A few training sessions ago, our SpartanFit 5.0 community welcomed another new member, Nika Antić. Coincidentally or not, but not at all surprising since we are after all in Selce, out of the seven people who have reached and surpassed the milestone of fifty workouts in the SpartanFit group so far (Iva, Ivica, Matea, Rafaela, Roberto, Roko), four share the same last name, and to make things even more interesting, three of them are from the same family. After their dad, Ivica, who has now also become the first in our history to reach a hundred workout mark, and brother Roko, Nika recently completed this part of their family storyline.
Our journey began on October 6th last year, after her dad asked about her a few times, conveying Nika’s desire to start training soon after she stopped dancing. From the very beginning, tinged with that initial impatience, I knew that, regardless of her age, I was dealing with a persistent and determined person. A year later, I can, with great pleasure and joy, only confirm this. After New Years, considering Nika’s curiosity about fitness which extends to following numerous fitness channels and profiles, we even added more core focused work to our training. From mid-March until the last summer break, Nika also enjoyed the company of her good friend Chiara. In April, we shifted her story in the new direction, dividing weekly workouts into two segments. One still emphasized strength and endurance, while the other one leaned more into an athletic approach, focusing for instance on sprints, HIIT workouts, and conditioning for athletes, but applicable to all recreational athletes among us. After the summer break, Nika returned to training in early October, and we continued on the same path.
In addition to her persistence and perseverance, what needs to be emphasized about this wonderful young woman is undoubtedly her dedication to the whole story, the goal she has set for herself, and the process she is aware she must go through in order to achieve that goal. I gladly remember some of our workouts when it became really tough for her, when she wasn’t in the mood, and when we laughed together at some “why did I sign up for this” moments. Retrospectively, with my green stopwatch in hand, those situations were probably funnier for me than for her, lying on the floor during a minute or two of rest between some tough sets of burpees or something similar, but oh well. Despite that, an extremely small number of sets that combined such moments were done without enthusiasm, and most often with even greater intensity than both of us might have expected. This approach led to visible changes in these fifty workouts, both in terms of strength and energy, but also in terms of definition and “firmness” of certain muscles. For instance, I really enjoyed sharing her enthusiasm while listening to a story of her running seven laps in six minutes in her school physical education class for the first time ever.
Considering that her age works solely in her favor in this context, I know that our journey towards a hundred workouts, and very likely beyond that, will bring only good things for her; a significant change, both physically and psychologically, in her approach to fitness, self-care, her own body, and ultimately in life, because this level of dedication is transferrable to everything we do, if we decide to give it a chance. I am increasingly confident that Nika and I will continue to be friends for a very long time, and achieving goals she set for herself will motivate her even more, keeping her hungry. I’ll wrap it up by saying I am truly happy to be part of that.
Original release date: December 9, 2019.