Photos by Studio M Boudoir Photography

COURTNEY’S STORY:

My journey started at Squeeze back in March 2009. I had joined Snap Fitness where I did my typical workouts of some cardio and weight lifting. I was used to working out on my own, not talking to anyone and listening to my iPod. Then I saw an advertisement for Squeeze Studio Fitness, offering a free consultation and one week of semi-private classes. Since I had just moved to a new part of town with my fiancé and I worked from home, I thought maybe I should try it out, as it was a good way to meet new people.

Little did I know how much Squeeze would change my life.

I remember my consultation with David. We talked about my goals, as I was getting married in September. He then put me through a “mini-workout”. I thought how hard will 15 minutes be? Well, I made it through, but can say it was the best 15 minute workout I ever had! The thought of an hour long workout made me a bit nervous, but I was ready to give it a try.

And that is how I got hooked. Over the next few months, I accomplished things I always wanted to do. I did my first triathlon, my first half marathon and was in the best shape of my life for my wedding. I owe it all to the trainers at Squeeze! They provided great training programs and inspiration that motivated me to accomplish my goals.

Squeeze didn’t only change the way I worked out, but it changed my thoughts about nutrition and my way of eating. I thought I ate healthy, but soon realized it wasn’t all about low fat, low calorie foods. It was about getting the right nutrition, the right combination at the right time. Protein powder and Greens First (click here for link) are now staples in my house.

When my husband, Mike, and I decided it was time to start our family, I talked with Shannon. She provided me with great nutritional advice about which foods and vitamins promoted healthy pregnancies (click here for link) and recipes that included these things. She encouraged me to continue working out and would provide modifications at any time. As my pregnancy progressed, my goal was to keep working out until it didn’t feel good anymore or I just couldn’t do it.

So here I am, 5 days before my due date, and I am still working out! I have been very blessed to have such a great pregnancy, but I contribute much of that to continuously doing what I love; working out with my Squeeze friends, and not letting being pregnant be an excuse! As Shannon says, this baby is coming out with a 6-pack!

I know I will have another challenge ahead me, after the baby, but it’s ok because I know that Squeeze will be there to help me achieve my goal through the great workouts, nutritional advice, motivation, inspiration and the contagious environment I absolutely love.

Your friend and client for life,

Courtney and the soon to be Squeezer

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Jan Powell & Courtney Zolecki

JAN’S STORY:

Like Courtney, my journey at Squeeze also started in March 2009 when I was working out at Snap. I was drawn to the “Free Week Certificate” that Squeeze was offering because I had gained weight in the year and a half I was back in Milwaukee (after living in Chicago for three years) and was looking for a personal trainer to get me back on track.

My first week at Squeeze was pure hell, I guess that’s why they call it “hell week” (In a good way…. when it’s over), especially since it had been so long since I had a good trainer-led workout. I had a decent trainer when I lived in Chicago, but was having trouble finding one in Milwaukee that was actually worth my time and money, one who actually cared about MY progress and knew how to kick my ass.

Once I found Squeeze, I knew it was the PERFECT place to help me achieve my goals. I’m not gonna lie, there were a couple times I wanted to quit and never come back (especially while puking in the bathroom during bootcamp), but there was something about Shannon, the studio, and the family of clients that kept me wanting more.

Between March 2009 and now, I successfully lost 12 lbs during my first 21-day cleanse, and an additional 10 lbs by diligently attending group classes 5x/week and eating clean; I went from puking during bootcamp classes to teaching bootcamp; became Squeeze’s graphic designer (which prompted me to start my own design business); gained Shannon as one of my best friends; got engaged, married, and pregnant! This is why we’re the Squeeze Family.

“BoomBoom” is due on October 16, which when you break it down by weeks, seems soooo close (just 9 weeks away)! I plan on working out until my doctor tells me to stop. In fact, she always laughs when I ask her about my exercise restrictions and says, “Ha, oh yeah, you’re the one who still jumps on boxes and goes to bootcamp.” So far I’ve just been told to go really easy on the ab workouts and to not lay flat on my back (to avoid compressing the largest vein in the torso). Basically, as long as your body is used to doing a certain type of workout, you can continue those workouts when you’re pregnant (and God knows that at Squeeze our bodies are trained to handle pretty much anything… ).

It feels great to work out and to keep my body moving. Is it more difficult now that I’m carrying extra weight? Umm.. YES! But it’s all worth it knowing that it’s good for me and my baby. It’s also great to know that when clients see me or Courtney sweating bullets in ASS CLASS with our big bellies, it inspires them to keep pushing themselves to keep going (… and going… and going to keep up with Shannon’s crazy ass)!

I also love knowing that once BoomBoom is born, I’ll have the greatest trainer in the world at the best gym in the world to help me get my “wedding body” back with amazing workouts and a customized diet plan (that will be beneficial to my baby too!).

I am sooooooooooo incredibly grateful for my Squeeze journey and the health and fitness lessons I’ve learned and friends I’ve made along the way. You’ve got a client and “baist fraind” for life, Shanni, and I can’t wait for BoomBoom to meet (and workout with) his Squeeze family.

XOXO

Jan a.k.a. Janimal Mombot AND BoomBoom Powell

Wilke BEFORE - 245 lbs., 32% bodyfat

Well, what can really be said about my experience with Squeeze? Going back three years or so, there was no way for me to know how much twenty little stairs in South Milwaukee would impact my life.
The truth is that I had been looking for something different in my workouts. Fortunately for me, my friend and coworker, Scott,  found Squeeze and had given it a try.  Not too long thereafter I participated in my first boot camp and was soundly humbled. Even though I was humbled, there was no doubt that this was the direction I needed to go in.

Lifting weights had been a part of my entire adult life along with most of high school. In all those years of  “working out” I had never been worked so hard as I was during classes and groups at Squeeze. I had always been taught that you need to lift weights and do cardio separately. Well, it’s no real no surprise to hear that was how my “fitness” life had evolved. I truly believed I was in shape; I had to be, right? After all, I lifted weights several times a week. If you spend that much time in a gym, you have to be in shape, right?  Going to the gym had been a ritual in my life, to the tune of six or seven days per week.
The real truth is that I had fallen into a rut and was spiraling into a direction I didn’t want to go. The sad thing for me was that I truly didn’t realize it, or maybe I just didn’t wan to. Weight gain was shrugged off as “bulking up”; eating too much was all part of the “bulking” process. If four sets of an exercise was too much, then three was fine. If ten reps was too hard, well, what is the harm of only doing seven, or six? I wasn’t being pushed. There was no reaching deep into a workout or seeing just how far I could go. The truth is that there wasn’t a whole lot of anything going on. I sold myself a bill of goods in the gym.
Vision is always far more clear in hindsight. I should have seen exactly where my “fitness” was taking me. I was heavy; my joints ached from doing too much of the same movements; I wasn’t truly working out, so much as I was wasting time in a commercial gym. You know, banging plates around and trying to feel good about it, with a few grunts and groans tossed in for measure. Not only was I getting nothing done but, more importantly, I wasn’t doing anything for my health. No diet, no flexibility and no real fitness, to speak of. Deep down I knew the truth, it just took a single boot camp with Shannon to fully acknowledge it.

Andy Wilke the Milwaukee Firefighter

The biggest impact from Squeeze, for me, appeared in an unexpected location.  Squeeze has greatly impacted my professional life, as a firefighter. I am still amazed today at how much better I feel at work.

Believe it or not, the workout style and philosophy of Squeeze runs hand in hand with firefighting. It reaches virtually every profession, granted, but I am still impressed with how these workouts have improved me at work.
The complex, full body style of functional fitness, with sets geared around several minutes of hard work mimic firefighting to a “T“. Whether we are trying to make a roof to perform vertical ventilation, with several hundred pounds of tools and equipment. If we’re stretching hand lines up and down multiple floors. Or, be it working with hydraulic cutters and spreaders, weighing in the neighborhood of sixty lbs each. The world in which we perform these tasks often place us in precarious and unstable positions, which open our bodies up to injury and harm. These same tasks also require us to have aerobic and anaerobic endurance, at the very same time. Never mind the fact that fatigue often sets in extremely quickly, due in large part to the coats, pants and other gear we must wear, which overheats our bodies and strains our cardio-vascular systems.
The benefit here, in training with Squeeze is that my body has learned how to work itself into stronger positions which keep the core intact, and help the body to protect itself. My body has learned how to work thru exhaustion and keep breathing-as crazy as that sounds and, do so properly, ensuring that working body parts get desperately needed oxygen. Fatigue is also pushed further and further down the road, allowing me to think and process with clarity for much longer periods of time. This in turn allows me to work much safer and with a much clearer head.

Wilke the Client of the Month - NOW 206 lbs., 5.7% bodyfat!!

It isn’t all work and no play, however. Skiing has been a passion I’ve held for many years now. It is also an activity that requires strength, balance and endurance. The biggest surprise to me came on a trip in the mountains, not long after beginning workouts with Squeeze. Very quickly I realized that I could ski for longer periods of time, at elevation. Anyone who has ever been to 10,000 plus feet knows what I am talking about; as it doesn’t take a whole lot of activity to get winded that high. I can say in all seriousness that it was less of a hit for me in the mountains after starting Squeeze, than before.
Beyond even that, the various movements during workouts have greatly improved my balance and coordination, which in turn helps me to stay upright on my boards in the bumps.  All of this makes for a lot more fun in the sun. More runs, longer days and better balance makes for more overall enjoyment.

Everything I’ve said about the workouts is true and sincere. The fact is though, none of those workouts would exist without the trainers that Shannon has assembled. Every one of them brings a passion that far exceeds just working out. Each of them has a desire for all of us to succeed. The passion and energy that is there for each and every workout is second to none.
Each trainer brings a unique twist to the experience, and yet every experience turns out exactly the same, with an incredible workout. It also leaves a sense of accomplishment and belonging to something special and unique. My life today is far better than it was before I met Shannon and began working out with the “Squeeze family”.

Wilke the Trainer

The truth is that I can’t say enough about Squeeze. Being a part of Squeeze has changed my life, and in so many ways that I never imagined. It is no longer a matter of whether it will be a great workout, it is just a matter of how long will it take to recover from the last one!

photos by Studio M Boudoir Photography

Happy Mother’s Day to all you awesome Squeeze moms!

Nancy, Shannon, and Kelley Carney

I’m honored Shannon chose me (her mom!) for May’s  “Client of the Month” to celebrate Mother’s Day. All you Moms know there is no greater love than a Mother feels for her children and I’m so blessed to have three incredible kids that have filled my life with joy and pride.

Shannon’s extreme drive, endless energy and amazing passion and tremendous work ethic she brings everyday to Squeeze and to her clients is a culmination of who Shannon has been since her childhood. I’ve lovingly watched and admired at an early age her discipline and determination in music, sports and academics and it created a foundation for her success of Squeeze and commitment and dedication to her clients.

Aww! Shannon as a baby!

Smile!

Everyone has a “Squeeze story” and I’m no different.

Last February, while working out with awesome trainer Freddy, I blew out my Achilles Tendon (yes, we all heard it and it wasn’t good!) …..thanks Freddy for staying by my side. A few days later was surgery, followed by 4 weeks in bed, 2 casts, 2 weeks in a boot and 6 weeks of physical therapy.

THEN back to Squeeze working hard and slow. Each trainer took such good care of me and made sure I came back in a way my body could handle. So for all the moaning and groaning that Shannon and her great trainers put us through at Squeeze, I’ve been through it all, but thanks to them…..I’mmmmm Back !

I would like to say, as a mother, I have always tried to set a good example for my children, stressed them to do their best and give it their all. The tables have now turned as I am aging and life is just a bit harder mentally and physically (sorry, that happens as you age), but thanks to Shannon and everyone at Squeeze, they have made that process very rewarding, even though challenging at times. I will always take pride in setting the best example I can for my children and the least I can do is give Shannon my best every time I’m at Squeeze! We have always told her to ‘dig deep’ and now she’s telling me to — it’s pretty amazing!

Go Nancy! Photos by Studio M Boudoir Photography

It’s my pleasure to be a part of the wonderful Squeeze family and I’m so proud to share my daughter, Shannon with you.

55 years old this year and still Squeezin’…..

Love, Nancy A.K.A “Mom”

“Life is too short to not feel good about myself.” -Molly Michel, Client of the Month

Until my mid-twenties I was that girl you hate.  The one who could eat fried food all-day long (and did) and somehow couldn’t gain weight.

Despite being an athlete all of my educational life (soccer, ballet, crew), I never made the connection that the exercise was something I needed – I just did it for fun.   So when my mid-twenties hit and I developed a little extra insulation, my brain still thought I was that easily-skinny girl.  It didn’t get bad, just acceptable.  I didn’t look like I wanted to, but I could settle for where my body sat naturally. And I did, for years.

Molly Michel - BEFORE - At 33% body fat

It truly was a mental thing.  I lived in a different world in my head.  Last year I started having small epiphanies that it had gotten worse.  I couldn’t run up a flight of stairs with my photography bag on my shoulder without being winded. Most of my closet didn’t fit.  I had started photo-shopping myself skinny in photos.  I was embarrassed to run into people who knew me ‘when’.

Fast forward to last December, and I suddenly realized I wasn’t proud of the way I looked, I was embarrassed.   “Just acceptable” had turned into “totally unacceptable”.  My brain finally caught up with my body and I admitted to myself – I wasn’t skinny anymore.  I wasn’t the girl who didn’t have to workout anymore.  Life is too short to not feel good about myself.

I knew I would never make good on my promises to get myself to the gym.  Promises I had been making for years. Being self-employed, it’s always easier and makes more sense to you to stay at the computer and keep working for your clients than it does to get up and do something for yourself.  I was either going to do this, or I wasn’t.

One of my brides (I’m a wedding photographer) recommended Shannon and Squeeze, so I set up an appointment.

My consult was embarrassing.  The numbers were shocking to me. I even remember thinking to myself – “I’m not THAT fat”. It took the ride home for me to reach full-capacity embarrassment and almost panic over reversing this situation.  I immediately emailed Shannon and said , “sign me up”.  This was going to be my Christmas gift to myself – I’d be weeks ahead of the resolution-makers.

My first personal training session was with Mari.  I think I spent most of it arguing within my head – alternating between ‘Buck up! You used to row for goodness sake!’ and ‘just survive the next 15 minutes and you don’t ever have to come back again’.   Deep down, I was really disappointed that I had let my body get this far out of shape.  At the end Mari was so kind and said sincerely that I had done so much better than I thought and to keep it up – it would get easier.

It did.  By two weeks I knew I could survive each workout. By week three I saw improvement in my strength.  Since the start I’ve been doing 6 group training sessions a week, plus now I do extra cardio with my Hales Corners buddies. It’s still hard everyday, but it is a challenge I welcome.

Shannon put me on the 24 day challenge and it totally changed the way I eat.  I was a total carb-aholic and I served those up with multiple doses of all things dairy.  After the cleanse, I didn’t even want milk anymore, I hardly craved carbs and I liked vegetables (gasp!).  I love the way food makes me feel now.  It’s easy to stick to eating lean, I don’t feel like I’m being deprived.   Feeling this good is so much better than how eating that junk tastes.

It’s been almost four months, and as of the start of April, I am down 12% body fat, and I’ve lost 11 pounds. It’s the right direction.   I’ve got some pudge in the middle still, and I’d like to get that percentage down into the teens.  I’m working on it. I feel strong and healthy in a way I never have. I look in the mirror and I can’t believe those are my muscles and my overall happiness has improved greatly.  I’ve learned that health is a choice, and that I have to make time for it. Making that time for myself – just this one hour and a half a day – has become vital to my happiness.  I guard that time with ferociousness.   It’s like how the airlines tell you to put your own oxygen mask on before assisting others – you aren’t any good to anyone else unless you’ve taken care of yourself first.

Group Training has become a great way to start my day and I’ve found a way to work around it so it doesn’t feel like an interruption to my work.  I get up and empty my email inbox while having breakfast and then head to the gym.  Getting that chunk of work done early has allowed me to clear my head for the gym, and structured my work as well in providing a deadline for a task that can sometimes consume me.  It’s a good side effect.

I have to hand it to all of the trainers at Squeeze – they really care to keep you moving on your journey and have gone out of their way to be friendly and teach me the skills I need. I’ve learned so much from each of them in the past few months and each day brings a new and different challenge.   I also love that everyone at Squeeze is so respectful of each person’s abilities.  Most mornings I’m working out beside beefy firefighters, and yet they never look at my 25# kettlebell and scoff.   There is great encouragement all around which makes the studio environment so much more effective than a gym full of strangers.

Molly Michel - AFTER - Lost 18 pounds of fat and down to 21% body fat in less than 4 months! (photo by Studio M Boudoir Photography)

I’m looking forward to a summer of wearing shorts, of running up stairs with cameras, not “sucking it in” all day and having much more balance in my life.   And, I’m stoked to be bringing my new found strength to shooting Shannon and Kevin’s wedding in June!

Molly featured Squeeze on her photography blog – check it out here.