Team MightyFIT Spotlight: Ashley Hesgard
By: Christine Bean
Meet Ashley Hesgard, one of our Team MightyFIT ambassadors and owner of Maxed Out Fitness in Annapolis, MD. Learn about her journey to becoming a personal trainer and opening her own studio, and how MightyMeals helps her busy clients stay on-track with their health and fitness goals.
How did you get your start in the fitness industry?
Ashley: My fitness journey started pretty early. I was an athlete growing up and participated in every sport you could think of; soccer, basketball, ballet, swimming, gymnastics, and more. I was a nationally ranked cheerleader, and eventually began bodybuilding in my adult career as a Pro Physique Natural Athlete, before retiring 2 ½ years ago.
When I graduated high school, I had the opportunity to move to Germany. My father built cafeterias for NSA around the world, they had a need for short order cooks on a base in Germany. I was trained by some of the best chefs on base and I learned so much about food, cooking, and nutrition. But, I was 18 years old and really didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted to do in life. So, I cooked, drank, partied, and gained a lot of weight. I moved back to the states after 13 months. I picked up odd jobs and ended-up meeting my first husband. After realizing just how much weight I had truly gained overseas, I walked into Merritt Athletic Club in Annapolis and hired my first personal trainer. Within a five-month span, I went from a size 16 to a size 2. I said to my trainer, “I just quit my job; you’re going to hire me.” I wanted to transform lives like he did for me.
I’ve been training for 23 years, and have averaged anywhere from 15-18 clients per day. I’ve worked closely with doctors, PT’s, OT’s, dieticians, and nutritionists, traveling all around the country learning and gathering knowledge from anyone I could. I was a complete sponge, and have created quite a community in the Annapolis area. I believe in giving back to the community as much as possible. I sponsor The Murph Competition every year. I do events for cystic fibrosis, human trafficking, and anything else I can do to help those in need.Tell me about Maxed Out Fitness.
Ashley: We opened our doors on February 22, 2021. When COVID hit and everything shut down in Spring of 2020, most of my clients jumped ship at my old gym. I had this idea in the back of my head for at least five years, knowing that I always wanted to own my own business one day. My fiancé, Joe Calo, Maxed Out Fitness’ co-owner, is a business consultant, and he really pushed me to make this leap of faith once COVID hit. I started looking for places and found one very quickly. Maxed Out Fitness is a small personal training studio, but we are growing very quickly. We currently have three trainers on staff and are looking for a fourth. We are getting ready to open our next entity, Maxed Out Wellness. It will be an optimized health and nutrition center, with IV therapy, hormone replacement therapy, thyroid repair, and more. We are so excited to have the ability to take our clients’ health to the next level, working with a doctor to prescribe clinical nutrition for medical needs and disease control.What’s your best nutrition advice?
Ashley: Balance. People think you need to be at a deficit to be at a healthy weight, which is not true. Everyone needs balance in life, not only with the things that you put into your body, but the output, as well.What do you love about MightyMeals?
Ashley: What I love the most, and what sets MightyMeals apart from the rest, is that they offer lower fat meal options. Too many people are wrapped up in the keto trend, where everything is higher fat, so I am thrilled to have the opportunity to recommend MightyMeals to my clients who need a low fat meal plan. Our clients are busy professionals, many of them are prominent business owners in the Annapolis area, so quick, healthy meals are just what they need to keep them on-track.About Ashley
Ashley Hesgard, owner of Maxed Out Fitness, is a fitness model and ANBF figure and physique pro with over 20 years of experience in personal training and strategic meal planning.
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