BBR Success Story - Keeley Tonner

Bright as a button, Keeley Tonner spreads joy around the gym with her cheeky grin and fun attitude. She’s also a big source of inspiration, having recently completed the T42 challenge with absolute dedication while studying to become a lawyer. We hit her up to hear all about T42, what inspires her and what she’s doing next! Enjoy…

When did you start at BBR?

I started in the second challenge of 2021, which was a six-week challenge. I saw BBR during Covid on social media, plus one of my old swimming friends Justine Spurr worked there so I wanted to give it a crack. After the first challenge, I fell in love with the community and never looked!

What was it about BBR on socials that drew you in?

The transformation pics Ryan was posting were amazing. I thought wow, this guy clearly knows what he’s doing and it’s working for so many people. I was actually so mad at myself I didn’t join earlier! I was at another gym and BBR in comparison is just so much better.

The difference is the structure to the workouts at BBR, I think the progressive overload is why people get the results and that’s something I really love. Also, every trainer is so involved in making the classes a good environment, high energy, a place where you want to work hard. Everything at BBR is so well structured and planned for transformation.

Was there a big adjustment when you started training at BBR, coming from another gym?

I had very good results from my first challenge and it opened my eyes as to what’s possible with training and diet. It was a very big adjustment to make in those six weeks, but it was so worth it. My perspectives have changed so much, not only around training and diet, but who I want to surround myself with. BBR has a bit of an older demographic, so I love all the mum mentors!

Everyone is so caring and supportive of what you’re trying to achieve.

What was the biggest challenge when you first joined?

When I commit to something I go hard, so finding balance is something I’ve struggled with. I’m very much all or nothing! However, joining the T42 and more recent challenges, I have worked hard on this with Ryan’s support.

How do you navigate balance now?

In between challenges, I’m still navigating this, but I really listen to my body whether it needs a rest day or a little bit more food. If I’m around my family, I relax a bit. I just went on holiday to the Gold Coast visiting my sister and we did what we felt like and ate what we felt like, so it’s knowing when to eat what will benefit your body and then you can be relaxed on special occasions.

One of the rules I set myself after the challenge is when I have a craving like a cookie, I give myself 20 minutes and if I still really want that cookie after 20 minutes, then have it! As much as I love indulgent food, I know it doesn’t make me feel the best. So, I listen to my body to know what it really wants and what will help me train the best.

What led you to do BBR’s T42 Challenge?

My training was going really well and I was in the position where I felt like I could push myself even further. It felt like the right time to see how far I could go!

What was different about T42?

Of course, diet and training were a big focus, but Ryan really honed in on general mindset and training mentality. Before T42 began, Ryan and I sat down to make a plan and we both committed to pushing me as far as I could go. I was so grateful for how much Ryan believed in me. Coming from a competitive sporting environment, I’ve never had the level of belief and support that Ryan has in me.

T42 went beyond following the training and food, Ryan set us the daily tasks of meditating 10 minutes, journaling and reading 10 pages of a book. The 10 pages were really helpful because uni is very heavy in reading and theory, so I don’t make time to read usually. A lot of the other challengers read a mindset book, but I chose “The Happiest Man on Earth” by Eddie Jaku, a Holocaust survivor, which really helped me stay positive as I read about  Eddie’s positive mindset throughout the awful things he experienced.

What did you set out to achieve in the T42? 

A couple of weeks prior to the T42 release, I had started personal training with Ryan. So, we discussed my goals and how fast I was improving with PT, and how we could keep on pushing in T42. We wanted to achieve fat loss because I’m interested in competing, so we wanted to see how much I could mentally handle. When you’re dieting, calories are quite low and it gets very hard, so we wanted to see how I handled that. I think I did very well and was still able to lift quite heavy, even in the last two weeks when it got really difficult.

So you stuck to the program – did you get the results?

I did, I was very happy however, I’m always the person who thinks “oh I could have done this or that better” but in reflection now, I think a lot of people would have given up so I’m proud of myself for sticking to it the whole time and pushing myself. After the T42, I now know I have the attributes to get to a level where I can compete. 

How was the mindset coaching with Ryan?

During PT, I received one-on-one coaching with Ryan for both training and mindset. We had a lot of joking and he has such a good insight into life. He’s an extremely hard worker, so he helped me work through the various hurdles I faced. He gave me a lot of general life advice on how to manage competing priorities, as I’m doing my post-grad studies and I want to combine that with training to the point that I can compete.

How did you work through the challenging points, where your energy was low but you had to push through?

I feel like when you achieve big goals, there has to be some sacrifices. I had a wedding in the middle and while I don’t drink regularly, if I wasn’t on the T42 it probably would have been a time when I would have had some drinks. So, it was quite hard watching everyone else get lit and I was like sober Sally! That was hard, but we planned for me to have the wedding’s sit-down dinner, so eating off plan was enough for me.

Obviously, the social side of things is tricky to navigate and at the pointy end my energy was low so I was very selective about who I was surrounding myself with especially depending on how irritable I was! Who I could handle and who could handle me! But I expected it to be hard because I was taking it seriously, it’s something you have to consider if you want to progress. I knew I really wanted to achieve my goals and it was an “all in” challenge - so I stuck to the plan. My food was prepped and ready, I wasn’t going to waste it, so it was just what I ate!

So, how did you blend socialising with challenge mode?

I made a lot of coffee dates and just drank long blacks which were fine! I went on quite a few breakfasts with friends but I was happy to not partake in the eating side of things and just have my long black. Also, if you have good friends they’ll understand your goals and notice how hard you’re working!

I was careful to talk to the right friends about how I was feeling, not everyone shares the same mindset, so even when I felt like poo I knew I could keep it going, but I would only share that with certain people who understood. I’d talk to my mum a lot. Sometimes my parents would want to go out for lunch and I’d say “can we just stay at home” and made them lunch! They raised me, so they know what I’m like and when I say I’m going to do something, I’m going to commit. They tell me that’s one of their favourite attributes about me is the way I commit so they were very understanding, they get it.

What would you recommend to someone considering the T42?

When you go into a diet phase, I think you need to figure out your goals and what you’re willing to sacrifice to achieve them. Self-talk is very important, so have your own back. Make the decision yourself over what you’ll sacrifice and you’ll do really well.

It’s a smaller group so we all kept each other accountable. Being involved in the community was great, we leaned on each a lot. Lisa Adams is always such a little ray of sunshine so we spoke a lot. Throughout the week Ryan would check in with everyone on our Facebook group on top of the individual contact, so we all interacted with each other on this page which was super helpful.

What did you love the most about the T42?

I loved training at Jolimont every day, the vibe there was so good! Training back room every day changed my physique so much over that period. We also had regular sessions where the group trained together, which was really fun.

The BBR community has grown so much in the past year so having new faces in the group was fun, then having our T42 group created a more intimate community so I had the best of both worlds! I usually train at 5.15 but we occasionally mixed up with a 7.15 to all train together.

What are your goals for 2023?!

I’m going to be at the point where I could be on stage. I don’t know where or when, but sometime that’s where I want to be!

What are your daily health routines?

I always meditate before uni and exams.

I love my morning routine, I get up early and do my skincare before the gym. I skin cycle, so every day is different! I cycle through my products - my serums, moisturiser and sunscreen are always in there.

Something I do every morning is greens powder after I train and my supplements. Then I have breakfast, organise my life and get ready for the day! I love my digital diary and to-do list. Journaling was an amazing part of the challenge each morning and now I’ve evolved this into making sure I have three main things to check off each day and then anything else on the to-do list is a bonus.

Tell us something special or something nobody will know…

My mum went to the Commonwealth Games for badminton! I grew up in the Kimberleys (between Broome, Kununurra and Karratha) and Bunbury, I went to six primary school schools before we settled in Perth because my parents were in the mining industry.

I was a distance swimmer and competed in 10 kilometre open water swimming events. I wish I was a pool swimmer, but my stroke was suited to open water.

Fast five

Fave station –

I do love a hip thrust or a sissy squat! And in HIIT, I love everything! Probably froggies are the number one. I do love a Bulgarian as well.

Least fave –

Hack squat is so hard and I don’t love lunges towards the end of a session.

Fave café –

I love Cimbalino’s for coffee, but probably Rafiki’s on the Gold Coast for smoothies and Paddock Bakery on the Gold Coast.

Fave treat meal –

My savoury is Flipside Kenny burger (it’s a sweet potato chickpea burger – don’t bully me!) no coriander and I add goat’s cheese. Or a salmon poke bowl. Sweets-wise, it’s a choc chip cookie.

Fave holiday destination –

Anywhere tropical. Hamilton Island is one of my favourite places or Port Douglas. The Whitsundays!