For Marija Jankovic, motivation was never in short supply.
Fitness was always a part of her lifestyle, but when she was blessed with children, it took a toll on her body and her motivation.
Marija is a 39-year-old mother of 3 young children.
She is an IT researcher and a University teaching assistant and she recently moved to Greece with her family. She enjoys what all of us aim to reach – a healthy work-life balance.
But things weren’t always so easy.
As a young woman, Marija was very active. She played handball and ran marathons throughout her whole university career. Seven years ago, she fell in love with kettlebell training. Her motivation to stay fit and healthy grew stronger from that point on.
“I’ve always been active. All 4 years of university, I would run marathons and I was always lean. It’s easier when you’re young and have less responsibilities.”
She went on to find success in her career and had 3 beautiful children, 2 girls and a boy.
Marija with her beautiful family.
As most mothers can attest, it’s not always easy to shed the baby weight after pregnancy. This was true for Marija as she had her 2 baby girls very close together, which led to her gaining just over 55 pounds. Marija struggled to get back into her kettlebell centric fitness routine. Balancing her career and her children took first priority; everything else slid to the back burner. Not only did she not have the time to focus on her fitness, changes in her work and location made it more difficult to focus or to be motivated to hit the gym.
“Not only did I lose my motivation to continue with my training, but it also became harder to focus at work. I was unhappy. Something was missing in my life, and I didn’t know how to get back to being myself.”
That’s when she was introduced to jump rope training by her husband. When they first met, he loved to jump rope while watching TV. She remembers teasing him and thinking that jumping rope was silly. In retrospect, this is extremely ironic, because she is the jump rope fanatic today! Not losing the baby weight was hard for Marija. Being a busy new mother affected her happiness and even her focus at work. This is when she decided to look into something to shake up her routine and to breathe new life into her fitness regimen.
“In 2015, I did some research into jumping rope. I was willing to try anything. I know my husband loved it, so I invested some time looking into different options to try out.”
She did some digging online and found several jump ropes to try out. She didn’t like them at all! She really wanted to give it another shot, and that’s when she came across Crossrope. She bought the very original Crossrope Set and loved it.
She could also exercise for 15-20 minutes every day in the morning before her kids got up, instead of heading out to the gym for 1-2 hours at a time, which made jumping rope more practical for her busy lifestyle.
“Going to the gym for an hour is really impractical for me. Not only am I tired afterwards, so I can’t play or spend time with my kids, but it’s also a lot to have to actually go to the gym, make sure I go when it’s not crowded, and having to find someone to watch the kids. It’s too much! With my Crossropes, I can go down to my home gym and do a quick workout everyday before the kids are up. It starts my day off right, and I have plenty of energy to spend time with my family. It’s so practical and I love it!”
She also had more energy to actually spend quality time with her kids! The real turning point for her was when Crossrope hosted a 30-day jump rope and kettlebell challenge in which she came in first place after losing 10.70 pounds. Over the course of two years, she’s gone through two challenges with her Crossrope Premium Set and has lost over 55 pounds! Along with joining CR challenges and being consistent with her regimen, she re-introduced kettlebell training into her workouts to focus on strength and has also found a lot of success doing intermittent fasting.
“One thing I really love about Crossrope is that they are not just selling me a product; they provide me with tools to achieve a better lifestyle. The challenges are a great foundation for beginners. But working on my nutrition became extremely important for maintaining my results. That’s why I enjoy intermittent fasting so much!’
Although English is not her first language, she finds that the Jump Rope Fitness Community is very supportive and inspirational. Seeing like-minded individuals from all over the world encouraging each other daily is very motivational for Marija. It’s great to have a place reserved for just fitness and positivity. She draws encouragement and inspiration from group members Vincent Clark, Sonny Smith, and Bernadette Henry the most. For all the mothers out there, Marija’s advice is to always stay consistent and remember that you are not competing with anyone but yourself.
“It’s really important to not compare yourself to others. You are you, so do YOUR best, not someone else’s. As a mother of three, I always have to remember that I have different challenges and responsibilities. As such, my goals will be different because of my lifestyle, and that’s ok!”
She recommends trying to incorporate some intermittent fasting as it helps control cravings and helps to reach your weight goal. Also, she also suggests training in the morning before the kids are up.
“They aren’t in my way, I jump from the comfort of my home, and it gives me so much energy. Jumping rope is actually a great way to lose weight because it is a form of HIIT (high-intensity interval training) that is actually fun!”
Looking towards the future, Marija looks forward to jumping in on new CR challenges. She hopes to get better at double unders (currently she sits at 6-10 consecutive double unders). She wants to continue maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Fitness is her way to stay active with her family. Whether it’s taking hikes with her husband, going to the park with her kids, or cooking nutritious meals for her family, Marija strives to continue with her regimen consistently to maintain balance in her life.Thanks for sharing your story Marija! We look forward to seeing you continuously hit your fitness goals.
Questions or comments for Marija? Please leave them in the comment section below!
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