Testimonials

Sue

Hello Barb, Wanda and Shelley,

I have been meaning to write to you since my return from our summer vacation.

I just wanted to thank each of you for making spinning such a great workout for me. If it wasn't for my spinning classes, I never would have been in good enough shape to take the summer vacation I did. We hiked in Zion, Bryce, Arches and Grand Canyon National Parks. I also backpacked for the first time, hiking 7 miles uphill to our base camp in the San Juan mountains of Colorado. The next day we climbed to 13,500 ft.

Anyway, I just wanted you to know how much I have appreciated your support and encouragement. You are each so special and wonderful at what you do. Without you, I never would have kept with the program for so long and I wouldn't have been able to share this great trip with my family.

Thanks again!

Bill Gabriel, MD

Hi Barb,

Just back from your Friday morning workout and wanted to tell you how good I feel. I'm not sure whether its the endorphins or the company but I feel like I'm on top of the world. There are four or five women in that class (yourself included) that I absolutely enjoy. As I live and work by myself, these classes are just what the doctor ordered. Thanks."

When I began the introductory spinning class on Saturdays, I was a good forty pounds overweight. Within four to six months, I had dropped those forty pounds, took four inches off of my waist, and assumed your more basic humanoid shape. The real stimulus to my current level of fitness - at the ripe old age of 52 - has been the spinning classes a week at Balanced By Fitness. I have enjoyed the experience and expertise of Dale, Barb, and Shelly as my spinning instructors.

Dale is great, as he attempts to recreate outdoor bike rides and their challenges. We recently completed a weekly spinning course (on Sunday mornings) that culminated in a 50 mile bike ride; and, other than walking a little funny for the next week or so, I had a blast doing that. Dale also plays especially cool music, which helps more than you realize.

Barb is the main motivator, but she does it in such a careful and mindful way that I was able to graduate from a beginner's class to a more advanced one after about six weeks without injury. Being a guy, and impatient by nature, it was especially helpful to have Barb emphasize the importance of riding within one's ability and yet somehow attempting to push oneself just a little bit further. She introduced me to proper form, the best positions/settings on the bike for me, and how to pedal with greater efficiency. All of the instructors that I had were great about that.

The point I want to make here, though, is that you may enter the class jaded and a bit skeptical, but when you're done, you leave enthused and rather pleased with yourself and what you accomplished. Throughout her class, Barb reminds us time and again, "This is your ride. You make it what it is." And with her indispensable help and encouragement, it is.

Finally, Shelly is a natural born teacher and leader by example. I cannot think of a class of hers in which I haven't given it my all (although you don't exactly loaf through Dale's or Barb's). Shelly always seems to sense, see, or just plain know when my form isn't quite right, the resistance setting on my bike needs adjusting, or perhaps I ought to apply myself a little harder to the task at hand. Shelly also prepares each class to the minute, from the music she selects to the types of rides we are to run, and at what point during the class we run them. Shelly often exhorts us throughout her classes, "You've got four (or five or six or however many) minutes! Make them your best!" And before you can say, "Yes, Ms. Bruder," you are off and doing just that. One last thing. The classes I attend consist of a broad spectrum of fitness types. There are what I call the athletically insane, what with their "marathons" and their "triathlons" or whatever it is they like to do on their spare weekends - that is, after warming up with a class or two with us.

And there are the healthy, basically fit people who don't actually perspire or breathe heavily as such during the class, but kind of glow and say, "Golly, Barb, that was some workout!" Afterwards, they just jog on home to, say, Chelsea or Saline.

And then there are the reclamation projects such as myself whose greatest reward - no, greatest joy - for all the sweat and effort involved is none other than finding pants that fit. In your very own closet! The first two groups no doubt fit right into Barb's studio ; but it is also a nice, safe, supportive place for the rest of us.

Well-balanced indeed!

Kristyn Spangler

"I started working with Barb 2 1/2 years ago. I was 34 and in terrible shape. At least 20 pounds overweight, I had trouble going up more than one flight of stairs. Plus I hardly ate any vegetables.

Like many people, I made a New Year's resolution to get into better shape, so I hired Barb as my personal trainer. We met three times a week for the first year. Barb insisted that I eat a cup of raw broccoli and a cup of raw spinach every day. Of all the vegetables, I think I only hated okra more. Some how she convinced me to try them - the broccoli with hommus and the spinach with strawberries and balsamic vinegar. By the summer, I was eating spinach and broccoli for most of my lunches. There were lots of other eating habits that Barb helped change.

As far as my physical conditioning, Barb started me out walking for cardio and instituted a weight training program. She also talked me into trying a spinning class. I soon started spinning three times per week. I started running short distances. First combining running and walking, I ran my first 5K in July 2003. Since then, I've run three more, improving my time and running the whole distance.

I lost 25 pounds. I lost 4 inches in my bust, 4 inches in my waist, and 5 inches in my hips. I went from a 14 to a 10, sometimes I can even wear an 8. Once Barb opened Balanced by Fitness, I started spinning at her studio. Shelley had been an instructor at EMU, where I began. It was Shelley's encouragement and discipline that helped keep me interested and coming back. I got my husband, as well as a friend from work, to start spinning.

In July 2005 I got pregnant. I continued spinning three times per week up until six days before my baby was born. I kept active and gained only 22 pound with my pregnancy. Then I lost the pregnancy weight within three weeks of delivery.

I can't say enough about Barb and Shelley. Each, in her own way, has significant responsibility in my physical health and self esteem. People at work noticed the changes and I got lots of compliments. It was clear that I was healthy and felt good about myself."

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