Meet our Athlete of the Month: KIERSTEN!

๐ŸŒŸ April Athlete of the Month: Kiersten ๐ŸŒŸ
๐…๐š๐ซ๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ. ๐๐š๐ซ๐›๐ž๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ฌ. ๐Œ๐•๐– ๐‘๐จ๐œ๐ค๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ซ.

Kiersten first found Mountain View Wellness the old-school wayโ€”by spotting one of our flyers at the gym. One morning, she stopped me with a big smile and a hilarious question:

๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ โ€œSoโ€ฆ Iโ€™m 40, but what if I identify as someone 40 or older?โ€

She was referring to our poster that says we specialize in coaching women 40 and up. Kiersten may not be numerically โ€œoldโ€ (what does that even mean, anyway? ๐Ÿ˜„), but she joked that her knees definitely qualified! ๐Ÿฆต๐Ÿ’ฅ

You see, Kiersten is a farmer ๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐ŸŒพโ€”and during the off-season, she noticed her knees feeling weaker and achier. She came to us with a clear and powerful goal:

๐Ÿ’ช To feel less pain and build more strength
๐ŸŒฑ So she could start the growing season strong and energized.

Now, nearly three months into her program with us, weโ€™re happy to report:

โœ… Her knees are feeling better
โœ… Her strength is up
โœ… And most importantlyโ€ฆ sheโ€™s gained confidence, consistency, and a spark that lights up the gym every time she walks in. โœจ

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Julie Bailis
Confidence Isnโ€™t Built in the Mirror. It lies in your Say-Do Ratio.

I still remember my very first meet two years ago.

I wasnโ€™t nervous about the liftingโ€ฆ I was nervous about the singlet. ๐Ÿ˜ณ (That tight, form-fitting uniform lifters wearโ€”it leaves nothing to the imagination.)

As a middle-aged woman, wearing something so revealing was intimidating. But I did it anyway.

And something incredible happened:

โœจ I had fun โœจ I felt strong โœจ I cheered for others โœจ I belonged

That experience came full circle last week when I talked with Coach Lynette. It was her first-ever meet, and she had just received her photos.

She said something Iโ€™ll never forget:

โ€œIt was the first time in my life I didnโ€™t pick myself apart. I liked what I sawโ€”because I felt strong. I felt like I belonged.โ€ ๐Ÿ’ซ

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๐ˆ๐“'๐’ ๐Œ๐˜ ๐-๐ƒ๐€๐˜! ๐–๐‡๐˜ ๐ˆ'๐Œ ๐„๐—๐‚๐ˆ๐“๐„๐ƒ ๐€๐๐Ž๐”๐“ ๐“๐‡๐ˆ๐’ ๐Ž๐๐„! (AND THIS ONE DOESN'T EVEN END IN 0!)

Believe it or not, Iโ€™m super excited about turning 51!

That might sound strange in a culture obsessed with youth.

Women are often told that aging is bad, that we shouldnโ€™t say our age out loud, and that we should do everything in our power to look younger.

๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ž๐ฌ, ๐ฅ๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž ๐ก๐š๐ฌ ๐š ๐ฐ๐š๐ฒ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ฆ๐š๐ค๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ž๐ž ๐›๐ข๐ซ๐ญ๐ก๐๐š๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ซ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฒ.

๐Ÿ’” Last year, turning 50 was a huge milestone for me.

You see, turning fifty was so much more than celebrating a new decade.

๐€๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐š๐ ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ“๐ŸŽ, ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ก๐ฌ ๐š๐Ÿ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ž๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ , ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐š๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ ๐ฐ๐š๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐š๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ฌ๐ž๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐œ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž๐ซ.

After a short, two-month battle, he passed away. His death rattled me for years.

I think of him often:

โœจ When we moved into our home, I imagined how much he would have loved working on projects with my husband.

โœจ When my kids were born, I wished he could have held them, played with them, and cheered them on at their sports events and recitals.

So when I turned 50 last year, I celebrated BIG

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Powerlifting Meet Results: Who is on YOUR TEAM?

Whoโ€™s on Your Team?

When weโ€™re kids, we have teachers, parents, and coaches guiding us, helping us grow, and holding us accountable. But as adults, we often lose that. We try to do things alone. We push through challenges without the support we once had, and sometimes, we wonder why it feels so hard.

But hereโ€™s the truth: we were never meant to go at it alone.

I felt the power of having a strong team on Saturday. I feel it every time I coach and every time I am coached. And I want that for you too.

I have found my community in my powerlifting peeps and the Mountain View Wellness Community.

Where is your community? How do they support you? How do they make you feel?

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Julie Bailis
Meet our Athlete of the Month: LAURIE!!

๐ŸŽ‰โœจ Athlete of the Month: Laurie! โœจ๐ŸŽ‰

Laurie may be one of our newer members, but sheโ€™s already making waves ๐ŸŒŠ at Mountain View Wellness! We chose her as our Athlete of the Month because she embodies tenacity, a willingness to learn, and pure joy (yes, joy! ๐Ÿ˜„). Her commitment to showing up, her positive attitude, and her steady progress in strength make her an inspiration to us all. ๐Ÿ’ช๐Ÿ’ฅ

HERE IS LAURIE IN HER OWN WORDS

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Julie Bailis
๐’๐‡๐Ž๐•๐„๐‹ ๐๐€๐‚๐Š: ๐€ ๐–๐ˆ๐๐“๐„๐‘ ๐–๐Ž๐‘๐Š๐Ž๐”๐“ ๐˜๐Ž๐” ๐ƒ๐ˆ๐ƒ๐'๐“ ๐’๐ˆ๐†๐ ๐”๐ ๐…๐Ž๐‘โ„๏ธ

Last weekend, I stepped into my gym, and before I could even ask how everyone was doing, I noticed a theme:
โ€”๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐Ÿ๐Ÿ ๐›๐š๐œ๐ค๐ฌ, ๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ๐ฌ, ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐š๐ง๐ฌ ๐š๐ฌ ๐œ๐ฅ๐ข๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐š๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ.

๐–๐ก๐ž๐ง ๐ˆ ๐š๐ฌ๐ค๐ž๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ฐ๐š๐ฌ ๐ ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐จ๐ง, ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐š๐ง๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐ฐ๐š๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ง๐š๐ง๐ข๐ฆ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ:
๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ .

Between multiple snowstorms and a lovely ice storm for good measure, my clients had unknowingly signed up for the ultimate full-body workout.

And their backs were paying the price. ๐Ÿ˜ซโ„๏ธ

๐ˆ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐š๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐š๐ซ, ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎโ€™๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐›๐š๐›๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ž๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ž๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ˆ ๐œ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐’๐ก๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ฅ ๐๐š๐œ๐คโ€”๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ-๐ฌ๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐ซ๐ž๐ฆ๐จ๐ฏ๐š๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ซ๐ž๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ฆ๐š๐ค๐ž๐ฌ ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฒ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐ž๐ญ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐›๐ž๐ ๐š ๐œ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ž.

The good news? Youโ€™re most likely (read more below on when to see the doctor) not injured, just overworked.

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Julie BailisAscent Climbing
๐ƒ๐Ž ๐˜๐Ž๐” ๐‡๐€๐•๐„ ๐’๐Ž๐Œ๐„๐Ž๐๐„ ๐“๐Ž ๐๐‘๐ˆ๐๐† ๐˜๐Ž๐” ๐€ ๐“๐Ž๐–๐„๐‹ ๐–๐‡๐„๐ ๐˜๐Ž๐” ๐๐„๐„๐ƒ ๐Ž๐๐„? ๐Ÿ’ง

Last week, I got a phone call from a client while she was at the gym. I thought it was weird becauseโ€ฆ
โ€‹
I had literally just seen her. When I answered, she sounded embarrassed, stammering a bit before admitting,
โ€‹
โ€œ๐ˆโ€™๐ฆ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅโ€ฆ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ˆ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ฅ. ๐‚๐š๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐›๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฆ๐ž ๐จ๐ง๐ž?โ€
โ€‹
The little sister in me immediately wanted to mess with herโ€”maybe dangle the towel just out of reach in front of the shower curtain, teasing her a bit.
โ€‹
But the professional in me won out (barely). Instead, I grabbed the towel, walked into the locker room, and handed it over as we both just cracked up at the ridiculous situation.
โ€‹
โ€‹This morning, that same client texted me to say sheโ€™s had a lot on her plate latelyโ€”work stress, family stress, just a lot. But then she said:โ€‹
โ€‹
"๐“๐ก๐š๐ง๐ค ๐†๐จ๐ ๐ˆ ๐ก๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง ๐š๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐ž ๐ฐ๐ก๐จ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐›๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฆ๐ž ๐š ๐ญ๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ž๐ง ๐ง๐ž๐ž๐๐ž๐!!"
โ€‹
๐€๐ง๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฒ? ๐“๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ก๐ข๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ž.

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Julie Bailis
Meet our February Athlete of the Month- CHARLEY!

At Mountain View Wellness, we celebrate one standout client each monthโ€”someone who truly embodies the values we hold close.

This month, that person is Charley.

Charley epitomizes three key qualities:

๐Ÿ”น Open-Mindedness โ€“ Heโ€™s always up for trying new movements in his training, tackling unfamiliar hiking trails, and heโ€™s even down with some crazy balance drills we throw at him every once in a while! Thanks for being a great sport!

๐Ÿ”น Consistency โ€“ Charley shows up. Rain or shine, he commits to his workouts, proving that steady effort leads to big results. He even puts in extra training sessions while his wife attends yoga classes, making the most of every opportunity to stay active.

๐Ÿ”น Grit โ€“ Whether itโ€™s pushing through a challenging workout or setting new goals , Charley gives it his all. Heโ€™s proof that dedication and perseverance pay off, both in and out of the gym.

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Julie Bailis
STOP DIETING AND BOIL A FROG INSTEAD

Are you stuck in the yo-yo dieting cycle, trying extreme overhauls that never stick? This blog dives into why lasting health changes happen through small, steady progressโ€”not all-or-nothing approaches. Learn how to shift your mindset, focus on sustainable habits, and make health changes that fit your life. Discover practical tips, like starting with a 5-minute walk or simple meal swaps, and how health coaching can help you achieve long-term success without deprivation or burnout. Ready to ditch the extremes and build a healthier lifestyle one step at a time? Letโ€™s chat!

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Julie Bailis
SANTA DOESN'T COME HERE ANYMORE

This holiday season, Coach Julie reflects on the transition from raising young children to parenting young adults. She shares the bittersweet experience of no longer having to stuff stockings for Santa, while embracing new traditions and looking forward to the future. Julie thanks her community for their support in making 2024 transformational and encourages others to reflect on their own transitions. Wishing everyone happy holidays and an amazing 2025 ahead!

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Julie Bailis
HOLIDAY SEASON + THE COMPARISON TRAP- How to avoid it!

Break free from the holiday comparison trap and discover how to turn envy into inspiration. This post highlights the struggles and triumphs of three women who stopped comparing themselves to others and embraced sustainable lifestyle changes to feel stronger, healthier, and more confident. Learn how to reflect on your values, shift your mindset, and take actionable steps toward the life you want. Ready to make next year your best yet? Book a free coaching call today to start your journey.

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AGING DOESN'T HAVE TO SUCK! IN FACT, MIDDLE AGE CAN BE A TIME OF GREAT POWER!

his past weekend, I spent time with three different friend groups, and every conversation gravitated towards some big, middle-aged topics:
โ€‹
*Navigating care for aging parents and in-laws ๐Ÿ‘ต๐Ÿฝ๐Ÿ‘ด๐Ÿป
*Helping parents adjust to senior living ๐Ÿก
*Balancing concern with healthy boundaries (#NotMyParents) ๐Ÿšง
*The fear and excitement of empty nesting ๐Ÿชน
*Watching our children become adults ๐Ÿง‘๐Ÿฝโ€๐ŸŽ“๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿผโ€๐Ÿ’ผ
*Finally, prioritizing our own health and well-being ๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ‹๐Ÿพโ€โ™€๏ธ
*The importance of spending time with people who truly light you up and inspire you โœจโค๏ธ
โ€‹
๐‚๐š๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ซ๐ž๐ฅ๐š๐ญ๐ž ๐ญ๐จ ๐š๐ง๐ฒ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ?

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Julie Bailis
HAS YOUR DR. TOLD YOU TO โ€œJUST LOSE WEIGHTโ€? Hereโ€™s why that is SO ANNOYING AND WHAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY DO ABOUT IT.

๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐žโ€™๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฌ๐œ๐ž๐ง๐ž.
๐˜๐จ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐›๐จ๐๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐œ๐ก๐š๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ .
๐˜๐จ๐ฎ ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐š ๐›๐ข๐ญ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐ญ๐ข๐ซ๐ž๐, ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐จ๐งโ€™๐ญ ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ž๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐, ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ž๐ž๐ฆ๐ฌ ๐ก๐ข๐ ๐ก, ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐œ๐ฅ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ .
๐ˆ๐ญโ€™๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐š๐ง๐ง๐ฎ๐š๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ก๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฅ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐š๐ง๐ฑ๐ข๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ.

๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ข๐Ÿ ๐ˆ ๐ก๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐ ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ž๐ ๐ฐ๐ž๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ?
๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐š๐›๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐›๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค?

You are at the doctorโ€™s office, hop the scale, and donโ€™t want to look.
๐“๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ž๐ž๐ฆ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ž๐š๐ซ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐’๐Ž๐Ž๐Ž๐Ž ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ !

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Julie's Adventures in Powerlifting- Heading to Nationals, Baby! (part 4)

One year and 2 months ago, I got this crazy idea of training for and competing in my first powerlifting meet. Since then, I have competed in two meets, I hold the state records for my age and weight classes (two different weight classes, yes), and now I am going to Las Vegas to compete in Nationals!  

You see, over the last year, I have learned so much about not only powerlifting but also about myself, my older body, the importance of exercise for this older body, and the power of community.

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Julieโ€™s Adventures in Powerlifting (Part 3): My First Powerlifing Meet

Six months ago, I decided to compete in my first (and possibly only) powerlifting competition. It was a bucket list kind of idea. I had some background in lifting but no experience with powerlifting-specific training. All I knew was that I would need a coach. So that was my first step.

Finding a Coach
I asked around a bit and was directed to Revolution Fitness (the gym) and Resilient Training Lab (the coaches who program). I met Paul, the owner. He has a great laugh, tons of experience with powerlifting, and a team of experienced coaches. I knew that Paul and his team could help me prep for the meet. So, in April, I officially started my training (3 days/week).

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