Emerald City Strength

Melissa Charlton is THE GREATEST. She’s everything a good personal trainer should be: knowledgable, motivational, reliable, and FUN! In the two years I got to train with her, she was the best part of my week. She was always encouraging and always upping the work-​out and trying new things. Her assistance with meal-​planning and tracking was perfect. She kept me strong! If you’re considering investing in a personal trainer, contact Emerald City Strength! I couldn’t imagine my 2 years in Seattle without her!

I have been training with Melissa twice a week since July — she is terrific! Knowledgeable, motivational and fun. She works to understand your goals and creates sessions customized for your needs. It has been a great investment in my health and I am seeing good results — lost inches from my hips and my arms are stronger and more defined. Highly recommend!

Melissa is the best! To say I am new to the gym is an understatement and getting started was very intimidating. I have a lot of weight to lose and the task felt very daunting, until I met Melissa. Honestly, she put me at ease immediately. She is extremely approachable and kind and she really knows her stuff. She explains everything we do and why we do it and I never feel silly asking her questions! She motivates and pushes me without being intimidating. She kicks my butt while being my biggest cheerleader! Training with Melissa has made me feel hopeful and more confident in myself and my fitness abilities. Her positivity is contagious and her love of what she does is obvious. I feel so lucky to have found her!

Have you ever came across someone and you feel lucky to be able to work with such a positive, good person? Yeah… That’s the best way to describe Melissa.
I had a bad experience with a trainer in the past so I was very nervous to start with one again.
Low and behold, Melissa is the BEST trainer I’ve come across. She is consistent, reliable and extremely organized. I have learned a tremendous amount about form, what’s right for my body, stretching, repetitions, how to use machines and overall… I just enjoy my sessions with her. She has a way of pushing you to your limits but it’s very positive and encouraging!
I’ve already lost a few lbs but I’m more excited because I feel like what I’m learning from her, I will carry with me for years. She also changes our workouts every time we meet and has them planned out and ready to go when I get there.
I highly recommend her and look forward to continuing to work with her.

I found Melissa on Unilocal and trained with her for 10 sessions. Prior to training with Melissa, I had no idea what to do when I’m at a gym other than using the treadmill and elliptical. I came to Melissa with a specific goal of becoming toned so that I would look good in my best friend’s wedding. And after 10 sessions, I have to say I look much better in my bridesmaid dress! I love Melissa because she’s always so encouraging and patient. She has different exercise moves for me every class so that I can be more familiar with the gym equipments and never get bored.
I also tried her core group class Saturday morning. For $ 12 /​drop-​in session, it’s a really good deal to train with Melissa and get to know her!
If you are looking for a trainer in Cap Hill area, I’d highly recommend her!

Now, I am as cheap as they get. Prior to training with Melissa Charlton, my fitness regimen consisted of YouTube workout videos and weight training using my employer-​sponsored gym membership. I stuck to the user-​friendly, self-​explanatory machines because I was intimidated by the fitness rats on the cable machines and free weights. There was progress, I’m reasonably healthy as is, and I probably would have continued doing that forever.
Then I sought out a nutritionist (Aimee Gallo at Vibrance Nutrition & Fitness) and discovered that the magic of a great health consultant is that, without really even trying, they can inspire you to change your lifestyle in ways you never would have expected.
Things I like about Melissa’s training:
1. She’s well-​informed about the body and anatomy. She focuses on injury prevention and whole-​body training, and is great at making you do really annoying exercises for your little stabilizer muscles that really pay off when you’re sitting at a desk for hours or learning to do a double turn in salsa class.
2. The gym, Urban Fit Studios on Capitol Hill, is great. (She also works on the Eastside, but I haven’t been there.) Everyone there is in a personal training contract of some sort, which sounds intimidating but actually puts everyone on the same playing field. It also means that, because it’s a small community, nobody thinks it’s okay to hit on random strangers. The gym membership is a reasonable $ 35/​month if you want to use it in addition to training sessions; starting with a trainer is one of the requirements of membership.
3. Melissa is smart — this is important for me – as well as creative and fun.
4. My body is WAY happier after three months of training, and I know I couldn’t have gotten here on my own.

Melissa has trained me through many levels of fitness as well as injury. I started working with her in 2009 after my husband went for a fitness evaluation with her. He, basically, wanted to know if she did the same training routine with each client. Well, after my fitness evaluation, I got a completely different workout. Melissa tailors each workout to each individual — AND she doesn’t keep the workout the same if the individual has an injury or is training for a triathlon, like I am, now. My goal is to be in the best shape of my life at 40 (I’m 36, now), and to be able to do as many activities as I want in retirement, such as skiing, hiking, swimming, biking, etc. She definitely changed my life and my outlook on what I can achieve with my body. I have gained over 12 pounds of muscle training with her, and I definitely look better than I did when I was younger! Melissa is amazing, and I highly recommend working with her to reach your goals!

Melissa was my trainer when she lived in NYC. My loss when she left NY is your gain Seattle! She is fantastic. Great attitude, energy and optimism. She believes in what you can do and teaches you to believe in yourself! With Melissa you will get a highly personalized exercise régime that is interesting, fun and most importantly, works! Start working with Melissa you will see results very soon.

I envy you, Emerald City! I had the most amazing experience training with Melissa in NYC. Doing so was life-​changing, and I was able to achieve the results that I was seeking, while enjoying my workouts immensely.
A highly capable, dedicated professional, Melissa takes a personal interest in her work and clients and is always striving for improvement. She is very knowledgeable, goal-​oriented, and attentive to detail. She is up on the best practices in the field and also offers sound nutritional advice.
Melissa was able to assess my strengths and weaknesses on an ongoing basis, and designed relevant programs for me accordingly. The programs were always thorough, thoughtful, challenging and effective. An excellent teacher, she demonstrated each exercise very patiently and was always attentive to my form and needs, correcting me when necessary. Not only did she instill in me a sense of confidence, she helped me overcome fears, encouraged me to attain new levels and explore new exercises.
Since training with Melissa, I lost weight, became stronger, leaner and gained more muscle definition. My posture, flexibility and heart rate improved, and I have a healthier, more positive outlook. I am also more conscious of my diet and lifestyle and less prone to injuries. I overall have a greater awareness and stronger interest in my well being. I am also more likely to try other forms of exercise, such as yoga, pilates and spinning, among others as a result of training with Melissa. She has a wonderful way of putting her clients at ease, while challenging them to learn and try new things.
On a personal note, I had a lot of fun training with Melissa and was very inspired by her. We even had our own «happy dance!» She maintains a healthy lifestyle that I try to emulate. She is very personable and relates well to her clients, while maintaining a sense of professionalism. Her cheerful demeanor, optimism, enthusiasm and sense of humor made me look forward to our training sessions. She is also flexible and accommodating with people’s schedules.
I hope you train with Melissa so you can discover what an amazing trainer she is!

Melissa and Emerald City Strength completely transformed my life. I was not happy with my physical condition and it was taking a toll on other aspects of my life. Not only did Melissa train my body, she also was able to strengthen my mental wellbeing. She is absolutely best-​in-​class when it comes to training and knows the individual needs of her clients. She is extremely encouraging which gave me confidence with what my body could do. I recommend her to everyone!