Personal training without the boot camp intimidation

Relationships with personal fitness trainers do not need to end with personal horror stories and it's the antithesis to that stigma which Michelle Dumovich strives to provide each and every one of her clients.

Operating as the M.D. Complete Fitness Pilates and Wellness Center out of her Trinity-area office in the Bradford Professional Plaza, 2200 Seven Springs Boulevard, Suites 113 and 114, Dumovich offers individuals of all walks the type of training that gets results without overbearing anxieties that turn many off.

"The first thing that I do is I reassure the client that they're in a safe environment with a safe, knowledgeable teacher who is going to guide them through their exercises," said Dumovich, who has more than 10 years of experience in the fitness and wellness field. "Ideally I'll start off with basic can-do movements that I know they're going to get really good gratification doing to build confidence."

With certifications in Pilates, nutrition, sports medicine, neuromuscular physiology, yoga and other related fitness fields, Dumovich is capable of designing programs for a wide range of individuals, regardless of experience or physical limitations.

Many of her regular clients are people with ailments such as fibromyalgia, arthritic bursitis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Often it is the people approaching her with preexisting physical conditions who harbor the greatest reservations about personal training, knowing that they require individual attention.

Marci Flatt, a Dumovich client for more than two years, experienced overbearing, less-informed personal trainers who could not create regimens that agreed with her as someone living with Crohn's disease, an inflammatory gastrointestinal ailment.

It has been Dumovich's invariably positive approach, thoroughness and understanding that keeps Flatt coming back.

"I love Michelle's energy," Flatt said. "That's what does it for me because I'm a really positive person. She just has a way with me with her passion and her energy, I feed off of that. I can never not have her in my life at this point because of what she brings to me."

Dumovich focuses her 30- or 60-minute sessions with work on the Pilates Reformer. The piece of resistance equipment helps develop core strength, alignment and flexibility.

Pilates on the Reformer is what helps Dumovich reach out and help such a wide scope of clientele, be it those with physical conditions or those simply wanting to shed a few pounds leading up to beach season.

"The flexibility on this machine is the most incredible thing I personally have experienced," she said. "My clients get a great workout and get results safely because this machine will never misalign the body or the hips or joints. There's no trauma and there's no impact; it's awesome."

Russell Alonzo, 58, has been seeing Dumovich regularly now for a short time and is already reaping the physical benefits.

"In just a few months I have gained back the flexibility and energy I haven't experienced in years," he said.

It's those types of reactions that keep feeding her desire and love of fitness and helping others attain higher levels of health, she said.

"Even if it's just to watch a few people smile. I have a client that says, 'You know, Michelle, I just come here because you make me laugh.' It's that. It's social. It's connecting with people rather than just somebody reading something on Facebook or Twitter. It's that human touch that keeps me going."

While working with more than 50 clients per week in either one-on-one or one-one-two sessions, Dumovich is ever ready to help assist those in the community trying to meet personal fitness goals.

"I'm always looking to take the business to a higher ground for my clients," she said. "My clients have been very loyal, they're awesome people and this is a great town."