member of our Marietta location and now leads a very active life.
Charlotte punching during Kickboxing class.
WHAT WAS YOUR EXERCISE ROUTINE BEFORE X3?
“In high school, I played basketball and ran track. In college, I played tennis a little bit. About 5 or 6 years ago, I did the Couch to 5K for awhile, then I quit, and I couch-surfed for 3 years.
“Last year, I was kind of fat and kind of tired, and just decided I was tired of being tired. So I decided to do something.”
WHAT DID YOU DO?
“My friend Kathy invited me to do crossfit and her daughter Alex wanted to do Kickboxing. We decided to do a free Kickboxing class first at X3 Sports in Marietta on a Tuesday.
“I barely made it through the warm-up, had to sit down for 5 minutes, got up for 5 minutes and then had to sit down for the rest of the class. Most of it was nerves, I don’t like new stuff at all. Change freaks me out. So I think my blood pressure spiked, and I almost passed out.
“I really liked the class and wanted to give it another try, so I asked the instructor. He was super nice and gave me another free class. I came on Thursday, made it through class and joined.”
Kickboxing Warm-ups
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF YOUR X3 EXPERIENCE?
“I always laugh because I talk to new people who are doing the free class: ‘Look you made it through the class, you got me beat. You did way better than me. But just know this: It never gets any easier. Because the more fit you get, the harder you push yourself, the more you can do.’
“For example, when we first started doing burpees, I hate burpees. If we did 20, I could do 6. Now I am up to 12. I’m a lot better. You push yourself so it never gets easier, but you do feel better.”
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT X3?
“I love all the instructors. They all have something different that they offer that I hate. Marius loves this exercise called mountain climbers. He always makes me laugh. Joel does other crazy stuff. I feel like he sat on the couch one day and said ‘what can I do to make them die.’ I’ve called Sig the devil, he puts me through hell every time, but it’s really good. Those are the three main people I take classes from.
“I used to always check the schedule to see and plan, that’s how I know which classes to pick. But now I know it’s good for me to come to a class with an instructor who’s a little harder on me when I think I need it a little bit easier.”
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?
“My first goal was to make it through a class successfully, to not feel like I was dying at the end. My next goal was to not be sore for three days. I surpassed those, so now my goals are weird.
“One is to break a bag. So that is always fun!
“Another is flexibility. I want to kick the bottom of those extra leather straps and chains holding the top of the hanging bags that are really high. Right now I can kick where the X3 logo is.
“Never in my life have I ever been able to do a chin-up. So I bought a chin-up bar and put it up in my house, and after dinner one night, I actually did one! Then my next goal was three chin-ups, and a week and half ago, I did four. So my next goal is ten. But after 4-5 classes here a week, my arms are like putty.”
BACK IN AUGUST, YOU ENTERED AND WON OUR “DECIDE TO RISE” CONTEST ABOUT WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO RISE. LET’S RECAP YOUR WINNING ENTRY:
Charlotte’s winning entry of our “Decide to Rise” contest
DO YOU RECOGNIZE THE PERSON YOU WERE 9+ MONTHS AGO (BEFORE X3)?
Before & After (9 Months)
“I always think about it. I went out this weekend and we took a picture, and I was like ‘that doesn’t look like me.’ Now I am getting used to the face I see in the mirror, and I look at pictures of me a year ago, and say ‘that doesn’t look like me.’
“I started off at 189, and right now I hover at 147. I went from needing to be in a size 14 to now on the loose edge of a 6. At 41, I never thought I’d be able to do this! I ran a half-marathon distance three weeks ago. That’s what this place did for me.
“Now, I always take these pictures of myself in my sports bra and exercise shorts in different poses: regular standing, sucking in, side profiles and sucking in. A few months ago, I did a split screen of myself and showed one of my instructors Joel. I said ‘Look what you did to me,’ and he replied ‘Look what you did to yourself.’
YOUR FRIEND INTRODUCED YOU TO X3. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO YOUR FRIEND WHO WANTS TO WORK OUT?
“I would encourage anybody to come here. You have to be committed to it. You have to come on days when you don’t want to come. And you just have to do it anyways. That’s the hard part. You have to push through the first three months. To me they were brutal.
“Number one, I was chubby and tired. My whole family had been diagnosed with thyroid issues, and I was sure I must’ve had it too and that was why I was tired all the time. No, I was just fat and out of shape. The first three months was just about trying to get over that tiredness, mustering up the energy and coming here anyways. After I got past all that, it was just about making sure you keep doing it. After about 3 months, I added in other activities. I did running, run-walking and riding my bike here – all to improve my cardio to make class easier.
LAST QUESTION, IF SOMEONE WERE TO ASK YOU WHAT IS X3, WHAT ARE THREE WORDS YOU WOULD SAY?
“1) Pain – because you got to put yourself through it.
“2) Exhilaration – because you feel so much better if you put yourself through it.
“3) Achievement – because I’m in a place I never thought I would be.
“You just see it here in everybody who works here, they believe in it. I don’t do well with people who yell at me to motivate me, being mean to me, but they do, but never in a mean way, telling me I can do it. It gives me a sense of achievement. It makes me work hard. It makes me want to come back for more.”
It is such an ‘easier said than done’ concept to lose a pound for every year you have been on Earth, but how can you not relate to Charlotte’s Success Story. I definitely have had days where I feel fat and tired, and am tired of feeling fat and tired. How about you? Like Charlotte said, it won’t be easy, but it’s worth it…for yourself!
Of course, an obligatory selfie with Charlotte and the X3 Marketing Team.