Every month we are so happy to feature our Client of the Month (COTM) and this month we are happy to share that Mei Tan is our COTM!
We normally do this in a short social media post but this is the first time we are actually writing a blog about it. Why? Because our Fit Nutters are so amazing they deserve more than just a few sentences to talk about what they've achieved!
Mei joined FitNut Loft a year ago, and initially entered our studio looking for post natal training. She had just moved back to Singapore from London with her husband, and two daughters. Lily who was 2 and Heather who was 6 months old. At this point in time Mei (who was 32 at the time) wasn't back at work yet, and was a bit wary about starting a workout regime. As she said, she had never really worked out before, because she didn't need to.
But she decided to take that first step with us and signed up for 6 months of personal training with Head Coach Aly!
When Mei first started, it was fair to say that her fitness was pretty low on the scale. She had a slight diastasis recti, and a really sore neck which just got tense every time we did upper body movements. While she had been quite sporty in school, as soon as work started that took a back seat.
But after becoming a mum, she said that getting strong and healthy started to become important. "Before working out with FitNut Loft, I mistakenly assumed I was fit and healthy!".
Soon after starting to train, she started a new job that required her to get into the office early, so we worked out a schedule where she would train at 7 AM twice a week.
Think about this - a mother of two young daughters, with a job that takes up a lot of her time, and she CHOSE to make those tough decisions to start training at 7 AM. She'd then quickly get changed and rush off to catch the bus to work. Incredible!
At the beginning we worked on a post natal programme with Mei, and our focus was really to get some fundamental strength back and to start to close the abdominal separation. We'd start each session with some fascia release, stretch (which was such an important part of her routine because she always had neck ache from working at her desk all day), and some strength training. Initially we could only do leg work because even the slightest bit of upper body work created huge tension in her jaws and neck.
Then during the circuit breaker we continued to train virtually, she never ever missed a session. Interestingly, sitting on a large fit ball while working at her home office seemed to help her lower back pain and her neck and jaw tension also started to get much, much better.
When Mei returned to the studio when we re-opened, she discovered a new exciting toy - our battle ropes! While she loved the stretch, release, and pilates aspect of her workout she really needed the High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) that the battle ropes gave her.
"Physical strength and getting muscles" is now a primary goal of Mei's - check out her arms in the photo!
After a year of training with us, Mei has achieved strength and having a stronger sense of self, physically and mentally. "By pushing myself to exercise, and getting that endorphin hit and sense of achievement in our early morning sessions does wonders for my outlook and the rest of my day!" Plus, her neck, jaw and lower back are now pain free - which means she can do so much more!
Weight training was not something Mei thought she'd ever enjoy, or want to get into. But as she told me, "Having a strong foundation and core opened doors to various other exercises like weight-lifting that previously seemed exclusive and closed-off to me".
When Mei walked in our doors a year ago, I doubt she ever thought she'd be lifting weights, and slamming battle ropes twice a week! So it goes to show that really, any woman can do this. You may have injuries like Mei did, and different goals to start off with, but getting stronger seems to be the key goal that all our Fit Nutters eventually want. Because it really does make them feel so different - in a good way!
Mei, we take our hats off to you, your tenacity with your workouts, your attitude of never skipping a session unless you're unwell, and your hard work makes you an absolute joy to train.
Can't wait to see where your fitness journey is going to take you next!
