In 2001, I was training clients in their homes, working with St. Luke’s Hospital’s community education programs, managing the fitness center at Pillsbury Foods and working at other clubs. I wanted to consolidate my efforts into one location, so I opened Positively Fit in September of that year.
For 17 years, my team of top notch trainers and I have been providing our clients with cutting edge training practices. I literally spend thousands of dollars each year, traveling with Jack, our nutritionist, to educate myself not only on the latest in fitness, but also in hormones, nutrition and more. Then I pass that knowledge onto our trainers so that our team can continue to provide the best for our clients.
Looking back on Positively Fit’s 17-year history, I am reminded how we’ve had to adjust to our clients’ needs as they have evolved. When we first opened our doors, for example, we were all about small group training. Over time, personal training became the norm. Now we’re seeing a comeback of group training with our new Power Plate training.
Perhaps the most significant adjustments we’ve made involves how each individual’s physiology handles the stress of exercise differently. We train according to everyone’s unique physiology and adjust our training to how stressed each individual is getting. When we see something isn’t working we make adjustments for the betterment of our clients.
Gone are the days of proudly wearing the “I kicked your butt!” badge. We’ve learned it’s not a badge of honor. It’s not the way to train people – especially for our niche clientele: women over 40 who are often struggling with hormone imbalance. In addition, we live in a toxic world and many don’t eat like they should. We now know that our bodies become more sensitive to sugar and more reactive to stressed as we age. Exercise needs to compliment these changes, not compound them or make them worse.
Our education and expertise is what has always set us apart. All of our trainers have more than 30 years of fitness training experience. I have been published in two books and several magazines, used as a case study, recognized as one of the top trainers in the country and even produced and distributed a stability ball exercise video. Add in Jack’s (my husband) expertise in nutrition, and our team rounds out perfectly.
With clients who have stayed with us for more than 20 years, we must be doing something right! Longtime client Brenda Majdalani says it best: “Maryellen and Kim are so well versed in the latest approaches to strength training for women going through midlife hormonal changes. Besides weight gain related to hormone changes, I also have adrenal related issues and they have developed a workout approach specific to my own needs. They understand the impact of cardio and other stressors on the body and teach us ways to workout to minimize and even reverse the negative impacts of stress on the body. Their methods promote anti-aging benefits as well.”