Personal Performance Management (PPM) is a personal training gym located in the heart of Teaneck, New Jersey. PPM’s ultimate goal is to help its clients and community achieve their fitness goals and help them create healthier lifestyles. Elana Lieber took a leap of faith when joining PPM, ready to take better care of herself. She cycled through years of fad diets only to regain the weight that she’d lost. Starting a new journey through weight training and nutritional awareness has never felt better as Elana strives to be her best self. She is now eager to help others along their journeys. Here is Elana’s story on how she joined the PPM community:
My goal was to become stronger. Pretty simple. I had not given any thought to weight, body mass or nutrition. I just wanted to get through each day feeling that my body had the strength and stamina to support me from early morning until late evening as I went to work, ran errands and lived my life. I was getting used to middle age, but I didn’t want to get used to feeling too weak to carry groceries, too tired to make dinner or make it to the ending credits of a movie.
So I signed up for a free training session at Personal Performance Management. I already knew I wanted to book a few sessions with a trainer. What I didn’t realize was how it would change my life.
I started training twice a week. Basic weights, lunges, squats, crunches. Nothing crazy. But soon I realized that to become strong, I would need to understand how my body worked, what it needed more of, what it needed less of, and what my role would be in this process. My time at PPM didn’t just teach me how to strengthen my muscles, it taught me how to live. I learned about nutrition, specifically how to plan basic meals that tasted great and were satisfying. I started carrying around a refillable water bottle and chugged away throughout the day. I learned the value of walking, even when there was a car available. It didn’t just contribute to my increased strength, it allowed me the time to breathe, think, appreciate and wonder.
PPM accommodated my full-time work schedule, and the proximity to home made this new hobby a convenience.
After a few days I realized that I actually looked forward to my training sessions. I loved the way I could work a specific muscle using different exercises and machines each time. The workouts kept changing, and exercises felt fresh and unexpected.
After a couple of weeks, I left my car at home and started walking to and from work daily. I loved that my body could get me where I needed to go. I had my own transportation.
After a short while I realized that my clothes no longer fit. I wish I could say that I loved the idea of buying a new wardrobe, but shopping is not my thing. However, I certainly loved the reason for needing one.
After not too long, I was strong.
I loved my new metabolism. And after a couple of months, I realized that I could use all that I learned to help others. People like me. People who are ready to take a small step and see where it goes. I am now a certified personal trainer. I continue to practice what I preach, work out regularly, walk to work, eat planned, nutritious and tasty meals, and chug away at my water bottle. Only now, I am using my experience to help others reach their goals. If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to PPM for a free assessment. Who knows? Maybe all you want to do is become strong. That’s all I wanted. What I got was a completely new chapter of life, one that I never realized I would love.
Elana Lieber is a part-time personal trainer at Personal Performance Management at 349 Cedar Lane, on the corner of Palisades Avenue and Cedar Lane. For a FREE training session call 973-460-9677 or sign up online at personalperformancemanagement.com*
