MSI Press Blog

                      Excerpt from  Girl, You Got This!  Mind “I wanted a child so much that I couldn’t get pregnant” -Kelly, mom of two dogs Sometimes, getting fit isn’t just about working out. As a personal trainer I am part coach and part therapist. More often than you would expect, my clients and I just sit and talk during their appointment. We talk about their home lives, how they are feeling about the workouts, how they are feeling about their diet and their body. It is all important, and in order to maintain regular workouts, these topics need to be given time and attention. If I don’t create a safe space for my clients to come and chat honestly about health and fitness, they will stop showing up. People need breaks!   Let’s get serious for a second. Trying to have a baby can be heart wrenching. There is no way to guarantee you will conceive or have an easy pregnancy. So, while all the tips ...

  Excerpt from  Girl, You Got This!  Fitness When you get pregnant, your body goes through intense changes. I can’t be the only person who has heard mothers expressing that their body was “never the same” after they gave birth. When you have a baby, your body will carry battle scars for the rest of your life. Some of the toll on your body will be influenced by genetics—like my stretch marks, I could moisturize all day throughout my pregnancy and it wouldn’t make a difference—and there really isn’t much you can do about that. If your genetics are really working against you, try to embrace the changes you cannot control. Be kind to yourself. On the other hand, some of the worst side effects of pregnancy can be minimized or even prevented if you prepare your body properly. Think of pregnancy as training for a marathon – albeit a very strange one that involves growing a human and then pushing it out of your body. While trying to conceive, I want you to be vigilant abo...

Excerpt from Girl, You Got This!  I have a 24-hour cancellation policy. When I first started my work as a personal trainer, I was single and had two clients I would meet up with at a local park because I didn’t have a studio space. Cancellations at that point weren’t such a big deal. “Oh, you can’t make it today? What about tomorrow around 3? Great, see you then!”  In the past four years, that’s changed. I am married with one kid and another on the way, and I am booked. When I say ‘booked,’ I mean I am still a one-person team (unless you count my two-year-old daughter as my assistant), and I have 76 clients. I work seven days a week from 6 a.m. to as late as 9 p.m. Now when someone cancels last minute, it means: 1) It isn’t easy to reschedule, and 2) Another client could have filled that spot, and   3) now I won’t make that money. So, what do I do when I get that last-minute text or call?  Nothing. I don’t charge them or scold them. If they are sick, I tell them I h...

  Today's book back story is about Brittany Renz's book, Girl, You Got This ! From the publisher --  Brittany (author) was my (publisher) trainer. I was working on a book, Grandma's Ninja Training Diary (still am and someday it will see the world on a printed page). As we worked month by month, Brittany and her husband decided to expand their family of one son to two children (ultimately, Brittany delivered a daughter). As she became more and more pregnant, Brittany continued working with her fitness clients -- and maintained her own fitness routine. One thing we both noticed: no other pregnant women were working out in the gym. Brittany figured it might be because they did not think that they could or did not know how to. Hence, the origin of the book, Girl, You Got This!, which has caught the eye of doctors and women's magazines with its unusual content. Yes, you can be pregnant and also be in the best shape of your life. (And the whole family can work out together; ...

  excerpt from Girl, You've Got Thi s by Brittany Renz -  Introduction   I have a 24-hour cancellation policy.   When I first started my work as a personal trainer, I was single and had two clients I would meet up with at a local park because I didn’t have a studio space. Cancellations at that point weren’t such a big deal. “Oh, you can’t make it today? What about tomorrow around 3? Great, see you then!”   In the past four years, that’s changed. I am married with one kid and another on the way, and I am booked. When I say ‘booked,’ I mean I am still a one-person team (unless you count my two-year-old daughter as my assistant), and I have 76 clients. I work seven days a week from 6 a.m. to as late as 9 p.m. Now when someone cancels last minute, it means:   1) It isn’t easy to reschedule, and 2) Another client could have filled that spot, and        now I won’t make that money.   So, what do I do w...