If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life it’s that sugarcoating shit won’t get you anywhere. Especially in fitness training! I tried to be the nice trainer that believed my clients were working their asses off and eating healthy at home, even though they weren’t losing weight after six months of working with me. It’s because of that, that I realized I can’t just sugarcoat everything. That doesn’t get my clients results! I have to be authentic, real, and I have to be hard on them and actually hold them accountable! That’s why they are working with me in the first place – because they want to be held accountable. They’ve made that decision to change their lifestyle and they just need a little help along the way! That’s what I’m here for!
For those of you that don’t know me, I want to give you a little backstory and insight into my fitness journey. My journey started out when I was fairly young. I grew up doing martial arts and had a gi on about 90% of the time (the two-piece outfit you have to wear while practicing any kind of martial arts). My dad was also very physically fit and our basement (Yes, we had a basement. I grew up in Michigan, okay! Lol) was always full of gym equipment. So, I feel like I had a little bit of an advantage in my fitness journey because this is just what I was used to. Being around people who put their fitness and health first was just normal in my upbringing. BUT… I will say that I do have siblings and they are not Busy to Bomb Fit Moms, so I do have to give myself a little credit. I have made a conscious effort my whole life to make my health a priority. That’s not to say I didn’t have my struggles in my fitness journey, because I definitely did.
I really started struggling with my fitness when I became a mom. I know you moms that are reading this right now are going to go, “Yup, mhmm, I feel that!” Sooo many women I speak to always feel like they lose themselves when they become a mom. And I felt that too! You give your body and soul up to creating another human being for 10 months! That’s wild! Creating a little baby and giving birth is a LOT for your body to handle. I wasn’t someone that just bounced back after each baby either. After having babies, I quickly realized how much of me had changed. I felt like an entirely different person! I now had an entirely different role as a mom and I couldn’t expect my body to operate as it did prior to kids. That just wouldn’t even be fair to my body after all it went through.
Every single second that I spent doing cardio or lifting weights at the gym had to count because I had tiny humans waiting for me back home. I couldn’t just waste time doing workouts that didn’t do anything for my body – I needed to make the most of the limited time I had. Plus, your body is just different! Your hips are different. Your boobs are different. Everything is different! The fat didn’t just come off like it used to before kids. And you know what, THAT’S OKAY! It’s totally okay that our bodies change after birth. One major thing you have to learn in your fitness journey is to give yourself grace. Don’t look at your body and think of all of the things you would like to change. Think about it with love and positivity because look what it just accomplished! You are SO strong!!
I say this all the time – mindset is everything! One thing that really helped me get back into my fitness journey after babies was changing my mindset. If I made working out just a part of my lifestyle, it was just another thing to add into my daily routine, just like making the bed or making dinner. It doesn’t have to be this huge, dreaded event in your life to have to go to the gym. I used it as my peace and quiet time, where I could just work on myself for an hour and I would feel so good and ready to take on the world after!
If you’re at the point where you’re ready to get serious about your fitness journey and make your health a priority, I’m here to help! You might be thinking, “Well how do I know if Melissa’s program is right for me?” I want you to know right now, I’m only here to be brutally honest with you and completely raw and authentic. It might be hard at first, but this is the only way to get your butt in gear! Other personal trainers aren’t going to tell you that you are going to fail, but this is one of the first things I tell women that join my program. It always takes them by surprise, but it’s true! This journey is hard! If it was easy, everyone would be walking around with 6 packs.
Something I reallyyyy want to highlight for any gym newbies: ALWAYS accept the handful of free sessions with a personal trainer that they gift you when you sign up with a gym. Go through every move you could possibly do at the gym. Pay attention to the trainers form and even record yourself when it’s your turn so you can reference it later! Let me let you in on a little secret… You DON’T have to hire the personal trainers every day or for the rest of your fitness journey. People become so dependent on their trainer and if something happens, whether you can’t make your session or the trainer cancels on you, people will freak out because then they feel like they can’t do the workout themselves! DON’T BECOME DEPENDENT ON YOUR TRAINERS! You can learn so much from trainers, but once you learn what you need to, ditch them and depend on yourself and your own knowledge to continue through your fitness journey. You can do it! Trust me!
Personal training is also super personal! Makes sense, right? Trainers get to know your body so well during sessions. They pay attention to how everything moves and how you do certain workouts. You HAVE to click with your trainer. If you get to know your trainer and think they are annoying as hell, chances are you are going to end up hating going to gym. It’s going to be something you dread doing it. You don’t want resentful feelings being associated with fitness. You want it to be a good experience! Be sure to interview your trainer before booking a session. You want to make sure you vibe with them and that it will be a good, healthy relationship!
Another thing personal trainers aren’t going to tell you is that you have to like their body! They should be someone that you look up to. You have to be able to look at them and be like “Oh heck yes! I want to look like you!” If you don’t like their body, why would you want to listen to them anyways? Why should you trust what they’re telling you to do if they don’t put the same effort into their own bodies? Find a trainer with #bodygoals! If you don’t fully trust your trainer, you won’t give it your all and the results won’t follow. Why hire someone if you’re just going to waste money and not push yourself to get the results you want?!
Honestly, for my ladies reading this, typically you do better with other female trainers! It’s not to say you can’t have a male trainer if you’re a woman, but you have to make sure you’re comfortable with him. Just know that you are going to be sticking your butt out, or there are moves that actually pull at your girl parts… and if you feel that, you’re doing it wrong! But male trainers aren’t necessarily going to notice that. So you have to ask yourself if you feel comfortable talking about that with a male trainer when you notice something doesn’t feel right in that area. Just something to think about!
If you’re debating virtual or in-person training, well first of all, gyms could potentially be closed where you are, depending on where you live. But if you’re worried about time, virtual is the way to go! I could only take on so many in-person clients because there’s only so much time in the day! With virtual training, I can give you all of the tools for your workouts and meals and you can do it on your own time. I know so many moms out there really appreciate this because sometimes their schedule really depends on our kids’ schedules. They can’t always get the 8 am workout in. Sometimes it’s a 5 am workout before the kids are up, or 2 pm naptime workout. You just never know! You still get the same attention from me with virtual training, it’s just a lot more flexible. Going virtual also allowed me to create a whole online community of Bomb Moms!
Other personal trainers aren’t going to tell you that you need support, but you do! I’m here to support all of the women in my group and you know who else is? Everyone else in the group! We have a private group for all of the women in my program where we can all support and encourage each other. Hell, I need accountability too and seeing how badass these women are, always makes me get my butt up and to the gym! Community and support is sooo dang important! When you have family over and there’s all of this yummy, tempting food out, you need someone to remind you to step away from the chips and appetizers. Through Busy to Bomb Fit Mom, you will have an insanely awesome and supportive community of women that will be there for you! They will be there to tell you to step away from the chips and to find a healthier alternative to dip in that guacamole. When you need support, they will be there to offer you support in whatever way you need. And vice versa! Other ladies will be able to lean on you too. It’s such an awesome community and if you’re looking to start your fitness journey, they will be ready to invite you in with open arms and cheer you on!
Because you are kinda doing it on your own, that extra support and community is incredible. Not only do you get the amazing community of other Bomb Moms, but you have access to me! I make sure I’m easily accessible to everyone in my group. Before you even sign up, I have meetings with potential clients to get to know them and their goals and they can get to know me and see if my program is a good fit for them! If you have questions on a certain move or need modifications, I’m available to give all of that to you! It’s also important that you’re held accountable and through myself and the rest of the Bomb Mom group, you WILL be held accountable!
What’s great about my program is that I will help you set your goals, push you and hold you accountable. I’ll teach you the keys to help you on this lifelong fitness journey! However, you will also learn the tools and tips to do this on your own! I will be there to support you along the way, but I won’t have to hold your hand every step of the way. You can do this! You are stronger and more capable than you even know!
Want to learn more? Head to the Busy to Bomb tab to learn more about how you can get fit and STAY fit, all while balancing mom life.