Client Success Story: Madison H.

Madison H.

Cary, NC

MBM Heavy Subscriber + Individual Meal Plan Client

"I came to Madison (name twin!) in January of 2019 after following her Instagram page for quite a bit of time. A little back story on me: I grew up as a very serious dancer, dancing ballet 6 days per week in high school and being a member of the varsity dance team in college. I rarely spent much time on my own in the gym or thinking about exercise. My junior year of college, I had surgery to repair a torn hip labrum. It was roughly 4-6 months before I could return to dancing/exercise completely and I gained some unwanted weight. Even though I made it back close to what had been “my norm” during my senior year, post-grad brought on a whole slew of changes. Nobody tells you what happens to your body as you approach your mid-twenties and your metabolism just can’t keep up like it used to. After college, I struggled with maintaining a consistent and effective workout routine that I enjoyed. I was constantly discouraged that I wasn’t seeing changes in my physique that I thought I would be. After about a year and a half of this, I found Madz. 

What initially impressed me was how knowledgeable about fitness and nutrition she is, but then also how relatable and personable she felt. Given my active history, I started with her MusclesbyMadz Heavy subscription. These workouts challenged me so much from the very beginning. All my muscles were so sore in the best way possible (am I the only weirdo that enjoys that feeling?). I felt very motivated to go to the gym because I felt consistently challenged to progress. After about 3 months of the heavy subscription, I began a few months of her individual nutrition coaching. I previously thought I was fueling my body well for my lifestyle, but Madz taught me so much about my nutritional choices for my current goals. Throughout this entire process so far, Madz has been incredibly receptive to my feedback and available to answer all of my questions (and I had a lot ranging from weights in the gym to sleep patterns). All of her answers and advice were able to be specifically applied to my workouts and lifestyle. She has also been a huge supporter through a crazy phase of my life - including traveling for school interviews, working a physically demanding job, and moving back home. She supported my decisions to listen to my body on weeks that I felt like I couldn’t hit the gym five times due to exhaustion, but also encouraged me and helped me get back on track after these times. One of my biggest successes throughout this entire process is a shift in my body perception. Through working with Madz, I now get more excited about lifting heavier weights in the gym than seeing the number on the scale go down. I have also felt more comfortable in my skin this summer than I have in many years and Madz has been one of my biggest cheerleaders through all of this change.

Thank you, Madz, for sharing your knowledge and skills with me over the past 7 months. You are so passionate about what you do and teach. In a day and age where anyone can be a fitness influencer on social media, I am so blessed that I found someone as qualified as you are and I look forward to continuing to work with you!"- Madison

Where do I begin?! Perhaps I should start by saying that Madison’s (no, I’m not talking in third person here 😉) self-discipline and inquisitive nature made her such a dream to work with. These two characteristics that make someone so coachable create great opportunity for growth. Madison’s original commitment to the MBM Heavy Subscription really caught my attention as she communicated with me the ups and downs of how the MBM Heavy workouts were going for her. (Yes, I love hearing the “downs” too!) Through Madison sharing a few of her struggles with me, I was able to offer specific advice as to how to overcome them. Thankfully, the shared tactics worked! Madison also did a super job of sharing the “ups” of her workouts and the progress she was seeing, which enabled me to celebrate her successes with her! This type of communication – both troubleshooting to overcome barriers + affirming the positives – is so key to success with a workout regimen. However, it is only made possible when clients are consistent in sharing updates with me. Thank you, Madison, for allowing us to work together through such open communication! 😊

This open communication also aided our dietary efforts. Again, Madison was excellent about sharing what was going well and what was challenging about adapting her eating habits to meet her fueling needs. Sharing her challenges allowed us to brainstorm strategies to overcome them. For example, in order to increase her water intake, we employed several tactics: setting incremental water goals throughout the day, sleeping with her water bottle right next to her bed (ready to grab & go first thing in the morning), and intentionally taking a big gulp of water after each set during her workouts. To help ease her transition from living independently in an apartment to moving home in preparation for graduate school, we were able to discuss strategies (in advance) for continuing the healthful eating habits built on her own while being thrown into a mix of potential temptations, more family meals, and an altered daily schedule. Madison did an absolutely incredible job handling this transition and never wavering in her commitment to her healthy eating habits + exercise regimen. This is, in part, due to her intentionality with working so hard to build these strong habits prior to her move home, knowing it would be easier to have dietary and fitness structure in place ahead of time (rather than adding that to the list of numerous other changes at one time).

A final trait of Madison’s which I have so admired over the course of our work together has been her ability to give herself credit where credit is due!! This positivity goes such a long way. Madison credits herself for getting stronger (love hearing when she goes up in weight at the gym, or notices a new muscle popping!), for making healthful food choices (even when this means progress, rather than perfection), and for being able to recognize when her body is worn down and needs some active recovery in place of another strenuous workout (this can be quite difficult to do!). This trait of hers inspires me to highlight the positives more frequently, and I am very grateful for that!

I look forward to continuing to work with Madison through the MBM Heavy Subscription. If anyone wishes to join Madison in her MBM Heavy efforts, contact me with code “Madison10” for $10 off your first month of MBM Heavy! The more the merrier! 😊