BBR Success Story!

One of our longest standing members Soph Raven has seen BBR in many iterations as she’s gone from the early HIIT gym only days to using all the new strength offerings but one thing remains – Soph knows the BBR lifestyle works for her and gets her amazing results! In 2024 she was crowned Transformation of the Year with her jaw-dropping changes and commitment to the healthiest, strongest version of herself. Here's how Soph achieved her incredible results…

BBR: How long have you been a member with BBR now?

SR: I joined BBR around 2018, and mainly only went to the Claremont HIIT gym.  The strength gym was way too scary.

BBR: Hard to imagine you scared now… Please tell us about your health and fitness journey leading up to your big transformation last year…

SR: I was quite active with sport as a teenager and in my 20s and 30s played a lot of touch rugby when I lived overseas in South America and the Caribbean.  Returning to Perth in my late 30s I was pretty much focused on being a mother to three girls and working as a lawyer at nights. This didn’t leave any time for exercising. I found that, having had three babies, and then being in my 40s, my weight yo-yoed quite a bit whereas in my 20s and 30s I could eat and drink what I liked, without exercising, and not change weight or body structure at all.  In my early 40s, I started running daily which made me quite aerobically fit but I felt it put too much pressure on my knees and ankles. Then, in 2018 I discovered BBR, which has for the past seven years been my main form of training and exercise albeit sometimes I drop out for periods of time.

BBR: What changed for you in 2024 to lead you to your amazing, long-term results?  

SR: Leading up to my transformation in 2024, I had put weight on in 2023 and lost the momentum I had coming to BBR. So, on a Friday night in September 2023 while watching a preliminary AFL final, drinking rose and feeling sorry for myself, I clicked on a BBR challenge in Facebook and joined.  Three challenges later, coming to BBR five to six times a week, I dropped around 14kg and really transformed back to a body that makes me really happy.

BBR: What challenged you the most over the years and what have you overcome to get to this great place?

SR: What changed for me in 2024 was the realisation that I just need to be consistent with my training.  I tend to stop when there is too much else going on – new jobs, moving house, relationship issues, etc.  I have realised that what I need to do is make BBR training my non-negotiable regardless of whatever else is happening around me.

What has challenged me the most over the years is the change in metabolism and menopause, and how that impacts weight and energy.  I think it is a challenge for a lot of women in their 40s or 50s but moving in that phase of your life definitely impacts hip lines, waistlines and energy levels.  I would be lying if I said I’ve overcome this, as it is a constant challenge, and in fact post-transformation I have had a 6 month break from BBR and am having to restart my training journey.

The second biggest challenge that I’ve faced over the years is trying to juggle three children (now 15, 17 and 20yo) and a career. At the end of the day, there often wasn’t any time left for me to focus on exercise and fitness.

BBR: What do you love most about the BBR lifestyle and your transformation?  

SR: What I love most about the BBR lifestyle is quite simply that it works.  If I train and stick as far as possible to my meal plan, the weight comes off and the muscle goes on.  The community, friendliness and great trainers are a close runner up to that.  Walking into a BBR gym, I’ve never felt overwhelmed or out of place.

BBR: Please tell us about the changes your most recent results that led to Ryan honouring you with the transformation of the year award…

SR: The changes I made leading up to the 2024 transformation were:
1) train without fail, preferably 5-6 times per week; 2) walk daily; 3) stick to the meal plan but (and only if you’re not in challenge mode) with enough flexibility to enjoy life; and 4) if any of 1-3 fail, just restart fresh the next day and don’t beat yourself up. 

As a result, I lost around 14kg, gained muscle including some abs, and felt incredible in terms of clothes fitting and general wellbeing.

BBR:  Do you have any upcoming goals you're working on for 2025 and beyond? 

SR: My goals for 2025 (after a 6 month blip) are to train three times a week at BBR Claremont (which I’ve just restarted) as I now live 100m away, stick 80-90% to one of my challenge meal plans, zero sugar and to walk on my non-BBR days.