Coach Spencer's Journey
Spencer Rittmann • April 29, 2025
Why NOW is the time to get in the best shape of your life!
I’m going to be very straight forward here and tell you that planning or waiting for the
perfect time in your crazy, busy life to be the fittest version of yourself will never
happen. It won’t happen when your geriatric dog finally dies, your kids move out of the
nest, or even if you’re a 20-something year old in the prime of your life spending all
your waking hours in the gym like I used to. Because as you know, nothing is perfect...
and that’s okay.
My own current motivation for getting into the best shape of my life is to keep up with a
father of 5, who kicks my butt in workouts all the time. Everybody has their own
reasons for getting into better shape, but mine is simply to beat Joe Moro. I’ve never
told him this, but I have the utmost respect for his level of fitness and all the things he
does on a daily basis that come with being a business owner and parent (you too Hali).
I want to achieve an elite level of fitness that he has also achieved. And I know I should
never compare myself to others, but I’m human and can’t help my nature.
Personally, my fitness journey has been a rollercoaster. When I finished college, I was
right around 175 pounds during all the Covid shut downs in 2020. Within a few months,
just before I joined AMRAP Method in October 2020, I weighed 155 pounds because I
starved my body and didn’t want to get fat during Covid (super unhealthy, I know).
Then just 1 year later I was up to 228 pounds. Of those 73 pounds I gained within a
year, 50 of it was put on in only 5 months (also super unhealthy). During this time I
worked with 2 nutrition coaches paying $150/month. Reflecting back, the first coach
did not fully understand my workout regimen or my goals at the time, but I still followed
her advice and started eating a lot more food than I had been because I wanted to gain
weight in order to be stronger. I did accomplish what I set out to do, however, more
than half of that weight I gained was body fat. After a few months of working with the
first nutrition coach, I wanted to lean out because I didn’t like what I saw in the mirror
anymore. I got put in contact with an online nutrition coach, who sent me multiple
different meal plans, macronutrient calculations, and times to get on the phone and
talk. I dreaded making that phone call with him and was happy that he never called me.
Instead, I would just text him screenshots of my food logs on an app followed by diet
adjustments to eat less calories each week. After 2 months of inconsistent progress,
we stopped communicating altogether, a.k.a. we ghosted each other.
I wasn’t happy with my progress, or lack thereof, until certain lifestyle habits changed. I
got out of unhealthy relationships, began eating intuitively (no more macro counting),
stopped distracting myself from instant gratification such as screen time, and
redirected from doing my own workout programming to doing class workouts again.
The results I was getting weren’t noticeable to me until a member taking my weekend
class mentioned that my face was looking less puffy. I was surprised because the
whole time I was looking for changes in my waist and stomach, definitely not my facial
features.
And before you know it, my body scans were starting to reflect what other people were
telling me. It was so satisfying to see the downward trend of body fat plotted out on a
graph week after week, but from bird’s eye perspective during this 1.5 year timeline,
my InBody graphs looked more like a rollercoaster than a steady line going up or down.
I learned from my personal experience that is rollercoaster healthier and more realistic
because my progress won’t always be linear. I know that I will get probably sick again,
go on a vacation, children’s needs come first, or just need a mental break. Things will
come up in life that prevent me from getting to the gym. But that won’t stop the other
aspects of my life that I can control and help to keep me fit.. what I choose to feed
myself, good sleep hygiene, and an active lifestyle.
Currently in my present life I would still consider my fitness journey to be a
rollercoaster. I started a new full-time job where I am more sedentary and has easy
access to treats in the office that does not bode well. Self discipline will only get me so
far, but building habits over time will help prevent giving in to the cravings. And even if I
do “cave in” and have a treat, I know my fitness and lifestyle is flexible enough to
indulge every once in awhile. It is commonly viewed that living a fit lifestyle has to be
strict, but being fit and living it in action will grant you the freedom for so many things
you never thought in life. I would love for you to join me in becoming the fittest you yet.
Some things I have recently been incorporating into my life to be the fittest version of
myself possible include: taking the stairs in my apartment complex, stretching/getting
my steps in at work during my break, salads before dinner, avoiding the office
containing treats, consciously drinking water throughout the day, and consistently
having protein shakes after workouts.
Nothing in life is guaranteed, however, I can almost 100% guarantee that if you go to
an AMRAP class, you will be glad that you worked out that day.
-Coach Spencer Rittmann
What are you waiting for? Join AMRAP today!
Schedule your free trial today to get started.
