Amesbury MA in home personal trainer: Home Bodies Client Spotlight

"Even if you're a member of a gym like I am, you should have a home program for times when you can't get there!"

-Karen Cassaza

Amesbury MA in home personal trainer: Home Bodies can help you out with your home based fitness needs.

amesbury ma in home personal trainingKaren is loving how she looks and feels with these home workouts!

Karen Cassaza started working with Gina 23 days ago, and she’s already showing visible results! Karen contacted Gina after reading a number of her Newsletters and seeing the “Early Bird Special” offer for January. Karen was hoping to establish a new way of life with a better diet and an effective exercise routine that she could do whether she went to the gym or not. Karen hopes to be “thin, have a six pack…and keep it!” She doesn’t want to yo-yo up and down in weight anymore, nor go on an exercise binge only to quit and be inactive for months at a time. 

Karen loves the convenience of a home program. She still maintains her gym membership at the YMCA, and will occasionally go in to use the treadmill or stairmaster. Karen performs her full-body weights routine three days per week, and performs 30 minutes of cardio at least three days per week. Karen does the resistance training routines Gina designed for her, and walks or uses her Health Rider for cardio. She never tried free weights before--only the Nautilus circuit at the YMCA—but she’s finding she really loves the weights, and they have changed her body faster than anything else she’s tried, including aerobics classes and 45-minute sessions on the stairmaster. Karen is noticing that her entire body is becoming firmer and more toned, especially her butt and stomach. She’s always had fairly thin and toned legs, but she became disgusted that she could feel her stomach “sitting on her lap” when she sat down. That’s all going away now, though, which keeps Karen really motivated and dedicated to the program. Karen has also enjoyed the compliments from her family about her weight loss.



Karen is glad she commits to seeing Gina once per week, because every week there has been corrections to be made on her form. Karen doesn’t want to waste her time or risk her safety doing the exercises wrong. Also, having Gina come once a week keeps Karen on track and honest because she doesn’t want to let Gina down by skipping her workouts. Karen has also found it very helpful to keep a food log where she writes down everything that passes her lips. Because Gina reviews it every week, Karen doesn’t have to count calories—Gina will let her know if changes need to be made. Keeping a food log has forced Karen to make better choices, and to decide what she really wants for a treat if she will have one, because she won’t allow herself to stray too far off her diet plan. For example, at a recent party, Karen decided whether she would eat junk food or have a few drinks, and she opted for the drinks, but ate very well food-wise the entire day. Karen’s strategy for social occasions comes from the “80/20 Rule” (eat very well 80% of the time, and eat “fun” foods 20% of the time for steady, long-term weight loss). The “80/20 Rule,” along with other helpful tips, comes from Gina’s book “Mind Over Fatter,” which Karen highly recommends to anyone interested in a healthy lifestyle or losing weight and toning up. 

Karen and her husband Ed have three sons: Joel, Josh, and Justin. Karen grew up in Methuen, MA and has lived in Amesbury, MA for the past 16 years. She is a secretary for the special education office of the Amesbury school systems, and also has a part-time job as a hostess at “Not Your Average Joes” in Newburyport. She loves to go away on vacation and to spend time on the boat. She also loves going to open mic night to hear her husband play, and relaxing in her jacuzzi. 

Secrets of Their Fitness Success

Karen's Tips

  1. Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a workout or eat something “bad.” Just keep moving forward
  2. Even if you’re a member of a gym, have a home program for times when you can’t get there. During the blizzard late January, Karen was glad she didn’t have an excuse to miss her workout.
  3. Exercising boosts your mood, making you feel happier and more content. Give it a try and you’ll see! 

Amesbury MA in home personal trainer: Next steps

If you're in Amesbury MA and need an in home personal trainer, please reach out to us for a Price Quote! Or, take a look at our programs.