Michelle Van Rooyen is an online health and fitness coach. She also does a little bit of personal training on the side. Michelle also does fitness modeling for clothing, supplements and food. She loves promoting up-and-coming brands that she feels her online community should know about. Outside of her daily work duties, Michelle’s goal is to try to make a positive impact on people through social media. “If I could motivate just one person to make a positive behavior change per day that would make me feel successful,” Michelle says.
“The income bracket, skin color, gender, religion, culture, upbringing and country we are born into is out of our control. There is one thing in life that I have full control of and that is my body. What I put into it, how hard I push it is all up to me. I can either complain about my shortcomings or I can make up for it in some other way.” –Michelle Van Rooyen
Start
Michelle has gathered a decent amount of knowledge and experience from her own studies and training that has become valuable to others. “I love being able to share what has helped me in my journey with others,” Michelle says. For Michelle, personal training and fitness modeling started off as a student job. As her passions for the industry grew, a student job turned into a career.
One of the reasons Michelle grew such a deep passion for fitness was due to a personal obstacle that fitness helped her overcome. “My biggest obstacle has been my hereditary low Serotonin levels. This is the chemical in your brain that keeps you happy. My family has very low levels and so exercising is the only thing that helps me get the happy endorphins I need to stay positive and excited about life. If I miss a training day the tears come rolling for small issues and so I am happy to say that I am completely addicted to exercising to overcome this issue. I am against any drugs and so exercise is my life,” Michelle says.
Mind Over Matter
One of the keys to Michelle’s success is that she knows the importance of being mentally strong and that’s what she encourages others to do. “Things don’t always go as planned. If your plan changes, roll with it and don’t allow yourself to give up if you feel hopeless. You are capable of more than you know, just persevere,” Michelle declares. Her mental toughness is certainly what has helped her overcome tough obstacles that she has had to face. “Seeing results comes from doing something consistently. If you are not committed or have the self-discipline to do what you should be doing even when you don’t feel like it then success will be very tricky,” Michelle says.
Advice
Where should they focus most of their energy to get the most bang for their proverbial buck?
Weight training is the most beneficial if you were to focus on just one thing. It is great for bone density, fat loss, metabolism and shaping the body.
What three pieces of fitness equipment should everyone have?
Jump rope, Thera band, Kettlebell.
In your opinion, what are the most overrated and underrated exercises?
Overrated exercise: Squats
Underrated: Flexibility training
What are your go-to snacks when you’re on the run?
Almonds/fruit
What are your beliefs on performance diet like? Do you prescribe to a particular philosophy on diet (example: Paleo, Gluten free, etc…)?
Everything natural-Lactose, gluten, sugar, alcohol free! Only put in your body what you can pick or kill-no processing
Can you share a workout session that you routinely do in the gym?
3-6 sets 10-15 reps
Thera band step outs, lunges, Kettlebell hip thrusts, box jumps
