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FITNESS
Meet Michelle Dwyer, Personal Trainer Group Fitness Tutorial
Michelle’s love for fitness began when she enlisted Monday, Oct. 12 at 9:45 a.m., CC
in the Army 25 years ago. During that time she got In the Group Fitness
in top physical shape, received Soldier of the Year Tutorial, Sun City
honors, and earned extremely high scores on her Texas Fitness Director
physical training tests. She hasn’t stopped exercis- Michelle Mason will
ing since. answer your questions
• NASM Certified Personal Trainer about group fitness
• NASM Certified Corrective Exercise Specialist classes. If you want
• Master of Business Administration, Texas
A&M University, Central Texas more information about the classes offered,
• Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, which class is right for you and how to get
National University, La Jolla, California started, join us!
• Proud Army Veteran
• Published Business and Finance Content Contributor Kay Riley
for Demand Media Studios, Santa Monica, California
Personal Trainer: Michelle Dwyer
Athlete of the Month
ONLINE: SCTEXAS.ORG
By Lynda Dufour
When Kay Riley bid farewell to her longtime career as Senior Vice
President of a division of Siemen AG in Chicago, she began exercising
up to three hours a day, four days a week and got into the best shape of
her life doing a mix of Jazzersize, water aerobics, strength training, and walking.
It’s a good thing she liked to workout, because she absolutely hated retirement.
“I really didn’t want to retire,” says Kay, wistfully. “I truly loved my job. Not
just the responsibilities and the feeling I was making a difference, but the
fact that it was very goal oriented. And I loved the travel. I traveled to our 102
locations in the United States and Canada and also to many places in Europe.”
When the time came, Kay and husband John mapped out equal distances
from one child in Denver and another in Atlanta. The pin landed near Sun
City Texas, where Kay made good use of the well-equipped fitness center and
group exercise classes. Her balance of free time and exercise worked well until
bouts of pneumonia and shingles were followed by a fall at home that left her
with a broken femur and a fractured pelvis. That, plus knee replacements,
led to dependency on a walker.
“It’s been a real pain,” says Kay, still fiercely independent at 70-something.
Unable to build strength safely on her own, Kay turned to Sun City personal
trainer Michelle Dwyer for help. Her primary goal, she says, is to be off the
walker when her first great grandchild arrives in October. Her long-term goal
is to regain full mobility and self-sufficiency. “Michelle is a great trainer,” says
Kay, who goes for personal training three times a week. “She watches out
so I don’t overdo it but also pushes me to do better. Since I’ve been working
with her, I can move better with my walker. She even has me walking a bit
holding weights to simulate the walker.”
“Kay works extremely hard – even when she wants to quit,” says Michelle, who
contends that a personal trainer can help a client set goals, develop a plan,
and eliminate confusion from a workout. She begins each hour-long session
with Kay working to strengthen hip flexors, glutes, adductors, and abductors.
“We end with a strong core workout and Kay walks unassisted, increasing
the distance at each session.” she notes. “Kay is committed to working with
her trainer for the long haul, and she has already begun to see benefits and
changes in her body and mind.”
32 | SUNRAYS OCTOBER 2015
