Teddy and his workout partners, wife Tiphanie and baby girl, Lynlee, follow Invictus programming from their home in NorCal.
Meet the Motivator: Teddy Jestakom
Written by Michele Vieux
Communities come in all shapes and sizes – even virtually – and it’s amazing how one can form with the help of a few, key members. Well, we have a pretty awesome community going on in our Performance Blog comments section of this site and a major reason for this is because of the ongoing motivation provided by one of those key members, Teddy Jestakom.
Teddy is the guy who is always encouraging others whether it be through posting his results daily or by commenting on the posts of others to offer words of encouragement and even friendly banter with his virtual workout buddies. Even though they have never met in person, everyone on the blog knows who he is because of his genuine love and excitement for fitness and life – it is quite literally contagious.
Teddy has been following the Performance Program for about 2 ½ years and admits that, at first, he was a “creeper” – only following the workouts and reading other people’s results. But then he realized the importance of posting results himself after being encouraged by some of the other bloggers like “The Longhorn” and “Chris M” and their fantastic results.
“I realized that I was not alone (in my struggles and goals),” he says. “Posting not only provides a level of accountability but also provides motivation. I am motivated by those guys and I hope that by posting, I can motivate others out there.”
Teddy is a natural motivator. He grew up playing sports, spent ten years in the fitness industry at a globo gym and is now a pastor of a church in NoCal. He uses the tools and philosophies from those trades without even thinking about it when approaching his fitness and being a part of our online community.
“It’s great to be a part of something much bigger than myself,” he notes. “My intention when joining this community was not only to become a better athlete, but to invest in a community.”
That investment has paid off tenfold. By his paying it forward with his positive and encouraging posts and messages, he received unsolicited benefits in return.
“I was shocked at the outpouring of support I received after injuring my knee,” he remembers. “You guys (Invictus) sent me a shirt and get well card which was so cool! And another Performance Blogger, Britt J (a physical therapist), reached out to me to walk me through the surgery and rehab process I’d be facing.”
It all goes back to this – you are not alone.
“It is truly amazing when people feel like they are cared for and the level of commitment that everyone on the blog has for doing this for people who would otherwise be total strangers,” he says.
Teddy is also about the “no excuses” attitude. He has had his share of setbacks like most of us have, most recently with a knee injury, but uses the fellow bloggers for accountability and to help stay consistent, posting his physical therapy routine instead when he was unable to follow the prescribed workouts. He mentioned one person in particular who has shined in this area, our friend Jorge Gonzalez, who posts every day without ego – even if he perceived that he had a miserable workout or it was a rest day.
Teddy has seen many improvements in his overall fitness and mindset since starting the program and has a few goals for 2017.
Goal #1 – Remain injury free!
Goal #2 – Perform a thruster with no emotional turmoil. (The thruster was how he injured his knee last fall.)
Goal #3 – Clean & Jerk 225# (At a bodyweight of 150#, this is a legit goal.)
Goal #4 – Deadlift 415#
Fun Facts about Teddy:
– He is on the 90/10 Paleo plan but binge eats on the weekend. “I am a hummingbird,” he jokes.
– He survived Army crawling under the base of a waterfall in Honduras, when the human chain he was connected to broke and he found himself alone while being pummeled by thousands of gallons of water.
– His favorite animal is the honey badger because it is a cute and furry lollygagger but indestructible. Honey badger don’t care!
Let’s help keep him on track to accomplish these goals and in return, you will likely receive support from him and others on the blog! Please feel free to comment on this post and/or join us in the Performance Blog Comment Section where you can also post your goals and ask for support!
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That’s really cool information.
Awesome stuff my man , has inspired me to post more often for sure!
Awesome work Teddy! Inspiring to see this mindset after a serious injury. Keep it up 🙂
Dude, your attitude towards the adversity of your injury has been so inspirational; keep up the amazing work, you are already crushing these wods!!!!
Awesome blog post on Teddy! Dude r u ever not wearing that 25# vest anymore?? Honeybadger don’t care hahaha