Santa Barbara Fitness Transformation - Testimonials and Success Stories

Testimonials and Success Stories to Motivate and Inspire You!

Fitness Transform- First, thank you for naming your business appropriately. Some people are pretty dense about fitness and I have been one of them. Your business name takes the guess work out of what you do and you certainly live up to the promise. This is a rarity and I appreciate that you take yourself and my fitness seriously. I love to take people literally and you gave me that opportunity right from the start as you explained who you were, why you wanted to help others with fitness and what you do.

"Our lives are full of daily challenges: Our careers, our family, our friends, and our finances, to name a few. However, the realm of physical challenge occupies a unique space, and most of us do not give it the attention it deserves. When I was in high school, I spent three hours a day in exercise and was in the best shape of my life. As I went to college, fitness was no longer a priority, and I began to notice. I no longer looked or felt as good as I had in high school, which was not a pleasant realization. Through Mikki Reilly and Fitness Transform, I was able to get back in touch with exercise and athleticism, and I am immensely grateful for it. Not only do I feel physical improvement, but intellectual and emotional improvement as well. I can come into a training session bearing all the concerns of my daily life, and walk away feeling better in every way. I get to trade stress and anxiety for a sense of accomplishment, a refreshed mind, and the knowledge that I look and feel better than I did before I walked into the gym. By working with Mikki Reilly, I have developed the physique, self-confidence and discipline I have always wanted."

Michael DeLabre

"I am one of those people that tend to believe that things happen for a reason. You can always find some good out of any bad that may come your way. When I injured my shoulder six weeks into the Police Academy, it was hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel. After surgery and a five month recovery time, I was introduced to Mikki through a coworker.

I could tell from our first meeting that Mikki was different than any other trainer I had ever met. I told her that I had had trainers in the past, but I didn’t feel challenged and pushed to my ability. She smiled slyly as I had no idea what was in store."

"What a difference Mikki has made to my life!! When I first started with her six months ago I was overweight, no energy and lazy (a bit of a couch potato).

In my youth in England, I had been very sporty and fit - I played tennis, squash, field hockey, lacrosse, cricket and so on. I gave all of it up when I started to work at 18 years old. Therefore at 65 years old, my muscles were non-existent (I hadn't had children to lift up and to run after!),consequently not much energy! I really missed the "good old life" of fun sports and lots of energy, so wanted to get back to my 'old self' again."

"A few things happen when you turn forty and are in my career field, Police Officer. You see co-workers start to age more and you feel your back ache from lugging around a twenty-five pound gun belt for a 12.5 hour shift. When you fill out work related forms you see you are closer to darkening a new bubble which will take you out of your thirties and place you in the old person category 40-44. Most of all you see the young officers fresh from the academy in the age range of 22-25. They are lean and have that I will conquer the world attitude. They stand upright and don't hesitate to jump over a fence or chase down a suspect. They laugh when you are in the locker-room and you moan and groan as you take off your gun belt and ballistic vest."

"After two years of working with Mikki I've exceeded my original goals. The improvements have been astounding: dead lifting 235 lbs; running 15 stadium intervals (84 stair steps up, taken two at a time) in 20 minutes; balancing on a Swiss ball while lifting weights; and much, much more. At the age of 51, my body fat percentage is 10.2 percent; I'm stronger than I've ever been in my life; my balance, coordination, and stamina are greater than ever; and the back pain that I used to have is gone."

"After one year of work with Mikki, I am beginning to see a real shift in three main areas of my physical health. I have always been active and relatively strong as a lifetime athlete, but I have also had problems with back pain due to an old bicycle injury, weight gain due to family history and a flabby belly due to middle age. By adding weight training to my aerobic exercise schedule, the increased core strength has improved my back health and tightened up my stomach. And, Mikki's nutritional guidance has made me more aware of the proper protein, fat and carbohydrate balances necessary to keep my particular metabolism functioning efficiently..." Barb

"As a career firefighter of 27 years, I had always considered myself physically capable and fit to meet the rigors of the profession. Since I began, I had incorporated aerobic and strength training into my physical fitness program. But, at the age of 47, I recognized that some of my aches and pains had become chronic problems. The pain and tension in my low back, hips, and neck were not only limiting my ability to workout, they were affecting my performance on the job as well."

"Perhaps it's because of my background as an academic historian that, when I contacted Mikki about three years ago, I sought principles and concepts about exercise rather than a structure within which to maintain a fitness discipline. As it happens, I found both. What I thought would be a temporary arrangement, in which Mikki would instruct me in the basics of free-weight training, after which I would lift weights on my own, in fact developed quickly into a routine and vital part of my week."

"'Physique' wasn't among my objectives when I signed up with Mikki; I simply wanted to be able to sit, walk, sleep, and live a normal life. Mikki was my last-ditch attempt to avoid major surgery for a degenerative spinal condition by which I was being progressively debilitated. I couldn't squat-lift a broomstick without twisting my hips, and the doctors had warned me to avoid axial loading of any kind; how could I anticipate that twenty months later I would be powering through squat sets with 'two plates' (225 lbs), safely, symmetrically, and begging for more?"

Marcello Mara is a retired fashion designer from Milan, who also resides in Santa Barbara California. He describes the photo on the left as "the disaster". Too many years of sitting behind the drawing board, with no physical activity. After months of dedicated hard work he has transformed into the photo on the right.

"Fitness Transform provides truly customized individual instruction and real personal support. I received ways to work my muscles and formulate my diet that produced results that I had never conceived of. Really, doing what Mikki Reilly says with your training equals results. Her consistently high standards, her caring attitude, and her indefatigable credibility lend to the online professional fitness industry what is often sorely lacking."

Terri Garlock

"As a firefighter for over 20 years I have tried to maintain my fitness, yet after giving birth to my son four years ago at age 40 I was at a loss. My eating habits were horrible and I weighed a whopping 183lbs! I knew I needed help and fast to be able to return to work. Then I met Mikki and the odyssey that transformed my life and body began. Now at age 44 I am in much better shape than I was over ten years ago! How did I do it? Aside from the obvious hard work, I weight train twice a week, run or hike three or four times a week, and thanks to Mikki's help and guidance I eat a healthy low carb/ moderate protein/ healthy fats diet and have maintained my 143lbs. of mostly muscle by training hard at the gym." Susan Bell

"I was ready to commit to a fitness regimen, but had a hard time finding a trainer who could translate my goals into a serious and effective program. I had weight where it did not belong, and enough muscle strength and stamina to get me through a leisurely match of tennis twice a week. My goal was to be able to ride 40-mile days on an upcoming bicycle trip, a total of eleven days with eighty high school students through the Four Corners region of the U.S. and I had six months to be ready for those bike shorts."

To read about my fitness preparation and the unexpected events that followed click here