Body Movin’
A local personal trainer turned to TRX to lose baby weight, and she has never looked back.
For Emily Frischhertz — a native of Des Allemands, Louisiana, and a personal trainer at M Fit on Canal Street — health and fitness was always top of mind. However, it wasn’t until after her second child was born that she landed in her first TRX class as a way to rid herself of the extra baby weight. “In 2010, I became certified for group fitness, working in many gyms as a trainer,” she says. “Eventually I wanted my own clients to work with on a one-on-one basis, and I completed my certification in personal training and returned to school to study exercise physiology.”
After working at multiple locations over a period of four years, Frischhertz’s group training classes were quickly filling up and her personal client business was taking off. At that point, she decided that she needed her own space to insure the integrity of her services for each and every client’s individual needs.
She went on to open M Fit in an old, quaint New Orleans-style building, offering a variety of TRX suspension training that covers foundational movements in different formats and multiple modalities. “This method is built to be safe and effective for every level of fitness,” Frischhertz says. “I find working out in multiple planes of motion to be cognitively stimulating, helping people grow and make connections to their multilevel, 360-degree everyday lives.”
M Fit is unique thanks to the small group training and personalized service. “Small group training assures quality control in our classes by creating a one-on-one experience within even a group setting and allows our trainers to know each client personally, by name, and make modifications for each individual’s needs,” Frischhertz says. “As part of this rapport, we offer physiology assessments and fitness tests to monitor progress along the way.”
As for Frischhertz’s personal diet and exercise routine, she eats a variety of fresh foods mainly consisting of fruits, vegetables and lean proteins. “My schedule is packed with eight hours of demonstrating and motivating clients to continue to pursue their maximum level of training, followed by errands and shuffling my kids to one practice or another, cooking and cleaning,” she says. “I find the time to add in a dedicated hour to my own workouts at least three days per week. I usually combine TRX and kettlebell exercises for my own workouts.”
On Staying Motivated
“My biggest motivation is pursuing what feels good — and not having aches and pains, staying young, maintaining a physique I am proud of and comfortable in makes me feel good,” Frischhertz says. “Making it a part of my weekly, and then daily interaction with myself (and sometimes with a group, a friend or my husband to add accountability and fun) really helped me to stay on track when I was starting this journey. Now I’ve come to understand the end result is always a work in progress and cannot be attained overnight. Motivation and joy can be found in the small results that become part of the new you.”
Her Fuel
“My favorite foods are eggs, edamame, fish and my homemade fruit smoothies,” Frischhertz says. “What’s great about these foods is their high level of protein, which is necessary to fuel up pre-workout, prevent injuries, build muscle and burn fat. I can live without ice cream and snack food, but I have to have Mardi Gras king cake when it comes around, and I’ve been known to indulge in an extra glass of Champagne once in a while!”
Success Story
“My greatest client success story is a 57-year-old man who was considered morbidly obese based on his body mass index — who was also HIV positive and taking immunology medicine, blood pressure medicine and a slew of other medications — and he did not have the ability to touch his toes when we began working together,” Frischhertz says. “Now he has been taken off of his cholesterol medicine for over a year and has gained so much strength — able to do handstand pushups in the TRX straps — that he has switched to an even more intense Crossfit workout.”
Wise Words
“Find an exercise that you enjoy,” Frischhertz says. “There are many types of exercise routines out there. If you’re doing one you hate, you’re not going to be successful at it and will likely quit. The same is true for hiring a personal trainer: You want someone you enjoy working with, who’s reliable and personally invested in your growth. Realize this is long-term, and you want a trainer who honors and respects your commitment to health and fitness — and who will work with you over time.” 5590 Canal Blvd., (504) 644-4953, mfitstudio.com