How Martine Won The Sesh Fall Challenge

We caught up with Martine for a little Q&A on how Sesh has helped her reach her fitness goals and win 1st place in the 2020 Fall Challenge.

Q: WHAT WAS YOUR FITNESS LEVEL BEFORE THE CHALLENGE/DOWNLOADING THE APP?

A: Before this challenge, it was moderate to intermediate. I had some experience with heavy lifting before, however, I took a year off before the Spring Challenge (due to pregnancy) so I was starting strength training all over again.

Q: WHAT WERE YOUR WORKOUTS LIKE BEFORE JOINING THE FITFAM?

A: I’ve used other apps and challenges before, but never had the support or community as I did with the Sesh Fam. Blame my competitive nature, but I pushed myself a lot harder because of the challenges.

Q: WAS THIS YOUR FIRST SESH CHALLENGE?

A: Third in a row — Spring, Summer, and Fall 2020. I’ve also done some promos in the past back in the PDF days so the format was not new to me.

Q: WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO JOIN THE FITFAM AND JOIN YOUR FIRST CHALLENGE?

A: My sister in law first introduced me to Katy and the Sesh Fam. There were a lot of women having success in getting strong and changing their bodies. They inspired me.

Q: WHY Sesh?

A: The community that came along with it is one of the best tools there is. I've done other challenges and the community that comes with the Sesh FITFam is unlike any I’ve ever experienced. Doing it all together really helped me stay on track with my goals.

Q: WHAT MOTIVATED YOU?

A: Within the Sesh FITFam I found my circle. These women are some of my best friends that I’ve never even met. They cheered me on and pushed me to achieve things I never thought possible! I also got very addicted to seeing results. It certainly hasn’t been easy but it has been 100% worth it.

Q: HOW HAS Sesh HELPED YOU?

A: Helped me find my circle. These women are my family now and we’ve grown so much together.

Q: WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT COMMUNITY, HOW DID YOU FIND YOUR, "CIRCLE?"

A: In one of the Facebook groups, a Snapchat group was started. That was back in Spring 2020, now we talk every day. We even had a zoom Christmas party and did a secret Santa across two countries and 4 time zones.

Q: WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE WORKOUT FROM THE Sesh FALL CHALLENGE?

A: Gotta love dumbbell RDLS or frog pumps. I really enjoy compound movements as well. Good mornings have to be one of my very favorites just because of all the muscles the move engages.

Q: WHAT WAS THE MOST CHALLENGING ASPECT OF THE FALL CHALLENGE FOR YOU? WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST OBSTACLE, IF ANY?

A: Being larger than a lot of the other women competing, it’s taken me a long time to be able to do some of the movements in the workouts (hello, laying sit-ups anyone?). So I’ve had to make some modifications in the past to do some of the more challenging movements. That and staying motivated/driven. I get asked how I stay motivated. Someone once told me that motivation comes from action and it’s simply an emotion. Once i realized I wasn’t always going to be motivated but I did always have to be dedicated, it got a lot easier to make the right choices (i.e not skipping workouts or adherence to macros). Now I look at it as though I just have to be proud of the choices I make. What choice will make me the proudest when I go to bed at the end of the day?

Q: WHAT IS ONE NON-SCALE VICTORY YOU HAD DURING THE FALL CHALLENGE?

A: I started running 5km during spring challenge, my goal was always to do it under 30mins and I hit that during the fall challenge.

Q: HOW DID THE FALL CHALLENGE HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL?

A: Before the Fall challenge began, I met a huge goal I had for a long time (I lost 100lbs). Meeting this goal, and continuing to drive myself and meet other goals, made me realize I was capable of bigger things than I ever thought possible. That made me push harder and faster than I ever had before. I realized I was capable of so much more than I ever thought.

Q: WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE JOINING THEIR FIRST Sesh CHALLENGE?

A: Two things:

1— Utilize the community to find your squad, some of the best friends ( and loudest cheerleaders) you’ll ever have are ones you haven’t met yet.

2— Go to bed proud of yourself and what you accomplished that day, make every decision in reflection of that.

Q: WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOUR FITNESS JOURNEY?

A: Heavier lifts, different splits, I really want to see where I can push myself. I have so many more goals than I ever imagined and I’m really excited to see what I can achieve.