This month we are celebrating our Athlete of the Month - Barbara Piccirillo. Barbara joined the Wilcox Community in February, 2021 and then when she was ready to up the ante with her focus on nutrition she joined the KickStart program in March, 2022.
As she has gained more strength & balance she has increased her confidence in the movements that we do in the gym allowing her to continue to push herself to places that she never expected in her health & fitness. Earlier this spring Barbara joined the KickStart program. It’s not unusual for people to join our training programs and need to break down each piece of the commitment to their overall health & fitness long term. We talk a lot about the value of making small, incremental improvements over time, setting our clients up for success with long term and sustainable lifestyle change. For Barbara she wanted to focus on getting consistent with her exercise program, attending sessions 3 times a week.
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Our June Client of the Month is a woman who is always working on getting better. Kathleen Kelley is such an incredible example of someone who recognizes how the ebb and flow of life’s responsibilities can impact one’s ability to be consistent with health and fitness, but that doesn’t stop her from working on it every day!
As they say, the first step in getting better is to acknowledge the situation, and this is what inspires me about Kathleen. She quickly recognizes when she’s off course and the impact that this has on her ability to live her best life…and for Kathleen her best life is when she can be giving to others. Kathleen cares deeply for her family, and she’s a total giver. She takes care of everyone! Even the Wilcox Trainer Team! Katheen is an amazing baker and cook and she’s often bringing delicious, organic - whole food goodies from her kitchen to share with us. She’s one of the most generous and caring people that I know. And when we give, give, give it’s so easy to lose sight of what we need to do to take care of ourselves so that….we can keep giving. Kathleen embraces the importance of taking care of herself, even though on some days she may give more to others than she gives to herself, which can tip things temporarily out of balance. When I spoke with Kathleen recently she reflected upon the reality that when she stays on track with her commitment to a healthy lifestyle she has more energy, she’s more positive, and she sleeps better. And of course, when we have more energy, feel more positive, and are fully rested we have so much more of ourselves to give. Kathleen’s acknowledgement of how her healthy habits benefit her….and how straying off course leads to feeling like crap, sleepless nights, and lack of energy inspires her to get back on track ASAP. Sometimes it may feel like the gap between getting off track and getting back on track feels like a chasm, and that’s because time seems to slow down when we aren’t feeling our best. It can make us feel like we’re not getting back on track fast enough, but what is important is that we dig deep and find the reasons for getting back on track, and do it as soon as possible. Kathleen consistently shows up to the gym, and with each visit she arrives with a big smile on her face ready to not only give herself that time to take care of herself but also with all of the generosity in her heart that she gives to the others who are in the session with her. Her positive energy is contagious. She works hard and has fun doing it. The more she sweats the more she smiles.
And boy are we glad she did! Every day Kathleen learns something new that will benefit how she feels and how she can live her life feeling her very best, and right alongside her we learn something from Kathleen that inspires us to be our very best too.
We just love working with Kathleen and we couldn’t be more happy to celebrate Kathleen as our client of the month. This month we are so happy to be celebrating Julie Wagoner as our Client of the Month!
Osteoporosis causes bones to become weak and brittle, so brittle that a fall or even mild stresses such as bending over or coughing can cause a fracture, so this is a serious condition. Luckily, lifting weights can help protect your bones and prevent osteoporosis-related fractures. According to WebMD and other sources, studies show that strength training over a period of time can help prevent bone loss -- and may even help build new bone.
The split stance is a movement that we use in the gym to help us connect to our normal gait patterns, and bring awareness to compensations that impact how we move and eventually lead to injuries. Committing to health and wellness has so many remarkable benefits, and Julie shares how she is recognizing many of these benefits after just 6 months in our training program.
Amazing! We are so happy to be part of this fitness journey with Julie. It’s not just about getting strong in the gym. It’s about the impact that it has on daily life, allowing you to do everything that you want to do in life, free of limitations! That sounds amazing, doesn’t it? I want this for everyone, but I also realize how hard it is to get started in a program. It can feel really intimidating to get started in a fitness program, especially if it’s something you’ve never done before. I think you’d be surprised by how many people struggle with making that first step, but I want anyone reading this to know that we’re here to support you every step of the way. Our community is so unbelievably supportive and will help you feel welcome from the second you walk through the door, and our trainer team meets each person where they are, providing individualized guidance and support in the gym so that you can train with confidence.
Julie offered up some encouraging words for anyone who is contemplating this same worry. "I was nervous to start too. However, I knew that given my osteoporosis, I really had to give my bones a reason to stick around and that meant strengthening my muscles. The nice thing about the Wilcox Wellness model is that each person can adapt to their own fitness level and special considerations. The direct coaching from the trainers helps to improve form and therefore results. I tried the two-week trial to start and that gave me an opportunity to overcome my fear of beginning again". And we’re glad you did Julie! It’s been such a pleasure working with you, watching your incredible progress, and celebrating all of your accomplishments with you! We’d love to help you reach your goals too! Join our Free two-week trial just like Julie did. It’s a great way to make that first step with no long term obligation, and I’m confident that you’ll be glad that you did. For more information visit www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/gift. This month we are excited to be celebrating Melissa Wedge as our Client of the Month. Melissa first began training with Wilcox Wellness & Fitness in Bangor where Mike & Paige Wilcox originally started the business. In 2019 Allison Hopkins opened the Brunswick location of Wilcox Wellness & Fitness with the support of Mike & Paige. Coincidentally, the opening of the Brunswick location coincided with Melissa and her husband Will’s move to the Brunswick area to be closer to their grandchildren. At first Melissa split her time between Brunswick and Bangor, and after their home was built in Brunswick she joined the Brunswick Wilcox Community full time. Moving can be an incredibly stressful time, and to add an extra twist to Melissa’s move, she and her husband were also building a house and managing a business in the Bangor region. The commitment that Melissa made to herself, and to her overall health & fitness was admired by the Wilcox team right from the start! Melissa remembers getting started at Wilcox in Bangor and feeling like she was just getting established when she and Will began their transition to Brunswick. Despite how hectic it was commuting back and forth Melissa knew that regular training was the key to her success.
There’s a lot to look forward to at camp this summer, knowing that she has the energy to play with her grandchildren and most importantly….keep up!
At Wilcox Wellness & Fitness our mission is to inspire you to enhance your life by forming healthy habits that you can sustain for a lifetime. Sustainability is key to lifestyle change and Melissa, like many of us, has experienced that first hand. For her it can be easy to slip into an all or nothing mindset. She has done well in the past following strict nutrition and training programs, but hasn’t found them to be sustainable long term. Melissa continues to work on her biggest obstacle of feeling confident in relaxing her expectations and embracing a mindset around making good healthy choices the majority of the time, and not allowing the less frequent choices to indulge to slide into additional “bad choices”. Melissa works on this area by continuing to be gentle with herself, reminding herself that fitness is a journey and a lifestyle, and continuing to practice mindful indulgences without feeling like these occasional choices have ruined her progress. We just love how honest Melissa is with herself and with us! Lifestyle change is a journey and it takes a lot of practice. It’s not easy committing to health & fitness habits, but it’s also not easy to face chronic health issues, lack of balance and stability, or worrying about injuring yourself when you play with your kids or grandkids.
We are so proud of you Melissa! Thank you for being a part of the Wilcox Community and for being such an inspiration to us all. Keep up the great work!
take careThis month we are feeling super proud of Margaret Porter, our March Client of the Month! Margaret started training with us through our KickStart program last November. When Margaret first reached out to me she expressed some common fears in getting started in a health & fitness program. She is a new mom with a now 3 year old daughter and has a busy work schedule. Additionally, between having a baby and hunkering down during a pandemic over the past two years she felt nervous about getting into a gym, not being able to keep up, and feeling insecure amongst the group. I assured her that we would meet her right where she is and that our amazing community would surely make her feel welcomed after her first visit. I’m so happy that Margaret trusted me and joined the KickStart program. All of these fears and concerns quickly melted away and Margaret quickly embraced her gym time and recognized how this commitment has benefited her. Don’t take it from me - this is what Margaret shared with me about the benefits that she has experienced: “Since starting my wellness and fitness journey I've noticed a few changes in my daily life. I find myself having more energy to get through the work day and keep up with my daughter at home. I also feel confident both physically and mentally. People around me are noticing the difference and complimenting me on it. Another bonus is my feet don't hurt when I get home from standing 8hrs a day. In the past I would get home and my feet would hurt so much I could barely walk. Now I can stand all day at work and even go for a walk after and still not be sore.” Isn't that amazing!? We are so proud of you Margaret and just love hearing how you experience the benefits of your hard work in such meaningful ways! Another thing that Margaret is super proud of is sticking to it, and we’re so proud of her too! Getting to the gym can be tough when you’re working a full time job and a Mom, but Margaret has made it work. She brings her amazing energy to our early bird sessions and is sure to get her training session in before her workday starts. That way, at the end of the day she can get home to use all of that extra energy that she has to take care of her family and enjoy some family time.
Approaching nutrition through sustainable healthy habits, while enjoying some occasional indulgences with moderation is the secret to success, and Margaret has embraced this mindset like a champion.
We couldn’t be more proud of all that Margaret has accomplished since committing to her training program with us and we are so happy to acknowledge all of her hard work by naming her our March Client of the Month. Congratulations Margaret! I am so happy to be celebrating Becca Hill as our February client of the month! Becca started training with us this past summer. As the Mom of two young children she wanted to gain energy, feel better, and be an active Mom while also gaining strength and muscle tone. She knew that working out at home just wasn’t an option. It’s difficult to keep up with a routine at home and she knew that she’d find motivation when working in a group setting. I’m so happy that Becca found us and trusted us to guide her on a path towards reaching her goals. After just 6 months Becca is already noticing improved energy levels through her commitment to doing something good for herself. She sees this gain in energy as a real victory given that she achieved it during a pandemic while also raising her two young and active boys.
Nutrition is a big part of getting great results, and Becca has recognized over the course of her training program that not planning for her healthy snacks can really set her up for a crummy day. When we identify healthy habits that set our day up for success it’s also important to consider what obstacles can get in the way….because they will! And when we can anticipate those obstacles we can be prepared to overcome them. Becca tries to include her snacks in her weekly meal planning and get them ready the night before, but sometimes that doesn’t happen with everything else that’s going on, but Becca is prepared with a plan for these circumstances. If she does need to stop for a quick snack she tries to make time to run into the grocery store for something healthy rather than resort to fast food convenience.
Great work Becca. We are all so happy to have you in our community and to have the opportunity to support you in reaching your health & fitness goals.
Each month when we consider the Client of the Month we think about people who are so committed to their health & fitness journey that they have become acutely aware of how this commitment has impacted their lives on a daily basis. When we truly recognize the impact that the healthy habits that we create are having on our life we tend to be more committed to keeping up those new habits, and through that consistency we begin to experience the long term results that we are always after when starting a health & fitness program.
This month we’re honoring Laurie Beck as our January Client of the month. Laurie joined us in June 2021 with a goal of getting stronger and more tone. When I asked Laurie why it was important for her to get stronger and feel more tone she talked about how feeling strong brings a smile to her face. She enjoys hiking, skiing and kayaking and wanted to feel stronger while doing those kinds of activities. You can imagine my delight when Laurie shared with me that her commitment to health & fitness has made her feel happier overall, more energized, and more mindful. One way that Laurie has been mindful is through her awareness about how her Morning Mojo routine has made her feel. Morning Mojo is an age-old concoction of freshly squeezed lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and grated ginger added to water. There are all kinds of health benefits associated with daily consumption of Morning Mojo including a boost to the immune system, digestive benefits, and more. For Laurie it sets the tone for her day. She notices the mental benefit and how this start to her day helps her want to continue the momentum by making one good decision after another throughout the day.
She takes responsibility for what she needs to do to take care of her body, she recognizes the benefits of her actions, and that motivates her to keep up her momentum through consistent actions. We are all so proud of Laurie and all that she has achieved since joining our community, and we are so happy to have the opportunity to support her in this journey. We would love to welcome YOU to our community!
Join us for FREE through our GREATEST GIFT PROGRAM, and we'll make another $10 donation to Midcoast Humane! Through the Greatest Gift Program you will receive:
We will meet you where YOU are and provide with support every step of the way! Why wait? The time is NOW and we are here to guide you as you get started. I get excited each month when we get to recognize someone from our community as the Client of the Month. We have such an amazing community of people who make up Wilcox Wellness & Fitness, and having the opportunity to make an impact in their lives is work worth doing. Our trainer team is committed to meeting each person where they are in their health & fitness journey. Whether you’re a seasoned gym goer, or new to the gym, we are here to support you.
we move, and learning how to do exercises with proper form and technique so that we can work against the challenges that we face on a daily basis. When we hear from our clients how their commitment to their training impacts how they move both inside and outside of the gym we can’t help but get very, very excited, and that’s why we just love naming a Client of the Month each month.
challenging, effective, or helps us in the undoing of the compensations that occur through the stress that life puts upon our physical selves.
Angela demonstrates her commitment to her TRAINING by learning how to recognize when she’s using proper form or not, and when she is unsure of the proper technique she’s never afraid to ask, and this is precisely what allows her to get better each day. We know that getting started in a gym can be scary and intimidating, and that’s why I’m so proud of the incredible community of people, just like Angela, who make up Wilcox Wellness & Fitness. When I asked Angela what she’d tell someone who is ready to commit to health & fitness but isn’t sure where to start, or may be nervous about making that first step she said “As someone who would have never thought to join a group training class, I would tell someone just to try it. By just trying it, they're starting their first step.” And I hope you listen to her advice. We are here to support you every step of the way, and we take our promise of meeting you where you are very seriously. If you’re interested in getting started, give our Free 2-week TRIAL a try. Get the process started by going to www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/gift. First, download our free gift pack to help set you up for success in the start of your health & fitness journey. Next, fill out the Fast Track Transformation Questionnaire and sign up for your Success Session where we’ll review your goals, share more about our training programs, answer all of your questions, and then get you signed up for your free 2-week trial. We can't wait to support you in your health & fitness journey! You could be our next client of the month! Why wait!?! It’s that time again when we get to celebrate the client of the month, and this month I am so happy to be celebrating Rachel Garland. Rachel joined us in January 2020 with the goal of feeling good, having more energy and being stronger, and there is no doubt that Rachel has achieved each of those goals. Getting started in a gym can be incredibly intimidating, and Rachel was feeling that too, but she had support behind the scenes who provided her with the encouragement to get started. For that I couldn’t be more grateful, because it’s through this support that Rachel found the confidence deep down to show up on that very first day. Rachel committed to herself right from the beginning. She relied upon support inside and outside of the gym when her anxiety got the best of her and she kept on showing up for herself. As we got to know each other and Rachel’s confidence grew, the insecurities began to fade away, and Rachel’s time at the gym became her time. Time that she truly valued. In March of 2020 we all know what happened. The pandemic hit. Rachel is a teacher, and one other thing that we all know is that teachers had to pivot harder than almost anyone. To be honest, even as a brand-new business realizing that I needed to find my way through a pandemic I felt for teachers (and healthcare workers) more than anyone. I had it easy in comparison. Teachers had to figure out how to teach remotely, which in itself was something completely new for teachers to figure out, but they also were faced with the worry for some of those kiddos who they knew didn’t have the best of circumstances at home. The start of the pandemic was a tough time for families, and teachers were more aware than anyone about the struggles that some of their students were going to face by not coming to school each day. Rachel never used this as an excuse. It wasn’t an excuse to stop showing up for her students, and it wasn’t an excuse to stop showing up for herself either. One day Rachel called me. She was feeling a little stressed about making time for getting to the gym. At first, I thought she was worried about finding the time with everything that was going on, but the real stress was coming from her guilt in cancelling and rescheduling her sessions as she tried to figure out how to fit it into her schedule. In true Rachel fashion she was worried about the impact that this was having on me and my trainer team. I reminded Rachel that we create our scheduling process with a purpose. We allow our clients to cancel and reschedule with just one hour notice knowing that life often doesn’t work out the way we planned when we woke up that morning, and in the case of this pandemic, what we had planned could change hour to hour, and that’s okay. What matters is that you keep working on figuring it out and prioritizing what is most important. And that’s exactly what Rachel was doing. I assured her that she can and should reschedule as many times as she needed to until she figured out how to get to her training sessions for the week. With that reassurance Rachel leveled up even more. Some days she would email letting me know that she may be a few minutes late, but she was on her way, and each and every time she showed up. Period. Rachel’s progress at the gym hasn’t just been about physical results. It has also been about mental results. Rachel’s biggest accomplishment has been all about breaking through her own insecurities and anxieties about working out. As a result, her self-confidence has grown immensely, as well as her ability to advocate for herself. She has made herself a priority and that has been huge!!! Like so many people, the biggest obstacle that gets in the way is LIFE!
Every time Rachel comes into the gym, she has a big smile on her face. She brings her positive energy into every training session ready to work hard. It’s contagious and I’m certain that it’s felt by everyone else who is in the session with her.. She is always learning about how her body moves, she listens to her body when it needs some adjustments to be made, and she works hard even when she is faced with her least favorite exercises – pushups and burpees.
Congratulations Rachel! We are super proud of you and honored to be on your health & fitness journey with you! Join me in congratulating Kendray Rodriguez, our Client of the Month! We are all so proud of everything that Kendray has accomplished since she started her training program with us in May. Kendray joined us through our Greatest Gift Program after learning about us from a friend, and we couldn’t be more happy that Kendray found her way to us. She brings energy and focus to every training session, and is always working to improve how she moves her body, and it’s paying off! When I asked Kendray what her biggest accomplishment has been this what she said: “I try not to focus on numbers BUT one of my proudest moments so far would definitely have to be the day I stepped on the scale and saw a number under 200. The last time I was on this side of the 200lb mark was 9 years (and many failed crash diets) ago".
“I can't count the number of times I psyched myself out before I finally pushed past my fear and just DID it!
My time at Wilcox has taught me that I can do hard things and, moreover, that I am worth the effort of doing those hard things. I have more drive, more determination, and I'm kinder to myself.” And that’s what it’s all about! We love seeing the ripple effect that committing to health & fitness has for our clients, and Kendray is no exception! Kendray, we are so proud of you and so happy to be on this journey with you! Keep up the great work! |
AuthorHi! My name is Allison Hopkins and I am the owner of Wilcox Wellness & Fitness in Brunswick, ME. I am excited to bring WILCOX to Brunswick and share in my passion for living a great life through health and fitness. Archives
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