Marcia Siegel

When I began seeing Michael Cummings I had been to a physical therapist who specialized in sports therapy and he had told me that I would never be able to do yoga, paddle a canoe, hike, roller blade, cross country ski and the list went on. Since I had just begun teaching yoga, raced outrigger canoes, and basically I socialized via my outside sports interests I went into a deep depression facing the prospect of being forced to be sedentary. All of this was due to a MRI which showed that I had six herniated discs, scoliosis and osteo-arthritis in the spine.

Weeks later I got into an orthopoedic surgeon who was holistically oriented and I was encouraged to work with a trainer, get massage and acupuncture, do gentle yoga and he authorized me to work with Michael Cummings because he was so qualified.

Michael had lots to do. I was in back pain, limited movement, emotional and physical depression from the lack of enjoying my usual type of workouts plus my self-confidence and body self image was at an all time low. Mike assessed the situation and we began working together twice a week. Not only did my back pain diminish, but I began to notice a huge shift in my body weight. I began complaining and laughing about the fact that my gym shorts were falling down due to weight loss and I was getting compliments for my “guns” which translates to long, lean muscle mass in my arms. I went down a few dress sizes, threw out my scale and would only let Michael weigh me.

I had worked with other skilled trainers in the past, but I never had results like I did with Michael. He was patient with me, forced me to look in those blessed mirrors which I abhorred, got me on a program for life which included incorporating my dog walking and building up the areas in the body to allow me to return to my sports.

I began working with Michael merely as a means to alleviate the chronic pain and avoid back surgery and instead I gained much more. Michael taught me about the need to indulge in more sleep (I was only sleeping 5 hours a night), worked on my diet which was fairly good to begin with but definitely needed some fine tuning, the power of laughter (it is okay to have fun and work out as hard as I can), to eliminate negative self talk, and to focus on what I need to do rather than what I can’t do. I learned how to move and improvise in my various activities so as not to aggravate my back. My emotional state improved and my chronic pain was now only sporadic when I did too much. Michael was patient and caring, yet practical and scientific. I get an education from working with Michael about the anatomy of joints and bones; I can trust him because he has demonstrated wonderful insights and answers to “why am I in pain” and has given me solutions to my physical situation.

Many trainers get their certification from a 12 hour weekend crash course, but Michael has a degree in kinesiology and has attended much training over and beyond the “average” trainer at some of the gym chains. By working out with him, I have eradicated the incidence of injury which is what I used to get when I tried working out with weights on my own.

I have recommended friends to him and everyone has been happy. This past month I had to give away eight bags of clothing since they no longer fit since my weight has been stabilized for almost a year.

I highly endorse Michael Cummings as a trainer as he has been my fitness director and ally in fitness and health.