Ellen Bennett whirled into my camp like a magic tornado of energy…. She had accomplished so much professionally but had lost touch with herself and success with her personal wellness. But she was determined to to commit to my camp and my rules. Ellen is a rebel. She created a high-end apron line that everyone told her would fail. Hedley & Bennett is now one of the most successful apron and kitchen-wear companies of all time. Ellen doesn’t follow all rules, but for some reason our magical unicorn vibe matched, and she decided she would follow mine. And VOILA!
She committed to my camp code, learned to set alarms, learned to make herself a priority in her own schedule, started saying no, and found the ability to be herself inside the parameters of my coaching. She started channeling her amazing energy in a way that not only served her business but served herself, which is one of the primary tenants of the Stone Tone Squad… Be you, but be the BEST version of you. Ellen’s transformation has been so wonderful to watch and I’m proud of her not just as the businesswomen she is, but the person she is…. My newly married friend who epitomizes the phrase “young at heart.”
Read on for an exclusive Q&A with my friend and client, CEO and new bride, Ellen.
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What is your memory of first starting the LSF bootcamp programs?
“When I started your bootcamp, I couldn’t even do the 1-minute plank….” Ellen said. “By the last class, I held the plank for over 3 minutes! I felt strong. I started this program to get healthy and trim up and what I got out of it was so much more, and I think that’s why I ended up being so persistent. I set out to fit into my wedding dress but in the end I got discipline. I learned to commit and stick to it and anytime I thought, well sh*t, I don’t want to get up this morning (there were plenty of times I failed or was late at the beginning!), but I looked around and there were 30 other women who were so busy, and I was like, Shut up, you don’t have an excuse!” she said laughing.
What was your starting weight before you started following the Stone Method?
“I’m 5’5″ and I started around 165 pounds with Lacey in April 2018, believe it or not. And I was about 137 by the time my wedding happened in November 2018. I lost over 20 pounds over the course of 8 months and gained a TON more muscle, so I actually lost more fat weight but I gained weight in muscle.”
What advice would you give other brides-to-be who are about to start shredding for the wedding?
“I would say to commit to something with a specific goal. I did 3 LSF bootcamps; I started in April and my wedding was in November. Give yourself time to legitimately lose the weight. You see things like, ‘Oh my god, they lost 30 pounds in 30 days,’ but then gain the weight back. I chipped away meticulously for a long time. The change wasn’t overnight, but I got stronger so I could do more workouts. I was consistent about it. Inside and outside the bootcamps I was eating Klean LA. It was my safety blanket. I also got myself a 40 oz. jug, one of those crazy bottles. If I had 2-3 of those a day, I was drinking enough water. If I don’t have a quantifiable measurement I won’t stick to things. The water was really key.”
What was the greatest takeaway you got from participating in the LSF programs?
“The biggest gift Lacey Stone Fitness gave me was discipline and consistency,” Ellen said. “I started documenting it on my Instagram and people watched and saw that it was a community, a ra-ra effort. Then I was excited to go to camp and to Flywheel and to post. I was helping myself, which was helping others and that personal discipline bled over into my work discipline too. I was hitting meetings and getting there on time because, rain or shine, I had to be at the gym on time so I could be everywhere on time. I started getting more out of my day all around. When I work out, I have more energy and I’m more focused. The programs really helped my work and my stress levels because I started dealing with the hard things by working out and not during the rest of my day.”
What have the Lacey Stone Fitness programs offered you that you may not have been finding elsewhere?
“It was a series of things. A lot of people who have done the Lacey thing have had an explosion in their life that brought them here. My friend Daina was like, ‘You have to do this.’ And if you don’t know what it is before you join, oh, wow…. Before LSF I would go to a bootcamp class once every two weeks, a spin class twice a month. The fact that Lacey’s programs are non-transient made a huge difference and the camaraderie of the group was interesting. You go to the gym and you don’t know who people are, but the majority of these woman have real sh*t to do and are making time for this!”
“Another big driver was seeing Lacey and all the other girls be very strong. Delilah, who is in her 60s was doing over a 3.5-minute plank, and I’m 30 years old and can’t…how is this woman beating me? There’s a competitive edge to Flywheel and a competitive edge in a healthy way with LSF, with ourselves, where everyone else is trying to get better and that makes you want to get better.”
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
“Some people think if you have a coach, there’s something wrong with you. But even my coach has a coach. You need a coach if you want to grow, if you want to be a better version of what you already are. The point is, if you set your mind to it, you see that saying ‘I don’t have enough time’ is a total BS lie that you’re using on yourself.”
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I am SO PROUD of Ellen and her transformation. It has truly been from the inside out. Now, Ellen never makes any excuses about how busy she is. She shows up for herself and her teammates and gives her everything ALL DAY, EVERY DAY. She is one of the first campers to check in with me daily (another camp rule that used to be tough for Ellen to stick to) and brings so much cheer and intensity to camp that she’s earned the nickname Velocity.
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To join the Lacey Stone Fitness virtual squad and start YOUR transformation story now, head over to virtualtraining.laceystonefitness.com. The next week, month, year is going to pass anyway…let’s get you there in the best, happiest shape of your life!
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Check out more of Ellen’s before and afters below, and make sure to follow her on instagram at @EllenMarieBennett, as well as her company at @HedleyAndBennett.
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