Client Spotlight: Ellen’s Story of Strength, Balance, and Pain-Free Living

An interview with Ellen on her experience at TrainSMART and how the TrainSMART team helped her achieve her health and fitness goals:

Could you briefly tell me about yourself and how you found TrainSMART?

I worked at Roswell Park for many years, I am retired now, but I found TrainSMART because it was 5 minutes from my office. That is what initially got me coming here, I had met Brandon Mancuso previously and I started coming back in 2014. I have been here for 11 years, but I have been retired for four years, and I’ve kept it up in retirement.

Before you found TrainSMART, how were you feeling?

Historically I have had a lot of low back issues, knee issues, and the knee issues were related to the back. Being at TrainSMART has really, really helped me with that because of the emphasis on core strengthening and glute strengthening. I have had fewer issues, even though I am 11 years older, I have fewer issues with my back then I did 11 years earlier.

What do you think it is about TrainSMART that has helped you get those results?

“For me it has been the personal attention that I get from Brandon and the staff. The trainers that I have worked with have been great! They really tailor the program to your specific needs, weak spots, injuries. They are very very careful about injuries and make sure they strengthen the proper things to help those injuries get better. I just feel a certain level of personal care that has honestly kept me coming back all these years.

What do you like most about TrainSMART?

The trainers are great; I do the small group semi-private session so sometimes it is nice to be working out with other people. They are doing their own thing while you're doing your own program, it is just a nice atmosphere. There are never more than 4 people at a time so you still get some personal training even in a small group. The workouts are great, I like the fact that they mostly use your own body weight, it is not a dumbbell lifting gym. There is nothing wrong with that, just for me it's easier, even exercises that look simply if you're using your body weight and your core correctly, they are really challenging, and I like how the programs are designed. 

How has coming to TrainSMART translated to your life outside of the gym?

I know my core is stronger. When I first started coming here one of the first things Brandon had me do was walk up a flight of stairs. He said, “you're only putting the first half of your foot on the stair and that is what is hurting your knees”. So just learning really simple things, now I go upstairs correctly and put my whole foot on the step. I’ve learned how to bend over properly to pick things up. They focus a lot on functional movement, and it sounds very senior citizen-y but they make it challenging. The exercises have strengthened my core so much that even though historically my balance isn't great, it feels like it is as good as it can be. I fall less when I'm skiing. I am able to recover better if I slip because my core is stronger.

What are your favorite exercises and why are they your favorite?

The deadlift, it feels like I am using every muscle in my entire body while at the same time protecting your joints. They really teach you how to protect your knees and protect your back while doing very challenging exercises. I love the exercises that use your whole total body like TRX rows and like I said deadlifts.

What are your external motivators that keep you coming back?

I like to hike, I feel like this has also helped me in hiking with core and some leg strength. And just knowing how important it is to keep the core strength up in retirement up in retirement so you're not just sitting there. And I'm pretty busy in retirement but a lot of the things I do like playing music, I am sitting down so I really want to continue to work on my strength and age well and be able to be active and do the things I enjoy outdoors as long as I can and so far, so good.

I would like to finish this article by thanking Ellen for taking the time to sit down with me for this interview.

If you or someone you know needs help with safe strength training, TrainSMART is designed to teach you everything you need to know. No matter your age or fitness level, our comprehensive assessment with a medical professional will design a safe plan to get you started. The flexible scheduling offered at TrainSMART will make consistency in your training possible, even if you have a busy schedule. Take the first step today!