Flab to Fit

The first time I met up with her, my heart pounded from sheer anxiety. I’d never had a trainer before, and even though I’ve known people who’ve worked with and loved theirs - I had absolutely no idea what to expect - and that anticipation left me panicked.

If you’ve worked with Michelle for any length of time, you may have noticed the pin that she wears on the left lapel of her jacket. If you haven’t or you’ve not met her, it’s a tiny little thing with a big message.

* - No Whining! - *

That’s her motto and the running theme of her workouts. Be it in the ‘Torture room’, as it’s laughingly called, working with the free weights or in the open space of the basketball court - you will leave each and every session sucking wind like there is no tomorrow, desperate for water, barely able to walk, and having discovered muscles you didn’t know existed.

Michelle is fantastically talented at making winners from whiners.

At the age of 42 - my body is a far different creature than it was at 24. It takes longer to heal, it’s easier to break, and when you do hear something “pop” it’s usually not just a little thing that requires a couple of hours off your feet, a bag of ice, and a couple ibuprofen.

I’ve friends who love to run, it is their passion to feel the pavement under their feet, the air in their lungs, and the tiredness in their muscles. But simple injuries to their ankles or knees have left them sidelined; cheering but no longer in the race.

The fear of injury is and remains my number one concern; that I achieve health and fitness safely and properly so that I do not damage myself permanently.

Through this project, I’ve found that there is an incredible peace of mind in having a trainer work along side of you. They make sure you are positioned safely, squatting back far enough (“Butt Out!”) and they aren’t afraid to encourage you by any means necessary to push through the whine for the win.

When I first met Michelle, I expressed my concerns - and the fact that I’d thought that these fears were what held me back in my past non-mom life in attaining true health.

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve got you covered.”

My 'Ghost' running shoes and bandanna ~
No workout is complete without them.

Indeed she did and does. Each week I meet up with Michelle for 30 minutes of pure unadulterated muscle terror. I’ve achieved far more than I ever thought that I could and when I look back at where I’ve started and where I am today I can say that I’m astounded.

That’s not to say that I know what to expect each week when I meet up with Michelle. More often than not, I can’t help but think - “And what the heck is THAT for?” as she introduces me to one foreign exercise after another.

While I know that many dread their time with their trainer, I will miss mine when this project is over. I enjoy my tortured journey and when I leave each week, it’s with a huge smile, a soaked yellow bandana, a sense of accomplishment, and feeling incredibly alive.

Michelle Stout is the voice of confidence that I needed to be able to reach beyond the physical goals I set for myself when Project Purpose started. And for that, the only words I can say are 'Thank You'.