By Joseph Mapa as told to Karen Iorio Adelson

As a police officer and Marine Corps veteran, fitness should have always been part of my life, but it never really was. 

In the Marines, I ran because I had to, but I never enjoyed it. My current job is relatively sedentary. When I first became a police officer, I worked in the dispatch department and wasn’t out and about much. Now I’m a supervisor, so I’m mostly at my desk setting schedules and filing reports. 

Over the years, I got heavier and heavier. My clothes weren’t fitting anymore, and I felt increasingly uncomfortable. I’d see myself in photos and be surprised by how I looked. My wake-up moment came in January 2021 when I realized my uniform pants were getting too small. I had to call the supply officer at work and order pants the next size up—although I hoped I wouldn’t actually need to wear them. That’s when I knew I needed to take action. 

If I was going to be consistent, I needed a way to work out at home. Going to the gym isn’t easy for me since I work 12-hour shifts and commute an hour each way. I have to be at work by 5 a.m., and I want to spend time with my family when I get home. 

I knew I wanted to strength train, but I wasn’t sure what exercises to do or how to structure a lifting session. With workouts and programs led by expert coaches, Tonal made it easy to get started. After a month of working out regularly on Tonal, I began seeing muscle definition. My clothes were fitting better, and I had to make my work belt tighter. I lost 30 pounds in seven months, and even though I’ve gained some of it back, it must be muscle because I didn’t have to loosen my belt again, and all my clothes still fit. 

Tonal has given me the confidence to try a totally new-to-me activity: indoor rock climbing with my 16-year-old son. I never thought I could keep up with my son climbing, because I don’t have that lean body type you typically see at the climbing gym. 

But we’ve been going together weekly for a couple of months now, and I can see the connection between lifting weights on Tonal and climbing. When I’m pulling myself up on the rock face, I’m using the same motions. I do on Tonal. Even learning how to activate my hips in recovery workouts has helped me use them more in my climbs. I’ve also gained so much muscular endurance and I can hold myself up longer. I don’t get tired as quickly, and I don’t feel that sore afterward.

There’s one vertical climb at the gym that I’d always struggled with in the past. I just couldn’t grab the holds on it. It didn’t feel comfortable, and I didn’t feel strong. But after finishing the Go Big or Go Home 3 program on Tonal along with some custom workouts I created based on my favorite workouts in the program, I was able to do that climb on my first try when I was at the gym recently. And I went on to do it a second and third time. It was an amazing feeling. Another climber at the gym with a similar body type as mine actually saw me do it and asked for my help. I demonstrated my technique to him and showed him how I move my body. It felt good to help him out and celebrate with him when he did the climb. 

I know how important it is to inspire others because I’ve drawn so much support from the Official Tonal Community on Facebook. The biggest challenge for me has been carving out the time to exercise. I knew that just buying Tonal wouldn’t get me in shape—I had to make a commitment to myself. Seeing others in the community getting in their workouts, gives me the confidence that I can do it, too. I love how we’re all just regular people who’ve decided to change our lives. We’re all on our own journeys. Someone can lift 100,000 pounds or 5,000 pounds in a workout, and we still support them. Now, I post my daily workouts hoping that I can be that inspiration for someone else. 

Besides the physical changes, Tonal has also made it easier for me to show up for the people in my life. Putting my own health first gives me the energy to be a better leader at work. I feel like I can motivate and inspire my officers more because I’m proud of what I accomplish each day in my workout. It’s also helped me keep up with my kids. Since I lost my own dad when I was very young, it’s important for me to be there for them, whether that means rock climbing with my son or going to a concert with my 18-year-old daughter. 

I’ve now been working out on Tonal for two years and my goal is to keep it up as long as possible so I can keep being there for my family. Objectively, I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been. I genetically have very high triglycerides, but since I started on Tonal, my numbers have dropped to the lowest they’ve ever been. I’m grateful that I’ve been able to lower my risk of different health problems. 

As for those bigger uniform pants I ordered back in 2021, I ended up never having to wear them. I still keep them, though, as a reminder of how far I’ve come.

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By Shelley Black as told to Karen Iorio Adelson

I was never a small person, but losing weight became even more difficult after a series of health challenges a few years back. 

At 38 years old, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, which was a total shock. It was even more surprising when, less than a year later in 2016, I learned I also had thyroid cancer. If that wasn’t enough, I found out I had skin cancer in 2019. Luckily, all three of my cancers were caught early, and I was able to beat them. But my body wasn’t the same. 

I had my thyroid and uterus removed to prevent future cancers or complications, but the hormonal changes from those procedures made it very difficult to lose weight. My body simply wasn’t responding to diet and exercise. Whether I ate or didn’t eat, I gained weight. 

Even if I did lose weight, it would eventually creep back up again. My husband is very active and has a background in exercise physiology. Despite going to the gym with him four to five days a week for years, I still couldn’t keep the weight off. 

When our gym closed in 2020 during the pandemic, my husband started looking into other options. He suggested Tonal, and after watching a few videos online, we decided to order one. 

When I was setting up my Tonal profile and had to enter my weight, I really didn’t want to put in that number. I weighed the most I had since right before I gave birth to my daughter (who’s now 17 years old). It was discouraging, but I told myself, “This is where I’m at. Now I can go from here.” 

Since then, I’ve completed 32 programs and lost 92 pounds. 

I really started seeing results when I added HIIT workouts to my routine. My first HIIT workout was so hard that I thought I wasn’t going to be able to walk the next day. As I kept doing these workouts weekly along with strength training, the number on the scale started going down.

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Tonal changed the way I looked at working out. After starting my first program, I was hooked. I loved that it was so easy to use, even for someone like me who never tested it out before buying. I’m also very competitive, so I enjoyed maintaining my streak and following my progress on Tonal’s leaderboard. (Look for my username IAMSHELLEY1976 if you want to connect.) 

Since I can just walk to another room in my house and get my workout done, I don’t have any excuses. I don’t have to worry about driving to the gym or waiting around to use the equipment I want because someone else is on it. 

Community is important to me, too. I love cheering people on in live classes and posting my milestones in the Official Tonal Community. It’s so amazing to see that even in such a competitive society, people have rallied around each other. Feeling like you’re not alone in a workout makes such a huge difference. Just being part of it makes me smile. 

Growing up, I never had an issue with self-confidence, but as I got older and gained weight, that shifted. I didn’t feel like myself. That all changed with Tonal. 

This new confidence translates to living my life to the fullest. I’ve gone water skiing, wakeboarding, and tubing, activities I hadn’t done for years because of my weight, on the lake near my home in Houston. When I do yard work or pick up a 50-pound bag of dog food at the store, I don’t have to think twice about whether I can do it. If someone asks me to go on a hike, I can say “yes” without a question. The old me would have been like, “Have you lost your mind?” I haven’t run a marathon, but I feel like I could if I put in the training. I have the tools to do something like that now. I’m even planning on starting my own business designing clothing and accessories, a challenge I’ve wanted to take on for a while but didn’t think I was ready.

Tonal has given me my life back and helped me love myself in a way I thought I’d never be able to again. Now, when I look in the mirror, I feel like I’m truly seeing myself.

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For Tonal coach Kendall “Woody” Wood, two of the scariest moments of her life were also events that would forever change her as a person: being laid off from a job in digital media and walking into a boxing studio for the first time. 

After moving to Los Angeles to start said job, boxing reconnected Wood to her roots in sport. But when she moved on from her position in 2016, the place where she learned to jab, cross, and hook helped her find stability and rediscover her calling to connect with people as a fitness professional and certified personal trainer.

“There’s nothing like fulfilling your passion, chasing your dream, and ultimately finding the happiness you seek,” she says. “Making a [big] salary doing something that you don’t love pales in comparison.”

This determined attitude felt natural for Wood, who was an athlete growing up. She played softball and was a competitive cheerleader before studying public relations at Penn State University. Classes and college life snuffed out her athletic fire, but later, throwing punches in the ring reignited the flame. Boxing also gave her a place to find community and foundation to shift her career path to become a full-time trainer.  

After relocating from L.A. to New York, Wood now leverages her decade-plus experience in the fitness industry to continue helping people craft improved versions of themselves at Tonal. 

“The lesson to be learned here is that you can always make it happen for yourself,” Wood says. “You can always find a way to attain what you need. You can always find a way to get to where you need to be and I think you stand to surprise yourself every time you do that.”

Here, Woody shares the details of her journey, why she loves being a coach, and what you can expect when you tap into one of her classes. 

What’s your vibe as a coach?

My vibe is energetic, lighthearted, and fun! I like to find the humor in things. While fitness should be taken seriously because your health is serious, it’s also meant to be fun. I want to eliminate the intimidation factor that people might feel if they’re new to fitness or have big goals. I like to add a level of lightheartedness and humor to make fitness feel more approachable and palatable to everyone. 

What’s it like to train with you? 

It’s my mission that when you take my class, you walk away with a different experience every time whether you learn something new, achieve a new PR, or push past your limits. But 100 percent, every time you take my class, no matter how the experience changes, the constants are that you’re going to have a good time, but it’s also going to be really hard. It’ll be challenging. 

Why should someone take your class?

I think I’ve always had this ability to connect with people on an interpersonal level. I see you. I see you for who you are. I like to help people let down walls. I like to help people work through things. I like to be a support system, an advice giver, or just someone who’s going to be there and listen. So in short, to the community, I want to provide what feels like a safe space. 

What do you love about coaching?

It’s all about the human connection. That’s always been what drives me. Coaching is about so much more than providing technical cues. It’s a level of support and interpersonal connection. I’m going to guide you through your fitness journey and make sure you see success, but I’m also there to be your friend and your support system. Fitness can be like therapy for people. It’s a physiological release and a mental escape. If I can be the person who is the catalyst for that for you, that’s fulfilling to me. 

How do you create a connection virtually?

I like to connect with members on Instagram and the Official Tonal Community on Facebook. We do a lot of Q&As in the OTC, and I try to pop in there as often as possible to see what’s going on and respond to feedback and questions. I hope the community knows I’m really just a message away. Additionally, the social zone in the live classes brings members of the community together and allows me to connect with members.  

Tell us about your athletic background.

Growing up, I was a competitive cheerleader and a softball player. I was always drawn to athletics, but when I went to college, I lost sight of all that. After graduating, I didn’t know where to turn or what I loved. I discovered boxing when I moved to Los Angeles and that reignited my love for fitness.

How did you decide to pursue a career in fitness? 

At the boxing gym, I started diving into honing my craft. I became obsessed with the intricacies of the sport and how I could become better at it. Being in love with the sport and having this supportive community and these passionate coaches was eye-opening and so fulfilling. I wanted to be there all the time. I started at the gym as an assistant and then became certified as a trainer and group fitness instructor. I got a job touring the country and filming digital workout programs, which gave me experience in front of the camera. That led me to Tonal. I saw Tonal as an opportunity to connect with a whole new community. 

What challenges have you overcome to get where you are today?

Changing my career was one of my biggest personal challenges, but it was also one of the most gratifying things I’ve done in my life. It made me second-guess myself countless times. The biggest takeaway from that experience was that you have to be your own biggest fan. You have to believe in yourself and know that you’re capable of achieving what you want. Undoubtedly, you will fail along the way, but failure paves the way to success. Failure doesn’t make you a failure. It contributes to your story and your growth. 

What are you passionate about outside of fitness?

Friends and family are extremely important to me. I’m very lucky to have lifelong friends who I’ve grown up with. It’s important to be reminded of who you are at your core, and the people who do that are your friends and family. 

I also love to cook. I’ve always been a food fanatic. My family jokes that even when I was 7 years old, I was ordering three courses off the menu. I still do and I eat every last bite. 

What does strength mean to you?

Strength is performing at your best, not only physically but also mentally and emotionally. It’s being unwavering in whatever you set out to do, and believing that you can do it.

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Working out with others—whether IRL or virtually—is not only more fun, but it’s also proven to help you feel more motivated and supported than exercising alone. 

That’s why Tonal makes it easy to share your passion for fitness with the new Tonal Referral Program, which rewards both you and the friends and family you refer. For each person who purchases a Tonal, you’ll earn one month of free membership. Your referral will receive a $125 discount off their Tonal trainer purchase. It’s a win-win for everyone. 

Plus, sharing the magic of Tonal is easier than ever with the new Tonal home demo feature.

Here’s how to participate in the referral program and welcome your friends and family to the Tonal community: 

How to Make a Referral 

1. Open the Tonal mobile app on iOS or Android.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Tap Refer Tonal > Referral Program.
4. If you prefer to use a browser, visit this page to generate your referral link. 
5. Share your unique referral link with your friends and family. 
6. You may also copy your referral link and share it when ready.

Every time one of your referrals purchases Tonal, you’ll earn one month of free Tonal membership 31 days after the installation of your referral’s Tonal. You’ll receive an email with instructions on how to redeem your reward. Your referral will receive a $125 discount code for their Tonal trainer purchase. You can earn an additional one month free for each referral, up to 10 per calendar year. 

Learn more about our referral program here and get the full terms and conditions.

John Sill is just one member who’s taken advantage of the Tonal referral program to help his friends and family get fit.

An attorney from Wichita, Kansas, Sill originally bought his Tonal to regain the fitness he’d lost after having three children and falling out of his gym routine. 

“Once you get out of it, it’s hard to get back into it,” said Sill in an interview with Tonal. “Right after my daughter turned 5, she said ‘Dad, you don’t have big muscles.’That stung—and motivated me to get back into it.” 

Sill and his wife chose Tonal because they wanted the convenience of working out from home without commuting to the gym or finding childcare. He was already noticing improvements in his strength when he was encouraged to get into bodybuilding. This summer, Sill entered his first competition and won. 

Excited about his victory, Sill posted before-and-after photos on social media to show off his progress. His comments flooded with praise—and lots of questions about how he made his transformation. Everyone was impressed that he did all his strength training on Tonal, and several are now Tonal members thanks to Sill’s referral. 

Of course, Tonal isn’t just for aspiring bodybuilders: Sill’s aunt and uncle were so inspired by their nephew that they bought a Tonal of their own simply to improve their health and get in better shape. 

“They’re not doing bodybuilding,” Sill explained. “They’re retired individuals in their 60s who just want to work out.” Sill loves how Tonal is flexible enough to support all different fitness goals. 

Whether you know someone who loves yoga and Pilates, is looking to build muscle, or wants to improve their golf game, Tonal has something for everyone. 

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Working out at home doesn’t have to mean working out alone. For many Tonal members, exercising with family and friends—whether virtually or in person—is what keeps them motivated to show up every day. 

Here’s how Tonal couples, families, and friends hold each other accountable, get stronger together, and have a lot of fun in the process.

Swole Mates

Exercising together has brought these couples closer as they inspire each other to achieve their goals and spend quality time together in their home gyms.

The Motivated Match 

When Wesley West of Saratoga Springs, Utah, wanted to buy a Tonal, his wife, Faith, wasn’t convinced. “I was very hesitant to try something that we didn’t know much about, and we didn’t have a great track record of keeping our motivation going,” she says.

Faith quickly came around, though, realizing that adding resistance training to their routine would help the couple stay healthy as they aged so they’d be in shape to play with their grandchildren one day. 

Soon, Faith and Wesley were both active on Tonal, participating in a mix of programs and custom workouts, and even getting their daughter involved. 

“The ease of working out whenever we want and fitting it into our schedule has been the most motivating for both of us,” says Fatih. “Having such a wide variety of coach knowledge has really helped us to stay motivated and safe in our fitness journey, which has helped nurture consistency.” 

And while Welsey was the one to convince Faith to try Tonal, she opened his eyes to the value of mobility and recovery workouts after using them to bounce back following a recent surgery. Now, the couple takes a mobility, yoga, or meditation session together every night. 

“He will say ‘not everyone does [mobility] because it doesn’t seem important, but it’s the most important part of fitness,’” says Faith. “Every time he says it, I chuckle and say ‘you were that person.’”

The Competitive Couple 

John and Kelly Wikman have always been athletic. Before they started participating in triathlons and obstacle races together, John played collegiate volleyball and Kelly spent decades playing soccer. It’s no surprise then that, according to John, it was “game-on” for the Indianapolis-based couple since the day their Tonal was installed. 

“Tonal has been the perfect outlet for us as it allows us to cheer each other on but still compete directly with each other,” says John. 

Because of their work schedules, John typically works out in the morning while Kelly uses Tonal at night, but they’ll often do the same workout to compare their experiences. On the weekend, they’ll make time for a partner workout. 

“With the adaptive digital weights, it’s a great equalizer,” says John. “We can both do the exact same workout, even at the same time, and know that we’re getting the same [level of] intensity. It allows us to be competitive with each other on a level playing field.” 

Their competitive spirit has paid off. In the 91 weeks they’ve been using Tonal (they both have a streak), John’s Strength Score has gone up over 130 percent while Kelly’s has increased by 242 percent, putting her in the top 99 percent of all Tonal members.

The Power Pair

For his 50th birthday, Jeff Kleck of San Antonio asked for a Tonal because, in part, he wanted to keep up with his wife Wendy, a former personal trainer. 

“I’ve never been good about knowing which weights to use or which movements to incorporate,” says Jeff. “The AI and expertise of the trainers were intriguing to me.” 

With features that appealed to both of them—guided programs for Jeff and the ability to create custom workouts for Wendy—Tonal ended up being a gift they could share and use to get stronger together. The two often work out together in their home gym, taking turns between Tonal and their stationary bike. 

Exercising alongside Wendy has motivated Jeff to step up his game. “She’s so focused and intentional. It inspires me to be better,” he says. “Hearing her working out on Tonal reminds me I need to get my workout in.” 

And they’re both loving the results: “Wendy and I have both had more compliments on our appearances than we’ve had at any time prior in our lives—and I’m 52 and she’s 51,” says Jeff. “We realize the significance of maintaining muscle at our age for our overall health. The compliments are just icing on the cake.”

The Strong Sweethearts 

For Cindy and Mike Redman of Yucca Valley, California, working out on Tonal is a way to spend time together and a source of healthy competition. 

“I like when I get more PRs than him and my Strength Score goes up more points than his,” laughs Cindy. “All joking aside, it is good quality time with each other with the added bonus of developing better bodies and mindsets.” 

While they tend to exercise on their own during the week, they’ll do partner workouts together on the weekend. Cindy and Mike both love strength- and muscle-building workouts, so it’s easy to find a session they’ll both enjoy. 

“When we’re not trying to compete with each other in person, we are bragging by text on workdays who did what and comparing [our progress] on the Tonal app,” says Cindy. 

Cindy even convinced her 75-year-old dad to buy a Tonal and now he’s just as committed. “It’s by far the best investment in ourselves we’ve ever made,” she says.

BFFs (Best Fitness Friends)

Whether they live across town or across state lines, these friends find ways to encourage each other and celebrate their successes. 

The Digital Duo  

Ashley Trzaskus, who lives outside Louisville, Kentucky, has a regular workout buddy who she’s never met in person. 

When Trzaskus was waiting for her Tonal to arrive in the spring of 2022, she joined the Official Tonal Community on Facebook to connect with fellow members. There, she met Brittany Lakin, of Norfolk, Virginia. Trzaskus and Lakin realized they had a lot in common. They were both moms with similar goals who were starting out on Tonal around the same time. 

The two bonded over their plans for designing their workout spaces and how they were both returning to fitness after having kids. Once they started chatting, they struck up an easy friendship and kept encouraging each other to stick with their workout routines. 

“We message almost daily to check in and encourage each other to stay on track and hold each other accountable,” says Trzaskus. “If one of us hasn’t done a workout in a few days, you can bet the other one is going to message to find out what’s going on.” 

Even though fitness brought them together, Lakin and Trzaskus now discuss their families and vacation plans, becoming genuine friends, not just accountability buddies.  

“I almost think living in different states makes the friendship even better because we don’t have to get dressed or spend money on cocktails just to catch up with each other and make sure we are both keeping active,” says Lakin. 

Both women agree that sharing their workout journeys has motivated them to push harder and achieve more than they would on their own. They will often do the same program simultaneously to discuss the workouts and cheer each other on.

“Sometimes, I get my workout in just so I know that she doesn’t get too far ahead of me,” says Lakin. “Whether that makes me competitive or polite—I’m not sure!”

The Pump-up Partners 

When Josh Gill bought his Tonal he immediately started encouraging Jhon Cuthbertson, his best friend of 12 years, to get one, too. “He kept telling me it was a game changer,” says Cuthbertson. Two months later, Cuthbertson was sold and bought his own.

The two Houston-based pals now enroll in the same Tonal programs and make it a priority to work out together once a week. When they’re not together in person, they’ll do virtual workouts. Cuthbertson and Gill both have busy schedules and rely on each other to stay accountable.

“Having a partner on the same journey provides confidence,” says Cuthbertson. “Living a healthy lifestyle is very difficult. But knowing I can give him a call and he can relate makes me push even harder.” 

Sometimes, they even motivate each other to achieve more than they originally intended. In one partner workout, Cuthbertson noticed Gill adding additional reps in each set, so he started adding a few extra reps of his own. “This created this competition dynamic, and I think we ended up both lifting over 40,000 pounds that day,” he says. “At the end, we couldn’t get off the ground laughing.”

The Circle of Strength 

Spread across Maryland and northern Virginia, Betty Lee and her group of eight friends regularly get together for camping, hiking, and skiing trips—and now bond over their Tonal workouts. 

“One couple got it first, we all tried it, and then the rest followed,” says Lee. 

Even though they’ve been friends for years—several went to college together—Lee says the shared experience of working out on Tonal has created a stronger sense of community for her group. They’ll often do the same program together and take time to discuss that day’s workout. 

“Knowing that we have a group of people following whether you completed your workout or not has definitely been the motivation to push us on days we’d rather not be working out,” says Lee.

Lee created a private Facebook group for her friends to keep track of each other’s progress. It’s helped the group stick with their routines and get stronger together—thanks to some gentle peer pressure.

“Since I run the accountability group, the running joke is everyone is scared of being ‘called out’ by me for missing a workout,” she says. “I joke it’s my way of motivating but also a little bit of public shaming lights a fire sometimes. I have definitely named people who have missed workouts or are about to miss them, and for sure that has helped them get up and go work out.”

Families That Sweat Together 

For some, working out on Tonal is a family affair. Sure, they might have to race each other to Tonal to get first dibs, but they’re also saving money with a single membership fee.

First Come, First Fit

As a radiation oncologist and mom of two teenagers, Parima Daroui Khalili, of Irvine, California, doesn’t have much time for working out. After years of inactivity, she noticed she was gaining weight and losing her fitness. 

“I felt that as I was getting older, it would be much harder to get back into shape, and it was time for a big change,” she says. That’s when she bought herself a Tonal. It certainly helped her get back in shape—Khalili lost 45 pounds and increased her strength score by more than 150 percent—but it also had the unexpected benefit of getting her whole family involved. 

“My family, who knew me as a regular couch potato, was surprised at how committed I was to working out even after coming home late at night after work,” she says. “My teenage* twins, Shaya and Ellya, started wanting to incorporate Tonal into their schedule, too.” 

Her daughter, Ellya, is using Tonal to increase her strength for playing volleyball and tennis, while her son, Shaya, works out on Tonal to improve his basketball game at the recommendation of his coach. “When he saw how effective it had been for me, he switched his gym workouts for sessions on Tonal,” says Khalili. 

Not to be left out, her husband, Reza, who also struggled to make time for fitness, found that Tonal “rekindled his interest in working out again,” according to Khalili. 

“At times when I get home eager to get back on my Tonal, I find that it’s already in use by my family,” says Khalili. “It’s become very popular in our household to be the first on the machine so as not to lose out.”

Mother-Daugther Dynamos 

When Jennifer Lehrer’s Tonal first arrived, her teenage daughter* Cameron didn’t show much interest. But after watching her mom and dad work out on Tonal nearly every day, Cameron was “intrigued,” according to Lehrer. 

Lehrer and Cameron started out doing partner workouts, and now it’s a regular part of their routine. They enjoy doing core workouts together and giving each other pointers on form. Cameron even designed custom workouts for her goals of gaining strength for volleyball and snowboarding. 

Of course, it wouldn’t be a mother-daughter bond without a bit of friendly nudging. “If I am being lazy, she tells me to get off my butt and get it done, and I do the same to her,” says Lehrer. “We do a lot of sassing in our house so when I am struggling or whining about a movement, she gives me a lot of grief and visa versa.” 

Because they keep each other accountable, Lehrer says both she and Cameron are more motivated to work out on Tonal than they would be on their own.

For Lehrer, sharing their love of exercise and getting stronger together is also a chance to connect with her teenage daughter at a time they might otherwise be drifting apart.

“It’s hard to have things in common with a teenage daughter. It’s the time when she wants to go do stuff [on her own] and have a boyfriend,” says Lehrer. “But she spends at least an hour with me [on Tonal]. We talk about it, and we compare our Strength Scores. I can’t think of something better to share and have in common with her.” 

*Note: Tonal is designed for use by adults aged 18 and older. If approved in advance by a physician, teenagers over the age of 15 may use Tonal under direct adult supervision.

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Arlene Kraushaar does two things every single day: She works out on Tonal and posts about her workout in Tonal’s online community. 

The 66-year-old member from Healdsburg, California, knew Tonal would help her get stronger, but she never expected that she’d find a supportive community of fellow members who would inspire her to achieve more than she ever thought possible. 

“People are incredibly encouraging,” she said. “Everybody wants to succeed, and everybody wants to see other people succeed. We’re all here trying to get stronger and be our strongest.”

For Kraushaar, that endeavor means recently reaching a huge milestone: 3 million pounds lifted on Tonal. But it wasn’t always easy for her to commit to daily workouts and heavy lifting. In fact, she faced a few stumbles before getting to where she is today.

From False Starts to Daily Commitment

When she turned 30, Kraushaar decided to get her fitness on track. She stuck with it for a while, only to inevitably fall off and have to start all over again. The pattern continued for decades. 

“Every 10 years, it was train, get injured, recover,” she said. “I’d get started and invariably, I’d hurt myself. I’d get better, I’d try again, and then I’d hurt myself again.” Kraushaar’s neck, shoulder, and back pain led her to spend more time at the chiropractor than at the gym. 

Kraushaar eventually started working with a personal trainer. With her trainer’s help picking up dumbbells and getting her into position for heavy lifts, she didn’t get injured as often. But when her gym shut its doors at the start of the pandemic, Kraushaar was on her own. 

She first heard about Tonal through an ad and the ability to turn the weight on and off with the touch of a button intrigued her. She’d be able to get into position without the help of a trainer or the risk of hurting herself. “I ordered it within days of first seeing the advertisement,” she said. 

Kraushaar joined a three-day-per-week program to get started. She was immediately impressed by the scientific design of the program and how each day’s workout got her closer to her goals.

Compared to sessions with her personal trainer, “Tonal’s programs and workouts feel so much more tailored and specific to me and my goals and way less haphazard or random,” she said.

She’s currently enrolled in her 29th Tonal program and fills in her off days with yoga, mobility, and recovery sessions so she can maintain her streak. Kraushaar can barely remember the last time she missed a workout. 

“I went from working out two days a week at a gym to working out every day on Tonal,” she said. “It just became a part of my routine—like brushing my teeth.”

Strength in Numbers 

It wasn’t just Tonal’s programs and safety features that kept Kraushaar coming back—it was also the community she found online. 

Before Kraushaar’s Tonal even arrived, she started chatting with members of the Official Tonal Community on Facebook which, she said, “added to the excitement.” By the time her Tonal was installed, she knew she could rely on the community during her fitness journey. 

Seeing other members’ accomplishments sparked Kraushaar to work harder and take on bigger challenges. 

“One of the biggest inspirations for me was seeing other women in the Tonal community pushing big weights, lifting a lot of volume, and not being afraid to do things that I never really considered trying,” she said. “I thought, if they can get there, I can probably get there, too.”

It was a big change from the gym setting which, for Kraushaar, didn’t feel as supportive. 

“Now, I frequently interact with people in the community online—sharing information about programs, supporting each other, rooting people on, answering questions,” she said. “What motivates me is being able to interact and hear people’s stories and their struggles. The camaraderie of having a community to interact with around using Tonal is really what I think has made such a huge difference.”

Besides posting her daily workouts and sharing tips and tricks with other members, Kraushaar has even traveled to group meet-ups in San Francisco and Los Angeles to see her online friends and training partners in person.

And these truly are genuine friendships. “It feels really good to see the same people online day after day after day sharing their victories,” she said. “It feels like there’s really someone there who shows up with you.”

Better with Age

Thanks to the support of the Tonal community, Kraushaar is now feeling stronger than ever.  “For physical health, it’s been wonderful,” she said. “When you’re younger, your health is supposed to be better, but I’m having the opposite experience,”  Her doctor has even “marveled” at her blood test results. 

In the past, Kraushaar wouldn’t always work as hard as she could due to fear of injury. On Tonal, though, she knows that the resistance will only increase as much as she’s capable of lifting, so she’s confident about rising to the challenge. Not having to maneuver heavy weights to get in place for lifts also helps her feel safe when lifting. “I can’t even imagine how I would get into position with a 75-pound barbell of iron,” she said. All she needs to do on Tonal is press a button.

Increasing the weight by one pound at a time allows her to safely push her limits. “One pound doesn’t seem like very much, but it makes a really big difference, and you can keep progressing that way,” she said. 

The small steps have added up big for Kraushaar. Her strength score has increased by more than 325 percent since she started out on Tonal.

On her 65th birthday, she hit the one-million-pound milestone and turned to the community to celebrate. “I remember how excited I was posting that,” she said. A little over a year later, she hit three million pounds and her fellow members once again showered her with congratulations.  Kraushaar credits her accomplishments to her dedication, racking up the small wins day after day. “When you show up every day and are consistent, it just happens,” she said.

Her results go far beyond the numbers. “I feel better in my own skin. I feel strong. I feel like I carry myself differently,” said Kraushaar. “Things that I used to shy away from in the past—maybe it was lifting something heavy or getting something down from a high shelf— don’t bother me anymore. I know I can do it. I’m confident in my abilities.” 

Kraushaar credits Tonal’s technology, expert coaches, and scientifically-based programs for her transformation, but she knows she wouldn’t have achieved so much without the support of the community. 

“I never would have thought to just keep pushing a little more and see how much stronger I can get if I didn’t watch other people doing that same thing,” she said. “It opened up these new horizons of what it could mean to get stronger, to lift weights, and to get physically healthy.”

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Ackeem Emmons’ path to becoming a certified personal trainer and fitness coach started in a rehabilitation facility. In 2009, during his previous career in restaurant and hotel management, he was walking to work in a rush when he was hit by a speeding driver. The former track and field athlete wouldn’t walk again for months. 

“I had to go to PT [physical therapy] and relearn how to do a thing I did so naturally,” Ackeem said. “The things that I once took for granted were things that I now have a new level of appreciation for. After getting the gift of running taken away from me, I wanted it back. I wanted to come back stronger. I saw that it was possible. That’s when I started to train myself.”

Once Ackeem was back on his feet and out of rehab, he began hitting the gym. Without much direction, he started shadowing a group of bodybuilders, watching and secretly copying their workouts until they caught on and finally invited him to join them.

Ackeem had worked in many of the most popular restaurants in New York City, but the more he learned about his body, the more he wanted to spend time in the gym improving his strength and mobility. Before long, he started to share what he learned—first by training his friends—until eventually, he quit the restaurant industry and made fitness his full-time job. 

After earning a slew of certifications and working in the fitness industry for years, Ackeem brings his expertise to Tonal as the newest coach. Here, Ackeem shares more about his journey to the Tonal stage and what you can expect from him when you sweat with him. 

What’s your vibe as a coach?

When you tap on my face for a workout, you’re going to get energy. On a scale of one to 10, it’s probably going to be at a 25 because sometimes working out isn’t always the most fun thing to do. Taking yourself out of your comfort zone isn’t always the most ideal thing to do. You are depending on me to not only come up with a program and build that trust, but to also bring enough energy for the both of us if you don’t have the energy that day. Whether you like it or not, you tapped play, and we’re getting this done.

What’s it like to train with you?

If I had to describe my training, I’d say it’s honey on the medicine. You have to get out of your comfort zone in order to get better. I just make the process a lot more fun. So we’re doing hard things, but we’re having a good time, and in the end, you’re better for it. 

Why should someone take your class?

You should work out with me because I am able to distract you from the tedious parts of training. There is a way to deliver the message, and program a workout where the focus is on having a good time and less about the “pain.” Challenges can be fun; learning can be easy; and we tend to be more committed when we’re having a good time. 

As my career has progressed, I’ve seen a lot of beginners—a lot of people that didn’t know anything about the gym, and they wanted some guidance and knowledge. My client is usually someone that’s a little insecure and just eager to learn. 

Tell us about your athletic background. 

My first love is—and always will be—track and field. My first race was against my dad when I was very young in Trinidad. It was in the [Queens Park] Savannah. My father seemed 10 feet tall, and I idolized him. I just remember I was in front of him the whole time. He was behind me, cheering me on all the way to the finish line. 

During the car ride home, I thought I was the fastest kid in the world. I didn’t want to play any other sport. I didn’t want to do anything else. So I joined track clubs and raced anyone I ever met. I ran in high school and for a little bit in college. 

What did you learn while rebuilding your body after the accident?

With PT, it’s all about mini victories. It could be a big accident, it could be a big setback, but day after day, session after session, it’s the “little big things” that matter the most, and that was the most interesting to me. It could be something simple like moving my leg a little bit higher, or moving my hips a little bit more. These things that seem really insignificant to the average person were a big win for me. I’ll implement that into my training. It isn’t always the big transformation or the big lift; it’s about those little victories that may not be something you can count but are something you can feel. And that feeling is kind of addictive. 

What are you passionate about outside of fitness?

I love videography. I love capturing moments. That’s one of my big hobbies. Sometimes I like to just get lost in the city and shoot things. 

There’s a certain synergy with that and training. A client is a blank canvas. We all have the same tools. You can give somebody the same paintbrush, camera, or workout list, and they’re going to come up with different images, pictures, and programs. So depending on your vision, where they are and where they can be will dictate the program, the workout, and the way you apply it. So those are the parallels. You can be creative in both spaces. I did not invent the pushup or the squat. But how I get someone to do it or convince them to do it or show them how—that’s going to be different depending on the coach.

What does strength mean to you?

Strength is a non-negotiable. Sometimes we run away from a problem. Sometimes we avoid problems. But when you build strength, you build confidence, and when you build confidence, you build you. We only have one life to live. We’re not doing it on the couch. We’re not playing it safe. We’re going to get crazy. 

What led you to Tonal?

The big word is evolution. It’s growth and change. Tonal grows with you. You change during the rep. We evolve over time. At the core of it all, I think Tonal has done a genius job of creating a space where you can’t plateau, where you can’t cheat. They’ve answered all the questions. Even the ones you haven’t asked yet.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length. 

Follow Ackeem on Instagram.

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It started out innocently enough. Back in the summer of 2021, John Sill, a 35-year-old lawyer, was playing with his then-5-year-old daughter in their Wichita, Kansas home, flexing his biceps and imitating her favorite muscle-bound animated movie character. 

“You don’t have big muscles,” she said playfully. Her words stung. No one would have said this to him before he had kids.

He didn’t know it then, but her comment would spark a change in his life. “That one hit home pretty hard and let me know I’d let myself go too far,” he said. “That’s just not what you want to hear.”

A Love of Lifting

A high school athlete, Sill started lifting weights when he was 15 years old to gain strength for track and cross country. He ended up loving it.

“I just really liked the gains,” he said. “I always struggled with being the small guy and wanted to put on more muscle mass.” He kept up the habit throughout high school, college, and even during law school. 

But when Sill and his wife, Audrey, had their first child, he fell off the wagon. Driving back and forth to the gym after work, getting a workout in, and showering could be a three-hour ordeal, and Sill felt guilty not spending that time with his family. 

Sill and Audrey went on to have two more children, which made it even more difficult to add fitness back into his schedule. “It’s hard to enjoy yourself at the gym and focus on what you’re supposed to be doing when in the back of your mind you’re constantly thinking, I’m missing out on things or I have to cut this short because I have to get back to the family,” he said. Audrey felt the same way, so they both “put fitness on the back burner and focused on family time.” 

It wasn’t long before his confidence started to slip. “I was probably more lazy and sluggish,” he said. “I continued to eat like I was working out, but I wasn’t working out so I lost a lot of muscle mass and put on a lot of weight.”  

When his daughter called him out, he finally got serious about making a change.

From the Sofa to the Stage

Between work and family obligations, Sill knew the best way to build back strength would be a home gym. At first, he wanted a traditional weight rack with a barbell and plates because he was used to working out with one at the gym. However, as he talked through the decision with Audrey, he realized a weight rack would take up a lot of space and could be dangerous if the kids were playing nearby.

That’s when he came across Tonal. He liked the idea of being able to turn the weight on and off with a button. Compared to racking weights at the gym, it seemed like a big time saver—and it’d be safer around his kids. 

Since Sill had a lot of lifting experience—he could bench press 335 pounds, squat over 400 pounds, and deadlift over 500 pounds—he was initially hesitant that the 200 pounds of resistance on Tonal wouldn’t be enough weight.

But when Sill tried Tonal for the first time, he said, “it blew my mind.” Compared to free weights, the digital weight felt heavier. He especially liked lifting in eccentric mode, feeling the resistance in the cables even in the lowering phase of an exercise—something he couldn’t do at the gym. 

With Tonal, it was easy for Sill to exercise consistently again. Within a month, he was back in the habit of lifting regularly. He loved being able to work out at any time and not have to worry about childcare. Soon, he felt his strength and endurance increase.

After a few months of working out consistently on Tonal, Sill had the opportunity to meet four-time Mr. Olympia (and one of his childhood heroes), Jay Cutler, at an event at a local store. Cutler asked if Sill competed in bodybuilding competitions, and Sill said he thought he was too old. Cutler debunked that, telling Sill he started winning competitions at the same age. 

As Sill walked away, Cutler said, “Hey, I’ll see you on stage soon.” Sill called Audrey right away and told her he wanted to compete. 

Leading up to his first bodybuilding show, Sill again worried he’d need a gym membership to lift heavier in order to achieve the results he desired. But after training both at the gym and on Tonal for a while, he decided Tonal provided all the training stimulus he needed. 

“[Tonal] had endless options as far as moves you can do. It was very flexible and adaptive to what I wanted to achieve,” he said. “I wasn’t leaving anything on the table at the end of these workouts.” 

Instead of taking Sill away from his family, Tonal actually allowed him to spend more time with his kids and share his passion for fitness with them. “Sometimes they watch and participate,” Sill said. “If it’s something bodyweight-related, they like to do it with me. It’s teaching them healthy habits and the importance of exercise.”

Training for a bodybuilding competition involves continually trying to fatigue your muscles, and Tonal lets Sill crank out the reps to failure without worrying about injury. “When I reach failure on a traditional weight rack, I’m dropping a bar on myself,” he said. On Tonal, Sill can activate Spotter Mode to help him finish out those last few reps, or simply turn the weight off.

A ‘Transformative’ Experience

He entered his first competition in the novice class, meant for first-time competitors. However, a week before the competition, the organizers realized they didn’t have enough novice participants so they bumped Sill and his fellow novices up to the open division—with much more experienced competitors. If Sill won, he’d earn a pro card, which would make him eligible to compete in more elite shows with cash prizes. 

Sill was buzzing with nerves throughout the show. He hadn’t even prepared an individual presentation, in which a participant goes on stage alone and poses for the judges, because he didn’t know he’d have to do one. He had to ask someone backstage for advice. 

“It’s really different posing in front of a mirror all the time for practice versus being on stage,” he said. “You can’t see what you look like.”

Finally, the judges called all the competitors back on stage to announce the winners. Sill had made it into the top three and would have been ecstatic to come in third in his first competition. But when the judges announced the third-place contestant, they didn’t call his number. Then they announced second place and, again, called out a different number. Sill was confused and even looked down at his shorts to make sure he hadn’t forgotten his number. But he hadn’t. 

He’d come in first place and won.

“My jaw dropped. I had a look of shock on my face,” said Sill. “In that moment, I felt like I was king of the world.” 

Best of all, Sill’s daughter, now 7 years old, was in the audience screaming out his number in the crowd. “That was the most excited and proud she’s been of me [in] her whole life,” said Sill. She certainly thinks he has “big muscles” now.  Now, his daughter helps him practice his posing and even flexes her own muscles, too.

“If I had to describe my Tonal experience in one word, it would be ‘transformative,’” said Sill. “Before I got Tonal, I felt like half the man I wanted to be.” He’s still stunned he was able to go from not working out for five years to winning a bodybuilding competition.

But this is not the end for Sill; it’s just the beginning. Now that he’s earned his pro card, he can compete against other professionals at a much higher level—and he’s confident Tonal can help him achieve the physique he needs to succeed. Sill thought the competition would be a one-time learning experience but now, he said, “I’m only going to go up from here and reach for bigger and better goals.”

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Cycling is all about suffering. It’s about finding your limits then pushing past them. But even that struggle can feel liberating.  

“For me, handcycling for the first time as an adult felt so freeing,” said professional cyclist Travis Gaertner.

That freedom is especially important for the 42-year-old athlete, who also juggles his day job as a corporate consultant with being a husband and father of three. Gaertner started his pro sports career as a wheelchair basketball athlete representing Canada. His team won gold medals in 2000 and 2004, before he decided to retire from basketball to focus on his family and career.

In 2018, he picked up handcycling just for fun, as a way to maintain his fitness on the weekends. 

“After a while, that competitive bug came back again,” he said.

Gaertner leveraged that ambitious appetite and went to work. He applied his knowledge of training and hired a strength coach and a cycling coach just to see how far he could go. That training soon paid off. He earned a spot on the podium in a few domestic races, made it onto the U.S. team, and began competing internationally.  

Just two years later in 2020, Gaertner narrowly missed the opportunity to compete in the Tokyo Games by just 17 seconds. Now, he’s set his sights on chasing the 2024 Paris Games.

 A New Training Approach

Compared to a team sport like basketball, handcycling allows Gaertner to have a better work-life balance while still competing at an elite level. “I’m much more in control of when I do my training, how I do my training, where I do my training,”  he said, “and I’m still there for my family.” But he did need to make some adjustments.

In addition to gaining endurance via hours-long aerobic rides, Gaertner needed to develop strength and anaerobic power to hold pace with competitors in a race or launch an attack off the front of the field. He also wanted to build a strong core for maneuvering around tight turns on the bike with speed and control. 

But strength training in a traditional gym isn’t easy for a wheelchair athlete. 

“I wasn’t able to perform all the exercises I knew I needed to do to get stronger on the bike,” says Gaertner. “If I go to the gym and try to lift very heavy in any given exercise, I can get into trouble if I don’t have someone to spot me. I don’t have the same ability to get on and off a bench.” Core exercises on a cable machine were challenging, too, because Gaertner had trouble getting into position to lift a weighted cable in his chair. 

Then, Gaertner heard about Tonal from a friend. It sounded like the perfect fit for his needs, the flexibility he required, and what he was trying to achieve in his cycling career. “I ordered one right away and started seeing the benefits from day one,” he said. “Tonal has been revolutionary in my training. It’s one of the few products I’ve tried that actually lives up to all its promises—and even surpasses them.”

Since starting to work out on Tonal, Gaertner’s power output on the bike has increased by 10 to 15 percent. “I didn’t want my competitors to know about it,” he laughed. “It changed the way I trained so fast, and I started to see new results [so] quickly that I actually thought of it as a competitive advantage.” He was right—many of his competitors now train on Tonal as well.

On Tonal, Gaertner can challenge himself with heavier weights and trust that Spotter Mode is there to take the weight off so he doesn’t risk injuring himself. With core exercises, he can now get into position first before turning the weight on with the click of a button. “That was a game-changer,” he said. Building his core strength has helped Gaertner “tremendously” on the bike. “I can turn faster and I’m much more stable overall in the handcycle, which means I’m a lot faster.” 

With the ability to increase resistance by one-pound increments, Tonal prevents Gaertner from hitting plateaus. “At the gym, I had to increase by 5 or 10 pounds,” he said. “For certain exercises, I wasn’t always ready for that jump. Tonal keeps me engaged because I always want to try and push more—even if it’s just one more pound.”

The ease of working out at home on Tonal has also helped Gaertner “say yes” to his workouts and free up time for his family and career—a feeling that’s relatable even if you’re not a world-class athlete. 

Finding Strength in the Suffering

One of the main challenges of handcycling is continuing to generate power and give your max effort even when your mind and body are screaming at you to stop. With Tonal’s power meter, Gaertner can see if his power starts to dip during a set, then adjust his effort to maintain a high output. 

The real-time feedback shows Gaertner if he’s losing power. “I could watch for those dips to say, every rep, I want that to be a good rep,” he said. 

Now when Gaertner feels himself start to fade on the bike, he said, “I’ve trained myself to know I can push through that. That’s when the mental aspect kicks in. When I feel like I have nothing left, I know I can keep giving that effort because I’ve experienced it before in my training.”

Every day, Gaertner knows he is getting stronger. “It’s measurable—I can look at my PRs and take that knowledge to the bike,” he said. Just as he’s hitting new PRs on Tonal, he’s seeing bigger wattage outputs on his bike’s power meter and becoming a more competitive racer. 

For Gaertner, not making the 2020 Tokyo Games was devastating. “I felt like I let down all the people that supported me over the years, my family, and my sponsors,” he said. He even briefly considered quitting the sport. But once he realized he still loved cycling, pushing himself to his limits, and competing, he thought, “Why would I not keep going?”

Even though it’s been 20 years since his last Paralympics, Gaertner isn’t giving up on his goal. With Tonal in his corner, he’s continuing to become a stronger athlete and striving to perform better each day. 

“I’ve always got new things to learn,” he said. “That’s why I’m going to continue on this journey until I’ve hit a point where I feel like I’ve got nothing else to learn,  nothing else to give to the sport. I’ve still got more to give. Every year, I’m reinventing myself. I’m finding ways to improve. When that stops, I’ll stop.”

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“My life is chaotic, but whose life isn’t?” laughed Michelle Tee.

The 40-year-old mom-of-three is also a graphic designer, certified personal trainer, and nutrition coach based in New Jersey. Between her career, school drop-offs and pickups, running errands, shuttling kids to after-school activities, cooking dinner, and cleaning up, Tee still makes sure to prioritize her fitness. In fact, she starts her day at 6 a.m. with meditation and stretching, fits in workouts while her kids are at school, and gets in a yoga session to wind down in the evening–all from the comfort of her home.

“This is me carving out time for myself as opposed to me giving my time to everyone else,” she said. “There’s no word to describe the feeling that I get after having an awesome workout. It’s like this natural high that I’m on, that no one can bring me down because you know what? I did the work. And when you put the effort into something knowing that only you did it, there’s no greater feeling.”

After a health condition almost took away her ability to not only work out but to do simple, everyday tasks, that feeling means everything.

“Everyone likes a good comeback story, and I’m going to give you one hell of a story,” she said.

Gym Rat Turned Tonal Power User

Tee’s rollercoaster fitness journey began 11 years ago. After giving birth to her second child, she started focusing on cardio to melt off the postpartum weight. 

“For two years, I was all cardio, cardio, cardio, more cardio,” Tee said. “I lost so much weight, but I was what most people would refer to as ‘skinny fat.’”

What she really wanted was to look—and feel—strong. She started strength training and fell in love with it, becoming a self-described “gym rat.”

“Strong can come in many shapes and forms, but you can look at me [now] and know that I work out,” she said. “I wanted someone to do a double take, like, oh, I didn’t know you had all of that underneath there,” she laughed. She got a kick out of other moms in the school pickup line starting to notice her newly-defined muscles and asking her about her workouts.

As much as she loved the gym though, it wasn’t always convenient. She had a small window during which she had access to free childcare to drive there, get her workout in, and drive back. If the gym was busy, she often wouldn’t be able to do the exercises she wanted. 

Then, in 2019 when she and her family moved to a new home, her husband surprised her by getting a Tonal installed. At first, she was wary. She was used to her gym routine and didn’t know if she could replicate her favorite exercises on Tonal. Over time and especially during the pandemic, she realized that not only could she do big lifts such as bench presses, squats, and deadlifts as well as accessory exercises, but Tonal also offered her something the gym couldn’t: flexibility.

“Tonal entered my routine, then became the core of my routine,” she said. “What I like most about Tonal is I’m not fixed to a gym block anymore. Now I can spread out my workouts throughout the day based on my chaotic life. I can do a quick session in the morning knowing I can come back in the evening and finish.”

She also learned about her body and how it moves, and whether she was doing exercises incorrectly, thanks to Form Feedback. Tee was better able to listen to her body because she wasn’t rushing through exercises as she did at the gym when someone else was waiting for the machine she was using.

From Life-Changing Setback to Making Her Comeback

Tee was in the best shape of her life, but nothing could have prepared her for the challenges she would soon face.

In 2021, while doing a routine step-up—a move she’d done countless times—Tee experienced pain and was unable to complete the exercise no matter how she modified it. Several doctors visits and multiple MRIs later, she learned she tore her labrum (the ring of cartilage that helps hold the top of the thigh bone to the hip socket) as a result of hip dysplasia, a condition she was likely born with that had gone undiagnosed. 

“My surgeon said my labrum was going to pop no matter what. It was just a matter of time,” Tee said. “That I lasted as long as I did was a testament to my strength training.”

The only solution, she was told, was a hip replacement. 

“I went to my car and cried because I couldn’t believe it,” Tee recalled. “I’m 38. What do you mean I need a hip replacement? It took me a really long time to come to terms with it.”

What should have been a three-hour surgery lasted nearly seven hours, and complications required Tee to have a blood transfusion. She struggled with “unbearable” pain in the days following the procedure and was unable to walk, drive, or do everyday activities that she previously took for granted.

“It was brutal, very humbling,” she said. “I felt at my lowest because the simplest tasks—putting on my socks, getting out of bed, rolling over—became an issue.”

Tee was desperate to do what brought her the most joy: working out. But she had a lot of healing to do before that was an option.

“I turned to meditation on Tonal because it kept me from going crazy,” explained Tee, who said Coach Allison’s meditation sessions guiding her to find the best version of herself were particularly meaningful. “I had to learn to control my thoughts. I had to learn to tell myself, it’s just time. You’ll be back.”

That change in mindset gave her a new sense of purpose as she slowly worked to rebuild strength in her hip and legs. 

“My focus has shifted from aesthetics to just pure daily living,” Tee said. “I shifted from feeling sorry for myself to things I can do to prolong this prosthetic [hip] because I’m not trying to do this again in 20 years. I want to make this last as long as possible.”

Once cleared, she started on the road back to health using bodyweight exercises, mobility work, yoga, Pilates, and barre to strengthen her hip and the muscles surrounding it. Having access to this variety of exercise modalities on Tonal had now become critical for her recovery and a way to connect with who she was before her hip replacement. She slowly built up to doing unilateral moves like single-leg RDLs to continue strengthening her hips and work through imbalances, and practiced squatting again to develop her range of motion.

As she grew stronger, she was able to start adding resistance—just 20 pounds at first—and incrementally increasing from there. She started deadlifting at 50 pounds, a far cry from her pre-surgery 200-pounds lifts.

“What did I learn about myself? That I’m not a quitter, because there were many times I wanted to quit,” she said. “What happened was not of my choosing. It was a birth defect. I couldn’t control that, but I can control my recovery. I can control how much stronger I want to be afterward.”

More than a year post-surgery, Tee is actually stronger now than she was before. She’s back to strength training at her full potential and can even deadlift 200 pounds again. Her lower-body Strength Score is at an all-time high. This time around, she’s taking a more holistic approach to her wellbeing.

“Tonal introduced me to a whole new approach to fitness,” Tee explained. “It allowed me to become a more balanced athlete, not only focusing on strength, but also on the underlying issues, mobility, flexibility, and becoming stronger from within.”

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