GYM MEMBER OF THE MONTH: Michelle Simpson
How long have you been a member of Avenue Tennis?
I joined in June 2019, so three years this month, although it feels like I’ve been here a lot longer! I joined after I became disillusioned with another local gym and was immediately very happy that I did.
Tell us about your experience with your Personal Trainer and your Wellness journey so far
I have worked with a few different personal trainers at Avenue during my three years here. I started with Adam, who was perfect for my goals when I joined. I was getting into running with my husband Alex and wanted to improve my stamina and strength for running. I also had loose goals of losing fat and gaining muscle which Adam helped with. Then came the first lockdown and everything changed! I did nothing BUT run and walk during lockdown but quickly lost momentum and got into baking instead, and like many people, I quickly recouped the fat I’d lost.
When we returned, I wanted to focus more on fat loss and muscle building than on improving my running, as lockdown had cured me of any enthusiasm I had for it. I had won a free 30-minute PT session in a little lockdown contest arranged by the gym for completing a marathon distance over a week and chose to do this with Sarah. Although it was the toughest workout of my life, I opted to move over to Sarah, and she put a programme together for me focusing on building muscle. Although I’d always focused on cardio, I found I really enjoyed resistance training. The results were slow to start with, and at my first review, I wasn’t where I hoped I’d be, but Sarah assured me that if I kept working, I’d see results.
When Sarah left, I started working with Wayne. I very much enjoy working with Wayne; he has an excellent sense of humour and is very knowledgeable and patient with the fact that I am rubbish at setting goals! I also find the reviews reassuring, as sometimes I feel like I’m not progressing, but feedback from Wayne and the Tanita machine usually gives me the reassurance I need.
What is your next step here at Avenue Tennis?
I intend to continue focusing on resistance training, hopefully building more muscle and strength and maintaining the fat loss that I have achieved. I have been adamant in the past that the only classes I do are mat-based, as I love Pilates, MELT, Body Balance and Yoga, but I might have to start stepping out of my comfort zone and do some of the more energetic classes too.
Personal Trainer Hannah Newman:
Michelle’s continued hard efforts in the gym have been noticed by all the PTs here at Avenue. She always brings such lovely and positive energy into the club, which is always much appreciated, especially early on Saturday mornings. Not to mention filling the gym with her lovely smelling variety of body shop perfumes!
Michelle works consistently hard in fitness classes and the gym with her training programmes, which shows in her Tanita results and measurements. We all love being able to engage with her on the gym floor and around the facility; she is a lovely member to have, and we hope she continues to work hard with us at Avenue for a long time.
