Waterloo Feature Member:
Ignacio Ugarte

Ignacio is the very definition of a quiet achiever.. Over the last year or so, he’s lost over 35 (thirty-five) kilograms and transformed his life. He’s now able to do pull ups, dips, handstands and both of the Olympic lifts with ease!

Having never done PT or any organised exercise before, Ignacio was initially hesitant to take on advice and implement it.  While not strictly sticking to any form of diet, Ignacio has used the tools available, to create a lifestyle structure that has allowed him to create massive change – whilst still enjoying the odd sausage and egg roll from valentinas…

I’ll let him take it from here!

Tell me a little about yourself “My name is Ignacio.    l love reading and music.  I do get out and about a lot with friends and family but food and alcohol probably used to be a large part of that and formal, organised exercise has never been a part of my life.” 

What was happening with your health and fitness before you joined BodyByBrando “I work in healthcare so there are long hours and a fairly constant stress level that just doesn’t really let up and it’s easy to get home at the end of the day and feel like you just don’t have the energy to do anything or to prepare a proper meal.  I have found i have to really make a conscious effort to break out of that rut and re-centre my own health and wellbeing.”

What made you want to change? “I just turned 40 which is a little bit of a milestone in terms of presenting an opportunity for self reflection about where I am and where I’m going physically and mentally, so I think that may have provided that external trigger to make some changes in my life.”

“I’ve been a member of Body by Brando for maybe 10months and it’s already made a huge difference in my life”

One of my favorite things is to see somebody’s own opinion of themselves change and that’s exactly what happened with Ignacio.  “The main thing that I started with was perception. I had let myself go physically and mentally and was disappointed in myself and felt like it was difficult to give health advice at work if I couldn’t practice what I was preaching at home.” 

It wasn’t all easy though – the first couple of conditioning sessions were a shock to the system. However, with every significant change made – there will always be pushback. 

Was there anything that you were nervous about? “Before starting, I was most nervous about just about all of it.  I’ve had minimal experience with gyms and formal physical exercise and just assumed everyone would be absolute units and I wouldn’t really belong.” To clarify.. He absolutely is one of those units…

What were your goals when you first started? “When I first started, my goals were just to lose some weight. I didn’t have any specific goals in mind.  I would have been happy to get below 100kg” 

What’s next for Ignacio? “I just achieved 85kg,, which we had set, the next goal is to try and increase my strength and size”

Anything else you’d like to add? “ I’m just really thankful for the change in my life.  I am eating better, I am moving better, I am feeling better, I am dressing better.  I’m proud of what I’ve achieved, but I am so thankful for everything that Brady and Body by Brando have done to help me get here.”

What makes us different from any other place you’ve trained and why would you recommend training here? “I don’t feel like just a membership number here. people know your name. They smile and say g’day. I’ve already recommended it to family members and people at work.”