Pilates Cardiocamp recruits those looking for vigorous exercise

By Pam Walatka, Special to the Town Crier

Michelle Melendez leads a class in early-morning stretching exercises at the Gunn High School track. Melendez teaches a combination of Pilates, yoga and calisthenics in her Pilates Cardiocamp.

You wake up in the dark. Instead of going back to sleep, you grab some workout clothes and tiptoe out of the bedroom. By 6 a.m., you are putting your exercise mat down on the rubbery track at Gunn High School, ready for some vigorous exercise. You are at Pilates Cardiocamp.

With warmth and enthusiasm, fitness trainer Michelle Melendez leads you through a set of exercises. On your tummy, you reach out your arms like Superman, but with weights. Then you work your way through almost an hour of pushups, squats, jump rope and jogging. At the end, after a few minutes of stretching, you shout declarations, in unison: “I’m a healthy, fit person. I love working out. Exercise is a part of my life.” You give someone a high five and tell them, “You have great glutes,” or something else inspiring.

Melendez has a knack for leading a boot-camp-style workout (think drill sergeant) but with kindness and attention to individual details. She mentions modifications

for students who are not ready for a particular exercise, and she doesn’t miss a beat when she suggests a correction to an individual or gives tips to a newcomer.

“I just love this program,” Melendez said. “People need to get their minds off losing weight and onto being healthy. I use declarations to help people change their mind-set. Everyone knows what to do, but if you are not thinking right, you will never be the weight and health you want. It’s about what you think. When you think I’ll never lose weight, you might join a gym or get exercise equipment, but something gets you off track, and you quit. Then you say, ‘See, I knew it would never happen for me.’ When people start changing their minds, they’ll change their fitness.”

When she was 12, Melendez got her start in fitness training by helping her desperately overweight mom. “I didn’t understand the pain my mother was in, so when my mother’s desperate voice asked, ‘Michelle how do I lose weight?’ I simply responded, ‘Mom just think thin and you’ll be thin,’” Melendez said. “I didn’t know why this made sense, but it did. I found a magnet and put it on the fridge that read, Think Thin!”

After graduating with honors from San Jose State with a major in communications and a minor in fitness, Melendez started teaching boot camp on the Foothill College track; she then started the Pilates Cardiocamp at Mountain View’s Cuesta Park and taught boot-camp classes to joint fire academies that included Los Altos, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara. Now she teaches Pilates Cardiocamp five days a week at 6 a.m., and Mondays and Wednesdays at 7 a.m., on the Gunn High School track. During the winter, the class meets in the gym.

Cardiocamp attracts a wide range of ages. A 69-year-old who comes with her 71-year-old husband looks trim and fit. Everybody in the class seems to have some degree of fitness.

When asked if she really does get total couch potatoes, Melendez said, “Yes, I do. They come, sometimes they stay, and sometimes they drop out. It depends where their mind-set is. Most people work with me for years, but some come and go. I had one person come to get in shape for her wedding. After the wedding, she dropped out. If she had decided she was going to get healthy and fit, wedding or no wedding, she would have stayed.”

Cardiocamp participant Betty Kaufman, a Mountain View resident, said, “I’ve been doing this for a little over a year. It is the best exercise program I’ve ever done.” Kaufman has done yoga and biking. “I was in shape, but nothing like this. I’m not a morning person, never thought I could do this - now I’ll never give it up. Michelle is a fabulous exercise teacher. She keeps us going well beyond what we thought we could do.”

Los Altos resident Elena Shea said, “I started working out again in 2000. This time slot works for me because I have two young kids. I get up and get going for the day. I was not fit. I had been fit before the kids. Now I’m getting back to the routine. I’m not going to give it up ever. “

Marlene Cottrell of Los Altos Hills said, “I am always glad I come to Michelle’s class. The day always goes better for me when I make the effort to start my day with the Pilates Cardiocamp. I am always impressed by the dedication of the people who come out at this early hour to improve their health and fitness. Michelle is very motivational. My husband and I have been attending Michelle’s class since 2000. It’s fun to watch new people and the improvements they make … truly inspirational.”

Melendez also offers Fitness by Phone with a 90-day fitness program. She coaches people all over the country.

For more information, visit pilatescardiocamp.com or call Melendez at (866) 339-4438 or (408) 260-0446.