Blog
Energized and Empowered – The Inspirational Story of a Lifetime Athlete
Exercise has meant a lot to Cindy Kelley for a majority of her life.
“I’ve always been active,” Cindy said. “The first time I lifted I was a senior in high school. So I’ve always been kind of in lifting before it was a thing that women did. There is something about strength, and there’s something about feeling strong from a competence standpoint. I don’t ever want to be my age, but worst of all is feeling your age. I was told at 36 that I had a knee of a 65 year old so I have to change things.”
Cindy has lived a very athletic life. She played Division 1 basketball at Western Carolina University in North Carolina. She moved to Michigan because she wanted to continue to play sports competitively after college and liked what was offered in this area.
The years of competing took a toll on her body, however.
“I’ve had five knee surgeries, I’ve had multiple surgeries to my body,” Cindy said. “I played college basketball, and I ran a lot until my fourth surgery, and then I couldn’t play basketball anymore and couldn’t play softball anymore. So basically I realized I had to do something to get back into shape or just to feel better.”
That is where PowerStrength became an answer for Cindy.
“I started working right down the road, and I saw the advertisements and I was like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna give it a try.’ I walked in and I’ve always found I’m better in a group because I used to workout. I mean, I’ve always worked out but I don’t want to think about it anymore. I just want to come in and they tell me what to do. And they also tell me what is best for my knee, so that’s really been effective for me,” Cindy said.
Many adult clients come to PowerStrength to lose weight, Cindy did not. She came for many of the other benefits that people see from the individualized coaching program that cater specifically to people over the age of 40.
“I wanted to be stronger. I wanted to feel better,” Cindy said. “And I just like moving. That’s something I enjoy doing. But I couldn’t move like I used to. I used to be able to run 5K’s like nothing. I can’t even do it now. I went from a six and a half (minute) mile to a 12 (minute) mile really quick because of the knee surgeries. So I had to find something new that allowed me to move. And this is home, this is definitely home for me.”
Cindy has had many ups and downs in her almost four years as part of the PowerStrength Family. Through multiple surgeries she always returns to 100% sooner than most thanks to her dedication in the small group training program at PowerStrength.
“They’ve always accommodated all my struggles. So that’s great,” Cindy said.
“I have KT tape on right now because I have a ping pong injury from work, and they adjust. They’re always asking me about my knee, and they know that I have issues with my knee, but they have made every adjustment, I’m actually stronger now than I have ever been.”
EMOTIONAL OUTLET
Cindy took 9 months off from training to take care of her ailing mom. After her mom passed away, she was struggling mentally. At PowerStrength we mean it when we say you are part of a family.
Stephan Cress, general manager at PowerStrength Kentwood where Cindy trains, would call her to check on her while she was away.
“When I left it was hard to balance taking care of my mom as well as the mental side. And Steve reached out to me, and I knew I had to get back, but I’ll be honest with you, the grief process was really hard for me. I didn’t want to be around people. It was just a really interesting time because I’ve never been like that. I’ve always been a team sport type person. And when Steve reached out I was like, ‘You know what, this is a sign I need to come back’ and so I reluctantly came back because mentally I wasn’t in the right spot. But I was so glad I came back because mentally it was able to get my brain back to where it needed to be, it helped me through the grief. Truly helped me move on from losing my mom and all this stuff I went through. They treat you like family. They do care about you and I’m so glad he reached out because I really needed it.”
Cindy’s daughter, Anja, knew her mom was struggling during that difficult time.
“She was obviously grieving,” Anja said. “When she started coming back (to PSTS), I was at school, and she would call me and she would tell me about what she hit that day and if she did well that day, and I just felt like she had something to call me about and she was reaching out to me. And it was really nice to hear her be happy about those successes.”
THE POWER OF PEOPLE
One of the many things that Cindy enjoys about her training experience is the coaches and the way they create a welcoming environment.
“The minute you come in, they know you. They want to know who you are. They want to know what you’re working for,” Cindy said. In the meantime, when I wasn’t working out here, I was doing yoga. And my goal there was to really get my knee more mobile. And so when they asked me ‘are you trying to get stronger?’ I said I want mobility, and so they worked on that more and now I’m stronger in my legs than I’ve ever been because it combined mobility and everything else.”
Each session at PowerStrength takes place in a small group. The positive culture is buoyed by the 1 to 5 other people that train alongside Cindy.
“I have the best workout partners,” Cindy said. “Melissa and I have been together for probably almost four years. But we push each other, we know where each other is strong and where we need help. I’m not as strong in my legs, I can’t do a lot of the stuff that they can do. But I’m stronger in the upper body. So it’s one of those things where we look at it and go ‘hey, how can you do what you’re doing? That? I don’t know? Let’s do it. We can do this together,’ that type of thing. So we know how to partner up really well. It’s fun. It is so fun. It is the energy that you get, it carries on through the night. I call my family go hey, I just did my best, I did my PR this and you know all that kind of stuff. I recommend this to everybody that I know. I encouraged my daughter to come in as soon as she was ready for it because in my opinion as a female if you’re not doing this, you’re gonna get old really quick because I’m 53 years old and this is probably the best I’ve felt in 15 years.”
MOTHER-DAUGHTER BOND
Anja plays basketball at Albion College and also trains at PowerStrength. It was important to Cindy that her daughter get the individualized attention from expert coaches.
“As a mom, I think this is the biggest gift I can give her is to teach her the strength that she has, and get people around her that can support her to do that,” Cindy said. “It’s something that I think she’ll continue on versus starting later in life because then it’s too late. Do it earlier, your muscle memory pops back so much easier. Her confidence is higher, she does walk around flexing a lot, likes to show her a little tricep thing. She is the strongest on the team, probably, and she’s very proud of that. And so I’m very proud of her in that regard too.”
Anja was reluctant at first, but after giving PowerStrength a try she quickly found a home.
“I really don’t like new things and that just seemed very overstimulating for me,” Anja recalled. “But she said I was gonna be a college athlete. This is something that’s gonna benefit you in the long run, and even past college as well. So when I graduated high school, it was that week, I went to my first PowerStrength session and I was terrified. I felt like everyone was way older than me, way stronger than me, just knew way more than me but that was for the first day and after that, it was such an easy transition for me and as much as I hated to say it, she was right, this is the best place for me to get better and to get ready for college sports.”
Sharing the PowerStrength experience has taken a relationship that was already strong and deepened their connection.
“It’s been a good thing for us,” Cindy said. “We’ve always been close, but this is something that we talk about together. We love our trainers and we just talk about them and how they’re like family to us, so it’s something we share together. It’s really worth everything that we’ve put into it.”
“She comes in three to four days a week,” Anja said about her mom. “She is always excited and tells me that she is gonna work out tomorrow and she’s always just excited to do so. I feel like she also has more energy when she comes home to do stuff. Whether that’s just stuff around the house or go for a walk or go to the store or something like that. She’s just more willing to do stuff, she just worked out, she should be tired but she’s not.”
THE POWERSTRENGTH DIFFERENCE
After the injuries no longer allowed Cindy to play competitive sports, she spent time as high school basketball coach at Lakewood. She has done a lot in the realm of athletics and exercise, been to many places and seen a lot of things.
The community that she has found at PowerStrength has left a lasting impression on her life.
“The support,” Cindy emphasized when asked what makes PowerStrength different. “I like the fact that it’s not always the same stuff, and I really don’t have to think, they know exactly what you need. They adjust your workouts every month, maybe even six weeks. So you’ll find that you had muscles you didn’t know you had again. They are really smart about how they adjust to you. You’ll be working out, I’ll look at them and say no, and they say you’re right, you’re gonna do something else and that’s nice because you don’t feel like you’re weaker, like you can’t do it, because as somebody who is competitive, I really wish I could do that. They don’t make me feel less than who I am. They cheer for you, they are your biggest cheerleaders.”
READY TO TAKE CONTROL?
Men and Women over 40 seeking a stronger, more energized lifestyle can join the personal training programs at PowerStrength at any time. No previous workout experience is required as each program is customized to the fitness and ability level of each individual.
Multiple small group and private sessions are offered in the early morning, mid-morning, late afternoon, and evening.
Click HERE to learn more program details and schedule your risk-free consultation.
