Rachel Elliot

This single mom turned her body and life around in 8 weeks with the Summer Shred Challenge.

Written By Jim Stoppani, PhD

Updated December 4, 2024

Rachel Elliot went from a depressed single mom to a 2024 Summer Shred Challenge finalist in a matter of weeks.

“I enrolled in the challenge for multiple reasons,” she says, “but the biggest was that I was desperate to lock back in mentally and let my actions line up with my words and ambitions. I’ve been on my fitness journey for a long time now, and it feels like every time I make progress and am happy with where I’m at, life knocks me back, presenting me with roadblocks that feel almost impossible to overcome.”

Her most recent setback came earlier in the year when she was forced to resign from her job due to office politics.

“I love my career, I love helping people, and my job was a huge part of my identity, so this really shook me to my core,” Rachel says. “The sudden loss took a toll on my confidence. I fell into a depression, and it started to affect everything: my eating habits, my energy and intensity in the gym, and my overall belief in myself.”

With a new goal to pursue—a physical transformation and a piece of the $25,000 Summer Shred Challenge prize purse—Rachel turned her life around in just 8 weeks, with the above before-and-after photos to show for it.

Results In Only 8 Weeks

The Xtreme Shredded 8 (XS8) workout plan Rachel followed during the challenge lived up to its name—her results were extreme.

“The difference is so crazy for me to see,” she says. “I doubted that I’d be able to make much of a difference, as I’ve been training for a while and it’s hard for me to put on new lean muscle. But taking the leap really started paying off early.”

It wasn’t just the XS8 workouts and diet that delivered results. The support from the JYM Army played a major role as well.

“I’ve done transformation challenges before, and they’ve always helped me buckle down and focus when I’m having a hard time with my consistency,” Rachel says. “It’s nice learning a new style of working out and knowing that there’s a whole community of like-minded people overcoming the hardships of life together to collectively become stronger and more disciplined.”

Rachel’s Keys For Success

The results Rachel got during the challenge—gaining muscle and losing body fat quicker than expected—required a complete lifestyle change.

“During the eight weeks, I made a lot of sacrifices,” she says. “I brought my cooler to all social gatherings with my meal prep, spent a lot of time in the gym, gave up drinking, and said no to a lot of events that I knew would tempt me too much. I’m a big believer in balance, but I told myself if I was going to do this challenge, then I was going to give it 100%.”

Her dedication paid off. People at the gym, as well as her friends and family, commented on her results every week. “I was losing body fat and gaining muscle very quickly with this new way of training,” she says.

Shortly after she started the Summer Shred Challenge, Rachel started personal training at a local gym, where she implemented many of the XS8 techniques with clients. Now she’s spreading the word online.

“The biggest advice I could give anyone looking to make a transformation is to follow a program and join a transformation challenge,” she says. “The routine you get into will help you change your body and your mind, as well as set you up for long-term success.”

Rachel completed the Summer Shred Challenge in July and a few months later competed in a bodybuilding show. But she’s just getting started, and she plans to use JimStoppani.com workout programs for the foreseeable future.

“My journey going forward is going to be a long road,” she says. “I can get leaner whenever I’d like, but I need to put on some good size for the next half a year to a year to achieve the physique I’m after. I’m so excited to build and continue to implement everything I’ve learned from Dr. Stoppani along the way!”

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