barbELLE Fitness

I started Pt with Ellen because even though I was feeling quite confident with my body, I knew I could’ve done so much more for it and that I could’ve become a lot stronger. I was going to the gym for a few months at that point and I really wanted to know more as I was super shy with all the equipment. I have a past as a professional volleyball player and with an injury I really didn’t want to risk anything. Ellen was the only PT that looked the perfect balance between a super mean one (she’s not, but there are some! And it would’ve been demotivating for me) and the kindest person on earth. The human element to PT is the most important thing and throughout this year she’s always been so understanding of everything and supporting and caring.

Since the beginning PT has been so much more than a program: my lifestyle has changed (4 times a week in the gym and planning my social life around it and waking up at 6am if I couldn’t go at any other time ??????????) and my nutrition has been completely overturned. I thought I was eating fairly decent food, but I was very wrong. In this year I have been not only able to become A LOT stronger, but also be more conscious about how I treat my body. With only seeing Ellen once a week, the difference this year has made has been MAJOR. I would’ve never thought I would be here at this point, wanting to participate in a Powerlifting competition, Going on Hikes (ew, cardio) and looking at myself in the mirror and absolutely love the muscles I am building. I have even been recently able to effortlessly lift my 90kg 6’4” boyfriend while wearing heels, I mean, if that’s not proof of the change, I don’t know what is.\\\"
#INPERSONTRAINING #FEMALESTRENGTH #ITALIANFOODIE

I reached out to Ellen to get some help in my quest to start getting fit again. Working full time with small kids, it was never my priority to look after myself and that showed in my energy levels as well as on the scales.

I had always felt intimidated to seek out a PT, thinking it’s only for elite athletes. Ellen proved me wrong. During my first consultation, Ellen immediately put me at ease and I felt I could trust her.

Ellen’s positive attitude and belief in me made the journey so much easier – I look forward to my weekly sessions with her and she really motivates me to push myself further.

Since starting the program, I have made great progress. Not only physically, but also mentally. My self-confidence has increased, I am enjoying fitness again and love working out. As an added bonus, my whole family has benefitted from the healthy meal plans, active lifestyle and not to mention, a happier mum to have fun with.
Thanks Ellen !”
#ONLINECOACHING #SUPERMUM #MARATHONNOTSPRINT

I started PTing because I wasnt happy with my image and I had low energy, generally feeling bad about myself.

I choose Ellen, because I did some of her classes and I\'ve enjoyed them. She didn\'t make me feel like I was bad being a beginner and I liked her “can do” attitude.

I have been with Ellen for almost a year and the reason that I have stuck with her, is that she understands my capabilities and she knows when to push me. I can see the results with Ellen and she makes me feel more like a friend and I can achieve results that I want.

I have lost 10KG since I started and now Im working on gaining muscles so that number should decrease but for the right reasons. (Muscle is heavier that fat). I feel stronger and I have more energy to feel a lot better about myself. I see my body shape changing and my posture is a lot better, this all sets me up to a better life. I work in a desk job and the better posture is helping me prevent back issues.

Ellen has me doing a 4 day per week workout program and I am training with her 1 to 2 times a week.

I think PT sessions with Ellen is a great investment in your mental and physical health. If you were struggling like I was this time last year you would see and feel the difference working with Ellen.
#INPERSONTRAINING #MALESTRENGTH #MALEFATLOSS #MALEMENTALHEALTH

As someone who suffered regularly with sciatic pain, building core strength was a central goal for me.

Since I began training with Ellen twice a week, I have become stronger and there has been a huge improvement in my pain levels.

I haveve also seen an improvement in my self-confidence, which I attribute to Ellens knowledge and communication which, when combined with her compassion and drive, have pushed me to find and reach my limits. I have, and will continue, to appreciate her training and would recommend her to anyone.
#INPERSONTRAINING #FEMALECONFIDENCE #FEMALESTRENGTH #PAINFREE

I started training with Ellen a little over a year ago. I loved going to her classes in the gym because while she pushed you it was not done aggressively or made you feel silly. She encouraged you to take everything at your own pace (within reason) and corrected your technique. I didn\\\\\\\'t really have a lot of weight to lose but definitely needed to tone and as I’ve gotten older I began to understand the importance of making my body strong to cope with aging. ​

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Ellen encourages constantly, builds me up mentally, listens to me moaning and more importantly has helped me change my attitude to the gym, lifting weights and staying fit and healthy (physically, emotionally and mentally).I would definitely recommend Ellen to anyone looking to gain muscle, knowledge and a friend. ​

I’ve been overweight my whole adult life and a few years ago had some issues with my heath, which prompted me to seek help. I had been training with a PT before, so it was natural to do that again. ​
I found Ellen through the gym website and something about her introduction appealed to me over the others. I’ve been very happy with that decision ever since. ​
Sometimes I’ve seen her weekly, sometimes monthly, but we’ve stayed in touch for over a year now. At the start of this year my partner joined me on this journey towards healthier life and during covid lockdown we accomplished the best results so far. Ellen helped us with body, mind and nutrition. ​
My journey is far from over, but it’s a lot easier with Ellen’s advice. She has taught me to concentrate on positive over negative and to be proud of what I’ve achieved so far. I’ve lost over 10kg, but what’s more important is that I’m healthier and happier. I would definitely recommend Ellen to anyone who’s looking to make a change and take control of their own life!.
#ONLINECOACHING #FATLOSS #COUPLESTRAINING #HEALTHYEATING​

I was interested in learning more about nutrition. I am a yo-yo dieter. Most people know if you restrict your calories youll lose weight- but its hard to keep it off. I was looking for help in a more realistic and sustainable approach. There is a lot more to it than simply restricting how much you eat - and who ever manages to stick to that method anyway?​
I expected the course to teach about macros and nutrients but there was a lot of other topics covered and a lot of tools, techniques for assisting with kitchen architecture, shopping, planning, meal prep, stress & sleep management, setting goals and understanding more realistic & achievable outcomes.​
My biggest takeaway is understanding energy balance and adjusting calories as you lose weight making it more sustainable long term. Understanding that you can weigh so differently on the scales depending on the time of day or month and weather you are perhaps building muscle doing weights etc. I will be keeping the material, notes and homework to refer to and keep me on track for what I have learned.​
My fav week was probably meal planning! Sharing my shopping list and explaining my meals. I have done this a few times since. I check what I have, decide what meals I want and build my shopping list around that. There are always options - I cant know what I want to eat 4 or 5 days away! ​
The layout of the course was excellent. There were some topics that surprised me but they were all connected. The workshop presented a new topic each week where homework was given to implement what you learned. A one-on-one follow up each week gave you the chance to demonstrate what you did and you would identify more tasks or tweaks to make for the following week. This was helpful as everyone is so different so you got tailored advise and questions thrown at you! ​
My weight is heading in the right direction, I am motivated again, I have purchased my 1st bathroom scales, I have photos & measurements I need to improve on. I have lots of new daily actions in place to help me implement the skills I need to achieve the goals I have set. I have the material, homework and journal notes recorded to keep up the lifestyle change. Ellen is very knowledgeable in both nutrition and personal training and I have used her for both & cannot recommend her highly enough..
#ONLINECOACHING #NUTRITIONCOACHING #FATLOSS #HEALTHYEATING​

I wanted to learn more about nutrition so I could make more sensible food choices.​
The biggest takeaway for me was the photos / images of individuals that were all the same weight but all completely different shaped, totally emphases where your body composition makes a huge difference to what you look like and the scales shouldnt be the priority. ​
My favourite week was a mixture of the 5 why Exercise and the stress session, drawing out exactly what your goals are was extremely useful. For the stress session I was delighted to here that I had used a lot of the content in a a conversation I faced in work a few weeks previous. The additional information I got will help in preparing for potential conversations in the future, forewarned is forearmed as they say!!​
I thought the layout and delivery was excellent with ample time on both the group sessions and the individual sessions for questions. ​
Absolutely I will be more conscious now of my protein intake and how I need to consciously work to increase it. I plan to revisit my food journal 3/4 days every month as a double check to ensure I am maintaining this. I also plan to revisit my notes and the slides in the coming weeks to ensure I didnt miss anything, finally spend a little more time working on my values.​
#ONLINECOACHING #NUTRITIONCOACHING #HEALTHYAGING #HEALTHYEATING​

Hello year 2019! This year I’m going to hit the gym and go for more runs. ​
Heard that one before? Yea, me too! ​
Only that this time I knew empty promises wouldn’t do the trick and I knew I needed someone by my side to coach and motivate me to get closer to my goals. I dragged a friend along and two days later we were scheduled with Ellen to have our first PT session, last year January 2019. ​
From the beginning, Ellen asked questions not only to get to know you but to make you see clearly what motivates you. ​
Since that first session Ellen played a massive role during a year that couldn’t have been more eventful. Times of sweat, laughter and tears (cliche but so true!). In July then I found out I was expecting, and Ellen got stuck into pregnancy exercise for me and did lots of research. ​
My partner Ian then also joined our PT sessions and I continued training with Ellen until Christmas. Ian is still training with Ellen today and with her flexibility and commitment she had a huge impact on how we experienced lock down while having a newborn. ​
It’s been one and a half years of sharing our journey with Ellen and it’s going to continue. ​
To me Ellen is body & soul and I can only recommend you start your own journey with her. ​
#INPERSONTRAINING #EXERCISEANDPREGNANCY #COUPLESTRAINING​

I’ve been training in person with Ellen for about 10 months now. I started with my girlfriend initially doing light weights and cardio sessions.​
I lost some body fat and then started to get interested in building muscle and strength, so Ellen continued to train myself & my partner but adjusted her approach so we both got what we needed. She even balanced our differing training programmes when Pia was pregnant.​
2020 has been a busy year between buying a house & becoming a Dad [all during COVID!] Ellen has kept me on track through it all without forcing me to restrict food or take huge amounts of time out of my day. ​
She keeps me accountable and pushes me when I’m slacking…. but in a sound way.​
#INPERSONTRAINING #EXERCISEANDPREGNANCY #COUPLESTRAINING​

I have been very overweight since my teens and in October 2019 the time was right to start shredding the extra weight. I had been in gyms before but could not focus continuously. I met Ellen, a very motivating and more importantly kind individual. She has helped me lose loads of weight!​
Ellen has a unique way of making me motivated to work out and is always helpful in maintaining my physical & mental health. She has a very unique way of talking to you too which helps to put more effort in without realizing it!​
Ellen has a great understanding of anatomy and nutrition . I do one session a week with Ellen but she then gives me extra sessions I can do by myself. In lockdown, we did 2 sessions per week which was very helpful to keep mental stress out.​
In 10months, I have lost 25 to 30cm off my belly, my posture has improved, back pain is less and I am more energetic than before.​
#INPERSONTRAINING #MALEFATLOSS #MENTALHEALTH

I am a cyclist more specific Cross Country Mountain Biking (XC), Before I came to Ireland, I used to compete in Brazil, and I used to train 3 to 4 days a week, plus 3 times a week at the gym. I had a nutritionist and I was in good shape. ​
I then moved to Ireland and started a new challenge. A different climate and completely different trails made me start to learn again. I was feeling different here and I could not achieve the same performance I had in Brazil. During COVID19 quarantine I decided to ask for some home workouts focused on cycling & also seek help with my diet. ​
I already knew Ellen because she is my wife’s PT, and I knew she was good because my wife has had good results. ​
My initial idea was to loose 5 kg and to get better on the bike. For the last two months I’ve followed Ellen’s training programme at home. I have a program that is 3 days session workout specific for cyclist and a specific cycling program which I just think is amazing. ​
The food part is interesting, I was completely wrong about my diet. Before I used to eat very little, and now that Ellen adjusted my diet, I am eating more and losing weight. ​
I have no doubt that I am in my best shape ever. I lost 5,5 kg, I have low fat body and my performance on the bike is getting better and better. I am felling super good.​
#8WEEKPROGRAMME #BRAZILIANMOUNTAINBIKER #EATMORE

I was never much into exercise. I first joined the gym when I was in Brazil, but due to the lack of knowledge and motivation I gave up pretty quick. ​

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About a year and half ago I moved to Ireland and after settling down I decided to join the gym again, and stick with it this time.​

This whole universe was new to me, so I decided I should have a PT and I met Ellen. After our first chat I could see the passion she has for her job, and I decided to hire her as my PT. I really needed the push!​

Almost a year (and a pandemic) after I can see so much change in me. I couldn’t be happier with the progress we are making together. I am much happier with the way I look and with the strength I gained along the way. I know where I am coming from and where I am going to.​

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With Ellen’s help I can set for myself achievable goals and celebrate each one of them. She keeps me motivated even on the days all I want is to give up.​

Training once a week with Ellen is so good that is something I look forward , the workouts are enjoyable and are not repetitive what makes me enjoy going to the gym, something I never thought I would do!”​
#INPERSONTRAINING #FEMALESTRENGTH #BRAZILIANBELLE ​

I started training with Ellen shortly after lockdown began. With gyms closed, I was looking for online workouts and heard about Ellen’s Instagram page through a mutual friend. When I realized Ellen was offering virtual PT training via Zoom I reached out to her and began training with a friend twice a week. I’m based in NYC but we found a time that worked!​

She always pushes you to work a little harder than you think possible. When I lift a lighter weight, she’ll notice right away (even on Zoom!) and ask me to try a heavier weight, even just for the first few reps. She keeps things interesting by changing the workouts while still getting you to do more reps than the last session, sometimes without even realising.”​

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One of the best things about the training for me, has been the nutritional side. I never took protein, fibre, etc into consideration but I have learned so much in the past few months from Ellen and these are habits I will stick with (hopefully!). She breaks it down and doesn’t make it seem so daunting a task to try to get everything you need into your diet.​

She goes above and beyond and really cares, I would highly recommend her to anyone!
#ONLINECOACHING #NEWYORKNEWYORK #FEMALEFATLOSS

I had wanted to make a change for a healthier lifestyle for a while but like most people I had always felt way too intimidated to join the gym and put it off for so long.​

I met Ellen when she came to the café I work at and after chatting a bit I knew that I would feel comfortable to train with her. She knew I was anxious about getting started and she took time to ease me in and focused not only on fitness, strength and nutrition but on my confidence and over coming my fear of the gym.​

I train with Ellen twice a week and could not recommend her enough. I’ve seen so much changes in myself physically and mentally and I have a much better understanding of the nutritional side of things too.”
#INPERSONTRAINING #FEMALECONFIDENCE #CHEESEPLEASE

I have trained with Ellen for one day a week the past year and a half. I was always very active and like most country girls grew up around sports, but with increasing demands of work and the added pressure of completing a Masters Degree in the evenings, I was finding it difficult to commit time to training.​

Ellen helped me to find balance, consistency and to appreciate all progress, (no matter how small). The biggest change since training with Ellen is with my mindset. I would often get frustrated if I didn’t see immediate results, but I have come a long way from where I started, and somehow managed to keep juggling everything else in life. ​

Ellen has adapted my programme to suit my changing needs, to allow me to keep training in a safe way throughout different stages of pregnancy.​

Ellen made going to train a lot easier with her infectious positivity and energy, even at 6am on Monday mornings it was hard not to be full of life!
#INPERSONTRAINING #FEMALE STRENGTH #MASTERJUGGLER #PREGNANCY​

For years, between work and life in general, I wasn’t doing anything to take care of myself. ​

I always knew that exercising was important, both physically and more importantly mentally, but the gym was an intimidating place and weight lifting didn’t seem appealing at all. One year ago I decided to look for a Pt to get started and this is how Ellen came into my life. Best decision I made in a long time! ​

Ellen’s passion, energy and positivity are contagious. I do two sessions a week with her, and no matter how much Ellen pushes me, they are so much fun! My body has changed: I’ve gained in strength, my muscles are more defined, but more importantly, I’ve learn to believe in myself. ​

I truly believe these changes are thanks to Ellen’s unique approach to wellbeing which is a holistic one (exercising, nutrition, lifestyle coaching, mental health and much more) I feel extremely lucky to have Ellen as my PT and will forever be grateful for everything she’s brought to me.