Congratulations to our December Fusion Athlete, Liz Rivera! Liz has been a dedicated member of the DBS community for the past year. She’s made some major changes in her life that have positively affected her health and well-being, and we’re glad to have been a part of the process!
Wonderful work, Liz! We’re proud to have you in the community!
How long have you been coming to DBS, and how did you get started?
I started coming to DBS in January of this year. I was pretty bored with my current workout regimen and I was really looking for something else to do. Just so happened I was sitting in one of my favorite coffee shops and I picked up a magazine that featured DBS as one of the top places for training.
I called the shop and Dane answered. I gave him a bit of my background, and he suggested that I come in to check things out. We talked about the best way for me to transition from my current regime, Ashtanga yoga, to working out at the Shop. It was decided that it would be best for me to start with some personal training and then move into classes. Thank God I listened…
You have an incredible story of perseverance. Can you fill us in a little on your background and how far you’ve come?
Absolutely, this one of my favorite things to share. Over 4 years ago I was pretty much the epitome of bad health. I was over 340 pounds, I had sleep apnea (where you stop breathing in your sleep), I drank and smoked in excess, and I ate fast food for pretty much every meal. I had no stop button once I started eating and I lived by the “clean your plate” rule.
I tried time and time again to lose weight and get “skinny” to no avail. After years of yo-yo dieting, emotional and mental anguish, and finally reaching a point where my body was in such bad shape, I was able to make a change.
I eventually became sick and tired of being sick and tired. I quit drinking and smoking and I started eating a little bit healthier. Slowly but surely, I began to feel better and the weight started to fall off. Over the course of these past 4 years, I have lost about 140 pounds, fourteen dress sizes and over a hundred plus inches from my body.
What I gained was the ability to listen to the likes and dislikes of my body. I learned that I could keep off a 100 pound loss through a yearlong plateau. And I learned to look at how far I’ve come rather than how far I have to go.
I have gone from barely being able to walk up a flight of stairs to working my ass off at DBS. I had a terrible time getting on the floor to pick something up and an even harder time getting back up. And getting in and out of a car… hard! These are things that most people “deal with” when they’re heavy. But today I get on and off the floor a lot with our WOD and especially with that exercise that we all love to hate, “The Burpee!” Seriously, never would have thought that I would be doing that!
There have been times that I’ve left the Shop in tears or started crying in class, in awe of what I’m able to accomplish now. When I was extremely obese, it was only in my dreams that I could see myself doing these things, but today I AM doing them!
After training with Veronica for a while, you began taking classes regularly. Can you tell us a little about that transition?
I was excited and nervous to go into classes. I trained with Veronica for 20 sessions so going into classes was going to be a lot different, but she trained me very well. I knew a lot of the exercises and I worked as hard as I could.
I’m really glad though that I started off training with Veronica before throwing myself into the classes. I needed that time to get accustomed to my new regimen. I needed to work through a lot of my mental blocks. I had been working out on my own for years and now I was accountable to someone who really pushed me to break through those mental blocks.
My first class was with Dane, and I told him that I was scared, and he told me not to be. I really enjoyed the class atmosphere and all of the people in the class. So, it was an awesome transition.
Tell us one of your biggest accomplishments in the last 6 months? Do you have any goals for the next 6?
I FINALLY did a squat to parallel. I seriously couldn’t do it and it was frustrating. But I continued to train and do the best that I could and then one day I just did it! It was just in time for the powerlifting meet. No red cards for me on the squat!
I want to continue to build my strength and hit my goal weight and I want to be able to deadlift 300+ pounds.
You recently switched your diet from strict vegan to meat-eating. Why did you make this decision, and how do you feel it has affected your performance at the Shop?
I was an ovo-lacto vegetarian for about 2 years. I wouldn’t eat any other animal products, including broths.
My level of training increased and I wasn’t getting enough protein and I didn’t want to supplement all of my protein. My body then really started to crave meat again so one day I made the decision to eat meat again and I haven’t looked back since.
I feel that it has really helped me get a lot stronger and be able to perform at a higher level.
After competing in your first weightlifting meet, do you feel this is something you will continue to pursue in the future? How did you feel before, during and after the competition?
I will definitely continue to pursue powerlifting. I powerlifted for 4 years when I was younger, but I never competed, so this is bucket list stuff for me. I had reconstructive knee surgery about 16 years ago, that coupled with my weight gain caused me to develop pretty bad osteoarthritis in my left knee, so I never thought that I could ever lift or compete.
I’m so glad that I did because I love it! One thing I had to do was “let go” of what I did in the past. 20 years later, I’m in a completely different place, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Before the competition I was very excited, this was a long-time dream of mine. I felt great during and hitting PRs was awesome! After the competition I knew that I wanted to continue to pursue this!
In a few sentences tell us what DBS and its community means to you.
The DBS coaches and the community have helped me realize that I am not limited to the old ideas in my head. I am not weak; I am strong – physically, emotionally and mentally. I see people each time I work out doing amazing things and that along with encouragement from so many people helps me to get the next level.
I could not have gotten where I am today without all of the support that I receive from this awesome community. Thank you DBS!
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