Skye Halliday: “How I Added 13 Pounds of Muscle”

Skye’s success should not be understated. She came to P360 with stress fractures in each leg related to running and despite never being able to run in workouts at P360, she has found ways around it and excelled in her training. She has added thirteen pounds of muscle, has increased her strength and all in all achieved the excellent physique and performance goals. She does full pull-ups, full push-ups, swings heavy kettlebells, a well rounded mix of P360 classes and is an all around great example.

Name: Skye Halliday
Age: 22
Length of Membership: 1 Year, 6 Months
Muscle Gain: 13 Pounds
Timeline: 1 Year, 6 Months
Body Fat Percentage: 15%

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Skye Halliday and I am 22 years old. I am a full time student at USD, and a soon to be Account Executive for a company called InfoArmor (that is, if I make it through graduation.) I’ve been a proud member of P360 since August of 2014.

What changes has your body gone through in the past year?

The past year has been a big one for me in the gym. I’ve finally found proper treatment for some injuries that have been hindering my performance, and did my best to hit the ground running and get back to heavy lifting. I’ve felt more stamina in the gym than normal, and overall increase in strength.

I love watching my previous working weight amounts become my warm up weight amounts. I’ve made it into Level 1 Barbell Club and been able to PR on all my major lifts.

I have also lost body fat and gained lean muscle, I now am at 15.2% body fat, but have been able to maintain my strength, which is very important to me.

Through this process, how has your mindset evolved?

By joining P360 my mindset has evolved significantly. When I first joined the gym, I was an avid runner and fitness bootcamper. Prior to joining, I had gotten out of an abusive relationship, and was using exercise as a coping mechanism. I was running as a way to deal with grief, and in the process overdid it. I got double stress fractures, one in each leg, and hurt my shoulder as well. When I joined this gym, I was welcomed not only as a beginner, but also as part of a community. I quickly met some of the best people, and received amazing coaching advice from coaches who were, and still are, so willing to help me work around my injuries.

Exercise then became about being happy and healthy again, and I credit that all to the community that is P360. I found a group of people who not only thrived in the gym, but also genuinely cared about me. I stopped running away from sadness, and found peace with barbells.

How has your mindset towards the scale changed?

Another huge mindset change for me has been about the number on the scale. Realizing that the number does not correspond to how healthy or fit I was took some getting used to, but now I am proud of a higher number. A lot of women would freak out at a 13 pound increase, but it means I’ve put on muscle (which helps my metabolism burn more calories).

I try and stress this, especially to my female friends, that the number on the scale can be deceiving. I weigh 13 pounds more than I did when I joined P360 almost two years ago, but still fit into the same jeans I had then and am much healthier now. (Maybe it’s time I buy some new pants?)

Are there certain aspects of Performance360 that have helped you with this?

Absolutely! Watching the bad ass women of this gym put up big numbers on the PR board has been such an inspiration. I grew up with a Mom who always told me a strong body is a beautiful one. The woman can still, to this day, do 12 pull-ups and puts me to shame. So by surrounding myself with women who share my Mom’s viewpoint has helped me get out of my comfort zone and really push my body to new levels. And it isn’t just the women who I find inspiration from. Watching the guys crush enormous amounts of weight just gets me fired up to strive for more. The incredible positivity of this gym has helped make exercise the best part of my day.

What training factors do you attribute to your recomposition?

Our workouts do a great job of switching up high rep/lower weight and lower rep/higher weight, frequently. I think this helps keep my body guessing, and doesn’t allow me to plateau as much. Also working on my form for lifts has helped me to be able to add more weight to them, properly, and achieve new PR’s.

What diet factors do you attribute to your recomposition?

I’ve been adding more clean carbs to my post workout meals and have noticed my stamina in the gym improving. I do believe diet is one of the most important aspects of training.

My Mom always said, abs are made in the kitchen. So I try and stay pretty strict to my diet plans, and don’t eat out very frequently. Cooking for myself allows me to stay on track. That being said, I have a huge sweet tooth, so I try and find a balance.

I think depriving yourself completely of anything “bad” for you sets you up for failure. Is life really life if you aren’t eating chocolate cake every once in awhile?

What is your strategy on a week-to-week basis? Do you seek out certain workouts? Or do you let the chips fall where they may?

My strategy is to try and make sure I’m getting a variety of muscle groups worked, which isn’t hard at this gym. I love reading the week of workouts on Sunday to plan for my week. I always make sure I have a good leg day, and plenty of core, and am careful to make sure I can work around my injuries. For diet, I usually plan out what to cook, and have ingredients on hand, so after a long day of class I know I have dinner supplies. It helps me avoid eating out too often.

The crockpot has become my best friend. Overall, I believe if you put good in, you’ll get good out. Keeping a clean diet, and pushing through workouts has helped my strength, my physique, and most importantly my happiness. I am proud of what I can do in the gym, and that confidence has helped me in all aspects of my life. Our gym is an incredibly unique place that has help set me up for success, and I can’t thank the coaches and community enough!

To read more about results like Skye’s, please check out The Most Efficient Way to Burn Fat and Build Strength.