My RippedPHL journey began in the summer of 2016. I had signed up for my first marathon, but I was having a hard time finding motivation and time to train for it while finishing up my anesthesiology residency. Luckily, I had been seeing advertisements for a new running based workout gym right around the corner from me. I took my first class, and I was hooked! I loved everything about it - the fast moving pace of the class, the fun and encouraging instructors, the catchy music, the Woodway treadmills...I could go on. Soon enough I had quit my other workout classes and committed to RippedPHL. I would take 2-3 Ripped classes during the week and do a long run on the weekends to train for my marathon. I had run quite a few half marathons before, but I had never really lifted weights before. Incorporating weight lifting and body weight exercises to my running made me the fittest I had felt in my entire life. Come race time, I was able to crush my goal time and felt so strong doing it!
Since then, my love for RippedPHL has only grown. I have introduced everyone I know to it - my husband, best friends (and their husbands), colleagues, brother-in-law, etc. I haven't had anyone who's gone with me say anything but praise for the class. In 2017, I had to move to NYC for a year, and no fitness class I tried in NYC lived up to RippedPHL. Every time I visited Philly during that year, I would try to squeeze in as many Ripped classes as I could. I couldn't wait to move back to Philly so I could rejoin Ripped full time.
What continues to push me to go are the continued improvements I see in my strength, endurance, running, and confidence. I love going to a class and pushing myself to be even faster than Level 3 or lifting a heavier weight than a month ago. And to prove that the RippedPHL method works, I trained for my second marathon last year- once again using only Ripped classes as my weekday training and a long run on the weekends. I was able to PR by over 9 minutes. Thank you, RippedPHL!