Gina DeCiani - Lawyer

I hired Michelle this spring of 2005, when I decided to finally get serious about getting in better shape and getting healthy. Although I knew intellectually how important it was to engage in regular cardio and strength training activities, I had a difficult time motivating myself to maintain a regular exercise program. When I explained this to another trainer who was an acquaintance of mine, he exclaimed, “Heart disease is the Number One killer of women, and regular cardio exercise is the best way to prevent heart disease from occurring. If that isn’t motivation for you, I don’t know what is.” I guess it wasn’t enough for me.

So I called Michelle, who met me at my home for an initial contact. She told me about her business philosophy, and we immediately connected. I appreciated her approach to achieving and maintaining fitness. We then did a mini-workout. I sensed that she could motivate me, and keep me focused on my workout goals without being difficult to be around. In other words, she was supportive, without being a pushover. She never accepted the many excuses I attempted to use in the beginning about why I wasn’t able to work out too rigorously on a particular evening.

After a month of training with Michelle twice a week, she brought her scale over to my home. Horrified, I asked her why she had a scale with her. She reminded me that our agreement included monthly weigh-ins and measurements. I groaned, and I grimaced. And then she told me that I had lost a few pounds, which was great, and that I had lost a half inch in each thigh, and a half inch in my arms. When we went to the fitness room to work out that evening, I carefully watched my arms in the mirror as I did bicep curls and triceps extensions, and I could see muscles that I didn’t know I had dancing from side to side with each repetition.

That was the motivation I needed to take Michelle and her training program seriously. Each month, she changed the program slightly. The changes to the exercise routines made my muscles develop more quickly. People were noticing the changes in my body, and I was feeling pretty good – I finally understood why people became so devoted to exercise.

I started to look forward to Michelle working out with me twice a week. We got along so well, and we talked about all aspects of our lives. It was as if I was working out with a good friend of mine. While I was doing walking lunges across the fitness center, I shared with her my frustrations at work, my excitement over an upcoming vacation, and my adventures babysitting my niece and nephew. As I did my squats, we talked about her plans for her business and her life in Michigan before she moved here. The hour flew by. And every month, the weigh-ins and measurements told me I was becoming stronger and more fit.

I couldn’t be happier with the results I achieved with Michelle. Every dollar I invested in working out with her was money well spent.