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Pansi Ward
MAY 31, 2007 185 COMMENTS
A few years ago, I had the good fortunate to happen upon a fitness show that aired on
ESPN called Bodies in Motion with Gilad Janklowicz. Little did I know at that time what a
major role this circumstance would have on my life.
The show caught my attention as I was channel surfing. It featured a cute guy in
spandex with a few friends and a bird working out on the beach. His attitude was so
inviting, I couldn’t pass up the show. It was as if he was talking to me through the TV. He
said things like, “Get up off of that couch and work out! I can see you!” He also would
grab the attention of the tourists who were visiting Hawaii and get them to work out in the
middle of the show. His passion was contagious. I couldn’t resist working out with him,
and I soon found myself in a routine of positively addicting exercise that would later be
the tool that I needed to help me get through some extremely tough life experiences. I
learned through Gilad from afar how to manage stress and maintain mobility, strength
and flexibility. Thank God for Gilad and his inspiration!
I always wanted to write him and tell him about my weight loss and how he inspired me,
but that didn’t happen until many years later, when tragedy struck my life. During my
second pregnancy, I gained an unhealthy 80 pounds. Not only did I gain weight, but I
developed a crippling autoimmune disorder that would change my life forever. Along with
my physical problems, I also developed post-traumatic stress syndrome following my
father’s suicide while I was in the hospital having emergency surgery to deliver my
daughter.
It’s really difficult to express the extent of the challenges that I was facing mentally and
physically. But when I felt like the walls were caving in, my thoughts turned to Gilad and
his inspiring, motivational fitness routines. I immediately began to do what I could to
exercise. I felt like I could win my life back through fitness. There were many days I
could not do it all, but I pushed myself and struggled until I worked the mental and
physical pain out of my body. I was determined to win and knew that exercise could get
me through. I would often awake in the middle of the night and put on a Gilad workout
video and just do it until my fears went away. Working out with his encouragement gave
me hope.
It took a lot of hard work, but I pushed hard until, finally, I lost 92 pounds, gained control
of the autoimmune disorder, maintained my mobility and regained my quality of life. If it
wasn’t for that guy on the beach in the tight spandex pants with the bird, I truly believe I
wouldn’t have known about fitness. Gilad instilled in me the empowering feeling of
believing in myself, inspiring me to succeed, overcome adversity and be a success story.
Oh yeah, there’s more… I finally wrote Gilad and told him about his inspiration and the
positive way it had affected my life. All I wanted was to thank him; I never really
expected that he would read my letter. Guess what? He not only read my letter, but I
ended up in Hawaii on an all-expense paid trip to work out on the beach with Gilad and
his friends. (The bird wasn’t there. You’ll have to ask him what happened to that bird.) It
was a dream come true for me. All I wanted was for him to read my thank-you letter. I
got more than I ever imagined. As if that wasn’t enough, I was called back to do another
promotion in Hawaii. It happened again, and I enjoyed every moment of it!