Ladies and Gentlemen! Allow me to introduce to you the “Ballard Fitness Fest” inaugural winner…Mr. Adam Davis! Adam lost a staggering 11.9% of his body fat, essentially cutting it in half, (half!). His total loss of weight was 18lbs and lost an even more impressive 29.5lbs of body fat! So for all of you math loving single ladies out there, that means there is another 11.5lbs of pure man added on to this humble champion’s frame. I asked him some questions regarding his winning ways and this is what he had to say;
EDGE: Were you shocked to find out that you won?
ADAM: I thought I had a pretty good shot at winning, but of course when waiting it out for the results to get posted I started doubting!
EDGE: How are you going to celebrate your victory?
ADAM: Well, I celebrated the moment the fest was over with a huge piece of pepperoni pizza and a hamburger from King’s. Not at the same time… As far as winning, I’m going to go buy some new clothes, since I don’t fit into most of my clothes anymore.
EDGE: What made you decide to enter the fitness fest? Why now I guess…
ADAM: I’ve struggled with losing weight my entire life. Mostly with keeping up the motivation and the drive to continue whatever exercise plan or diet I was doing at the time. The fitness fest just seemed doable. Even if I didn’t win, I would have proved something to myself.
EDGE: Did you do as well as you thought you would, better, worse?
ADAM: I actually did much better than I thought I would, considering I ate eggs and bacon on a regular basis and didn’t give up my near-daily beer consumption.
EDGE: Where do you want your $250 to?
ADAM: I would like my $250 to Kitchen N’ Things, on the corner of 24th and Market. Considering most of my weight loss was due to changing my eating habits–mostly by cooking and eating at home, I think that giving myself more tools to continue making healthy meals would be an appropriate use of the prize.
EDGE: What did you do exactly to win?
ADAM: I followed a pretty strict (except the beer, noted above) primal diet from Mark Sisson’s Primal Blueprint. I ate plenty of fruits and vegetables, while deriving most of my energy from fats and proteins. I cut out all pasta, bread, processed foods, etc. I did not feel deprived at all really, except for pizza, burgers, and macaroni and cheese. Other than that I felt very healthy, and not like I was “dieting.” As far as exercise goes, I went to the gym 2-3 days a week. Most of what I did was with natural resistance, doing pushups, pullups, chinups, etc. I didn’t get on a weight machine once the whole time. I didn’t do a single minute of running or stationary cycling.
EDGE: Did you like the idea of the Fitness Fest?
ADAM: I love the idea. I think it’s great to get people motivated, and also as a neighborhood activity. I think it would be great to get other neighborhoods involved and have an inter-neighborhood competition!
EDGE: Will you try to defend your crown next year?
ADAM: I think I’ll probably join in again next year, though I’m hoping that by continuing to live a healthy, active lifestyle by next year I won’t have so much weight to lose!
EDGE: Any advice for next year’s participants?
ADAM: Find a routine you enjoy doing. Don’t look at your diet or your workout as a chore but as a way to challenge yourself. Find joy in the things that were hard last week but are easier now. It also helps to work out with a friend.
There you have it folks, a true champion drinks beer!
When I spoke to Adam during his re-test it was great to hear that he cut back on the bad things, cut out what he didn’t need and was still able to be himself throughout the entire process. (as well as moving forward) Congratulations to you Adam and I’ll be seeing you soon for those 3 sessions! (and I have your gift card…)
Here are the 3 other winners of the “Ballard Fitness Fest!” Congrats!
First Place- Matt Grover
Second Place- John Halhjem
Third Place- Josh Smith
The third place was the most difficult to judge by far. I felt like I was back in calculus trying to figure through all of the calculations I was doing to determine a winner. Since Josh won by a margin of .3 lbs of body fat and by .012 of body fat % relative to his starting numbers, I have to give a huge shout out to all that finished. There wasn’t a single person that re-tested that didn’t improve all of their numbers. Give yourselves all a big (or little-er)hand!
Thank you all who participated in EDGE Personal Training’s inaugural “Ballard Fitness Fest!” It was an immense success and I can’t wait to get it going for next year. Congrats once again to all who participated and thank you for making my job so much fun.
Erik Hroncich, NSCA-CPT
EDGE Personal Training 
Nutrition
July 11, 2010
Congrats to the champion.