"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got!" ~NLP Adage
Meet your Boot Camp Babes Corporate Trainers! I have put together a personal note about each of them that I would love to share with you...
~Andrea Friedman
Michelle is our athletic buff. Since the age of 7, she has competed and participated in a multitude of sports. These include softball, swimming, volleyball, basketball, track and cheerleading. Softball eventually became the sport she excelled in the most, playing an impressive 4 years on Varsity and traveled during her summers on a Class A Club team. Michelle was an all-county shortstop and catcher, voted best athlete of her freshman and senior class and finished her career as an all-conference second baseman in college. Currently, she is a member of several women’s and coed softball leagues and just recently secured the position of shortstop on a highly competitive tournament team.
As an active member of her Community, Michelle shows her support and participates in charity events, raising money and gaining sponsorship for causes she is passionate about. She has participated three times in the Breast Cancer 3-Day-60 mile walk and the Avon 2-Day 40 mile walk for Breast Cancer. She tackled the Iron Girl Race last December and completed the 100 mile bike race for the Lance Armstrong LIVESTRONG Foundation that took place in San Jose. (CONGRATS MICHELLE! Her team raised over $50,000, the 2nd highest contribution in the San Jose race!) Michelle has found a new love for running and completed the half marathon for PF Changs here in AZ and just finished her first full marathon in San Diego with other fellow babes! Currently, she is heading up our fundraising team for a large group of Babes to walk in this year's Breast Cancer 3-day! Please click here for more information about our team and to donate.
Over the years, Michelle has had the opportunity to witness and study under top-notch coaches that truly made a difference in her life. This is the type of trainer you can count on her to be at Boot Camp Babes. During her camps, Michelle will inspire and encourage you in order to help you realize and reach your full potential. As a competitive athlete, Michelle is not a stranger to hard work. She is a mother of two, ages 7 and 4, and maintains a healthy balance between her passion for fitness and her role as a wife and mother. She realizes “diet and exercise isn’t a phase, it’s a lifestyle.” Once you reach your goal weight, you cannot stop there. In order to stay at your best, you must work at it daily. We all want instant gratification and the “magic pill” that takes us all the way to the end, puts us at our goal weight and eliminates all of the work! Michelle can attest that nothing is nearly as satisfying when you do not have to work for it. Hard work and perseverance have always been her high standards. At her camps, you will be motivated, inspired and feel better than ever after an hour of hard work that YOU alone accomplished!
Michelle German
Fitness Director
michelle@bootcampbabes.com
AFAA Certified Group Instructor
The Grove
M, W, F 5:15-6:15am and F at 9:30-10:30am
Veterans Oasis Park
W 7:00-8:00pm
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Christy grew up in San Diego, California. At the age of 5, she was introduced to gymnastics and it immediately became a huge part of her life, she was hooked! By age 9 she was training 4-6 hours a day and competing at a very high level. Throughout her teens, gymnastics was still the center of her life. Christy was now a Level 10 National competitor, a member of the Junior Olympic National team and First Place Region Team. She held several titles, including National Compulsory Champion as well as National Champion Runner-up on the floor exercise. Although she trained numerous hours during her day, she somehow found the time to be active in her high school as well. She was a member of the dance club and held the position of caption. Christy didn’t stop there, she was recruited around the country by top colleges for gymnastics, and she earned the option to choose between several full scholarship offers. She chose Cal State Fullerton to train under the nationally recognized, very strict, Lynn Rogers. With Christy’s competitive nature and disciplined work ethic, she soon worked her way up and became team captain at Cal State. She won several awards during her stay there, including All-American and MVP her senior year.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Child Development, she taught many different grade levels and of course stayed involved with gymnastics through coaching. She met her hubby who played football for ASU, and in 2003 she relocated to Chandler. She and Brad keep their competitive spirit alive and they maintain an athletic lifestyle with their three children. They enjoy wakeboarding, hiking, golfing and swimming. Christy will take on the challenge of anything that involves being active, and of course master it!
Christy is the proud mommy to Braeden, Beau and Brynn. After having three babies so close to one another, like many moms, she wasn’t sure how she would ever get her body back. She knows what it’s like to have to take that first step in trying something new and how intimidating is can be. She stumbled upon Boot Camp Babes just after having her third and final baby and was feeling pretty down about herself. She was a bit nervous to take the class, not knowing anyone and not sure what she was getting herself into…but determined to not chicken out, she went for it! It has changed her life for the better a dozen different ways! After much hard work and determination, she lost all her baby weight. She gained her strength and endurance back and as a bonus gained numerous new friendships. Christy says “the camaraderie amongst the women is genuine and makes you accountable but able to have fun at the same time.” She is excited to share this experience with you and lead you down the same road she traveled. She has had a lifetime of training in numerous disciplines and plenty of experience of what it feels like to be pushed to your limit physically. She understands whether you’re an elite athlete or just a beginner, everyone has different goals and needs at camp. She can’t wait to help you reach yours and looks forward to meeting you!
Christy Belanger
christy@bootcampbabes.com
ACE Certified Group Instructor
M, T, W, TH 9:30 - 10:30am
Jamie is the proud mother of 2 kids, Caiden and Callie, who keep her very busy! She is an active member of her church and is currently a youth sponsor for the teenage girls. She loves Boot Camp, hiking, running, traveling, playing games with her family and thunderstorms. She enjoys racing in half marathons and is focused on her goal to walk 60 miles with several of her fellow babes in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer walk this fall.
Jamie’s story begins as a typical trainer’s journey... Athletic all of her life, with a love for jogging, playing tennis and running track. She had a passion for fitness and self-studied nutrition, exercise and health and wellness while completing her BA in Sociology at the University of Washington. But her journey took a different turn when she became pregnant. She was blessed with two pregnancies, but also the daunting task of losing 60 pounds after each birth. Like many of us, she struggled each time to get the weight off. After she had lost most of the weight from her second child, she started bringing along her friends and her mother to the gym while she trained, teaching them the correct form for exercises and healthy workout habits that she had learned. She not only got herself back into better shape, but helped her mom complete her 1st 10K as well. Then the little ones started to grow up, and like many of us, she got busy being a mom... she started neglecting herself, and lost sight of who she was. Unfortunately, she soon found herself in the worst shape of her life as the pounds crept back on. Even though she knew what exercises to perform and what to eat for better health, she was too wrapped up in being a mother and didn’t take time for herself. I had the opportunity to meet Jamie at this time in her life... when she was at her worst and came to me as a participant at camp. When I met her, I knew she was ready... and she never looked back! Her determination and go-getter attitude was admired at camp. She lost 35 pounds and 32 inches, but more importantly, camp re-ignited her passion for fitness! It also helped her re-discover her gift for helping others to achieve their fitness goals. Fellow babes frequently commented that having her for a partner at camp was like having your own personal trainer for the day. I too saw this in Jamie and asked her to join our team. Her hard work ethic is infectious and as a client in her class you leave feeling motivated, inspired and ready to face the day. Those of you that know Jamie can see her determined attitude and self discipline shine through at camp. It is hard to imagine she was once without these traits. She understands what it feels like to want something more for yourself and is ready to push each of you to get you there!
Jamie Mikla
jamie@bootcampbabes.com
ACE Certified Group Instructor
The Grove
T, TH 8:15-9:15am Babes Basic Training
Veterans Oasis Park
T, TH 7:00-8:00pm
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Apryl is no stranger to hard work, beginning her impressive running accomplishments at the very young age of 10. If you can remember way back to the Fifth grade, all students are required to participate in the Presidential Challenge of Physical fitness. It was then that Apryl ran her first mile, did very well and has never looked back! Her love for running was born. She ran track and cross country throughout high school and was a highly competitive member of the Northern IL University Cross Country team during college. At this time, she helped ignite a spark for running in others as well, coaching a high school distance team and an AAU summer track team. Weight training and interval training was also a huge part of her repertoire, as she molded and shaped her body into a running machine and taught others how to do the same.
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Here are just a few of her many races ran:
First marathon, 2000 in Chicago
Qualified and ran the Boston Marathon in 2002
Completed the Avon 3 Day in Chicago
Just 3 months after having her second child, ran a 10K and finished second
Completed the Mini Marathon in Indy (the country’s largest half marathon) & averaged a 7:01 pace
Placed first in a local 10K just one week later
Participated in the Quad Cities Marathon and finished first in her age division
Competed in an Olympic distance Triathlon here in AZ
Came in at an impressive 3:26:29 for the Tucson Marathon
Placed 7th in the AFLAC Iron Girl
Currently looking forward to the Rim to Rim hike of the Grand Canyon in October
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Apryl and her family were led out West from Illinois when her husband, Brian, was relocated by his company. They packed up their two young boys, Vaughn and Grady, and left their friends, family and all the security they knew back home. As if the change of moving wasn’t enough, Apryl also left her job of 10 years in sales behind and was now a stay at home mother. Understandably, not knowing a single soul out here in Arizona and the transition from working to staying at home took a toll on Apryl emotionally. She was very down and her network of motivation was left back in Illinois. She joined a gym, hoping it would help to meet people, but it didn’t turn out to be as successful as she had hoped. She stopped running, began gaining a bit of weight and remembers trying to make light of the situation stating, “just because I could button my pants, didn’t mean I should be wearing them!” She needed to find an outlet where she could be encouraged, motivated and pushed physically to get herself back on track and in the right frame of mind to begin to make friends. She found Boot Camp Babes at an ICAN charity event and decided to go for it and enroll. At camp she was challenged in a good way and began to feel her competitive edge creeping back in. She started running again outside of camp and with the support of her fellow Babes at camp, found herself again and a new network of motivation.
Over the months as I trained Apryl at camp, I (as well as others) could see her love for fitness, her amazing drive to succeed and her exceptional fitness level. (she would even ride her bike to and from her workouts at camp!) I approached her and asked her to join our training team. As a certified ACE trainer, she is a exceptional asset to our staff. I am thrilled to watch her transform each of you, as she trains her own classes and helps women find themselves again... just like she did... one day at a time.
apryl@bootcampbabes.com
ACE Certified Group Instructor
Veterans Oasis Park
M, W, F 9:00-10:00am
