{"id":6815,"date":"2016-07-06T16:42:12","date_gmt":"2016-07-06T16:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/blog\/uncategorized\/they-did-it-challenge-success-stories\/"},"modified":"2025-02-07T14:04:59","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T14:04:59","slug":"they-did-it-challenge-success-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/blog\/they-did-it-challenge-success-stories\/","title":{"rendered":"They Did It! Gold’s Gym Challenge Success Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We know change is hard, but our Challenge participants prove that when you set your mind to a goal, anything is possible. We connected with five of them to ask how they stayed focused and motivated throughout the rigorous regimen, how the Challenge changed their lives, and why they are still going strong with their workout routines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n
\"The<\/figure>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\tOverall Female Winner, Ages 30 \u2013 39<\/strong>

<\/p>\n

Renee lost:<\/p>\n

40.2 pounds<\/p>\n

10.4 % body fat<\/p>\n

15.5 inches off her waist<\/p>\n

Losing just over 40 pounds right before your 40th birthday feels great. Just ask Renee Barnes, a 39-year-old mother of three, who also lost 16 inches off her waistline. Barnes saw her upcoming birthday as an opportunity to make big changes in her life. She joined the Challenge, worked out at the gym six or seven days a week, and cut out snacks and processed foods.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did cardio on the treadmill or StairMaster, Boot Camp, Body Pump classes, GRIT classes, and then I\u2019d go walking with a neighbor every night,\u201d said Barnes. \u201cIn a few weeks, you see how all your hard work pays off. By the end of the Challenge, I went from being a size 14 to a 6 or 8 now. Clothes shopping used to be a chore. Now I love the way my body feels when I try on new clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\"The<\/figure>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\tOverall Male Winner, Ages 40 \u2013 49<\/strong>

<\/p>\n

Todd lost: <\/p>\n

54.4 pounds<\/p>\n

26% body fat<\/p>\n

12 inches off his waist<\/p>\n

Todd McFarland never thought that at age 48, he\u2019d lose about 55 pounds, drop 12 inches from his waistline, and go from a beer belly to six-pack abs. Working out with his fianc\u00e9e and fellow Challenge winner, Donna Dombrowski, helped keep him on track to eventually be in the best shape of his life. \u201cI do hardwood flooring for a living, and my body constantly hurt,\u201d he said. \u201cThat all changed after the Challenge. I have so much more energy, and the back and neck pain and headaches are just gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even giving up favorite foods wasn\u2019t as hard as McFarland anticipated. \u201cI used to drink four or five cans of soda every day, but after a few weeks of the Challenge, I started to see results and didn\u2019t miss soda anymore.<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/span><\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

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\"The<\/figure>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\tFemale, Ages 50 \u2013 59<\/strong>

<\/p>\n

Donna lost:<\/p>\n

27.8 pounds<\/p>\n

9.6% body fat<\/p>\n

5.75 inches off her waist <\/p>\n

At 53, Donna Dombrowski had a new love in her life: a man who enjoyed fitness. Dombrowski and her fianc\u00e9, Challenge Winner Todd McFarland, went to Gold\u2019s Gym every morning and every night. After 12 weeks, she had lost almost 28 pounds and about six inches from her waistline. Diet changed, too. \u201cWe didn\u2019t buy chips, snacks or ice cream. We ate a lot of chicken and fish, and on weekends, we would treat ourselves to a lean steak with broccoli.\u201d<\/p>\n

To celebrate, Dombrowski and her family took a beach trip to Panama City. She bought a new bathing suit for the trip. \u201cWe took a walk on the beach that changed my life,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople stopped and told us how good we looked, just compliment after compliment, and it felt so good because I worked so hard. Girls in their 20s and 30s told me they hoped to look like me when they\u2019re 53.\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/span><\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

\n
\"The<\/figure>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\tFemale, Ages 30-39<\/strong>

<\/p>\n

Robyn lost:<\/p>\n

18 pounds<\/p>\n

11% body fat<\/p>\n

4 inches off her waist<\/p>\n

After seeing what the 2015 Challenge did for her body and mind, Robyn Glasgow, 34, decided to return for the 2016 Challenge to become even stronger mentally and physically. A busy mother of three, Glasgow struggles with thyroid disease and her weight. This year\u2019s Challenge led to an 18-pound weight loss thanks to Boot Camp, daily cardio and strength training, and cutting out gluten.<\/p>\n

Glasgow credits this year\u2019s Challenge with helping her become a better mother and giving her more energy to raise her family. \u201cI did this Challenge for my babies,\u201d says Glasgow. \u201cI want them to understand that health and fitness need to be a priority in their lives. I want them to see the importance of setting fitness goals and trying your hardest to reach them. I want them to be proud of themselves in everything they do!\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/span><\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

\n
\"The<\/figure>
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\tFemale, Ages 18 \u2013 29<\/strong>

<\/p>\n

Ashley lost:<\/p>\n

27 pounds<\/p>\n

18% body fat<\/p>\n

8 inches off her waist<\/p>\n

Ashley Friend is looking forward to surprising her husband when he returns from military deployment. He has only been able to see her progress by video chatting. Ashley has lost 27 pounds, including 16% of her total body weight and eight inches off her waistline! The mother of three small children was tired of being overweight and yo-yo\u2019ing on diets. With an anniversary cruise to the Caribbean coming up soon, Friend, 29, saw the Gold\u2019s Gym Challenge as an opportunity to get in shape and wow her spouse.<\/p>\n

\u201cI joined the Challenge with my best friend, because it\u2019s really important to have a strong support circle to keep you going when you feel tired or frustrated,\u201d Friend said. \u201cWe went to the gym six days a week, and I started paying attention to the macronutrients on my plate, making sure I had the right balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/span><\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<p>Meet our inspirational Gold’s Gym Challenge winners.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":6816,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_post_subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[168],"tags":[146,119],"class_list":["post-6815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-success-stories","tag-golds-gym-challenge","tag-transformation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6815"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8686,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6815\/revisions\/8686"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}