Meet Melissa Ellis | Prenatal and Postpartum Fitness Specialist, Pregnancy Safe Coach®, and Fascia Floss™ Trainer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Melissa Ellis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Melissa, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time.

When I decided to start my own business, I left behind a 9-5 job in my former career. I wanted to be able to “make my own schedule” and spend more time with my family. What I didn’t realize going into it, is that when you work for yourself – and love what you do – work is always on your mind and it can overwhelm your day and creep into your personal time.

When I’m not training clients, I’m doing behind-the-scenes work – keeping track of the finances, scheduling, programming, etc… Some of the behind-the-scenes tasks can become monotonous and eat up lots of time, leaving me rushing through family time only to get some more work done before the day is over.

It can become overwhelming and a little disheartening when your kids are asking for their mom to come hang out in the evening and I hear myself repetitively saying “in a minute” – while simultaneously feeling the weight of a deadline creeping in.

When I first started gaining traction in my business, I would work well into the night and on the weekends. I took any clients I could get to keep my momentum going. I felt the burden of this. I didn’t want to start a business to feel burnt out. So, I started to set certain boundaries with client hours and office hours. I also started to become more selective with who I was going to work with. If I felt that a client wasn’t willing to give back the same energy I was going to put in, I chose not to work with them. That selective process has significantly improved the energy I put into my work.

In order to improve my work-life balance, I also make a point to analyze my business on a regular basis. I look for patterns within my business so that I can automate repetitive tasks into systems, so the time spent doing these tasks no longer eats into the other areas of my business and, particularly, my personal time.

Over time, these systems – which I’m continuously re-working – reduce my time spent in the office so that I can spend more time training clients and free up more time to spend with my family.

I try to make a point to keep the systems within my business running smoothly so that outside of office hours I can zone in on what’s most important to me.

Balance is a term that holds a lot of significance in my approach to health and fitness with my clients – so I find it extremely important to hold myself accountable when it comes to a solid work-life balance.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

I am a prenatal and postpartum fitness specialist with a core-focused approach toward functional movement.

My work at Mom Belly Fitness (www.mombellyfitness.com) involves customizing a functional movement and fitness program for each client throughout their journey – from preconception throughout motherhood – and fully supporting them along the way.

My background and training include a variety of tools and resources to fit the needs of every client, including: corrective exercise, breath-work, fascia flossing, strength training, Labor HIIT, functional movement, nutritional guidance, mindfulness practice… and so on.

Each client has different needs and wants in her lifestyle and physical journey. Sometimes, corrective exercise and strength training is the area of focus that is most optimal for achieving proper muscle balance to support a pregnancy. Or, perhaps, a mom of 3 holds a lot of tension and stress in her body from caring for her children and she needs some extra attention in working her fascia, core, and pelvic floor, in which case we’ll work together to support those needs. Another example – perhaps a client is trying to conceive. Her training may begin with corrective exercise, breath-work, nutritional guidance, and mindfulness to create the most optimal environment possible to become pregnant. Eventually we’ll progress her training toward building more muscular strength using functional and primal movement patterns to prepare her body for a growing baby and for one of her biggest physical events to come – birth!

All of these examples and all of my customized programs are designed to support both mom and her growing baby – or already grown children – on their journey toward better health and safe, effective movement.

One of the goals of my work is to reduce the aches, pains, and discomforts that are often associated with pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and child-rearing. And to keep women doing the physical activities that they enjoy most for as long as they desire.

I get excited every time I see the lightbulb go-off for a client. Such as when they discover a muscle they perhaps couldn’t feel before. Or, when they feel themselves breathing deeper than they ever thought possible and realize the potential this new discovery awakens.

I’m proud every time I receive a referral from a past client. When a new client comes to me based on the recommendation of a former client, it’s the best compliment I can receive.

The hardest part of getting to where I am today, was the confidence in getting started. I seemed to make several excuses for my “lack of progress”. Starting a business is not easy. There are so many “unknowns”, especially in the beginning of any new endeavor. It’s difficult to know if you are making the right decisions or following the best path forward. I never felt “ready” to take the next steps… Whatever those steps might have been.

I began to build my confidence and my mindset through a lot of personal development. Once I got my first client, my confidence got a big boost… and I just kept chipping away at my small tasks to keep that momentum going. One client led to another, and so on.

I continue to keep my action steps small to keep moving myself and my business forward. I like to remind myself that the sum of several small tasks’ snowballs into greater outcomes down the line.

To continue toward my goals, I have become very mindful in my decision-making. If something or someone doesn’t meet my energy-level, I pass on it. I trust my gut when something feels right, or, in some cases, completely wrong. I’ve learned that I can’t take on “all the things” and I’ve gotten better about saying “no” and owning my time. As an avid people-pleaser, saying no to more things so that I can focus on myself and my business has been a breath of fresh air.

A mantra that seems to stick with me on this journey is to “never stop learning and always be improving”.

I fell in love with movement and exercise when I was in my teens. My biggest goal as a fitness professional is to make everyone’s relationship with exercise a positive one and to encourage others to also fall in love with movement. By mastering simplicity of movement, you can empower your mind and body to do great things.

When I started my fitness journey, I found myself reaching for challenging, complex workouts – thinking they would make me stronger, faster! But over time, I realized, simplicity is the key to progress and daily movement is a pillar of mind and body wellness!

With the conscious movement and exercise I utilized during my second pregnancy and the techniques and education I received from Fit For Birth – I felt so much more empowered in my birth and postpartum journey than I had with my first. This sparked the fire in me to take my newfound knowledge to anyone that would listen.

With all my clients, we work to set a solid foundation for movement and wellness. That solid foundation can then be applied to the physical activities that the client enjoys the most to keep their relationship with movement thriving.

My passion is to serve women, and especially, the birthing woman. I aim to always be a knowledgeable resource for the mothering community and to be a safe space for every individual who entrusts me with their wellness journey.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

Since I am a big nature lover – I would probably take a friend just outside of the city to visit the beautiful landscape of Bernheim Forest where we would venture along the trails and hike among the giants of Bernheim!

From there, we might travel back to the city of Louisville, KY to explore the intricacies of the historic downtown and make some stops along the Bourbon Trail. It is entangled with a fascinating history. In the evening we would likely take in some delicious bites in the growing culinary landscape of The Highlands.

On the weekend, me might hit up the amazing vendors that make up the community within Logan Street Market while sipping on some organic coffee from Safai or enjoying a delicious smoothie bowl from The Fruit Shack.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

When I first became pregnant with my second child, I was due to renew my personal training certification. I decided to research prenatal fitness certifications. I soon found “Fit For Birth” – the #1 holistic pre and postnatal certification! (www.getfitforbirth.com) The company’s founder, James Goodlatte, opened up my mind to a profound new way of fitness training. This certification was designed for the pre and postnatal population, however, it completely shifted the way I train all of my clients and how I approach fitness as a whole.

I have since taken multiple courses with James and his team at Fit For Birth. The Business Mastery Mentorship has been an incredible resource to launch my business. The community within Fit For Birth has been the real gem of James’ company. As a Pregnancy Safe Coach®, I am part of a community raising the standards for prenatal and postpartum fitness training and I have access to world-class trainers and specialists, which is invaluable when troubleshooting issues for my business and clients.

I also want to mention Bonnie Crotzer of The Floss (www.thefloss.com) for introducing me to the world of fascia manipulation. Through her training programs, I have been able to niche my business where fascia, fitness, and movement collide in extraordinary ways. It has been truly exciting!

And then there is my mother, Patricia Antononi. She pulled me into my first-ever fitness class when I was a young teenager. She has always encouraged my holistic health, fitness, and wellness endeavors from a young age. As a career-nurse, she’s used her passion for healthy eating and daily movement to inform and help her patients, family, and friends surrounding her! And she seems to be always ahead of the curve when it comes to health trends!

I also have to give a shoutout to Les Mills! That first fitness class my mother pulled me into happened to be a Les Mills Bodycombat class. This moment in my life sparked my love affair for all things movement and fitness!

I’d like to also to give a shoutout to Mel Robbins and her research-backed approach toward personal development. Her books and podcasts have gotten me through some rough times.

Finally, I have to mention my husband, Tim. If it weren’t for him, I never would have attempted to start my own business. He’s always had the confidence in me to reach for my dreams and has provided the support to back it up. Thanks also to my amazing kids for putting up with my wild antics and non-stop work habits! You kids are the reason I decided to start this business!

Website: www.mombellyfitness.com

Instagram: @mombellyfitness

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mombellyfitness/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mombellyfitness

Image Credits
Kyle Kozinski Photography Laura Weigel Photography