ATHLETES OF TRI-FITNESS

By Bernadette Rosen

Photos by: Ed Johnston, Rick Schaff, Greg VanderWel, Jay Ronca, Marianne Johnston

Each month we will feature Tri-Fitness athletes who have competed and performed at the

highest level. What is an athlete? Well, a Tri-Fitness athlete is one who demonstrates strength

(bench press), speed (obstacle course , true grit challenge and shuttle run), flexibility (routine),

agility (shuttle run and obstacle course), and endurance (box jumps, obstacle course, routine,

shuttle and bench). Through a healthy diet (eating as an athlete) and extreme training, these

athletes achieve a fit, athletic physique which enables them to succeed in our event.

This month we will feature athletes Whitney Gladden and Chantel Schultz who achieved

success at the 2015 Tri-Fitness World Challenge.

 

BSR: Please tell the readers about yourself and your past:

Whitney: I’m a 39 year old mom of 7-year-old Tucker and 5-year-old Macy. I am a

former attorney and now Diamond Distributor with AdvoCare. I have never been

particularly athletic, but I have always enjoyed fitness; in high school I played softball

and was the captain of my cheer leading squad. Through college I taught fitness classes,

but had to stop upon admission to law school due to time constraints. It was exciting to

find a company like AdvoCare because it allowed me to have health and wellness back

as a focus in my life after putting it to the side for several years.

 

BSR: How long have you been doing the Tri-Fitness and what got you started?

Whitney: 2015 was my first competition! I didn’t know much about it until my friend

and fellow AdvoCare Diamond Liz Cort invited me to participate with her. I fell in love

with the training right away. After I was introduced to it by Liz, I found out that my

personal trainer, Laura Lord, was a multiple time Tri-Fitness Competitor and has been

featured in this very magazine! She helped so much with the training for that first event.

I could not have done it without her.

 

BSR: What do you like best about Tri-Fitness?

Whitney: I love that Tri-Fitness is all about personal empowerment. It’s not about being

the best or beating everyone else. It’s about being your best self. It’s about being better

at competition than you were at the beginning of training. It’s about commitment,

consistency, being brave and overcoming the seemingly insurmountable. It’s everything

I try to stand for in my own life!

BSR: How did you go about training for the Tri-Fitness?

Whitney: I leaned on the experience of those who had gone before me! I followed a

training program written by Liz, which called for more athleticism than I had ever been

asked to deliver. It was a challenge for sure, with sprints, pull-ups, box jumps, bench

presses, many many plyometric exercises, dive rolls – truly things I had not done since

high school and possibly even elementary school. It really awakened the athlete in me

and I loved every minute of it. I stuck with it and pushed my own limits 6 days a week. It

was worth it, because at the competition I performed better than I ever had in practice

and was stronger than I’d ever been in my life. At 39, that is a real treat.

 

BSR: Would you like to add anything else for our readers?

Whitney: After completing Tri-Fitness, I was in awe. I couldn’t believe the things I was

able to do as a result of consistent training and proper nutrition. I couldn’t believe I

conquered an overwhelming fear of heights and not only jumped a 5 foot wall, but also

scaled a 10-foot rope wall and even climbed a 15-foot cargo net wall…and flipped over

it! The feeling of accomplishment was real and cannot be overstated. The support from

Al Rosen, my fellow competitors, and friends in attendance encouraged me to do things

I was sure I couldn’t. They believed in me until I believed in myself. I am proud to be a

part of the Tri-fitness family.

 

BSR: Please tell the readers about yourself and your past:

Chantel: I am a 38 year old mom of 3. I have a step-daughter who is 18, a daughter who

is 14, and a son who is 6. We are a household of Athletes and are always on the go! I am

a personal trainer at various gyms in NY and a group fitness instructor at Fitness Fusion

of the Hudson Valley (FFHV) in Red Hook, NY. I teach bootcamps, TRX, CRT Method, Real

Ryder Cycle, and Kickboxing. I am a coach for Team Fit Mom/Team Fit Girl. I coach

hundreds of girls all over the United States with our online prep program. I have done

multiple fitness competitions, Tri-Fitness (my favorite), The  NPC and The WBFF, where I

won my ProCard in back in April of 2012. I have always been athletic. Fitness is truly my

PASSION! I think the most rewarding part of what i do is watching my clients make

change….. The journey starts out with physical changes, but socially and emotionally my

clients grow as well and I love seeing them break out of their shells. I am also an Advisor

with a company called AdvoCare. We are a wellness and performance supplementation

company that focuses on clean eating with supplements to fill the gaps with nutrition

that our bodies need so that we can perform at top levels.

 

BSR: How long have you been doing the Tri-Fitness and what got you started?

Chantel: I did the Tri-Fitness Worlds Challenge for the first time last year in May 2015.

My friend, Liz Cort whom I also work for at FFHV had taken a group of ladies down the

year before. Unfortunately, I could not make it that year but every single person had

raved about what an incredible experience it was. I started following the founder, Al

Rosen on Facebook. His dedication to this Tri-Fitness challenge and his competitors is

like NO OTHER you will find out there!! I was blown away last year when I competed….

the Rosen family is incredibly inspiring and they have a heart of gold.

 

BSR: What do you like best about the Tri-Fitness?

Chantel: I love how personal Tri-Fitness is. IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU……even though there

are a hundred other competitors. This competition is YOU vs. YOU. You leave there

feeling beyond accomplished. The friendships you make, the tears of joy you have, the

memories you make, the obstacles you overcome makes it an incredible experience! . As

far as the challenge itself I have 2 favorites, I loved the stage (it was so different than my

past experiences with other federations) and I had a love/hate relationship with The

Bench Press (this was by far the biggest challenge during training but the most

rewarding when I finished it on competition day)!

BSR: Would you like to add anything else for our readers?

Chantel: I challenge anyone to “friend” Al Rosen on Facebook and turn down his Tri-

Fitness Challenge …. haha! ….it just won’t happen! You will be so inspired and intrigued

at the level of professionalism, commitment, and dedication that him and his family

have. The friends that I made while in Tampa, Florida and the group of girls I went down

with – we just have a special bond that no one can understand, unless you have

experienced Tri-Fit. I refuse to miss another year! I cannot wait to see everyone and

beat my placings from last year! I have a feeling the competition is going to be extra

hard this year!!! I can’t wait for June 2016…. BRING IT ON!!