January 2024
GET TO KNOW STEPHEN’S SUCCESS STORY AT FIT2LIVE BELOW!
This month’s spotlight is on the consistent, focused and hard working Stephen Leverett!
Stephen started his Fit2Live journey in October of 2019!
In Stephen’s 4 years at Fit2Live he has seen some pretty impressive fitness gains and has balanced out his professional and personal life with the best fitness hour of his day.
Stephen is a pretty fit guy but it wasn’t until he started Nutrition and Wellness Coaching with Coach EJ that his habits and life took a drastic change for the better. He had more energy, he felt better inside and outside of the gym and he started hitting PRs and feeling great in his workouts, not to mention achieving a more sustainable and healthier body composition.
Stephen is a friendly and quiet hard worker in the gym and one heck of a dad outside of the gym.
He is a proud member of the 250 class club at Fit2Live with a sweet shirt to show for it.
For these reasons and many more, Stephen has been chosen as our member of the month for January!
Tell us a little about yourself, where you’re from, what you do outside of Fit2Live, family, hobbies, etc.
I was born and raised in Lansing, Michigan and went to college at The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. I graduated with a degree in Computer Engineering, and I’ve worked for one of the world’s largest chipmakers ever since. I lived in Portland, Oregon for many years and moved back to Ann Arbor with my wonderful wife, Sarah, about five years ago to be closer to our families as we started a family of our own. Sarah and I were both trumpets in the Michigan Marching Band and I proposed to her on the 50-yard line of the Big House after a football game while we were participating in alumni band.
I love flying for fun as a licensed private pilot. I’m building a kit plane in our garage. If you see me sneak out the back door during a WOD, it’s probably because I hear an inbound or outbound plane at Ann Arbor Airport that I’m hardwired to watch.
Most other hobbies are on hold while raising 2.5 kids.
When and why did you get started at Fit2Live?
I did CrossFit while living in Portland and loved it. The gym formed an Olympic weightlifting team which I did full time for a couple of years. It was very rewarding, and I was at my peak strength. But injuries added up, plus when I’d go for a run, I felt like I was dragging two logs for legs. So I went back to CrossFit, and when we moved back to Michigan, I gave Joust/Fit2Live a try and loved the coaching and community, and I’ve found that my fitness is very well balanced with Fit2Live’s programming.
What is your favorite part of Fit2Live, what keeps you coming back?
Whenever I’m traveling, my solo workouts aren’t nearly as intense as when I’m working out with a group and have a coach telling me to keep going. The gym isn’t overly competitive to the point of getting injured and/or puking by the end of a workout, but it’s a very encouraging environment with a soft competitive feel. The programming forces me to focus on things I wouldn’t do otherwise like abs and burpees. Another member told me that they look at my BTWB entries and try to best them, which is another motivator.
You are an amazing dad of 2, soon to be 3 kids with a full-time job! What is your strategy for continuing to prioritize your health and fitness with a busy life?
Although I prefer working out in the evening, I’ve adjusted my schedule to work out in the morning before the rest of the family wakes up. This frees up my evenings for family time. I also bulk cook on the weekend so I’m ready for the busy week.
What is one lesson you have learned as a parent and what is your motto for parenting?
Being a dad has been so awesome and more amazing that I ever imagined. I still feel like I have a lot to learn, but I try to do my best. I don’t really have a motto… I just try to be patient and present I guess, meaning put the laptop and phone away and focus my attention on the family.
If you could be the star in any kid’s book, movie or television show, who would you be?
Victor the Frisbee Dog (if he’s not already in a kid’s book, movie, or TV show, he really should be)
If you could make the workout “Stephen”, what would it look like?
Stephen Complex
135/95 lbs.
Seven rounds unbroken of:
-3 Barbell rows
-1 Power Clean
-1 Jerk
-1 Back Squat
-1 Behind the Neck Jerk
Favorites:
Movie: The Matrix
TV Show: Ice Pilots
Song: Impossible to answer, I have so many favorites…
Book: Fate is the Hunter by Ernest Gann
Quote:
“Who ne’er has suffered, he has lived but half.
Who never failed, he never strove or sought.
Who never wept is stranger to a laugh,
and he who never doubted never thought.”
-J.B. Goode
What daily habit has changed your life for the better?
Oh dear… I worked with EJ on nutrition coaching for a long time and learned many new habits, so it’s hard to pick just one. I guess one of the biggest is I bring a “bucket” of vegetables (really a huge Tupperware bowl) and several pieces of fruit to work each day. If I get hungry for a snack, I just grab the bowl and graze on it or eat some fruit. This has been a big change for me instead of finding a sugary or salty snack. And the veggies are right there for me to pair with a protein for meals.
What is at the very top of your bucket list?
I have several ambitions like getting instrument and commercial pilot ratings, building a rat rod decorated in Tetris pieces made from scrap, and learning how to play Maple Leaf Rag on the piano, but right now I aspire to read to my girls every night and enjoy time with my wife.
What current fitness goal are you working towards?
I’m making 2024 the year of bodyweight exercises: Ten pull-ups unbroken, a ring muscle-up, a bar muscle-up, and a handstand push-up.
Thanks for being awesome Stephen, keep up the great work!
NEXT UP: Tiffany Schmitt, Member of the Month For December 2023!
