“When I was trying to reclaim my fitness after having a baby, I could not shake a nagging back pain, the usual runner’s ache in my knees, and a stiff neck, all of which worsened with carrying a baby on my hip and working long hours at a computer. It made me avoid running and hiking, my usual stress relievers. I hit pause on the cardio guilt and started lifting with Annie. Annie gave me tailored programming, allaying my fears of lifting heavy weights as I gradually proved to myself that I could almost always lift a little more than the week before. If I can’t, failing a rep is part of the process, “happens” she says.
Training with Annie is therapeutic and truly fun. She’s smart and insightful, knowledgeable, grounded, and positive. She’s also good at reading her audience. I don’t like to be told what to do, especially if it’s a variation on a lift that seems unnecessarily hard or time consuming. She makes suggestions and after a few weeks of obstinance, I eventually follow her advice and break through a plateau.
Her space is private and unintimidating. There is none of the voyeurism of commercial gyms. It’s a comfortable space to come after a bad nights sleep and a hard day at work to get some accountability and support to still push the weight up. Annie took me from a true rookie, scared of squatting the bar, to now easily squatting a load equal to my bodyweight. I can run and hike without pain, as long as I keep lifting. I’m at the point now, where I just wish I had a few more free hours in my week to train with Annie.”