Fitted Purple Suit - Let's do it!

Ever look at someone’s food photo on Facebook, click Like and then move on without ever really thinking about all the behind-the-scenes work it took to create that perfectly plated meal? Now, I’m not comparing myself to a beautifully cooked steak from the Chophouse in Greenville but that’s what I thought about when I posted my fitted suit photos earlier this year.  

How many hours did it take behind the scenes and away from the social media glare for me to be able to fit into a fitted suit? My social media friends were seeing the end results, but they didn’t see the daily hours of hard work and sweat at the Spartanburg Athletic Club or the miles I ran out on the Spartanburg trails.  

When I started this fitness journey with my personal trainer Justin Rollins with All Elite Training on July 13, 2023, my initial goal was to get into shape and be healthy. Rollins, a three-time Boston Marathon runner holds NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) and USATF (USA Track & Field) coach certificates, and is known for coaching marathon athletes, and is a senior fitness and balance specialist.    

Note: When I say, “fitness journey,” make sure to think of me saying it in my best Nicolas Cage cadence, “fitness journey, Man!” 

FITNESS JOURNEY

My initial communication with Justin was that I wanted to do some HITT training, maybe 30-minute workouts.  “Do you do 30-minute workouts? I would like to incorporate some HITT training, some stretching, toning, etc.,” I wrote to Justin in a Facebook message.  

The initial workouts were more challenging than I was expecting. Justin was trying to see what I could do and how strong I was, and I believe he could see potential in me even if I couldn’t see it myself. I would be soaking in sweat at the end and admit, at first, I would dread those workouts. 

I realized that I had been showing up at the gym all these years but not seeing any results. I wasn’t putting in the work. I wasn’t pushing myself out of my comfort zone. Plus, I didn’t have the guidance of a personal trainer who has been in the business for over 20 years like Justin. Justin knows what he’s talking about. And so, our sessions were a lot of hard work, and I asked many questions.  

TESTIMONIAL

When Justin launched All Elite Training by Justin Rollins in January, he asked me to send a testimonial.  By then, I was working out twice a week with him, and I had walked two 5ks and completed 500 pushups in a St. Jude Challenge. I was lifting heavier weights and pushing myself outside of my comfort zone. I was starting to see results – I was stronger, and I could start seeing a difference in the mirror and my clothes were starting to feel a little looser.  So, when I interviewed Justin for the Boston Marathon story for the Herald-Journal, I wanted to use his story to motivate folks to go outside their comfort zones. It motivated me. Justin ran with a bloody toe and crossed the finish line.  

How many times have we used any excuse to not complete a task or not even try? I know that was my mindset for many years.  Justin helped me change my mindset from “I can’t” to “I can.” Or at least I am going to try my very hardest.  

GOALS and BENCHMARKS 

About this same time was when Justin and I started talking about goals and benchmarks. My goal might have sounded superficial, but I said I wanted to fit into a fitted suit by May.  Right away, Justin said “Let’s do it.”  And we did it by February. I wore four fitted suits for the four week Trey Gowdy workshop sponsored by All Elite Training. And I am happy to say since then when I put on a fitted suit that it fits a little looser and a lot more comfortably.  Once again, those fitted suit pictures that I posted on Facebook and Instagram didn’t come easy.  I had to put in the hard work.  

The first time I visited Suit City with Justin, I wasn’t ready to purchase a suit. I didn’t like the way I looked. A few days later, I was trying on a purple suit jacket at Suit City and asking my friends on social what they thought of a purple suit? The response was positive!  But when I arrived at the Athletic Club wearing my first fitted purple suit, I had to work up my courage to get out of the vehicle and walk to the front door.  I finally mustered the courage, and it turned out to not be as scary as I had thought. Mindset. My mind was telling me that I couldn’t, but I could.  

“It’s never a bad idea to suit up,” Justin would later tell me.  

ONE YEAR

So, what have I accomplished this year besides the suits?  

*Ran my first 5k 

*Attended every single 600 Calorie Burn Class at the Athletic Club and the outdoor class on Magnolia Street and The Big One fundraiser at Barnet Park for suicide prevention. I’ve not missed one class. I’ve also dropped into a couple of Steel Young classes on Thursdays and took Tabata and Pilates classes.  

*Hiked 16 miles with Justin to see the view on Black Balsam. 

*I have even started running 3 miles a day, every day, in 90 plus degree weather. 

I go back to advice Justin gave me on a second story I wrote for the Herald-Journal and Spartanburg Magazine about hiring a personal trainer. Justin told me in the article, “I didn’t get to where I am overnight,” he said.   

Other good advice he gave me about what to look for when hiring a personal trainer: “You’ve got to be able to trust them,” he said. “You’re putting your health and safety in their hands. Strength, performance, athleticism -- all that is meaningless if it is not safe. You’ve got to connect with that person in some way because you’re allowing them to control a big aspect of your life.” Personal trainers force you out of your comfort zone, he told me for the article. “It forces you to hit the body parts and hit the moves you would not do on your own,” Rollins said. 

So, how am I going to mark my one-year anniversary with Justin Rollins as a personal trainer?  

A HITT training Block Party and a four-mile run on the Mary Black Rail Trail.  

Let’s do it!