Real people. Real stories. Real transformation. There’s a reason that’s the tagline of the 60XT Challenge. This eight-week body transformation program has sparked meaningful change for tens of thousands of Life Time members. In 2026, some 32,000 participants from clubs across the nation committed to healthier habits for 60 days in an effort to end somewhere better than where they started.
While the program produced many life-changing stories, those of the five grand-prize winners stood out.
“60XT helps you jump-start your health goals and see and feel real results in just 60 days,” says Katie Wahowske, marketing manager for Dynamic Personal Training at Life Time. “The program encourages daily healthy habits designed to support your transformation and sustain a healthy way of life beyond the challenge.
“Transformation looks different for everyone,” she continues, “but if you stay consistent with the workouts and daily habits, you’ll likely see noticeable changes in yourself by the end of the challenge. The commitment of every single participant is really something to be honored, and while I wish we could spotlight everyone, I’m thrilled to highlight the inspiring dedication of this year’s challenge winners.”
Here, the five grand-prize winners share a bit of their stories.
Connor Dugan
Life Time club: Life Time in Westminster, Colo.
As a former collegiate baseball player and multisport athlete, I’ve always understood physical discipline. But now at age 31, as my life evolved — I married the love of my life and we welcomed our now 17-month-old daughter, Lyla — excuses grew louder. I told myself I carried the weight well, but I knew I needed a challenge to prove to my family and myself what sustained commitment looked like.
I far exceeded my expectations.
I began training at Life Time Westminster in January, and when the 60XT Challenge was announced, Coach Cory Rigitello approached me and said, “I need a winner, and I believe you can do it.” Challenge accepted.
With the support of Coach Cory, I set clear goals. Through a strict plan of two green smoothies a day, one clean meal (8 to 10 ounces of meat and vegetables), no alcohol, and rigorous daily workouts, I cruised past every metric.
I used the Life Time D.TOX program to kick-start the challenge. I also often relied on the Dynamic Shake from the LifeCafe for nutrition. I used the sauna and cold plunge to take my recovery to a new level and booked a few massages at the LifeSpa for my tight muscles.
The community at Life Time was pivotal. Everyone celebrated my progress, and I felt motivated every time I walked through the doors.
In just 60 days, I dropped from 224.5 to 173.4 pounds — a loss of 51.1 pounds. I reduced my body-fat percentage from 21.8 percent to 8.8 percent and my BMI moved into the normal range, lowering from 32.2 to 24.9.
Most importantly, I cut my visceral fat from level nine to level two, and my blood panel results showed major drops in my triglycerides, non-HDL cholesterol, and VLDL, while my HDL increased.
The biggest physical challenge for me was cardio, which I improved through longer endurance sessions. Mentally, I had to push through daunting workouts and food temptations. Emotionally, balancing work and family stress in a steep calorie deficit was tough, but I never wavered.
My family deserves the best version of me. My brother, Drew, (who’s a fellow Life Time member) also inspired me to do this challenge. He’s faced adversities that would’ve shattered most, and watching him fight for his life ignited a fire in me to fight for mine, so I can be healthy and present for my wife and daughter.
I’ve battled debilitating anxiety for years, experiencing hyperventilation syndrome that causes terrifying numbness and tightness. Today, I’m conquering it with the framework of the 60XT having given me additional structure to help further break through those barriers.
I allowed the “dad bod” to linger too long, but I gave this challenge everything. Winning is financially life-changing, helping to fund Lyla’s savings, alleviate some career pressures, and allow me to better support my patient wife. But more than anything, I want to be the agile father who chases Lyla with a full tank.
I also wanted to win for Coach Cory. He saw my potential before I did and provided vital guidance on key habits. He deserves the national spotlight.
This is now part of my relentless pursuit of my best self. It’s motivated me to challenge myself in other areas of life, from reading more to budgeting better. I recently completed the 2026 Spartan DEKA FIT race alongside Drew and Coach Cory, and we’ll race in the Denver HYROX this November. I also signed up for my first half marathon, which I’ll also do with Drew, at the end of August.
This is not the end of a challenge — it’s only the beginning.
Jennifer Taggart
Life Time club: Life Time Easton in Columbus, Ohio.
Four and a half years ago, I made the decision to quit drinking. What started as a choice became a transformation of my life.
When I started my sobriety journey, I was close to 190 pounds on my 5-foot-2-inch frame and honestly did not recognize myself physically, mentally, or emotionally. The first year was the hardest. I had to face painful realities and navigate the end of my marriage while rediscovering who I was without alcohol.
I was rebuilding while also reconnecting with friends and family and proving to myself that I could become the person I was always capable of being: a better mother, daughter, sister, friend, and coworker. Most importantly, I wanted to be someone I could finally be proud of.
By year two, things began to shift, and I started prioritizing my health. That’s when I found Life Time, and it quickly became the sanctuary I needed to rebuild my confidence, establish a routine, and find a true sense of belonging.
Ironically, the reason I originally walked through the doors of Life Time was an attempt to save my marriage. While our path took a different turn, the healing I found there allowed my ex-husband and me to transition into a beautiful place, and today he remains one of my best friends — we even work out together sometimes.
In 2024, fitness became a major part of my life. I showed up consistently and fell in love with the process. It gave me structure, discipline, and purpose. But despite how consistently I trained, nutrition was still a missing piece for me.
As a single mom, I convinced myself I was eating “healthy enough” and doing the best I could. But when I committed to the 60XT Challenge, I realized I wasn’t truly fueling my body properly — especially when it came to protein.
I knew this challenge was the push I needed to finally approach my health in an intentional and sustainable way. That’s when everything changed. For the first time in my life, I started meal prepping weekly, prioritizing protein, and becoming deliberate about what I was putting into my body.
During the challenge, I reduced my body-fat percentage from 26.3 percent to 18.3 percent while maintaining and even slightly increasing my skeletal muscle mass. My visceral fat level dropped from six to three and my InBody score improved from 84 to 87. Importantly, I accomplished this in a sustainable way by learning how to fuel my body instead of restricting or punishing it.
The impact went far beyond physical changes: My energy improved, I slept better, and I felt stronger, more focused, and more confident than I had in years. I was not only getting leaner, but stronger than ever, pushing myself to lift heavier weights and trust my body in ways I never had before. After years of working out consistently, I finally understood how important nutrition is.
One of the biggest blessings during this journey has been the incredible community at Life Time. Many Dynamic Personal Trainers helped in my journey — Kyle Smith completely changed the way I approached nutrition, while Trae Barbely helped heal severe shoulder pain I was experiencing through stretching and mobility work, so I could train comfortably.
The trainers, instructors, team members, and members at Life Time Easton have truly changed my perspective on what fitness can do. Through classes like SHRED, Pilates, MAXOUT, cycle, Alpha, barre, and more, they taught me discipline, consistency, perseverance, and how to trust the process, even when things got difficult. I also learned about the muscle-mind connection.
For so many years, I spent my life trying to escape myself — this journey taught me how to finally show up for myself. Sobriety was my foundation, fitness became my outlet, and nutrition became the missing piece that brought everything together.
Today, at age 40, I’m healthier than I’ve ever been and a version of myself I once did not think was possible. Real change happens through small choices repeated over and over again. This challenge didn’t just change my body, it changed the way I care for myself, speak to myself, and believe in myself.
Jared Johnson
Life Time: Life Time Cherry Creek in Denver, Colo.
I didn’t start this journey because I wanted to lose weight. I started because I was scared.
One night, I was carrying my disabled son downstairs to his bedroom, something I’ve done countless times, but this time it was harder than it should’ve been.
I felt the strain and instability — and the brutal reality that my body was failing the one person who needed me most. In that moment, a thought stopped me cold: What happens if I’m not strong enough to care for him?
My son will depend on me for the rest of his life. Not for a season. Not until he grows up. Forever.
That weight — which is heavier than anything I will ever lift in a gym — forced me to face what I had been avoiding. I didn’t just want to be alive for him. I needed to be strong for him.
I had tried gyms, programs, and diets before, with each one promising that this time would be different. Some worked briefly, but none lasted. I would push hard, burn out, and fall back into old patterns. Each failed attempt made the next one harder to start. My motivation faded and my confidence eroded. My health declined to the point where showing up fully as his father felt like a challenge I wasn’t winning.
I came into this with a broken metabolism. I was undereating but weighed 307 pounds and was 35.2 percent body fat. I was running out of time to turn it around. Then, I was introduced to Dynamic Personal Trainer Danny Nichols and Life Time Cherry Creek. I knew this time was different.
For the first time, I wasn’t chasing a result — I was building a foundation. Danny didn’t meet me where I thought I should be, he met me exactly where I was and built a plan around what mattered most: being strong, capable, and healthy enough to care for my son for decades to come.
He started by rebuilding my metabolism before ever putting me in a calorie deficit, which was a decision that changed everything. Together we focused on strength, mobility, nutrition, and recovery. We didn’t focus on perfection or going to extremes.
Life Time made consistency possible. Recovery became a ritual; the cold plunge, sauna, steam room, and CryoLounge chairs were tools that kept me coming back even on days when old habits were calling. The LifeCafe kept my nutrition aligned to my plan when life was moving too fast. The Life Time Work Club Lounge removed friction that used to derail me, letting me work on-site. My health became non-negotiable instead of something I squeezed in around everything else.
This wasn’t a fitness program — it became my lifestyle. And the results speak for themselves.
Since beginning this journey, I’ve dropped from 307 pounds to 269. But the scale doesn’t even tell the full story. I’ve lost approximately 45 pounds of pure fat while simultaneously building 9 pounds of lean muscle. During the 60XT Challenge alone, I went from 32.3 percent body fat to 22.6 percent, a drop of nearly 10 percentage points in just 60 days, while preserving and building muscle. I lost 5 inches in my shoulders and chest and 6 inches off my waist. These are not just weight-loss numbers. This is a complete body recomposition, and it happened because the foundation was built correctly from day one.
But the numbers are not the story. I can carry my son without fear. I have the energy to be present with him physically and emotionally. I move with a confidence I had lost years ago. The man in the mirror has changed and, more importantly, the father in the mirror has changed.
This is a story about responsibility, love, and a father who refused to let his body fail his child. I’m no longer afraid of not being strong enough. I’m proving every single day that I’m exactly the father he needs me to be.
Because of Danny and the Life Time community, I haven’t just changed my body, I’ve changed what’s possible in my life.
Cierra Payton
Life Time club: Life Time Castle Creek in Indianapolis, Ind.
“Finish your plate and you can have dessert!” This sentence flowed out of the mouths of those who loved and fed me growing up. It’s the reason I grew up to believe that if I ate all of the food on my plate, I would be rewarded. It became a promise of sugar that led me to accumulate so much excess weight that as a child I couldn’t run in gym class due to exercise-induced asthma.
I vividly remember a visit to the pediatrician as a 12-year-old. The doctor had a graph representing body mass index (BMI). He pointed to my age and height, displaying where my peers fell. Raising his finger past the threshold of the margin, he pointed to a nonexistent space and said, “This is where you are.”
Well over 200 pounds and not understanding the implications of that, I suffered years of disordered eating and metabolic warfare on my body. With nobody showing me the proper way to fuel myself, seemingly I was destined to be the “big girl” forever.
I spent the early years of my adulthood trying to fight the weight I held on my body. I tried to convince myself that if I could just lose a few pounds, the doctor would tell me I was no longer insulin resistant and that I had beat prediabetes. But the weight stayed, as if I did not have a choice. My A1C continued to climb. I tried to eat better and mend my relationship with myself to learn to love what I had become. I ate and ate some more to numb the pain I felt inside.
I would lose 10 pounds and gain 20. It was a vicious cycle. Until I met the person I decided to spend the rest of my life with.
Together, we wanted to better our physical health, and with dedication to ourselves and to one another, we decided to find a gym. We toured multiple facilities, but it wasn’t until we met Jada at the front desk of Life Time Castle Creek that I knew we had found our place. We joined as members in May 2025.
We tried everything at Life Time, from various classes to spending long nights on the pickleball courts with our newfound friends. The time we spent at the club took precedence over most of our other activities. I began preferring time in the sauna and cold plunge to nights out with friends. I craved a smoothie from the LifeCafe instead of a hotdog at Costco.
We began training with Nik Hackbarth and everything was going right until I found out at a routine checkup with my OBGYN that I was experiencing symptoms of polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS). My delight in my new engagement to my partner turned to fear. I recognized there could be a future where I wasn’t able to conceive and it shook me to my core. Something had to change.
I saw communications for 60XT in my email. Flyers around the club noted a $10,000 prize for the winners of this transformation competition. I felt that I was being offered a second chance to mend my relationship with food, heal the distaste I had for my own body, and to eventually become a mother.
My cousin (who’s also a Life Time member) immediately signed up and we followed, not even sure of what we were getting ourselves into. The excitement at the kickoff party was invigorating. We made a detailed plan with our trainer, Nick, completed our InBody scans, and we were ready to lock in.
My partner created a spreadsheet for us to track our daily macros. I meal prepped and we moved after every single meal. Each step of the way we would check in with each other. Some days were significantly harder than others, and we were sure to let the other one know how proud we were of the journey we were on.
My experience throughout these 60 days has been one of relearning, believing in myself, and showing up. If I just walked in the doors of Life Time every day, even on the days when it was difficult to get there, I would see results. And the results have been life changing.
I didn’t know what I was capable of. I have more energy now at 31 years old than I had 10 years ago. I choose my body and my health over the “joy” I used to believe sweet treats and indulging would bring me. Eating out feels like a chore now.
Drinking my LTH Power Creatine Monohydrate and a scoop of LTH Hydrate has become a pillar in my daily routine. Reaching my protein intake everyday has made a normal diet with no disordered eating possible.
I stepped on the InBody scale on the final day of the challenge to show myself what I’m capable of, and my future looks brighter than it ever has.
Throughout this process, my partner and I have discussed all the elements of the challenge that will remain normalcies in our lives, including protein intake, post-meal movement, and getting to the club no matter what. Every aspect of this challenge has mended something in me that I thought was broken. I am not broken. I am strong, confident, and resilient, and my body just needed my mind to get onboard.
Mary Roberts
Life Time club: Life Time Miami at the Falls in Miami, Fla.
I was losing hope that my body could change, and I deeply wanted to throw in the towel. I used to be an athlete, but you’d never guess that after a decade of nonprofit disaster response work in 36-plus countries and earning a PhD before age 30. Helping people through crises had pushed me into one of my own at 150-plus-pounds overweight.
When I got sick for months after responding to an earthquake, I had to return to the United States, cancel everything, and face my situation: If you don’t have your health, you can very quickly not have your life.
Once the doctors eventually cleared me to exercise again, a friend brought me to Life Time. When I saw the motto “Love Your Life,” I teared up because I wanted to feel that again.
I joined Life Time Miami at the Falls in May 2025, dreaming of losing 100 pounds in a year. When I got the 60XT Challenge email, I was excited and discouraged at the same time. I was so far from my goal that it felt inaccessible, yet seeing the past winners and prizes, I wondered what could happen if I tried one more time.
I signed up with the trainer Hansen Fischer, bought a new pair of walking shoes, and read every 60XT resource I could find. This was going to be my next “PhD” — but this time that stood for “physical health determination!”
My goals for the 60XT was to lose 30 pounds, see any changes in the “after” photo, learn how to keep the changes going, and most importantly, finish without being able to say, “what if I had . . .”
For 60 days, my daily theme song was, “Try Everything” by Shakira, as in it she sings about “even if I fail.” It was game on.
Each week, I had “strategy Sunday” to reflect and make improvements to my routine, no matter how small. Between zone 2 treadmill walking, strength training, pickleball, and classes, I never got bored. I even reached the 75-plus classes milestone.
Hitting 15,000 to 20,000 steps a day, six days a week, became my norm because I noticed it working. My mobility increased with me being able to perform movements that had been unreachable since high school. For the first time, exercise felt like something I got to do rather than something I had to do.
My eating habits shifted to focusing on protein. I ate so many tubs of grilled chicken from the LifeCafe with endless veggies and glasses of water, I think they had to restock more often because of me.
My mindset also started to shift. I went from being in survival mode to get through the day to walking past the Kids Academy thinking about a future where all this effort wasn’t just for me, it was also for my future family.
However, every muscle hurt! Recovery became a non-negotiable. Working hard wasn’t the problem for me. But Life Time taught me the value of caring for my body, not just beating it into shape.
Foam rolling and massage guns were no longer only for the people who had muscles you could see, they were for me too! I took Hansen’s advice and started taking stretching seriously. I loved my LifeSpa massages and Dynamic Stretch sessions that kept me going injury-free.
Halfway through 60XT, I realized I actually might be able to reach my original goal. I had completely lost hope about losing 100 pounds within a year, and now it was possible! I wanted to win so badly that it helped me break the plateaus. When days were difficult, this goal gave me a new surge to keep going.
I’d received national awards in the past for helping others, but often at the expense of my health — this was the first time I was trying to achieve something for my health. Life Time truly became a place of community and camaraderie for me. Throughout the challenge, team members and members encouraged me in the changes they saw.
I used to hide behind someone in Zumba class and stare at the floor while at the squat rack, unable to look in the mirror. I felt so much shame. During 60XT, I began to smile seeing my reflection, and I now go to the front row in classes. This is not because I’d reached perfection, but because my body was changing to reflect the person I want to become.
I worked my butt off, figuratively and literally. During 60XT, I went from 272.9 to 225.8 pounds, losing body fat and increasing strength. Through taking the Active Metabolic Assessment, I learned my VO2 max improved by nearly 50 percent. My fasting insulin dropped from 14.7 to 4.6, the lowest in my life.
I’ve now reached my one-year goal of losing 100 pounds (I’ve lost 102 pounds) and I did it in one year. 60XT gave me a lifestyle with a routine I love. I’ve proved to myself that change is possible.
For the first time in my adult life, I have a consistent circadian rhythm, I enjoy moving after meals, and I feel my confidence returning in both my abilities and my body. At times when I may not feel like following the plan, I no longer have to wonder if it’ll work if I do. That keeps me going.
I joined Life Time to lose weight, but I gained my life back. As Shakira sings, “Till I reach the end, and then I’ll start again.” This challenge may be over, but my journey is just beginning.
Winners Weigh In
Three of the winners share what made them proudest, what surprised them most, and the advice they’d give anyone starting their own transformation.
Life Time | What are you most proud of coming out of the challenge?
Connor Dugan | I locked in mentally that I was going to win from the moment I signed up, and I never let go of that belief. Watching that mindset become reality is powerful and an important reminder to carry into all facets of life.
Jennifer Taggart | Cutting out sugar, eating my body weight in protein every day, finding creative ways to curb cravings, and creating healthy habits that will help me maintain a healthy lifestyle. I’m also incredibly proud of how much stronger I’ve become.
Mary Roberts | Rebuilding my health has been a long journey with many past regrets of what ifs. Going into the challenge, I committed to myself for 60 days that I would live with no feelings of what if I had . . .
I wanted to win so deeply and I knew the only way I could and not have regrets would be to have no more what ifs for those two months. Coming out of the challenge, I’m most proud that I can truly say I lived 60 days without any.
LT | What’s something that most surprised you from the experience?
CD | I expected great results, but I didn’t expect to be down 51 pounds and lose 13 percent of my body fat in 60 days. The numbers didn’t just meet my expectations, they crushed them.
JT | That I won! I came into this challenge hoping to become a better version of myself, but I never imagined I would end up here.
MR | What most surprised me was how much time I spent doing recovery. There were days when I spent nearly as many hours caring for my body as I had spent working out.
LT | What’s one piece of advice you’d share with someone wanting to improve their health?
CD | Lock in mentally, then find a coach who genuinely cares, and hand them the wheel. With the right plan, the guessing game disappears. Your mind will take your body further than you ever thought possible. Transformation demands intention, discipline, and patience every single day.
JT | Never underestimate how powerful your mind is. So much transformation happens mentally before it ever happens physically. At some point, you must let go, trust the process, and believe that you are capable of far more than you think.
MR | Don’t underestimate the power of hope and of guidance from other people who truly believe something more is possible. When the days were hard, mistakes were made, or life was throwing punches, it came down to my beliefs and the support and guidance around me. I thought, is what I’m doing really going to work? Is that much change really going to be possible? The people at Life Time helped breathe hope into me. I hope I can share that with others when they need someone to borrow hope from too.
