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Mom Strong: Getting Energy, Confidence, and Yourself Back
Jacqui Lemon will be the first to tell you — she was never consistent at anything.
She tried the Beach Body DVDs and the Jillian Michaels workouts she tried to squeeze in when her kids weren’t looking.
But nothing stuck.
Then she found PowerStrength’s Personal Training Program for people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s.
Nearly four years later, she hasn’t stopped.
THE MOMENT SHE DECIDED ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH
It was the summer of 2022. Jacqui’s youngest was two years old. The pandemic had come and gone. And somewhere in the middle of all of it — the sleepless nights, the 12-hour nursing shifts, the never-ending demands of motherhood — taking care of herself had fallen completely off the list.
“The biggest thing was I didn’t like looking at myself in the mirror,” Jacqui said. “I knew I was out of shape. My baby was two years old. We’d been through a pandemic. That was the last of my worries — keeping healthy.”
She had tried things at home. Nothing worked. Then she kept seeing PowerStrength pop up — it spoke specifically to people over 40. That detail mattered.
“I was like, if they know it’s older people, there’s not going to be a bunch of kids running around being beefy and intimidating,” she said. “Knowing it was going to be people my age, similar life paths — that made me feel less intimidated about coming in.”
She thought about it for a while. Her husband encouraged her. She showed up.
And she’s been showing up ever since.
STARTING FROM SCRATCH — THE RIGHT WAY
Jacqui came in with no personal training experience. Her background was home workout DVDs — lots of isolation movements, quick circuits, and routines that assumed you had six days a week to spare.
“I joke with my coach all the time that I need to unlearn everything,” she said with a laugh. “It’s so much about isolation and quick stuff. Coming in here and learning these movements — how to use the muscles I actually need to work on — has been a little challenging. But it’s been a brain exercise too.”
As a nurse, Jacqui brought an analytical mind to every session — always asking which muscle she was supposed to be feeling, building a mental map of every movement. That curiosity, combined with a program designed specifically for her fitness level, knee problems, and neck issues, made all the difference.
“They tailored it to me and what I could do,” she said. “It made me feel listened to. It made me feel cared for — because they were taking into account, okay, her knee hurts, we can’t do this. And they adjusted my workout so I could do all the exercises.”
She started slow. She progressed at just the right pace.
And the rest took care of itself.
THE THING THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
Ask Jacqui what PowerStrength has done for her, and she doesn’t talk about the scale first. She talks about her kids.
“I can keep up with them now,” she said. “When they’re in the backyard and take off running — I can keep up. I can sometimes catch them. I can actually hit them with the water balloons.”
She laughs when she says it. But underneath that laugh is something real.
Before PowerStrength, Jacqui was always tired. Always on the couch. The demands of 12-hour nursing shifts at the hospital, combined with life as a mom, left nothing in the tank by the time she got home. Her kids wanted her. She didn’t have it to give.
“I couldn’t run around with my kids,” she said. “Now, when they’re outside, I can keep up with them. Mom can come jump on the trampoline. My body’s not putting the time limit on it anymore — and that’s huge.”
It shows up at work too. Jacqui used to drag herself through the hospital hallways by the end of a shift. Now she moves differently.
“I’m not dead after walking up and down the halls and running around and dragging a 40-pound cart with me,” she said. “I can keep up. I’m not dead at the end of the day.”
FROM THE SCALE TO SOMETHING BIGGER
In four years, Jacqui has lost at least 40 pounds. But she’ll tell you the number isn’t really the point anymore.
“It started out like, I don’t like how I look, I need to lose weight, I don’t want to wear this size anymore,” she said. “And as it progressed and I lost weight — I’m not looking at a scale anymore. I’m looking at how my clothes fit.”
Her confidence followed.
And her family noticed.
“My husband recognizes that I’m more confident,” she said. “My kids can recognize that I’m stronger. I can physically pick them up and do stuff with them now, they know they can jump on me. Before, I was always tired, always sitting on the couch.”
Her goals have shifted, too. Where she once chased a number on a scale, now she wants to be stronger. She has gone from avoiding the mirror to walking past it with something to be proud of.
THE WOMAN WHO SAID SHE COULDN’T BE CONSISTENT
Here’s the part that still surprises Jacqui most.
She has trained at PowerStrength two sessions per week for almost four years. Through 12-hour weekend shifts. Through snow days and school pickups and schedule changes.
She once emailed her PowerStrength coach from vacation to get a workout plan for her resort. She got up and did it.
“I’ve never been consistent in anything,” she said. “And now I don’t recognize myself anymore — but in the best way.”
What made the difference?
No hesitation.
“The accountability. And that care factor. I don’t want to let them down. The coaches have become like siblings — or at the very least, really good friends. And I can tell they have expectations set for me.”
That combination of flexibility, community, and genuine investment from the coaching staff turned someone who could never stick with anything into someone who refuses to quit.
WHAT SHE’D TELL YOU
Jacqui knows there are women out there exactly where she was in 2022. Uncomfortable. Unsure.
They’re convinced that a gym isn’t for them.
She has a message for them.
“It’s nothing to be afraid of. You’re not going to hurt yourself. Nobody cares what you look like when you come in. Nobody is going to make you feel like you can’t do something or like you shouldn’t be here.”
She pauses.
“The only thing holding you back is you. Because nobody here is going to make you feel like that. Just come as you are.”
And if they still aren’t sure?
“PowerStrength is a lifesaver. It got me out of a really low place. It gave me something to look forward to — and something to work on that was just for me.”
Jacqui has lost weight, gained strength, is now chasing her kids around the backyard, and still shows up twice a week at PowerStrength. She came in looking to change how she looked in the mirror. What she found was something she didn’t expect — energy, confidence, consistency, and a version of herself her kids get to grow up watching.
That’s what PowerStrength is for.
READY TO MAKE YOUR NEXT 10 YEARS YOUR STRONGEST EVER?
Men and Women in their 40s, 50s, and 60s who want to get stronger and have more energy can join the Personal Training Program 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 personal training sessions are offered in the early morning, mid-morning, late afternoon, and evening. Find your nearest PowerStrength location – Alpine, Kentwood, Jenison, Plainfield, Holland, or Byron Center.
Click HERE to learn more program details and schedule your risk-free consultation.