After Overcoming an Injury, He’s Stronger Than Ever

Kwabena Miller, a 44-year-old transit driver in Knoxville, Tennessee, has always been enthusiastic about his fitness. He prides himself on being a sharp dresser and a regular gym-goer. But staying in shape hasn’t always been easy.

Last October, a driver ran a stop sign and plowed into the side of Kwabena’s van. The door crumpled into his arm and shoulder. The doctor put Kwabena’s arm in a sling and told him to stop going to the gym for three months. Kwabena went on medical leave from his job.

Those three months were difficult. He became a couch potato, fell into bad eating habits and lost a sense of structure in his life.

“That’s how I got fat,” Kwabena says. His body fat percentage grew to 24 percent, which is on the high end of the American Council on Exercise’s acceptable range for men. He also had to go on blood pressure medication. “I had fallen so hard. I didn’t have any wind. I didn’t have any motivation. I was in a rut.”

Luckily for Kwabena, his doctor allowed him to return to the gym the last week of December — just when the Gold’s Gym Challenge was about to start.

“When I saw the 12-week Challenge, I knew it was the motivation I needed,” he says.