Here at Burn Boot Camp we pride ourselves on inspiring others, empowering women and changing lives. We work hard to let our clients know that change isn’t just external, but internal as well. When you take care of your physical health, your mental health immediately improves and leaves you feeling positive and ready to conquer the world. Jen Van Cise started off as a client at Burn Boot Camp in Naples, FL, and immediately fell in love. After choosing to transform her life, she then decided to become an owner of two Burn locations. Read her inspiring story, in her own words, below!
Jen Van Cise – Naples, FL
When I walked into Burn Boot Camp 11 months ago, I had finally become fed up with myself. I was feeling persistently exhausted and embarrassed at the example of poor health I was setting for my young son. I had gained 85 lbs. in two years in yet another cycle of yo-yo dieting and weight gain. My most recent weight gain was driven by a series of convenient excuses to eat poorly and to ignore my health, ranging from constant business trips to all types of career and parenting stresses. A former college athlete and marathon runner, I battled this cycle for 16 years as my career took center stage, and I never allowed myself time to benefit from any form of exercise at all. I worried that I had become too out of shape to work out in a Boot Camp format. Photos and videos of other women who looked like me and participated in the program encouraged me, so I decided I could probably do it too.
I have lost 75 lbs. so far as well as 25 inches on my measurements and 16% body fat. I am stronger and have some muscle tone, and I fit into the same jeans now that I could wear before I started gaining weight, 85 lbs. ago, even though I’ve “only” lost 75 lbs. of the weight I had gained. Some of that difference is the weight of my increased muscle mass. Within one camp, I became committed to this place. I show up before dawn 6 days a week because I love it. I’ve gained a new outlook about defining success, which is less about numbers and more about the great sense of accomplishment that I feel when achieving new fitness goals. I have run several 5K’s, improving my one mile run pace by about 3 minutes, and I have made progress towards many other goals that I continue to challenge myself to achieve. I’ve also worked back up to 250 double-unders in a row and 13 triple-unders in a row with the jump rope, bringing me back in time to my school years when I competed and performed internationally on a jump rope team. At least in some ways, I feel half my age again! I expected to get more fit when I walked through those doors, and I was prepared to put in the effort both in terms of fitness and nutrition. But there was more to the Burn Boot Camp experience than I had imagined. Over the years, I had barely noticed myself becoming rather private and introverted through eight job relocations and a myopic focus on career and family.
Now, suddenly, I was welcomed by a whole community of like-minded women of all ages, shapes, and sizes, all of whom encouraged me to succeed as they pursued their own fitness goals by my side. I didn’t realize how much I needed the friendship and support of the women I now proudly call my friends. Those relationships are incredibly important to me now, and I feel like I’m where I “belong” for the first time since I was on sports teams as a girl. I’d like to thank Holly Strickland and Ryan and Jen Day for their leadership, support, and talent as the owners and trainers of our Naples Burn Boot Camp. They are truly top quality, and they have now also trained a group of talented support trainers in their image. They are coaches, role models, and now friends as well. I’ve become an advocate for Burn Boot Camp wherever I go, and, as I take on the ownership of two new Burn Boot Camp locations in Florida myself, I’m delighted to be bringing the Burn Boot Camp experience to two more communities of women!
We know that it’s not an easy decision to transform your life and change your mindset, it takes hard work, but we can guarantee you’ll be glad you did! Sign up below to get started on your own journey!
