Meet Sione Siale, C25 Global Winner
Why did you sign up to the F45 Challenge?
I initially signed up to the F45 Challenge to support my wife Loretta in her health and weight loss goals. My wife had struggled with obesity for a good 15 years of our marriage. She also developed type 2 diabetes 6 years ago, which was uncontrollable even with the medication. My wife had joined F45 Papatoetoe last year while I was working overseas. Every phone call, she’d rave on about F45 and how it was helping her (I actually thought F45 was another one of those companies selling ‘magic tablets’ to help with weight loss). Long story short, I returned home to NZ and noticed a big change in her—the physical changes, but more importantly, her health was improving, her high blood sugar levels were dropping, and so was her medication intake. One day, she asked me to go with her to her F45 class as a ‘spectator’ only. Little did I know that the owner, Dwayne, would invite me to trial that same class out. Boy, that one class killed me! I’d never trained like that before, especially in 45 minutes! So, I thought to myself after I’d come back to earth, ‘If my wife can do this, then why can’t I?’ The positive, life-changing results from going to F45 were so evident in her and I wanted to keep supporting her in that. That is the reason why I signed up for the F45 Challenge—joining the F45 family has been the best decision for our health.
What kept you motivated throughout the 8 weeks?
Firstly, my faith in God. Having that belief in someone higher than me keeps me grounded and keeps my perspective clear. Secondly, having a dream to strive towards and setting small, achievable goals to make that dream attainable. When I was first introduced to the F45 Papatoetoe family, it was at the C24 prize-giving night. I loved the fact that they awarded and celebrated achievements and milestones, my wife being one of the awarded recipients. That night, while contestants were receiving their awards, I too envisioned myself winning—not just on a local level but globally. I didn’t even realize that there was going to be another Challenge, C25, and that I would sign up with my wife a month later. After signing up, I set a total target weight loss goal to work towards and broke that into small goals to achieve each week. Every goal achieved, whether big or small, gave me a sense of satisfaction that motivated me to continue. Thirdly, having an accountability partner or training buddy. As mentioned earlier, I signed up to support my wife. The funny thing was, I thought I was supporting her, but it turned out she was the one pushing me through my weaknesses and limitations. Having a Challenge partner kept me accountable and pushed me to do better than the day before. Last but not least, I found motivation also in listening to our coaches and every bit of advice they gave. If you can’t find motivation anywhere else, look to your coaches. They are a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.
What advice would you give to the next Challenger?
Set a dream goal for yourself, envision it, and feel it as if you have attained it. Then, set a target goal and break it down to stepping stones to work on every week, making sure that your goals are realistic. Utilise your coaches and keep in touch with them. Believe it or not, they’re not just there to bully you into training hard and to push you past your limits. They are a great source of information. Ask them questions when you don’t know something, even if you think it’s a stupid question, or if you’ve asked them so many times already. Without their direction and their guiding advice, I would have been lost. Our coaches have a wealth of knowledge and experience behind them! We have amazing coaches at our studio and if one doesn’t know the answer, we ask another coach. And if they don’t know the answer, they will surely help you find it. DON’T! GIVE! UP! Always remember WHY you started. Your WHY is what will get you through. Your targets and goals are how you will get there. Push yourself beyond your limitations and what you think you can do. Our bodies can only do what our minds tell it to do, so believe in yourself, and be prepared for minor setbacks.
What was your favourite thing about the F45 Challenge?
My favourite thing about the F45 Challenge and F45 in general is the training. Before I had come to F45, I had been ‘inactive’ for about 4 years. Prior to that, I would train at the ‘traditional’ gyms and would spend approximately 2 hours or more at any one time, six to seven days a week and on some days, it was twice a day. I’d never achieved the same results in such a short span of time, heck, I couldn’t even achieve that in 16 weeks at a traditional gym! I am amazed at the results. The best thing is, you’re in and out in 45 minutes, you get a full body workout, no second guessing what to do next or what body part to work on. It’s all set up for you, and you just follow what Cory is doing. You don’t even have to be an expert at all—everything is ready at your fingertips and you get amazing personal trainers and coaches to help you along the way! And, I’ll just add, I don’t get a million questions when I get home about why I needed to spend 2 hours at the gym anymore. LOL
What part about the Challenge did you find most difficult and how did you push through it?
Apart from COVID-19 affecting everyone around the globe, and our little NZ going into lockdown on the final week of the Challenge, I would say injuring my back on the 4th week of the Challenge. I’d never gotten injured from training or sports before, so this was a challenge for me, both physically and mentally. I couldn’t fully train partway through week 4 and all of week 5 and I couldn’t see past the fact that this has now set me back a few steps. The thought of giving up and throwing in the towel had crossed my mind and I told myself I’d come this far, and I’d given it my all and that was enough. I told myself that my Challenge buddy would understand. But then, I searched myself and I remembered WHY I started this journey and the dream that I had. So, after a lot of contemplation, I finally booked an appointment with a physiotherapist and worked on recovery. I couldn’t do what I wanted to do, but I worked hard at what I was ‘able’ to do, and I gave it 110% while also maintaining and sticking to my meal plan. I re-evaluated my goals to consider my injury and made even smaller goals that I could realistically achieve until I was fully functional, all while not forgetting my WHY and my DREAM.