woman taking mirror picture at gym

Fitness journeys tend to take a lot of time to complete and some never actually end. For Jennifer Leonard, the trek began in January of 2019 when she started working with a personal trainer at Xperience Fitness. At her heaviest weight, Jennifer was over 300 pounds and is now down more than 50 pounds since working with different trainers!

It hasn’t always been easy, though. After losing her first 30 pounds, Jennifer’s trainer had to leave Xperience Fitness for personal reasons, and she felt like she had plateaued and was in search of someone else to be her guide. But in November of 2020, she began working with a new trainer, Kate Naujock. “When I started with Kate, I weighed 269 pounds,” she told us. “I lost 24.6 pounds [and] my fat mass went down by 35 pounds.”

Everyone has their own source of motivation, and for Jennifer, that motivation comes from her daughter. “I am a single mom, and over the years, I’ve struggled with depression and a myriad of other health conditions,” she said. “I knew that in order to make sure I was around for my daughter, I’d have to make some lifestyle choices. Alexis is my everything.”

Xperience Fitness has played a vital role in her success, she told us. “One of the things I love about Xperience is the sense of community,” Jennifer said. “The Q Class really has helped me build some lasting friendships. The people in the classes are so great at motivating you to keep moving forward towards your goals.” She also credited the commitment of the personal trainers at Xperience, saying, “It’s amazing how you can spend hours running and not see results, but working with this Personal Trainer who has a cornucopia of fitness knowledge for an hour or two a week and boom, weight lost.”

Jennifer and her daughter, Alexis

Mental health is just as, if not more important than physical health, and weight loss goes a long way towards easing mental stress. “Working out for me is not just for all of the physical benefits,” Jennifer said. “It helps significantly with my anxiety and depression. As for her physical health, she said, “I’m in better shape, I can jog after the kid or dog and not look or feel like I’m dying.” She added, “Since working out is more to me than just losing weight, I can’t imagine ever quitting Q or training.  I can tell my depression is so much better on the days I go to the gym.”

As for advice to those who may be starting their own journeys or struggling, Jennifer said, “If you are unsure what to do, join a Q Class or talk to one of the Xperience Fitness trainers. If nothing else, you can do anything for 30 seconds – situps or sprints, start small if you have to, but do something. You won’t regret it.”

We love hearing all about successes like Jennifer’s! Way to go, Jennifer, and we can’t wait to see what else you are able to accomplish!