Our 8-Week Transformation Challenge took place earlier this year and we are very pleased to announce our top 3 cash prize winners below. Participants across seven of our studios worked extremely hard towards their health and fitness goals with individualised Clinical Nutrition consults, weekly Personal Training, unlimited fitness class access. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all participants and their trainers for some impressive results and ongoing lifestyle changes since completion of the challenge.
1st place ($1,500)- Sam O’Connell
Evado Studios Cheltenham with Personal Trainer Zach Mousaco
Sam’s goals were to rebuild his overall strength and fitness, visibly change his body composition, build cardiovascular endurance and increase mobility. An ex-footballer who has had a small break from exercise, Sam wished to return to previous strength and fitness levels.
Based on discussion between Sam and Zach, a fitness test was conducted to set the benchmark for what would mark the start of his 8-Week Transformation Challenge. This included 5 repetitions incrementally increasing in weight, after a 10-repetition baseline weight until muscular fatigue and unable to complete the working set, which included a Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, Barbell Row, Overhead Barbell Press and a Chin Up as well as a max cardio output test (rower). Sam expressed that he wanted to rebuild his squat potential considering it had been in the triple digits before.
Sam saw incredible improvements in his strength – most notably, his barbell back squat increased by 90kg to a top weight of 170kg. His barbell row increased by 30kg , overhead shoulder press by 15kg, deadlift by 20kg, and bench press by 10kg. His rowing time also decreased by 55 seconds. He additionally managed to lose approximately 3kg while developing significant definition in major muscle groups.
Some comments from Sam below:
“My wife and a few people, fellow Evado clients included, have applauded me on my changes, really in the last 2 weeks have people noticed my body change… I love it and the confidence it gives me to keep going.”
“I cannot thank the team over at Evado Cheltenham enough. From the moment I stepped in I have had nothing but a blast. The program itself was well catered to achieving my realistic goals and I impressed at how the team could keep me engaged and interested in bettering my health. From a sedentary office worker sleeping in, I transformed myself into someone who can’t wait to get in class at 6am. Thank you to Evado Team, Zac and all the awesome fitness pals.”
2nd place ($300)- Fran Poole
Evado Studios Nelson Bay with Personal Trainer Brendan Short
Fran started her journey at Evado Studios about 18 months ago when she saw Physiotherapist & Director James Alexander for a workplace related injury. After working closely with James, she felt ready to join the 8-Week Transformation Challenge to work on some of her goals which included weight loss, increasing strength, improving fitness so that she can commence hiking, and decreasing pain. Overall, she did not want a ‘fad’ – she wanted to improve her lifestyle and get to her peak fitness in her 60s.
Across 8 weeks, Fran consistently stuck to her training plan, smashing all of her initial goals while also reducing her neck and back pain. Impressively, Fran lost 4.4kg by improving her dietary habits under the guidance of our Clinical Nutritionist, Bec Stone. Fran also saw massive improvements in her upper body strength. Mentioning she had “never done push ups before,” she improved from 7 reps to 30 reps and her inverted row improved from 5 reps to 35 reps! Additionally, she has seen improvements in her hamstring flexibility with her sit and reach assessment improving by 18cm and is now able to reach her toes.
Heading into the challenge, Fran was concerned that walking may aggravate her knee pain. Her lower body strength has now increased significantly, and she is now able to do 2x 1hr walks in a day without aggravating her knees.
Over the course of the challenge, Fran established a healthier and sustainable lifestyle which she has proudly continued with. We applaud her for managing to attend 5-6 times a week throughout the challenge – she mentioned it “nearly killed her” in the first two weeks, but then she actually started to enjoy it!
3rd place ($200)- Brenda Cooper
Evado Studios Essendon with Personal Trainer Bronwyn O'Brien & Physio Sean Walton
Brenda started the 8-week challenge with a clear goal in mind: to get herself in shape so she could keep up with the new grandchild in her life. Like a lot of Evado clients, Brenda had some challenges to overcome to make significant improvements in her health and fitness. Unfortunately, Brenda had a long-standing back issue and suffered from Vertigo which limited her exercises options and had previously put her off exercising.
At Evado Essendon, a bespoke program was devised to support Brenda through these challenges. Bronwyn led the fitness program, challenging Brenda in every session and pushing her to smash her goals. Sean supervised Brenda through a Clinical Pilates program to ensure her back could handle the demands of the program and Bec optimised Brenda’s diet. Brenda lost over 4kg, improved her endurance testing by 20%, lower body strength by 62%, upper body strength by 150% and abdominal endurance by 88%.
Since completing the challenge, Brenda has continued her training in Clinical Pilates classes. She says that consistent exercise has now “become a way of life” for her. “The team have made me feel so welcome and part of the family that it’s easy to get out of bed and go to (the studio). Previously, I have tried everything and given up. Evado is the right pace for me, the team has been so patient with me and helped me learn to be patient. The team make me feel like my life is improving.”
Interested in our next challenge? The 10 WEEK CHALLENGE launches Mon 5th June 2023!
Option 1: Base Challenge $59/week
- Initial 15 min goal setting appointment
- Unlimited access to fitness classes
- Nutrition e-book
- Weekly in-studio challenges
Option 2: Level up $96/week
- All of the above + weekly 45-min Personal Training
Contact your local studio to sign-up today - limited places available!