Michelle Roots
CEO, Owner & Head Trainer of CORE Conditioning
BA Kinesiology and Applied Healthy (Athletic Therapy)
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (NSCA)
Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM)
Certified Level 1 Nutrition Coach (Precision Nutrition)
NCCP Club Coach Olympic Weightlifting Technical (Level 1)
Level 1 Kettlebell Workshop (Mahler’s Aggressive Strength)
Training for Warriors Level 1 Certification (Martin Rooney)
Awarded Canada’s Top Fitness Trainer by Impact Magazine in 2018 and 2020
In order to understand how I got to be the trainer and person I am today, I wanted to share a
little bit about my journey:
Where did it all begin?
Well I grew up the middle child of two brothers (the only girl & middle child!) so yes, let’s just
say I had to fight to survive growing up. My journey into fitness began by following my
brothers around through mud pits, building jumps to fly off of on our skateboards or bikes, and
playing pick up soccer, basketball, street hockey, or any other sport we could think up. Let’s
just say I learned the importance of strength at a very young age!
As a child I took dance classes and my mom best describes my skills as “you just weren’t as
light on your feet as the other girls” LOL! Not that I wasn’t good (I am pretty confident in my
ability to tear up a dance floor), but luckily my parents realized early that this just wasn’t my
path in life. This would lead them to enroll me in soccer at the age of 4. Well let’s just say my
“non-daintiness” paid off big time on the soccer field!
In my elementary and high school years I was your token athlete participating in soccer,
basketball, field hockey, volleyball, cross country, and track and field. My training in those
days was all the sports I was playing before school, at lunch time, after school, and then on
nights and weekends. I never went in a weight room and quite frankly I wouldn’t have even
known where to start, nor would I have had time in my already hectic schedule. However,
another reason why I didn’t lift weights or do any strength training back then is because I
thought it was for boys and I didn’t want to build “bulky muscles” – Yes I’m guilty of thinking
that way! Come on, I was in high school and it was 1999-2000, I didn’t know a quarter as much
about training back then as I do now! I actually think on a regular basis how much of a better
athlete I would have been in high school if I had been strength training!
(This is why I am so passionate and truly invested in the success of the younger athletes I trainthese days. I know how much it is going to help improve the performance in their sport andoverall confidence!)
To be completely honest, I was already quite muscular in high school from my years of playing
elite level sports (and a childhood of wrestling with my brothers). I remember having thoughts
in those days “why are my legs bigger than my friends legs”? “why can’t my calfs fit in regular
boots”? And let’s just say thank goodness for the flared jeans fad (no calf probs there!). Joking
aside, I remember being that insecure, shy (yes I was once shy, hard to believe I know!), self
conscious high school girl (even though I was a elite athlete, lot’s of friends, and was
considered “popular”), but I still remember having body image issues. Man, if I could go back
and speak to the high school Michelle I would tell her to “pull it together” and embrace your
body for what it is. I look back at pictures of myself now and think, wow I had a great body,
very fit, athletic, and strong!
Side note: If you are reading this right now and find yourself thinking the same way, stop it!
You are beautiful just the way you are. We all have different body types and it’s important to
just embrace our body and work hard to make it the best we can be. Right after high school I
came to this realization and learned to love my body, embrace my muscles, and work even
harder to build more!
After high school I was recruited to play basketball at Kwantlen University College and not
knowing what I wanted to major in I took a variety of business and marketing classes. After 2
years of this I soon realized this is not what I wanted to do. I ended up spending more time in
the gym lifting weights and playing basketball to become a better athlete, than in class.
Realizing my interest in the human body I decided Kinesiology was the avenue for me and I set
my sights on getting an athletic scholarship to a top school in Canada for basketball (which had
always been a goal of mine). After taking a few Kinesiology classes at Douglas college and
doing very well in them, I was now on a mission to make this happen.
I spent hours and hours at local rec centres playing pick up basketball with the boys in order to
improve my basketball skills. For real, I was always the only girl playing in a gym full of
guys! I would get to the gym early to work on my shot and ball handling before we played for
about 2 hours and then head into the weight room after to lift weights. This is truly where I
started to realize my passion for fitness and began to use my body as a test dummy for different
training techniques and exercises. I remember my friends waiting for me to get home from the
gym on a Friday night so we could all go out and then I would be right back to the gym on a
Saturday morning to play basketball. Between balancing school, basketball, strength training, a
part-time job at the movie theatre (yup free movies!!) and a social life, I was unknowingly
preparing myself for my future University career.
A years goes by and the hard work paid off!! I was offered an athletic scholarship to the
University of Winnipeg to pursue my degree in Kinesiology with a major in Athletic Therapy.
This was my first realization in my adult life that if you truly want something and are willing to
work your butt off for it, anything is possible.
So off to the coldest place on earth I went, where I manged to complete my Bachelor’s degree
in Kinesiology with an athletic therapy major. It was a great experience, as I met some of the
best friends a girl could ask for and feel I got a solid education, while further expanding my
love and passion for fitness, health, and helping people.
After completing my degree I could not wait to get back to Vancouver to see mountains and
ocean again, but most of all, start my own business! I still remember doodling logo ideas on a
napkin on the flight home (I really wish I still had that!) because I knew I was going to call my
business CORE Conditioning. I couldn’t wait to get started helping as many people as I could
through my education and passion for fitness and living a healthy lifestyle.
I began CORE Conditioning in September 2007 working in many local area gyms and gaining
experience by training professional athletes as well as athletes and sports teams at the
collegiate, high school, and local level ranging in ages from youth to adult. I also worked with
many everyday businessmen and women, housewives, and weekend warriors with a variety of
personal fitness goals. I was on a mission to learn as much as I could about fitness and training
the human body, I attended fitness conferences all over Canada and the USA in order to learn
from the best. Continuing to further my education through certification courses, seminars, and
countless hours of reading is a never ending journey because I feel that there is always
something new to learn – no one is perfect. The more I know, the more effective I can be in
helping clients with nutrition and fitness related goals.
Never Stop Dreaming…..
I dreamed of one day opening my own training facility and although some days it seemed
impossible, I refused to give up on that dream. Through much hard work, long hours, multiple
locations, and commitment to help change as many lives as I could, the first CORE
Conditioning training studio on March 17, 2014!! Since then I have built an amazing team of
trainers who continue to inspire, motivate, and help our clients reach their goals and aspire to
be the best they can.
Wanting to reach even more people in 2012 I partnered with Trainerize, a online training app
company based out of Vancouver, BC. I have since been using this app to help hundreds of
clients from all over the world reach their fitness and weight loss goals through online training,
nutrition coaching, and online challenges.
Never Satisfied…..
Moral of the story, I am not done. I will never stop working as hard as I can in order to reach
and help as many people as I can. I feel everyone is capable of and should enjoy the feeling of
living a healthy lifestyle. Understanding that each individual is different, I love the challenge
of finding a way to help anyone be their best self through busy schedules, dietary restrictions,
family obligations and so many other things that might prevent success. I truly believe in
#NOEXCUSES and think anyone has the ability to look their best and feel great. I speak from
experience when I say anything is possible with the right help, guidance, work ethic, and
support system.
Could you be my next success story??
Check Me Out In Action