Fitness fanatics of the Whitsundays came to the end of their eight-week fitness challenges at the Base 51 Functional Fitness gym in Cannonvale this month.
The gruelling signature challenge was led by Head Trainer John Russolillo who said that the program “hits you from all angles.”
Splitting into two teams - Black Ops led by John and Sand Dogs led by fitness trainer Monique Pattison - the 40 challenge competitors set their personalised goals and smashed through them.
Based on their metrics and fitness, the coaches created 8-week programs that included everything from nutrition to strength training.
On Mondays and Wednesdays for eight weeks, they built their bases of strength, fitness, mobility, one rep max for squats and deadlifts, completed their first chin-ups or push-ups and more.
And come the end, whoever gained the most muscle and lost the highest body fat percentage was the winner.
John said that, although the physical side of things were important, plaudits needed to be given to the nutritional side.
“It’s the nutrition that helps massively and I have to shout out Manuela Modai - she does so much for the challenge and deserves a ton of recognition,” he said.
“I also want to thank Simon and Linda Lee, the owners of the gym because without them, none of it would be possible.”
Winners were announced at Anchor Bar in early April, with John’s team Black Ops claiming the top three competitors, as well as the overall winner Brian Wells, a 60-year-old paramedic and “an absolute legend.”.
Brian gained 4.8kg of lean muscle mass and lost about 2.5 per cent body fat.
“He’s made a lot of progress and he knows he can make more – he’s leaned out, but he was an ex-sprinter and a surfer, he just keeps going and getting accolades!” John said.
Mel Chapman came in second, having completed the challenge alongside personal training – her regular Monday and Wednesday, a Tuesday work out and a PT session on Thursdays. By the end, she achieved a personal best deadlift of 110kg.
Tracey Garett was the third-place finisher, also achieving excellent goals.
“She’s a great weightlifter who did a personal best deadlift at 115 kilograms, gained 1.5 kilograms of muscle and lost 1.5 per cent body fat,” John said.
John believes that the results speak for themselves, and that small group personal training is the future of gyms.
“It blends both worlds together seamlessly,” he said.
The next Base 51 Functional Fitness eight-week challenge will kick off in May.
John Russolilo, Monique Pattison, Brian Wells, Mel Chapman, and Manuela Modai celebrating the end of the eight-week challenge
