In 2013, I had insomnia. Every night, I would be awake from 2-4 AM. I was stressed. I was tired. I had compounding health issues from those things. I tried cutting out caffeine. I tried all kinds of diets. Nothing worked.
Even though I was out of shape and overweight, I went to the gym regularly. Mind you, I didn’t LIKE going to the gym– there wasn’t any direction of what I should do, and most days I just wandered around and did whatever machines were open. At the end, I’d run on a treadmill or elliptical machine for a while to get a sweat. And at the end of each day, I found myself thinking “why can’t this be more fun?”
My mom, a gym owner and coach, encouraged me to check out the new gym that had opened up near my house. “It’s 5 minutes away, J.D.– you have no excuses! Just try it.” I finally did, and it changed my entire life.
That soul-crushing insomnia? Gone. My stress levels? Plummeted. My energy? Higher than ever. And the best part is that I looked forward to going to the gym every day. When the opportunity came to become the owner of Lakeland Health + Fitness in 2019, I didn’t hesitate. I knew I wanted to help other people change their lives the same way mine had been impacted.