I LOVE Desired Physique by Michelle Brooks

21 Dec 2016

Michelle Brookes is the face – and considerable energy – behind Desired Physique. Your desired physique is exactly what she aims to deliver.

It won’t come easy, but put the work in and it WILL come. The work will be hard – one client calls Michelle the Smiling Assassin – but it will be worth it and you WILL feel better for it.

Desired Physique

Michelle takes a holistic approach to fitness – it’s as much about relieving stress, developing yourself and self-care as building muscle or toning-up. Nutrition coaching also plays a part, and in the new year, Michelle will be working alongside Julie Widdowson Hypnotherapy ADCHyp, GQHP, Cert’Ed. As Michelle says, ‘exercise alone is not enough. I am passionate about helping others achieve their goals, be it through health and fitness, or beauty and wellbeing. At Desired Physique we believe in working with the individual and tailoring a package that suits your needs and requirements as we are all different. We have a friendly, fun yet effective approach to helping you realise your potential, but who ever said exercise cannot be fun has never worked out with us!’

Many clients will follow Michelle wherever she works, and she’s looking forward to meeting new people, too. Her clients and classes have a real community feel – including their own WhatsApp group. Michelle laughs and says the classes are half exercise, half therapy as everyone gets on so well. There are weight-based classes, core stability, relaxation and meditation – Michelle will give clients what they want. Classes are kept small. Bespoke packages can be designed to suit your needs. Michelle will help anyone benefit from exercise and a healthy lifestyle.

Michelle’s background is as a professional dancer, having studied Performing Arts. However, adulthood and real life conspired to land her in a retail career – and success kept her there for a while – along with extra hours in a part time job at night. No-one could doubt Michelle’s work ethic! However, she always kept dancing – even touring with a dance group. Moving to France for a fresh start, Michelle landed a temporary position in Bordeaux, for a Health and Wellbeing company, specialising in organic food and skincare. Once again, being good at what she did, the role became permanent, seeing a move to Nice. Having always been a hard worker, by now Michelle was, by her own admission, working too hard – subsisting on coffee and only seeing the sun, and getting out into the fresh air, once a week.

Desired Physique

Michelle knew this couldn’t carry on. She was back in touch with an old friend, Stu, who, she says, ‘brought her home’. They’ve now been back twelve years – and married for six! Back home, Michelle still found herself in retail – albeit with Sweaty Betty, so maybe a step in the right direction. She was headhunted by an online retailer but the business just didn’t work out. Around this time, Stu was made redundant so Michelle helped him set up his new business. Then came the move into fitness – first as a trainer at a gym where she gained her qualifications, then out of her own studio in Manchester. The rent was astronomical so Stu gave up some office space. That was three years ago – and a new chapter is about to start with an incredible purpose-built facility at home in Cheadle Hulme. Just wait until you see the ‘after’ pictures! This venture is all-the-more impressive because Michelle and Stu have done most of the work themselves.

Desired Physique

Michelle LOVES Cheadle Hulme. She loves the green and leafy feel, and says Cheadle Hulme is really homely. She also loves our community spirit – which she says was recently illustrated perfectly by Paint Cheadle Hulme Pink. Cheadle Hulme is also, Michelle reckons, so friendly – everyone says ‘hello’! When looking to make somewhere home, Michelle and Stu also looked at Didsbury and Heaton Moor – but much preferred Cheadle Hulme. They’d love to see more independent shops springing up, though.

Michelle will be offering classes and sessions from her brand new Cheadle Hulme gym from January. You will LOVE Desired Physique!