Tim “Timbo” Mullin: From Beast to Braun

Meet Tim “Timbo” Mullin. When Tim walked through the doors of the RAW School of Fitness he was on a journey. He had gone through a break up which sparked him to make some changes in his life. At his heaviest, Tim weighed 311 lbs and standing at 6”3, he was a heavy guy. In June 2012 he changed his diet cold-turkey and started eating lean meats, lots of veggies, fresh fruit and nuts. The weight started melting off and so began phase 1. He got himself a membership to the local YMCA and started an exercise routine but quickly found something was missing. He wanted to learn, he wanted to know proper form and build muscle and he wanted to do it right. This is when Tim stepped through our doors.

“Finally it just struck me that I had to change something. I decided that once I worked my way through all the not so great food in the house I was going to start eating this paleo diet, and join the gym. I wanted to do crossfit but I was still terrified of it at that point. I thought I would go in and there would be all these people there staring at me like why is this guy even here.” Tim, on his initial thought of getting fit.

When Tim came to us he had lost a lot of the excess weight to begin with but because it had happened so quickly he had a lot of excess skin and very little muscle definition. Working with Coach Whitney, Tim went through 10 Personal Training sessions to educate him on proper movement and lifting form as well as establishing progressions, range of motion and limits. He was hooked. He asked lots of questions and knew that ‘Can’t” was no longer a word in his vocabulary. He was coming off a severe ankle injury where he had cracked the talus in his right foot in 2 and splintered his tibia. He would never have full range of motion on his ankle again, but that wouldn’t stop him. He was told to take up biking, as running would be impossible. With practice and mobility training, he runs like a champ to this day.

Today, Timbo, as our RAW family knows him, holds the top time on the leaderboard for 500m row and has gone from a time of 11:14  for 75 wallballs to 8:24 for 150 of them! He had to start somewhere, and it is never easy for anyone. It is hard work.

“I remember the WOD was a bunch of overhead squatting. I got my butt kicked. I was a little dejected, but I went back the next day, and the day after and the day after. Things started getting easier.”, says Tim reminiscing about his first-ever group class.

At 31 years of age and weighing in at 195lbs of lean muscle, Tim is in the best shape of his life and his lifestyle and outlook have dramatically changed. He is a riot to have at our box making guest appearances to a variety of class times and making friends with all who meet him. His witty disposition and comedic approach to life are contagious to be around. If you don’t find him shredding trails on his mountain bike, you’ll find him mooning the members, mid-competition at the box just for a laugh.

What does Timbo, a member of the RAW family for over 2 years suggest to those beginning a similar journey? “Don’t skip out and join somewhere else [thinking you need to get fit first] – Go straight to RAW School of Fitness.”

Way to go Timbo, we couldn’t be more proud of you and your accomplishments!

Meet Mary Jo.

When Mary Jo first came to the RAW School of Fitness she could not lower or raise herself from the floor without holding on to something for support.

At the age of 78 this skill/ability alone can have a huge impact on quality of life. Getting up out of a chair, or getting back on your feet after a slip or fall can be the difference between living independently, or moving into some kind of assisted care scenario.

During her fundamental functional movement training at the RAW School of Fitness, Mary Jo has now learned effective core bracing techniques, improved her midline stability and balance, and has dramatically increased her strength and vigor (she was already pretty feisty though).

Mary Jo can not only get up off the floor now, she can lunge with weights, pull herself to a standing position on a rope, and has a 65 lb back squat (just to name a few of her accomplishments).

Mary Jo has the goal of walking El Camino de Santiago in Spain for her 80th birthday. She is well on her way.

Mary Jo is not an exception. She is a shining example of how accessible functional fitness is to everyone regardless of age, sex, or starting point.