Righetti High School grad Cassy Misiewicz is a self-described gym rat. Between working out five to six times a week, taking care of her dog, Mindy, and her full-time job, she barely has time to eat. It doesn’t help that she spends her lunch breaks at the gym too.
“It’s walking distance from both work and home, so it’s super convenient,” Misiewicz told the Sun. “I’m lucky enough to live and work downtown in the middle of everything.”
Misiewicz works at a software company only blocks away from MadFitness in Santa Barbara. She used to be a regular at Anytime Fitness in Orcutt before moving last year, although she didn’t work out as often back then, she said.
“At most of the part-time jobs I worked at in Santa Maria before this, I’d be standing on my feet all day,” she said. “But now I’m sitting at a computer all day, so working out feels more necessary in a way. There needs to be a balance.”
Her workout consists of weightlifting, kettle bell exercises, ropes, and ball slams. She also attends TRX, spin and weights classes twice a week. The only thing at MadFitness that she avoids is the treadmill, she said.
“The treadmill is so hard on my joints. My knees hurt easily, so I need to rely on other exercises for cardio,” she said. “I actually get a good amount of cardio through weightlifting and TRX though.”
Misiewicz started going to MadFitness based on a recommendation from a friend. Due to the proximity to her office, she runs into co-workers at the gym all the time. But she understands how some people might find that problematic, she said.
“Some people prefer gyms where nobody talks to them, somewhere they can just zone out and concentrate without any distractions,” she said. “But I still think it’s important to feel comfortable with the people who go and work out there.”
For Misiewicz, the key to working out is patience, she said. Not getting immediate results is no reason to quit, she added.
“The results will come, but they take time,” she said. “I’m now squatting around 130 pounds, which on the grand scale of things isn’t much, but it’s a work in progress.”
And even on the busiest of days, Misiewicz still tries to spend at least an hour or so at the gym, whether it’s before or after work, she said.
“Even when I’m sore and tired after a long day at work, I just keep telling myself that I’ll feel better if I go rather than not,” she said. “I don’t make excuses, I make results! Sounds like a Jenny Craig line.”
This article appears in May 25 – Jun 1, 2017.
