BBR Success Story - Harper Quinlan
Dynamic duo Harper and her mum Lucette Quinlan have been dedicated BBR members for a couple of years now, but recently Harper has been absolutely crushing every class. With her 22nd birthday and fresh goals for 2023 driving her, Harper has taken her usual determination up a level and we’re pretty sure boyfriend Josh (also at BBR) better watch his back! Head trainer Rhino awarded Harps February’s member of the month and we asked her to share her story and what 2023 looks like. Enjoy…
How long have you been training at BBR now? When did you begin and what led to you signing up? Take us back to the start…
In 2021, I was four weeks out from netball finals and a half marathon when I tore my meniscus in my knee. I was gutted at the prospect of decreased exercise and a surgery recovery to endure. Eight weeks later, I was feeling very sorry for myself after having done absolutely no exercise and decided to join BBR.
Prior to my injury, I was training hard at a very HIIT-focussed gym, which had a huge running and box jumping emphasis, which I knew was not going to work for me with my knee going forward. Mum told me about BBR’s structure and their different strength and HIIT sessions with set workout splits. I thought it sounded great and was keen to focus more on strength training, so I joined up with the idea that I would only do upper body and arm day until after I had surgery. That didn’t last long, and I think I began pushing through the pain on leg day only a couple weeks later.
It’s now been over a year, and I still am avoiding that surgery, but it is unfortunately becoming imminent in the next few months. But at least I can then ditch that bloody knee brace!!
How much of a role did your mum Lucette play in you joining BBR?
As much of a pain my injury was, it was somewhat a blessing in disguise as it gave me an excuse to leave my old gym and join BBR. I had certainly developed a huge case of FOMO listening to mum (and Brenda) chat away about it. Mum was looking stronger than ever, and more importantly feeling great and was a huge inspiration in signing up. I must also admit that she would tell me about the weights she was lifting, and being very competitive, I could not cope with the prospect that she may be stronger than me!
How did you feel when you first started at BBR? How different was it to what you were used to doing in terms of fitness and nutrition?
BBR was so different to anything I had ever done. I had never really done any purely strength-based work and when I had done it was never muscle group focussed. At first this was a big adjustment, but it quickly proved to be very effective.
How long did it take for you to feel the benefits, and what were those benefits?
Not long at all. My weights were increasing massively week to week, and I was feeling so much stronger. My mood increased, I was waking up so energised and my confidence was growing.
What results have you seen or felt in yourself in your BBR journey?
I’m without a doubt stronger than I have ever been and I’ve loved hitting new personal bests and watching little muscles begin to show through! I also feel a lot stronger mentally since training at BBR, having demonstrated how hard I can push myself to achieve goals.
My mindset has completely changed having been in the BBR environment and I’ve found myself focussed and interested in nutrition and diet, while also remembering that I’m young and it’s so important to have fun and find a balance.
Rhino mentioned that he saw a switch flicked recently, where it didn’t matter what day, which trainer or who you trained with – you were “on”! What has changed for you lately that has led to this mindset and switching gears?
Recently I had been closing out on my ‘grind on 22’ challenge which I self-constructed in the lead up to my 22nd birthday.
Prior to my 21st birthday, I started a ‘grind on 21’ challenge where I would exercise every day and take a photo of every single thing I ate in the 85 days leading up to my 21st– all to post to my very loyal 49 followers on my (private!) fitness Instagram account, as a way to keep me accountable.
Leading up to my 22nd, I did the same thing, although this time it was for 100 days, which saw me push myself in class just that little bit more. I must admit though, regardless of whether I’ve been in my own ‘challenge mode’, I’ve certainly flipped a switch coming into 2023 where I am keen to smash some goals and get stronger!
You have an interesting health background, can you share a whatever you are comfortable with, and how it has affected your health and fitness?
I have a congenital heart disease whereby I was born with a few holes in my heart and an incomplete mitral valve. Essentially, one of the valves in my heart did not close properly and blood was flowing backwards into my upper heart chamber, resulting in less blood flowing to the rest of my body. My poor little heart was having to work extra hard in my early days to keep me alive before my defect was discovered. I then underwent two open heart surgeries - the first when I was 3 years old and the second when I was 5.
Fortunately, almost 17 years on, my heart functions pretty close to normal with a check-up and scan only required every so often. I have been so lucky that my heart condition has never physically limited me in any way (except maybe that it made me vertically challenged).
I think having my heart condition has certainly given me immense motivation to be as fit and active as possible. I know how lucky I am that I can be active, so to me that’s something to celebrate and not take for granted. I can’t afford to not look after myself – I need to keep my heart and my body healthy as I get older.
In saying that, I think movement is something everybody should celebrate and not take for granted no matter their health background. At the end of the day, everyone has predispositions and risk factors, and nobody can afford to be unhealthy. It’s crazy to me that so many people don’t look after themselves properly, so I’ve certainly become the little health advocate amongst my circles!
What is it like having your mum at the gym?!
I absolutely love having mum at the gym. It’s so fun being able to work out with her and share our love for fitness with each other. It’s awesome being able to share what weights I hit on different exercises to someone who can appreciate what it means!
I also love our little chats and gossip sessions to and from the gym each day. In our house, ‘what are you doing tomorrow?’ doesn’t have anything to do with your day, it’s all about what BBR class you are in for! Although, I think we drive the other family members mad with our in-depth conversation of every set and combo of every class, meticulously deconstructing every movement we liked or didn’t like on any given day.
It didn’t take long before your boyfriend Josh joined too – did you convince him to join, or was he inspired by what you were up to?
Definitely a bit of both! Josh had never done any sort of class work before, and I think he was a bit sceptical at first. He certainly had it in his head that it was a women’s gym, so I did have to drive home that there were lots of men too!
I think he was also getting a little concerned that I was inching closer to his PBs and needed to make sure I didn’t overtake him. He’s now streets ahead of me in his weights and even ditches me to train with the boys every once in a while!
Is it helpful having a partner who is invested in BBR training?
It’s amazing! What with working and studying full time, it’s great to have our mornings doing something we love together.
It makes those eye rolls from friends when you decide to not drink alcohol or have to leave a night early for the gym the next morning a lot easier when we are in it together. It also certainly helps on those 4.30am alarm days to get out of bed and out the house.
It’s been great to be able to give each other that bit of encouragement to hit that last rep. Josh also keeps me very humble and will happily tell me when my form is looking crap and I need to drop my weights down!
What do you love most about training at BBR?
It sounds corny, but the people. While the training structure and programs speak for themselves it would not be the same without all the members and coaches. Everybody is so encouraging, always pushing you to that last rep, correcting your form, giving you a confidence boost in how strong you look, and just being there to have a chat before and after class. Not to mention how strong everyone is! Watching people level up and transform at BBR is so inspiring.
What are your current health and fitness goals?
This year is going to be a big year for me outside of the gym. I’m in my fifth and final year of uni with an intense timetable and huge thesis to write. So, while I’m more motivated than ever to keep training hard, I think my biggest goal this year is to look after myself and listen to my body – to know when I need a rest or a sleep in, and when I’m able to push myself a bit harder.
I’ve been doing spikes of challenge mindsets followed by periods where I’ve been really exhausted and perhaps have let my motivation go a little bit, so I think this year will be all about finding that happy medium and balance that I can sustain while studying and working.
Please share something about yourself nobody at BBR (except maybe your mum!) would know?!
About 10 years ago I was on Australia’s Funniest Home Videos! It was me doing a headstand on the beach and getting dumped by a wave.
FAST FIVE FAVS
1. Fave station/exercise?
Strength: DB SLDL (dumbbell single leg deadlifts) on leg day and DB flat press on upper body day.
HIIT: Call me crazy but burpees!
2. Least fave station?
Strength: DB Front squat on leg day and DB rows on upper body day.
HIIT: Rower… was not mad when they were out of action for a while…
3. Fave café and your order there?
Someday. Their pumpkin spice porridge is to die for.
4. Fave treat meal?
Pancakes and ice-cream – or anything sweet.
5. Fave holiday destination?
Most recently Nusa Lembongan for a relaxing uni break trip but planning on six months of travel next year so I’m sure that will soon change!
