The unparalleled fitness model found at MaxStrength Fitness is helping busy professionals reclaim their health
By Patricia Nugent
What’s the number one personality trait linked to longevity?
According to personality psychology professor David Watson, it’s conscientiousness, having a sense of discipline and organization.
“People with high degrees of conscientiousness are better at taking care of themselves,” he says. “Conscientious people don’t do stupid things, so they have lower rates of accidents and better health behaviors.”
While this makes excellent news for the conscientious people of the world, it’s not so positive for the discipline-challenged among us.
Meet Kim Smith
For years, Kim belonged to a series of gyms to get in shape.
“I lacked the discipline and accountability to go on my own,” she says. “Working full time-plus at our manufacturing company and being mom to two active teenagers made finding time in my life for exercise a real struggle.”
Then she heard about MaxStrength Fitness from her incredibly fit uncle and aunt, who worked out there for years and remained active and thriving into their 70s and 80s.
“I was skeptical when they told me they only exercised for 20 minutes, twice a week,” she says. “It didn’t seem like I’d see results. But I did. I loved having those standing appointments on my schedule.”
She worked out faithfully at MaxStrength from 2016 through the Covid shutdown in 2020.
“Like many people, I saw myself physically deteriorate by not exercising during that time,” she says. “I went from feeling strong to being mushy.”
When the new Strongsville location opened in September, which is near her work, she was the first person to join. After her husband Dan noticed her positive momentum, he joined, too.
Now in her late 40s, Kim continues to make strength gains and lose weight.
“As part of the highly professional protocol, I love using the InBody scanner once a month,” she adds. “It tells how much muscle mass versus fat I have.”
The word from their trainers is the hard work and discipline is paying off.
“They’ve both made impressive progress over the past nine months,” says trainer and studio manager Mike Palko. “They tell me they wish they started sooner.”
Workout in Work Clothes? Not a Problem
“The ability to exercise in my work clothes is an absolute game-changer for me,” says Kim. “A mid-day session is easy to squeeze in and thanks to the studio’s pleasantly chilly temps, I never get sweaty and can pop in then go back to work, in work clothes and all.”
She also likes that whenever she arrives to a session, the equipment is set up for her and the trainers follow her form for the most efficient experience.
“There is no time wasted,” she adds. “They know the ideal amount of weight for me to produce results without injury and I appreciate that.”
When she broke two bones in her foot a few years ago and was in a boot for eight weeks, she assumed she’d be unable to work out. Wrong.
“I called the studio to tell them and was surprised when they said to make an appointment and we’ll work around the boot,” she says. “It felt great to not let my workouts go over the two months and be able to stay active.”
MaxStrength Fitness is located at 4212 State Route 306 in Willoughby. Call 440-226-8080 at 2211 Crocker Road in Westlake, 440-835-9090 and at13500 Pearl Road in Strongsville, 440-467-0700 or for more information or to view more testimonials, visit MaxStrengthFitness.com.