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Work out to win.
The Fitness 19 in Brooklyn Park is like Amanda Freeseman’s second home. She’s there six days a week, a routine that didn’t exist a year ago.
“I gained a lot of weight last year,” says Freeseman, “and I was at the heaviest weight I had ever been at my entire life.”
Freeseman had been an athlete most of her life. She played volleyball throughout high school and college. But a series of knee surgeries since college has slowed her down. She had her last surgery a little more than a year ago. She says it took her a year to recover.
“I wasn’t able to do much during that time period and I was very inactive, and, diet-wise, I was not watching what I ate at all,” says Freeseman. “A combination of the two just kind of made me balloon out of proportion.”
She joined Fitness 19 about a year and a half ago. However, she didn’t have a laser-sharp focus for weight loss until last November.
Three times a year, the Brooklyn Park gym holds a weight loss competition. Last fall, Freeseman and about 30 other people signed up to compete for the prize of a trip to Puerto Vallarta. Judges look at stats, such as weight lost, body fat percentage and muscle gain.
“All we’re doing is giving people a little extra motivation to do what they want to do anyway,” says Fitness 19 owner Jeff Johnson. “They do the little things that sometimes people don’t do while they’re trying to get in shape.”
Freeseman hit the gym hard, sometimes working out more than two hours a day. She followed a strict diet and rarely cheated. Her goal was to burn body fat and gain muscle. In three months, she lost 43 pounds. She says it was not easy.
“It’s hard to say no to yourself. It’s hard to make yourself go to the gym every day,” says Freeseman. “It was tough. But it was worth it.”
The Brooklyn Park Fitness 19 is holding another weight-loss competition starting March 26. Registration takes place this week. You must be a Fitness 19 member to join the contest, but you can get a three-month pass. Call 763-391-6363 for more information.
