Testimonials

After having two kids in two years, I was very determined to get my body back. I knew that it wouldn’t always be an easy journey and that sometimes it would be hard to keep motivated, but in stepped this firecracker, ball of energy, Taryn, from Star Fitness.

She has pushed me to do things that I never thought possible. She has helped to motivate me and keep me on track regarding my eating plan. She always mixes up my exercise regime so that I never get bored or know what to expect. She makes my exercise regime progressively harder so that I am always capable of doing the exercises whilst challenging my body and mind.

I have come to realise that she is not just there to transform my body, but also my mind, instilling in me the sense that: “Yes, I can do it!” I have seen a huge transformation in the 10 weeks that I have been with Taryn. I am feeling stronger than ever and cannot wait to see how my body transforms in the next 10 weeks with her.

Well….what a good couple of months it has been for myself after having joined Starfitness with Taryn as my Trainer.

Taryn is definitely the best trainer I have had.

She has the background and knowledge to get me to where I want to go and in the last 3 months has transformed my body (measurements) a lot. And this has also changed my attitude, Im a lot happier within myself which reflects in to my daily life .

She monitors your form, posture so you don’t do anything incorrectly and this in turn only strengthens ones core and eliminates unnecessary injuries. Taryn helps me progress with a mixture of new exercises and increasing levels of the challenges. She provides enough instruction for you before and during any form of exercise you are doing and communicates with you at all times. And…she always reminds me to BREATH lol.

In the amount of time I have been with Taryn (August 2017 to date) she has definitely gotten me to achieve the kind of results I have been wanting.

She is capable of determining the individual abilities of her clients and has a positive attitude and a willingness to work with her clients at their own levels. She will in-still confidence and encouragement to make you want to work further and apply yourself more diligently both in the gym and out. With the help of the meal plan it gets you to your goals quicker.

It is hard work but always fun. We definitely have A LOT of goods laughs.

Training with Taryn is definitely a 200% return on ones’ investment.

I know that I will be achieving my own personal goals a lot quicker than what I thought….this is all owing to Taryn and her commitment and her encouragement…..and of course eating correctly by following the meal plan.

“I don’t need a PT – I’ll just go to the gym” were my words for the past 3 years.
After becoming a member at different gyms over the past 3 years, I never had self-motivation to get fit or even to get off the coach and actually to go for gym sessions.

Only when my clothes started to get too small, I realised that I had to make a plan.
I met with Taryn and she motivated me from day 1.

Taryn’s passion for a healthier lifestyle inspired me.
She is professional in all aspects.
Taryn strives to help you achieve your goals and more.

Our sessions are never the same – which makes each session so much more interesting.
Taryn will push you where she know’ s she can.
My plan was to only join Star Fitness for 12 weeks, but now I enjoy the “Feel good” feeling after sessions and I don’t want to stop.
Transformations are astonishing.
“Arriving at one goal it the starting point to another”

Taryn taught me to train my mind, live a healthier lifestyle and to enjoy getting fit.
Without her, I would probably still be on the coach..

I would highly recommend Taryn as your PT.

‘’My journey with Melissa Personal Training started in June 2013, I was looking for a female trainer which is very scarce and I was lucky because they told me she just started at Virgin Active Lorraine.
I met with Melissa and was very excited to start training and to start losing some extra weight I gained from a hormone injection Depo Provera.
Changes did not happen overnight in fact it took a very long time, some days I really felt like giving up, but with Melissa “giving up” is not an option.
It took me about a year to get back into shape and loose ±9kg, and lots of body fat.
Although I have reached my goal, I still cannot let go Melissa’s Personal Training, it became part of my life, she just motivates you, pushes you to limits you never thought you could reach, she is such a successful young business woman, who is so committed to her work, she is at gym 5am till late at night, she does not stop thinking of ways and means to help other people reach their goals and dreams, from training clients in groups which is so awesome, to online training , wow she really is amazing’’

The photo (12 March 2014) that made me decide “this is shocking and I am going to look stunning at 40”.

My first appointment with Melissa on 21 March 2014 and my first session on 8 April 2014. I thought I was going to die!! BUT, with great support and motivation from Melissa I made it right through to end of September 2014 and after losing 15kg, looked great on my 40th birthday.

I must however say, that losing the weight was great but even better, my whole life changed and the weight-loss actually became a side benefit.

I am a happier person, much healthier and cope much, much better with all the obstacles and curves thrown at me during the day to day work and being a Mother and Wife!

I stopped training with Melissa at the end of September 2014 because I have reached my goal and that was it.  Or so I thought…. because at the end of November I received a message from Melissa asking if I was OK as she never sees me at gym! Well, where do you get PT after service like that? I now gym with Melissa once a week and she keeps me in shape and motivated.

My whole experience/association with Melissa was, and still is, wonderful and I am so glad I picked her name that day when I choose a Personal Trainer.

Joining Melissa’s PT has been the best investment I have made for myself. Through her utmost dedication to her clients, her vast experience and knowledge she has not only managed to assist me in transforming my body, but changed my outlook on life.

Her ongoing commitment has encouraged me to stay focussed on eating healthy, wanting to exercise regularly as well as giving me the confidence to set new goals and challenges for myself.

Melissa is an amazing trainer with a positive and encouraging attitude.

Choosing Mel as my personal trainer was one of the best decisions I have ever made! Changing my body and lifestyle has had a positive effect on my life, I feel so much better and I also have more energy to tackle the challenges I face.

She has a great knowledge and understanding of exercise and nutrition. If you follow her program you are guaranteed to see results.

No work out with Mel will ever be the same as a previous one and although Mel pushes you really, really hard, she is always positive and always encouraging!

I would highly recommend her.

This is probably one off the only pictures I have I looked not many that gives a good idea off the size I was

It took 3 long years to loose all that weight.

When I went to Melissa I wanted to tone the last stubborn fat that I just could not loose.

She changed my Life.

I live for eating clean, 5 day workouts a week and have lost and toned and have even joined small sporting events and Fun runs.

I am a true success only because she not only helped train me but taught me to love training push myself and Love this health and fitness Lifestyle.

Thank you Melo without knowing you this would never have been possible.

Hi, my name is Samantha Vencencie, happily married and Mom of 2 beautiful girls. I joined Melissa’s personal training in November 2013, weighing 69kg.

I have always been training on my own before then but only when I joined Melissa I started seeing amazing results. Melissa introduced me to a whole new level of training. Her combination of techniques and expertise helped me achieve my goals.

She gave me a easy meal plan to follow with my training and she continuously monitors me. My goal was to weigh 60 kg again and I can honestly say I have surpassed that goal, weighing and amazing 57kg. I have also gained some lovely muscle and everywhere I go people compliment me on how well I am toned for a mom of 2 kids.

In this process I have also met wonderful friends sharing the same passion and commitment introduced by Melissa and when we do not train with Mel, we contact each other and train together. So she actually brings us together in her own special way.

I must add that my transformation was good and clean, meaning no appetite suppressions, steroids or any funny things, just eating healthy and training hard. I am so grateful for Melissa because without her help , dedication and motivation I would not be feeling and looking the way I do. THANKS MELISSA MEIRING. YOU ARE A STAR!

‘’When I first met Melissa I was on the brink of giving up all together on weight loss. I considered my diet very good and my exercise mediocre but was still very over weight. Melissa is not only a 100% committed during our gym sessions but she goes above and beyond and genuinely cares about seeing her clients succeed.

She has spent her own time researching and helping me figure out my Thyroid issue as well as life style changes to help with it. I have trained with her for a year and she has patiently believed and supported in me and with her help and pushing me to work out more, harder and eating wiser and cleaner I have lost 15KG and am in the best shape of my life. I love the gym, I love the challenge and she has introduced me to those feelings’’.

‘’I’ve spent most of my life being unhappy because of my constant weight gain/ weight loss
During this time I thought starving myself for weeks was ok because I’ll be skinny. Then when I did eat it was almost as if I couldn’t get enough. It’s only when I met Melissa in August 2013 that my life began to change.

You have taught me so much about nutrition and exercise along this journey and I am so thankful to you for this.

I have gone from an insecure women to someone who is able to run 12km comfortably and walk around in a bikini with confidence (I’m 12 kg lighter than what I was before and maintaining it).

You have helped me push through the tough days in the gym and kept me motivated but what really puts you above the rest is the small things like a message to ask if the eating plan is on track or how do you feel after the work out. These are things that prove how passionate you are about what you do… How passionate you are about your clients.

At the age of 30 I am so much happier and healthier – YOU have changed my life’’

‘’I had my second child on 03 July 2014 and started doing cardio again when my son was 7 weeks old, but I just wasn’t seeing the results. I decided to sign up with Melissa about 4 months ago and that might have been the BEST decision I have ever made!!!!

Not only am I smaller than I have ever been, even smaller than before I had children, I’m healthier than I have ever been. This is all thanks to Melissa! She doesn’t only talk the talk, but walks the walk. I could not have seen these results without Melissa’s encouragement and dedication to her job.

Thanks Melissa – YOU ARE THE BEST!!!!!’’

‘’After giving birth to my precious little angel, I struggled to lose weight due to work responsibilities and of course spending more time with baby was more important than to spend hours in the gym. I have tried numerous diets and numerous training programs and the weight just kept piling on.

In November 2014 I saw on a friend’s Facebook page the results after spending some time with Melissa, a personal trainer at Lorraine Virgin Active.

I contacted Melissa and she managed to make time for me to discuss my goals. Of course she had to do the most dreadful thing that everyone hates the most, taking measurements and the weigh- in for the before situation. Believe me I was almost in tears while standing on the scale, totally disgusted at how easy it is to lose control of one’s body in a time span of 2 years.

I started to follow the eating plan and gym program. And in two weeks I could already feel a difference, the weight was coming off fast.

After seeing the results I decided to set a second goal with Melissa.

“Melissa is a truly excellent trainer. She is the perfect combination of tough (“Melissa, you are KILLING me!”) and warm (“Colleen, you are doing SO well”), and she works with the whole person — mentally, emotionally and physically.

Melissa is passionate about fitness and it shows through the energy and enthusiasm she brings to every session. Her easy going, friendly personality creates a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere. She makes each workout challenging, creative and most importantly, fun!

She also places a high value on correct form with each exercise. She motivates me to push past my perceived limits to get results. I have incredible energy, my balance and flexibility have improved immensely and I’ve got great new muscles. If you are serious about changing your life for the better, Melissa will lead you every step of the way.

I recommend her without reservation.

Thank you Melissa, you are the best!”

Signing up with you as my PT has been the best investment I could have made for myself. The experience with you is worth every cent!!! Your professionalism and support is outstanding and if I could, I would refer the whole world to you.

You have made me realize that anything is possible if I put my mind to it!! You have helped me transform my body to something I have never even dreamt of.

Before starting with Melissa, I found myself criticising myself on a daily basis. I would say terrible things about myself and constantly felt unhappy.

Once I started my personal training with her, I immediately felt results within the first week. My original aim was to just do a 4 week programme with Melissa.. I have been training with her for almost 6months now and continue to feel better every week. “Once you see results, it becomes an addiction.”

The change that I have and still am experiencing, is not only physical, but emotional as well. I am happier, more positive and most importantly excited about facing tomorrow and seeing myself change in all aspects.

Melissa has taught me life-long skills and an enormous amount about training, nutrition and self worth. I look forward to training every day, as I feel confident about what I am doing. Melissa, thank you for being such an inspiration to me. I have not only met the best personal trainer, but made an amazing friend.