If you’ve attended a late afternoon class at DBS, whether it’s Fusion or Strength, then you’ve worked out alongside our next October Fusion Athlete, Ben Sledge. Ben has proven to be a very driven member of the community, and he’s also a constant source of inspiration and motivation in and out of the gym.

We asked Ben a few questions about what brought him to DBS from CrossFit, bouncing back from injuries, and some advice for new members.

Congratulations, Ben!

How did you hear about Dane’s Body Shop?

My wife had gotten Groupon for 10 classes and went and said it nearly killed her and I would love it. I had plateaued in my strength conditioning and cardio and couldn’t find the motivation to keep pushing myself and knew I needed a big change, so I dropped by Dane’s, tried a class, and fell in love with it!

You were previously a CrossFitter. What made you leave CrossFit and come to DBS? What do you see is the biggest difference between the classes and programming styles?

When you don’t have someone to watch over you and make small corrections to your form or point out where there’s a need for mobility and function it can quickly lead to injury. I found myself getting hurt often and pushing myself to levels that weren’t healthy, and I sacrificed form for completing quick workouts, and that’s dangerous. I wanted a place that focused on durability, longevity, form, and strength to transform me into an athlete, as opposed to a machine that pumps out reps in an allotted time. When I arrived at Dane’s, the first thing I noticed was that anytime my form failed the coaches would have me drop significant weight and focus on getting it right. The programming is similar in high intensity, but you don’t see people passing out and instead are pushing themselves to achieve healthy goals. Additionally, the HUGE difference for me was the strength class, which is a full hour of just lifting extremely heavy weight for low reps and focusing on Olympic form. Then toss in Yoga, and you’re set to become a really high functioning athlete!

You have battled with injuries, what motivates you to come back into the Shop and get back after it?

Funny enough, all my injuries have just been dumb luck outside the gym or old military injuries I had to get seen for. You turn 30 and suddenly your body stops liking you. Somehow I can go to bed now and hurt myself sleeping! But what keeps me coming back is the desire to live healthy and they way it makes me feel rejuvenated after a long, or particularly challenging day at the office. It’s a giant relief and calms me down and gets out the day’s frustrations. What makes it even better are the great folks at Dane’s that show up and encourage you too!

You come from a military background physical fitness is in your blood, how has DBS continued to inspire you to stay physically fit?

They have a saying in the military that goes, “If you don’t mind, it don’t matter”. It was in reference to all the physically strenuous activities we would have to go through during Special Warfare Indoctrination and Training and their “secret” to how to make it through. The truth is, so much of what drives us forward in being physically fit is going to be our mental grit. The day we want to stay home from the gym. The day we want a cheeseburger instead of a salad. The time where we want to give up in class and say “this whole fitness thing isn’t working”. Mental grit is being able to overcome those things. And at Dane’s I hear this attitude all the time, “well, I wanted to stay home, but I had to battle that and am here at the 5:30 class”. That’s impressive. And to have a community that wants to propel you forward by setting the example is something I can rally around. It was the same in the military. If you didn’t do it all together, you all fell apart.

We see you as a leader in class and around the DBS community. What vision do you have for your future at DBS and among our community?

Ha, that’s very humbling and I feel unworthy to be called that, but thank you. I like to view myself as more of a servant and encourager. I want people to know they can make it through the grueling challenges and that I believe in them even when they don’t. It’s incredible to see how far men and women will go an extra mile with just a little support. As far as future, I’m moving south so I’m excited about the possibility of the South facility! I’d love to see new people joining our community, going from out-of-shape to fit, and continuing to destroy at competitions like AFM’s Fittest!

You are now working for HeartSupport, tell us a little bit more about that company and what they do?

HeartSupport is a nonprofit started by Jake Luhrs, the lead singer of renowned metal band August Burns Red. He started it as a way to reach the numerous teenagers and adults that were coming up to him after shows talking about their struggles and addictions and as a way for them to find help. We deal a lot in counseling for any and everyone, whether it’s depression, drug or alcohol dependency, suicidal ideation, relationship issues, sexual abuse, cutting… the list goes on. At Heartsupport, we drop the false pretense and embrace authenticity and the healing it comes with. And when we do, we find encouragement and spiritual strengthening. We’re all Christians and build on a foundation of faith for healing, but half of our audience is not and we welcome everyone from all walks of spiritual beliefs as we just want to love them and do life with them.

You have done the Paleo 30 day challenge and when you are injured you try to stay pretty strict Paleo. Explain to us a little more about what that entails and the results you have seen from going Paleo.

The diet entails basically eating non-processed protein, veggies, and fruit, as well as essential fats from nuts. It doesn’t restrict you on the amount you can eat, but what foods you can eat. Avoiding gluten is HUGE in the paleo diet, and I’ve really seen results from that. I first got into it when a friend introduced me through CrossFit. At first I thought it was just another hot diet fad… until I tried it. I used to get sinus infections all the time and was sick quite a few times a year, but that’s because I also really didn’t watch what I ate. To be honest, when I don’t eat Paleo, I feel like trash these days. My body honestly feels better and I’m able to perform at higher levels in the gym and have more energy. An added benefit is it will absolutely SHRED your body quickly as well. I used to take supplements all the time. These days I just eat clean and stick to it because of how great I feel.

What advice would you give any new member just joining DBS?

Start small. Small steps make the biggest changes. If you can make it to the gym twice a week, do that and build from there. If you hate working out, commit to at least twice a week and track your results on paper (NOT MENTALLY). Once you see the change it has on your health, well-being, mood, and athleticism you’ll slowly begin to grow from there and make incredible gains. Going back to that idea of mental grit, if you can overcome the obstacle of “you” then the body will respond in kind. ♦

To become a member of the DBS community, register for your first class here!