"After I got my first desk job 2 years ago, I started noticing that my clothes were fitting a little tighter. Getting older didn't help and my metabolism began to slow down."
Chad Gonzales, a 29-year-old father of one (soon to be two), used to get his daily dose of activity through his work. He did a lot of manual labor as a warehouse worker.
But when a change in his career put him behind a desk from 9 to 5, he quickly started to notice his body changing.
When he was growing up, Chad couldn't play the popular or traditional team sports like basketball or football.
"I would play with my friends, but at 5'7, I was always too short and I would get cut from the team. I would say that I've gotten stitches over 25 times because I bruise easily and my skin tears really easily."
High impact or traditional sports weren't a good option for Chad.
He did find that baseball was more manageable, and to this days he still plays. But when Chad's lifestyle changed from lifting and stacking in a warehouse to being sedentary behind a desk, he looked for cardio options to trim the fat.
Chad jumping in his garage
"I started doing a lot of cardio late last year. I would hit the treadmill and I lost about 10 pounds. After about a month, I plateaued and wasn't able to get any more results. Plus I was getting bored, and it was becoming harder to get motivated. You can only watch so much Netflix while running."
Realizing he needed a change, he picked up a cheap jump rope he had laying around the house and started incorporating jumping into his training regimen. Wanting to learn how to do tricks like criss crosses, he headed to youtube where he found Dan and Brandon of the Jump Rope Dudes who introduced him to Crossrope.
That’s when he fell in love with the versatility of jump rope training.
"I discovered that doing tricks like the criss-crosses made my cardio routine fun and challenging. It made me realize that cardio didn’t have to be boring."
Chad ordered himself his first set of Crossropes so that he could master new skills like criss crosses. After three weeks of work, he finally succeeded.
After some time, Chad upgraded to the Crossrope Premium Set because he wanted to get into heavy rope training.
"I started doing circuits where I would alternate between bodyweight exercises and jumping. Later on, I incorporated weightlifting. I was able to lose 35 pounds through this and the different challenges since April!
When you start losing weight, people notice. I would say I referred six to seven people to join in on the challenges. I love getting people onboard. It's about sharing a healthy lifestyle."
Losing weight had other benefits for Chad.
It motivated him to live a healthier lifestyle. He started doing some intermittent fasting, cut soda out of his diet (not an easy task), started drinking more water, and he and his wife have dialed back on eating out.
Now he even turns down donuts and leftover food at the office. Good on you Chad.
Chad and his beautiful family.
Chad is a very active member of our Jump Rope Fitness Community.
"I'm not an avid Facebook or social media user, but after I bought my first set, I joined the community. Seeing the competitiveness in the challenges, seeing people going above and beyond with more rounds or heavier ropes, that’s what made me excited about future challenges and catered to my competitive nature the most."
Chad takes inspiration from community members Jordan DeLisser and Hesham Alansi, and Steve Moffat. He's so competitive, he just wants to keep up with them!
"If I could choose three people to jump with, it would be them! When there are performance events, I try to beat their record three to four times, and I can't. Hopefully, I can beat one of them during the next performance challenge."
For all the new jumpers out there, Chad's advice is simple:
"Practice in front of a mirror, record yourself, get out of your comfort zone. I’m not active on Facebook usually. I was skeptical about joining the group after purchasing originally. Just seeing everybody post made me want to join the challenge. I learned skills and tricks from other members and from watching various Youtube videos.”
Today, Chad stands at 5'7 and weighs 150 pounds. He surpassed his goal weight and now his focus is to gain at least 5 pounds of muscle mass. At one point, his body fat was as low as 7%.
"I was able to gain a lot of definition, especially in my arms, thanks to the heavy ropes. I still play baseball every Saturday, and I'm able to throw way more innings now, where before, my arms would get tired so fast. I was actually able to hit a home run for the first time this year!"
Chad hasn't hit the treadmill for at least 2 months,. With each passing day, he is becoming a jump rope master and is constantly pushing himself to improve.
He’s found his groove. He’s discovered that cardio doesn’t have to be boring.
He’s discovered the beauty and power of jump rope training.
Thanks for sharing your story Chad and for being a constant source of inspiration. We look forward to seeing you continuously hit your fitness goals.
Questions or comments for Chad?
Please leave them in the comment section below!
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