Thiele Fitness 406 in Stevensville will celebrate one year in business on April 1. The fitness gym, located at 304 Buck, is owned and operated by Stephanie Thiele (pronounced tee-la).
Thiele Fitness offers one-on-one consultation and training, as well as group classes that emphasize cardiovascular and weight training. Fitness sessions are held in 6-week blocks, with one-hour classes three times a week, with nutrition coaching included.
At 32, Thiele is obviously very fit. She is passionate about fitness and is herself a “bikini competitor,” a type of body building competition where, according to Thiele, contestants wear “perfect hair, perfect make-up, perfect tan, nails, blingy jewelry, and a beautiful bikini” and then do a posing routine. Her first-time competing was last year at “Night of Champions” in Spokane where she placed in the top ten. She is scheduled to compete at the “Big Sky Championship” on May 22 at the Adams Fieldhouse in Missoula.
Thiele took a deep dive into fitness after being diagnosed with stage 4 thyroid cancer at 19 years old while in college studying criminal justice. She battled the disease for 10 years, including many surgeries, and the cancer has been in remission for 4-1/2 years, but Thiele says she also suffers from two auto-immune diseases. Then, after the birth of her daughter in 2017, the petite Thiele gained 30 unwanted pounds.
“I just had to change my lifestyle,” says Thiele. “I decided I wanted to help other people too.”
Thiele became a certified fitness trainer and did a lot of online and mobile training. She eventually decided to open a facility. She was able to keep working during the COVID-19 outbreak and is now planning a further expansion to a bigger place sometime within the next year.
Thiele focuses on ages 30-70, helping people to get their movement back. “That’s the best thing for you – get up and get moving.”
For example, she’s been working recently with Terry Perkins, 72. Perkins is an avid golfer but Thiele helped her improve her flexibility and has photos to show how Perkins’ posture has improved.
Thiele says that to be successful as a trainer, “it’s very important to have a rapport with your clients. You have to understand how they feel. How their body reacts. If they don’t feel you understand, they aren’t going to want to do it.”
Thiele’s approach to nutrition is simple. She said she helps people grasp the fact that they don’t have to cut foods out. “It’s about calories and balancing carbs, nutrients and fats. It’s not about restricting, it’s about eating what you need.” She added that sometimes people have intolerance to certain foods. “So I focus on figuring that out as well as the training.”
In addition to herself, there is another personal trainer on staff: Ryan Huber, who runs the evening classes and also does one-on-one training. Thiele Fitness also offers Massage by Tiffany.
The fitness gym is located in the basement of the Kohl Building with the main entrance fronting on Buck Street. Free consultations are offered anytime if Thiele is available. Thiele can be contacted at 406-686-7471.
Thiele says she is at the gym by 5 or 6 a.m. every day to work out and prepare for the day. She admits that “there are days when I have to drag myself out of bed. But my clients change my life too. They’re what gets me through the day.”
Victoria Howell can be contacted at: victoria@bitterrootstar.com or (406)207-8793.