“I’ve always been extremely active through various fitness endeavors. Primarily this has been through triathlon. In 2013 I achieved my goal of completing an Ironman (Challenge Penticton – 3.8 km swim, 180 km bike, 42 km run), and continued to be active in the sport. In 2014 I had a different goal – short distance triathlon. I had qualified for the World Age Group Championships in Edmonton, AB, which took place at the end of August of 2014.
With the guidance of a great coach and team, my triathlon fitness had continued to grow. I knew, however, that I could be that much faster with some toning and a little less body fat. My other goal was to look good for my wedding, which was in the middle of May!
My sister, Allie, was working with Trench for an entirely different goal – to compete in a bikini body competition. While her goals were very different, her results were amazing – a testament to her own dedication as well as the coaching Trench was providing.
I thought about working with Trench on nutrition, but at first I was hesitant. I knew Trench typically focused on strength training with cardio to supplement – and I was doing the opposite, with over 15 hours of cardio a week in preparation for my triathlon races. It was also March at this time, and I only had about six weeks until my wedding and wasn’t sure if it would be enough time to achieve the results I was looking for.
I talked to Neil, who assured me that yes, they work with people who have a wide variety of goals, including particular sport goals. They could definitely work with me to achieve what I was looking for.
Since beginning to work with Neil and Trench, my nutrition planning and habits have greatly changed. Not only is there the adherence to macros to achieve your goals, but even afterwards there is an awareness of nutrition that becomes a lifestyle and stays with you. There is also the realization that no matter who you are or what you are doing or what plan you are following, at the end of the day you are in control of your nutrition and training, and ultimately you are accountable to yourself – only you can do the work and make the change. No one can do it for you.
By my wedding I had definitely seen major results, and by the World Age Group Championships in August, I was at my fittest – a result of nutrition, strength training, and continued adherence to my triathlon training coaching and program. Throughout my preparation, I never felt that I didn’t have enough energy or wasn’t eating enough to fuel my workouts or long training sessions, as it was all taken into account when planning my nutrition. Recovery was another aspect of training that was very important to consider and pay attention to.
Neil was more than willing to work with the triathlon training and schedule that I was following while competing. He also had great advice for the time period before racing to make sure I was properly fueled on race day.
Following my races I was looking to take some time off of triathlon and learn how to balance nutrition with a “regular” workout schedule. This has been very helpful as I have made the transition, and even on a 2 and a half week trip to Italy I was able to maintain a balance of nutrition while still enjoying all of the excellent food that Italy has to offer!
Thank you to Trench for helping me to achieve my goals and also for teaching me that it is definitely possible to achieve the body that I’m looking for – it requires work and commitment, and no, it isn’t always easy. But it’s definitely worth it in the long run.”
-Julie
