From Knee Surgery to Marathoner - Meet Natalie!
We are so excited to introduce you to Natalie. Natalie joined Studio ME Fitness back in 2019 and hasn’t looked back. She has overcome so much in the past 4 years and we are so dang proud of her! Health and fitness is not a sprint but a marathon; and enjoying the process along the way is key to success. It hasn’t always been easy but surrounding yourself with a fitness family that has your back can make it that much easier. Read Natalie’s full story below.
“I moved to Minneapolis in the Spring of 2019. I was excited for a new adventure, but also nervous about the timing. I had a knee injury and surgery (meniscal root repair) the year prior and I was still in physical therapy. I was walking with a limp, had trouble with stairs and had lost a lot of muscle in my left leg. I was also dealing with a blood clot as a result of the extended time spent in a leg brace and on crutches. I felt pretty defeated at the time, mentally and physically. It was a tough adjustment at first.
That’s when I found Studio ME.
After wrapping up PT, I was excited to work on being active again. I just didn’t know where to start. The idea of walking into a gym with such limited mobility was very intimidating.
I was athletic for as long as I can remember, playing multiple sports through high school and continuing my softball career into college. Fast forward and my priorities began to change. I found myself on a roller coaster of being active, then not, then trying to start all over again. I played recreational sports, ran an occasional 5K and intermittently went to the gym. Working for an airline, I was traveling all the time for work and fun, which I loved, but it also created an easy excuse to not workout or eat healthy. The pounds started to add up and my confidence faded. I thought if I just pushed myself harder physically, then I could make up for lost time. I believe this is what led to injury.
I found Studio ME while searching for options online. I was intrigued by the smaller setting and idea of personal or small group training. I felt comfortable right away and signed up for personal training with Chelsea. I was nervous and embarrassed at how little I could do at first. I didn’t know what to expect and had never worked with a personal trainer.
My initial goals were to establish a routine, gain strength and mobility and start to lose weight. In my heart, I knew my ultimate goal was to be athletic again and try to achieve my bucket list goal of running a marathon. However, I couldn’t walk up a staircase and the idea of running even a block seemed comical at the time and I never mentioned this goal until years later.
I started out with a few sessions a week. Chelsea was great from day one. She was approachable and slowly introduced me to movements and equipment that could be easily adapted for me. I had never done TRX exercises, worked with kettlebells or been on a rowing machine in my life. There were tears of frustration and doubt, but also little moments of victory. We celebrated small breakthroughs like the first time I was able to bend my knee into a squat or balance on one leg. I was building a routine and having a coach like Chelsea personalizing my workouts and cheering me on was a lifesaver.
I increased my sessions to 3X/week and added a semi-private session with Robin. This and the opening of the new location really motivated me. I loved the new open space and the energy of everyone around me. I realized that Studio ME was a community of all ages and abilities, supporting one another while also having fun. It’s a place that just makes you feel good.
Adding semis with Robin has been great. He is a motivator and knows how to challenge me in the best way. He has really pushed me to work through some of my fears (hello box step ups), but through this, I’ve learned that many of these fears are mental. Of course, they can be physically demanding, but if you tell yourself you can’t, then you won’t, even if you are physically able. I appreciate Robin’s nudge every once in awhile to remind me of this.
I remember Robin asking me one day if I had any immediate goals. Without thinking, I said I want to be able to run. I felt dumb even saying it because I had not run in years. I was ready for Robin to laugh it off, but he gave me a big high five and said “let’s do this”. I shared my goal with Chelsea and she was just as supportive and excited, especially since she is a runner herself.
Through a lot of hard work, great programming and supportive coaching, I slowly began to run. Let’s be honest, it was more of a stumble at first! It started with about 15 seconds at a time, but it was something, I was scared to death that my knee would give out, but I also learned to trust my training.
Months later, I signed up for my first half marathon. I knew it would be a stretch, but my only goal was to finish. Chelsea laid out a walk/run program with slow progressions to get me ready. Chelsea and Robin both helped me work on conditioning and strength while encouraging me along the way. I was lifting, rowing, stretching, doing core work and spending a lot of time on the treadmill.
I completed Grandma’s Half in June, 2022. I have to admit, it was really tough and I walked a lot of it. Mentally, I had to overcome my own self doubt over and over on that course. It’s not easy when people are passing you left and right, but I tried to remember to enjoy the moment. Chelsea was out there cheering me on. I high fived spectators, stopped for pictures and mostly, just soaked it all in, thankful for how far I had come. Crossing a finish line is such a great feeling. We watched Robin finish the full and it was so fun to celebrate with them both.
After the half, I went right back to running. I was determined to improve. I knew that losing weight would help my running and I started to get frustrated that the scale wasn’t moving, even though I was working out 6 days a week.
I signed up for the 12 week nutrition program and this is when things really started coming together. Being accountable to a group and sharing ideas, challenges and successes was great. I learned that I was eating only about half the calories that I needed to fuel my body. I took away a lot of tips and recipes from Megan and others in the program.
My most important lesson was not about nutrition at all, it was about sleep. I had been averaging only about 5 hours/night. I don’t know why, but it never occurred to me that lack of sleep could be stalling my progress.
I continued working with Megan to help me with accountability. I felt overwhelmed with everything I was trying to change and my false perception that tracking was the key. I was weighing myself daily, using multiple apps to track macros, sleep, weight and heartrate. In the nutrition program, someone mentioned getting rid of their Apple watch and how liberating it felt to not track anything anymore. I wasn’t that brave (LOL!!), but I knew there was something to that.
I started to set boundaries with emails and electronics. I put my scale in a closet and made sleep a priority. I developed plans for meal prep, travel days and hotel workouts. Megan and I talked weekly about my progress and challenges. I became more comfortable being honest and really listening to Megan’s feedback. It was hard, but Megan was always in my corner helping me stay on track. I increased my average sleep by about 2 hours per night and noticed a huge difference. I had more energy and was recovering much quicker after workouts. I started to feel a little lighter and when I did pull my scale out, I couldn’t believe that I had lost 10 lbs.
In October, I cheered Chelsea on in the Twin Cities marathon. I spent hours watching people of all abilities cross the finish line and something told me that I needed to go for it. I signed up the next day. I told Chelsea and she was so excited and assured me that 1 year was enough time to prepare. I started having registration remorse and I joked that she should run it with me and be my pacer. A week later, she told me that we would be running the marathon together. Amazing! Knowing that I will have a coach on the course helping me is a huge relief and I am really excited to finally attempt this goal after thinking about it for decades 😊
I am loving my programming as I work towards the marathon. It’s a great mix of strength, conditioning and recovery. A big benefit of coaching is personalization. My workouts are tailored to my specific goal and the areas that I need to improve.
Knowing my mental struggles, Chelsea challenged me to begin building mental toughness and confidence by writing a post-it note every day that says, “I am a marathoner”. I’ve never used mantras or believed in this type of stuff in the past. It seemed a little silly. I started writing notes every day and sticking them on my wall. Soon that wall began filling up and to my surprise, I really loved it. To me, the silly wall is beginning to represent the commitment I’m making to myself, to take care of myself and to work hard towards a goal.
On November 17th, I ran a mile without stopping for the first time in probably 10 years.
On January 1st, I set a 90 day goal to run 3 miles without stopping.
A month later, I ran 4 miles without stopping and burst into happy tears!
On Feb 26th, I ran my first 10K without stopping. I have never done this in my life.
I’ve now lost 17 lbs and feel stronger than I have in years.
On June 17th, I will give Grandma’s Half a second try with the goal to improve my time.
On October 1st, I will become a marathoner 😊
What I’m most proud of is my mental journey and building sustainable healthy habits. During the 10K, I told myself the entire time, “you can do this” which is a far cry from where I was. My workouts have become a part of my daily life. I meal prep, get to bed as early as I can and give myself a lot of grace. NO day is perfect and that’s okay. I still have a long way to go, more weight to lose, conditioning to build and a finish line that I need to cross.
I’m much more optimistic about the future and my ability to maintain an active, healthy lifestyle. Studio ME has added so much to my life and I’m grateful to be part of this community. I love the environment, the programming, the flexibility and the coaching. The community challenges (MEPs, Rager, MPP, etc.) fuel my competitiveness, but mostly it’s just fun to push yourself in different ways. I’ve worked with almost every coach at some point and they are all wonderful people, highly knowledgeable and clearly love what they do!
What would I say to someone looking to get started?
Don’t get caught up with where you are or how far you think you have to go. Everyone starts somewhere. Take small steps and build from there. The process isn’t perfect. There are days when I don’t do any of the things I mentioned and days when I hit the mark. Mostly, it’s somewhere in between and that has been just enough. Take time to celebrate your successes, even the small ones. Be inspired by those around you, but don’t compare yourself to others. Everyone is on a different journey. I know I’m always silently cheering for everyone around me, but I’m learning to cheer for myself too. Being positive and kind to yourself is so important. Enjoy the process and take that first step!“
