Michelle

June 07, 2012

The Trainee:
I was closing in on 30 years of age, weighing 229 lbs., and suffering with back pain when I met Kara in mid August 2010. I was scared to death to meet with a personal trainer, but I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. Our first meeting pleasantly surprised me, as Kara put me at ease and made me feel comfortable. It was the best decision I had ever made.

The journey was not easy. When I began personal training, I could not do one single pushup and I was out of breath without moving around very much at all. In my head I knew I could not give up for so many reasons: Diabetes runs in my family and I was headed in that direction; I wanted to live pain free; and I wanted to stop feeling like I was invisible. Kara encouraged me to push through it and promised that the results would come. I dedicated myself to her and my own development, and gave it all I had.

The workouts have never stopped being challenging, but they are always fun. Sessions have become a great outlet for me to de-stress, and I always leave my sessions feeling better mentally and physically than when I went in. Kara has always made me feel like I was her only client.

This road I have taken has changed my life in every way, shape, and form! I used to be a loner - insecure, and shy. Today I have the confidence to be outgoing and social, something I never was but know I was meant to be. I feel like I am the real Michelle. I now know that I can do anything that I put my mind to. I remain dedicated to my training and my health, without being on any kind of diet or falling into other industry trends, and through sheer hard work have lost 95 lbs. and 80 inches! I have been so empowered by Kara and this process that I now want to give back and show other people what they are capable of, and am pursuing a career in personal training.

The Trainer:
When I first met Michelle, she was incredibly shy, timid, and visibly unhappy. I recall her saying in our first conversation: my current state is embarrassing, and I cannot stand it! Today, I write about a completely different young woman.

I knew that making a shift from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one would not be easy. We had to develop a whole new mindset. I wanted to instill healthy eating habits, exercise habits, and eliminate the self-loathing that she was feeling. Michelle took it all in, and grabbed life by the horns!

Over the past year and few months, she has literally worked her butt off! She has achieved such phenomenal success by consistently training a few times per week. When she is with me, I get no less than 100% effort, 100% of the time. I have consistently progressed her programming to levels that are very high; some of the exercises she performs are considered to be very advanced. There was an athlete inside her all along!

I am so proud of Michelle. Even though she was scared, she never gave up. She has achieved all of her goals so far, and keeps making new ones. She continues to be an inspiration to others, and is proof positive that you can do anything if you put your mind to it, stick with it, and work hard at it!!