The Fitness Lab

07/21/2026

This page will be deleted soon! If you aren't already following me on instagram, go now! That's where my main business page will be. Little by little I'm moving off of FB.

Insta: the_fitness_lab_llc

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06/14/2026

Today's PT consisted of lying leg lifts, side lying leg lifts, and rear leg lifts, 3x10 each. Then I did weight shifting from right to left. Finally, walking, heel to toe, with full extension and flexion (as best I can).

4 weeks post op on Tuesday and back walking. Still a long 5-9 more months til I'm FULL activity, but I'm here. I made it. The worst is over.

It's doable. Anyone can get thru this surgery with the right people around you to help you physically and mentally. It's HARD!! One of the hardest things I've had to do in my life besides divorce and raising 2 kids on my own.

Sometimes life throws curveballs. At other times the universe puts a hurdle in our way. Every so often, we get a BIG ASS BOULDER dropped on our life, and we gotta adjust. It doesn't have to be easy, and it doesn't have to be pretty, but we gotta make it through.

Happy to be on the other side of this one.

05/29/2026

RECAP of how we started, for any new faces in the group.

Hi! My name is Terri. I am the founder/owner of The Fitness Lab. I can't believe I started The Lab 6 years ago! 

When I began training, in my early 20's, I was training athletes, and more advanced lifters. Helping people lose fat and build muscle was empowering. I loved training. I burnt out tho. Physically and mentally.

I went on to get my MSW/LSW, got married and had my first kid. From there I became a SAHM of 2, and then a divorced, unemployed mom of 2 with so many health issues (medically and physically). I always remained consistent in the gym over the years. My kids will tell you they were raised in Bally/LA Fitness kids club.

Fast Forward to 6 years ago. I was a preschool teacher who had been thru 12 surgeries. Colon resection, hysterectomy, 2 c sections, meniscus repair, cervical spine disc replacement, and more. My discs were degenerating faster than normal for my age. Lower lumbar stenosis, cervical stenosis, neuropathy, fibromyalgia, and auto immune disease were constant hurdles I had to "fight thru".

I had to relearn how to move correctly and beneficially. Lighten my loads, change my programming, adjust my nutrition for better body fuel and recovery. In this process I fell back in love with training. But this time, I wasn't interested in the athletes and advanced weightlifters. I wanted to train everyday people that felt they couldn't lose weight or get stronger because of physical limitations, diagnoses, neurodiversity, or age.

It's not always about looking like instagram models, or having 10% body fat. It's not about 6 pack abs. (Although it's a nice goal to have!) It's not about being skinny.
What is IS about is:

Strong bones

Maintaining muscle mass for mobility and agility, longevity, as well as strength (plus it's fun to flex your muscles! It's ok to like it.)

Regulating hormones as we age (especially peri-menopausal to post menopausal women (or humans with a uterus).

Managing mental health

Finding someone who can cue you in ways you can understand and process. Because belly button to spine really makes no sense to some. (Me included) But stacking your hips, ribs and shoulders does.

Having an accountability partner to keep you consistent. I will never get a workout done really when I'm by myself. I have to schedule my time for myself and go to another gym to work out so that I feel like I had an appointment. Accountability is important and some people need help and that is OK.

A safe space to get vulnerable about weight loss. And be encouraged on NSV (Non Scale Victories)

Helping people find a healthy lifestyle that THEY can remain consistent at, instead of society's diet culture.

It's about being more physically independent as we age, not who has a smaller waist line, or bigger butt (although it's not bad to want to those things...I do!)

It's about loving how you feel from working out and changing your body, not how others love your body. 

The Lab is where we find the recipe, spell, potion, or programming,?and encouragement you need to start your health journey. Building bodies one muscle at a time.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading. Now go hydrate and get your steps in! (😉)

03/12/2026

is created. You want something, YOU gotta make it happen. You MAKE the motivation. The want, the desire, the goal should be the motivation. I always ask my clients, "what's your WHY?" WHY are you wanting a trainer. WHY are you starting your health journey now?

This applies to all things in life. The only one standing in our way of accomplishing our goals is ourselves. is more important than motivation. If you have discipline, you won't lack motivation (most of the time).

Find your why. It can be your kids, longevity, get off meds, reverse diabetes, or because you want to change your body comp....ALL are great reasons, if they are important to you.

Just get out there. One step at a time. One exercise at a time. One day at a time. Once you get started, I promise you'll keep coming back because you will FEEL great.

Today's dance interlude (slide #2) brought to you by sleep deprivation, caffeine, w**d, and determination to condition my body for this competition. Enjoy...and yes, I know I will get s**t for it, and I'm armed and ready!! Lmao 🙃

03/01/2026

02/21/2026

Lower back always working overtime?
Your glutes might not be showing up.
Did you know strong glutes take pressure off your spine? That's their job.
Did you also know that foot placement and weight distribution also play a big role in glute activation and strength?

No...you don't have to go lifting 400 pounds in the gym and build a BBL looking b***y in order to strengthen your glutes and take the pressure off your back. Check out these slides and learn how to perfect your form, and why working your glutes is important for proper body mechanics and decreasing pain in lower lumbar spine.

Start with some of the basics like squats, deadlifts, hip hinges, glute bridges, kickbacks, donkey kicks, banded bridges, and lateral lifts/steps. Start body weight and gradually increase the weight as your reps progress.

REMEMBER: FORM OVER WEIGHT EVERY-TIME! And if you ever have any questions or are unsure of what you're seeing in reading, message me, I'm happy to help.

We only get one body. Aging is something that we can't control and we can't avoid. But we can definitely age with the strongest most agile body. We can have if we dedicate the time and the consistency to our movement and exercise.

02/01/2026

FEBRUARY has begun! Still time to get your fitness on! Join us at The LAB where you can have fun while getting fit in a private setting with state of the art equipment, and a safe space to accomplish your fitness goals! I'm a certified personal trainer with certain in corrective exercise and pain free movement, as well as a very in health coaching. We offer 30 min, 45 min, and 60 min sessions. EVERY fitness level is welcome.

At The Lab, we don't preach diet and societal body culture. We are here to help YOU reach YOUR goals in a way that supports your needs. Message me today to get more info!

Never too late to start getting healthier.

01/18/2026

One thing about me, I hate being kept down. I want the choice to not move. I don't want anything stopping me from doing so. ESPECIALLY injury.

This past week has really challenged me in that way. I got concussed Monday night and didn't realize it until Wednesday. Even though my head hurt, and even though I felt wonky, I thought it was just because of the headache. I didn't have any other symptoms of concussion to worry about. The bruising and the swelling wasn't that bad to the eye, so I let it go. I lifted legs on Tuesday and it was a great workout despite being concussed. BUT...By Tuesday night, the vision in my right eye diminished in my peripheral. Even though I was cleared to work out today, I set my alarms for p.m. rather than a.m., and instead of waking up at 5 o'clock in the morning as I usually do with or without an alarm, I didn't wake up until almost 9:30 when my dog was letting me know she needed to go outside.

This past week has been a bit of a blur. Aside from my new car I really don't remember a lot of of it. I hate feeling this way. I have spent much of my life being very much in control or at least attempting to be lol.

I'm sharing this as a reminder to my Fit Fam, that rest in recovery is extremely important. We need to retrain our brains to not be so hard on ourselves when we need to take that time to rest and recover. I need to do that as well.

This is a bit of the routine I did today in lieu of a workout. I made sure because my back is hurting to prioritize mobility and stretching so that I can ease my way back into lifting this coming week.

If we don't take care of our bodies, when they are letting us know, they're in need of extra care, we're never gonna be able to make our goals because we'll keep having injuries interrupt the journey. We get one body and we get one life.