Kevin Cauley – “The thing that brought me back was the comradery among those who were working out and the encouragement by both the instructors and other class members during the workouts. “

Kevin Cauley – “The thing that brought me back was the comradery among those who were working out and the encouragement by both the instructors and other class members during the workouts. “

  July 9, 2020

My name is Kevin Cauley and I am 55 years old. I retired in March of 2019. I used to work out quite a bit in my 20’s and 30’s. I even became a certified fitness instructor 20 years ago. I had some experience in powerlifting when I was younger but had never tried Crossfit as I felt like was at my best when I worked out by myself and was never a fan of “group” classes. I also was actually a little intimidated by the term Crossfit.

The last few years of my career, my workouts became much more sporadic. Three months after retiring, I was not working out at all. I was at my heaviest weight ever and my BMI was 28, on the verge of obese. More importantly I was struggling to fit into my “fat” jeans. My cholesterol was high and I was borderline hypertensive. My bodyfat was well north of 20%.

I ran into my neighbor, who was part of the Solution 1 family. I witnessed him transform his body after attending Solution 1 for some time and he always talked about the Leanfit classes. He told me how great everyone was and to give it a try. It took me a couple of months because I was very averse to group classes. I had actually joined a large gym in the meantime and only went twice in a couple of months. The motivation was not there, so I thought I would give S1 a shot.

I am not going to lie, I was pretty sore after workouts for a couple of weeks and I contemplated whether or not I was going to continue. The thing that brought me back was the comradery among those who were working out and the encouragement by both the instructors and other class members during the workouts. I never felt inferior even though I was always the last person to finish or the one with the least amount of reps. The encouragement was always there (and still is).

My goal was to lose some weight and attempt to gain a little muscle mass, both of which are more difficult at my age. I cut out some fat in my diet, which helped some but I believe the Leanfit workouts I have been doing have helped me reach many of my goals.

Since I have been going to Leanfit classes 2-3 times a week the last 7 months, I have dropped over 20 pounds, 3 inches in my waist, my BMI is down to 24, my bodyfat has decreased by 4% and my cholesterol and BP are back to normal. But those are just numbers. The biggest thing I have noticed is how my clothes fit. I had to buy new pants and shorts as my others were basically falling off me. In the last couple of months, I have lost count of how many people have made comments about me working out after not seeing them for a while. I have told everyone how much I love going to my Leanfit classes at Solution 1. Something I never would have imagined saying just a year ago!

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit and the gym closed, I was so impressed they posted several different types of workouts people could do from home every day. And I did my best to keep up on the workouts, but what I really missed were the group workouts and instructors.

Although I still have work to do, I know the Solution 1 family will continue to inspire and encourage me to keep me on track. I know some people may feel intimidated by joining a Crossfit gym as I was. I have found that there was no reason to feel that way, and quite the opposite, I feel part of a family. I also love they offer the Leanfit option for those of us who are looking to lose a few pounds and increase our cardio. The workouts can be intense but I always feel so good about myself when they are over!