Case Study #1 Emily Esterson
I started working out with a personal trainer about 7 years ago. My fitness goals at the time were to lose weight, of course (like everyone), but also to get stronger abs so I could be a better equestrian. I have long been a serious horsewoman and wanted to improve my riding. Serious cross training was the answer.
Although I’d started out at another gym, I found that environment too rote—the fitness routines never changed much, and although I liked the trainers personally, they were very busy teaching group classes, doing half-hour sessions with too many clients, and not really paying attention to my personal fitness goals at the time. I found my personal training time with them boring.
I joined Mike Brousseau’s gym because it seemed so clean, bright, and quiet; attributes I value. I’m not much for pounding music and acres of treadmills, spin bikes, ellipticals, and iron pumping strongmen. Central Fitness is exactly what it says: personal and centrally located fitness! Within a few weeks of my initial fitness test, Mike and I were on a journey together: I grew stronger and fitter, and perhaps most importantly, together we built both my functional fitness and my self-confidence.
The journey hasn’t always been smooth.
An old rotator cuff injury flared up, and Mike pivoted to help me rehabilitate it through functional exercises and stretches. My recurrent hip pain has all but disappeared thanks to the strengthening work we’ve done together. Some of my most joyous moments during Covid lockdown was working out with Mike in a park, and how creatively he used the various elements that were available, such as the kid’s jungle gym and the benches. The back of Mike’s SUV became a mini-gym, packed with weights, kettle bells, bands, and yoga mats.
Today, I continue my functional fitness journey twice a week.
Mike helped me prepare for a long-distance cycling trip through Portugal last summer. Because I had done the pre-work, indoor cycling, doing leg and glute exercises, and building my cardio endurance, even the hilliest days weren’t daunting. They were hard, but I had fitness confidence. I can now do a pull-up hold for a minute with 110 lbs of support (I started at 140 lbs). I can deadlift 75 pounds. I am still not a runner (Mike respects this! Too hard on my knees) but I am a rower and spinner and lifter. At 59 years old, I’m in the best shape of my life.
