by Sasha Reddy
When Susan Russell first joined HAC’s 2026 Lifestyle Challenge, she was not trying to become a champion. She was trying to become consistent. “I had tried and failed, like a lot of people do, to lose weight and stay consistent,” she admits. “I did try an online program last year, and I just bombed – I failed miserably.” The online format had not given her what she needed most: in-person support, accountability, and people who would care whether or not she showed up. Now that she’s claimed 1st in HAC’s 2026 Lifestyle Challenge, it’s evident she’s found that missing ingredient.
Susan first became a member of HAC while attending physical therapy sessions at ElitePT late last summer. When her free two-month membership ended in November, with encouragement from her cousin and fellow member, Paula DiGuglielmo, she decided to stay.
Fitness was relatively new to Susan at that point. “I never really exercised before – like, I never really had a regular exercise program.” She was initially intimidated by the gym but also had good reason to face her fears and go. As she saw her mom struggling with mobility challenges, Susan has become laser-focused on maintaining her own balance and strength. “I wanted to lose weight for sure, but I think more importantly, I wanted to just get stronger. I had my daughter when I was a little bit older, so by the time I have grandchildren, I still want to be able to be active, healthy and independent.”
To help her find her footing, Susan began working with Personal Trainer Bridget Baldwin. Sometimes they’d train one-on-one; other times, Paula, who had already trained with Bridget for years, would join them. For Susan, having a trainer who understood where she was in life was critical. “[Bridget] is closer to my age. She kind of understood better the needs of an older woman.” But practicality aside, Bridget, Susan, and Paula just clicked. What began as a convenient training arrangement has evolved into a friendship; seeing the three of them together, you’d assume they’d all known each other for years. Their reassurance and positive energy are what ultimately pushed Susan to take the next step in her wellness journey.
After about three months of training together, the 12-week Lifestyle Challenge felt like a natural extension of the routines they’d already been developing. Again, with Paula’s urging, both Paula and Susan decided to sign up. They began training together in joint sessions with Bridget twice per week for the 12-week duration.
Little Changes, Big Results
Entering this competition, Susan took plenty of inspiration from past Lifestyle Challenge winners. She devoured their stories, noted the body fat percentages each winner had lost, and even hung their final numbers on her fridge at home as a daily reminder of what she was striving for. From reading about their experiences, Susan knew that her own efforts would have to extend beyond the Personal Training Studio for her to stay competitive and achieve her goal of losing at least 10% body fat. So, she started tweaking all aspects of her life.
First, Susan began walking at least 10,000 steps a day, eventually increasing it to 15,000 steps during the final two weeks of the challenge. “I got an Apple watch for Christmas, which I was initially reluctant to use, but became dependent on to track my steps.” She also made good use of the at-home walking pad she’d purchased but had never opened during her previous online weight-loss program.
Water intake was another important piece of the puzzle. “I started carrying this 2-liter jug of water,” Susan laughs, “and my co-workers made fun of me.”
Her nutrition was also more honed in. Susan met with Jeannie Versagli, one of HAC’s registered dietitians, at the start of the challenge and began keeping a food log. “I track my calories, protein, and notes,” she says. “I’m old school, so I had to write it down.” Writing everything by hand made her choices feel more real and helped her stick to a calorie deficit throughout the challenge. Keeping a food journal also helped Susan, a vegetarian, ensure she was eating enough protein to sustain herself; she added eggs and egg whites back into her diet toward the end of the challenge to support her strength training.
There were days of indulgence, but overall, it became easier to stick to the good foods and avoid the bad – like the trove of sweets Susan’s co-workers often brought into the office. “They put them right on this credenza, like right behind my desk, but for some reason, I was locked in during the challenge. I would look at it and say, ‘Wow, that looks really good,’ and then I could just walk away.” Susan even cut alcohol down to nearly zero, limiting herself to about one glass of wine a month during the challenge.
Strengthening Relationships
After coming down with the stomach bug in February, Susan trailed first place for most of the 12-week challenge. “I kind of got in my head a little bit,” she remembers. “I kind of had to talk myself back and be like, ‘All right, just be grateful that you’re doing this and focus on the progress and the gains that you’re making.” Ironically, the more time Susan spent with other competitors, the harder it became to see them as competition alone.
HAC has hosted the Lifestyle Challenge annually for over 20 years now, but this year’s challenge was notably different in one big way. Alongside the usual offerings – personal training sessions, weekly weigh-ins, and nutrition coaching – competitors were invited to join in on group activities, from pop-up SGPT classes to educational presentations. These opportunities allowed participants to get to know each other not just as initials on a scoreboard, but as fellow people on parallel fitness journeys trying to make healthy habits fit into hectic lives.
Susan found herself particularly inspired by Cait Quinn and Barbara Albani, this year’s 2nd- and 3rd-place finishers. “I really admire them,” she says. “My daughter’s in college, so I have a lot more flexibility. I can eat what I want and buy what I want at the grocery store. I can come to the gym when I want, but those women both have younger children, so that’s a whole other level of commitment. Really so much credit to them for doing that with younger children, because I couldn’t have done that.”
Staying in her own lane, focusing less on competing against other participants and more on what they all shared, ultimately propelled her progress. By week 10, she’d launched into first on the leaderboard, though Susan was still pleasantly surprised to have won in the end. “These other people were really going for it!” she commends.
Keeping Momentum
Before the Lifestyle Challenge, Susan would never have described herself as an early bird. She was constantly getting up late and hitting snooze in the mornings. Still, she became a regular at many of the early-morning small group personal training classes in addition to training with Bridget and Paula twice a week. And to even her own surprise, she’s loving her AM workouts! “So many of the trainers and instructors were just so gracious and encouraging,” she chirps, “and I love their classes. They were all really great.” Sure, there are times she wakes up and dreads the idea of rolling out of bed to go to the gym, but the sense of belonging and accountability she feels when working out with a group is powerful, and the exercises themselves give her a much-needed break from the chaos of everyday life.
“When I’m in a class or on the treadmill, it’s like I’m in that moment, like all the other noise or whatever is going on – it’s gone for that time. That’s such a good feeling, just to be able to let go of everything else that might be going on and just be kind of in that moment, working out, working your body.”
Maintaining a healthful diet has been more challenging for Susan since the Lifestyle Challenge ended. “Now that the challenge is over, I’m really struggling with the nutrition part, which is weird,” she admits. Without the structure of the competition, she’s had to set new guardrails, remind herself to blend a variety of fruits and veggies into her meals, and steer clear of snacks at work.
Still, she has new goals on the horizon. “I joined RUN HAC,” Susan says, “and Paula encouraged me to do that with her, but also my daughter mentioned that she started running again.” Susan is excited to go for jogs with her daughter when they visit each other, and she’s aiming to eventually complete a 5K without injury.
Despite initial insecurity at the gym, Susan feels that her new love of fitness is here to stay. Had it not been for Paula, she wonders whether she ever would have taken the leap. “It’s definitely motivating when you know that there’s someone else you’re meeting to take a class,” she says. Bridget also played a critical role, thoughtfully crafting every workout, egging on both Susan and Paula to push their limits, and bringing fun and humor to every session they shared. “It was great to have a trainer and a partner doing it with me for that accountability and that motivation.”
Transformation does not always begin with certainty. Sometimes it begins with an injury, a cousin’s encouragement, a trainer who understands, and a willingness to keep showing up even when the path feels unfamiliar. Susan’s interest in her health, her strength, and the kind of future she wanted had been building for some time, but she’s grateful to her cheerleaders – Paula and Bridget, along with many other trainers and fellow members – for encouraging her to turn those interests into reality.
