Kenny Tran is a computer engineer living and working in Northeast Minneapolis. A few years ago, he jumped headfirst into his career after graduating from college and had very little time for working out or cooking healthy meals. After a year of long work hours and eating out almost every day, he started to realize he had gained weight and that he’d keep gaining if he didn’t make a change.

It was easy for Kenny to ignore his creeping weight gain at first. He saw himself in the mirror every day and didn’t notice any dramatic changes, and he was so focused on other areas of his life. But he found it harder and harder to focus at work, and his coworkers were starting to notice the changes to his body. When he struggled to run a 5K with his girlfriend, he finally realized how out of shape he’d gotten.

One day, Kenny came across some old pictures of himself and felt shocked at how different he looked in more recent photos — his face had become rounder, and his large shirts had gotten too tight on him. He finally decided it was time to get back in shape, so he bought some weight lifting equipment off Craigslist to set up a gym in his garage. But when it got cold a few weeks later, he started searching for a local gym and discovered The Cellar Gym right down the street.

Kenny signed up for a trial week and immediately knew that the Cellar’s Muay Thai program would be a good fit for him. As a child, he used to watch his cousins spar in taekwondo and always wished he could learn too, and now, here was his chance to learn martial arts and self-defense while getting back in shape too. At the end of his trial week, Kenny was already starting to see and feel the results of his hard work!

To get the most out of his new training program, Kenny made some changes to his lifestyle. He tightened up his diet, with advice from his new teammates, and shifted his work schedule so that he could train at least an hour every evening. The Cellar’s coaches pushed him in every class, encouraging him to keep going even when he got tired and felt like quitting, and his new friends helped keep him accountable.

With his weight steadily trending downwards, Kenny started focusing heavily on his Muay Thai technique. He always felt excited to go train at the Cellar after work and further his knowledge. After he reached his weight loss goal, he felt driven to create new goals and keep getting better every day. Now, Kenny is a blue rank in Muay Thai and is always improving his skills on the mats.

Kenny’s physical transformation changed his life immensely, but he’s also seen the benefit in countless subtle ways. He finds it easier to focus at work and no longer struggles with distracting thoughts and brain fog. With a clearer mind and a healthier body, his relationships at home and at work are stronger. He’s learned how to set goals for himself and follow through with plans. And he’s in the best shape of his life!

“Training at the Cellar not only transformed my body physically and improved my martial arts skills, but I’ve noticed it’s also helped me mentally.” Kenny explains, “I’ve had issues in the past where I have brain fog and it’s hard for me to stay on task and I’ll get distracted easily… The biggest thing for me is overall mental focus and being able to think things through. It just changed my life for the better.”