Whitney’s #UNSTOPPABLE Journey
Whitney Kraus graduated high school at 120 pounds, but she was incredibly unhappy with the way she looked. So, Kraus decided to take action and began weight lifting. Over three years, she has gained about 30 pounds, all while not allowing her body fat to fluctuate.
When Kraus first began lifting she was intimidated about not knowing what she was doing and being the smallest person in the weight section. But Kraus’s friend said something that she has held onto to do this day, “Even Mr.Olympia had to start somewhere, maybe not the 5 pounds [weights], but still somewhere.” While the comment was humorous, it was equally motivating.
“[The comment was] a reminder to myself that I may not be the strongest person in the gym – heck, I might even be the weakest one in the gym – but that doesn’t matter because I’m at the gym, I’m working to get to my goals, and each day I’m there brings me closer to where I want to be,” Kraus explained.
Although Kraus has made significant progress, she sometimes still views herself as the girl she was before she started lifting. However, she is able to turn to her abundance of progress photos to remind herself of her continuous growth.
“Looking back at pictures of where I started and looking at where I’m at now I can see I’m making progress and it keeps me pushing to my goals,” Kraus said.
While Kraus has had moments of doubt and frustration, the friends she has met through Xperience Fitness have pushed her to meet her goals and continue to motivate her throughout her journey.
“If it wasn’t for the people I’ve met and friends I made through [Xperience Fitness] I don’t think I would be as far in my journey or as motivated as I’ve been over the past three years,” Kraus expressed.
Kraus has a knack for setting goals and crushing them. Her first goal was to get to 130 pounds and then 140 pounds. Now, Kraus is sitting at 150 pounds and continues to want to gain healthy weight. To keep herself motivated, she continuously sets new goals and re-evaluates where she is when deciding to set a new goal.
“Every time I hit my weight goals, I re-evaluate where I’m at, where I want to be, what muscle groups I want to focus on while I gain more weight, and push myself to a new weight goal,” Kraus explained.
While Kraus is gradually reaching the goals she set for herself, it has taken her three years to get this far. Her advice is to remember that everybody starts somewhere and that it does not matter where you start as long as you are in the gym striving to reach your goals.