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Welcome to The People of Work, the podcast where we explore the unique journeys that bring people to their careers. Every episode is a deep dive into the twists, turns, and surprises that shape how individuals find their career paths—whether they’re engineers, artists, baristas, CEOs, or anything and everything in between.
It’s not about the destination; it’s about the story. Through honest conversations, we’ll uncover the moments that define careers, the challenges overcome, and the lessons learned along the way. These are real stories from real people, celebrating the diversity of work and the individuality of the people behind it.
Join us as we break down stereotypes, embrace the unexpected, and shine a light on the human side of work.
[00:00:00] Monica Derhammer: I try to use what I deal with to reflect on other people. I know what they're feeling on the other side, but it's the same thing. It's such a mental thing that you deal with that you, you constantly thinking about food, not food, exercise. And it's the same struggles. It's just, for me, it's feeling heavier where other people are trying to lose.
[00:00:21] Ami Graves: You are listening to The People of Work, the podcast that dives into the real stories behind what people do for a living and how work shapes who we are.
[00:00:35] Ami Graves: Hi everybody. Welcome back to The People of Work with Ami Graves. I'm so excited for today's guest, Monica Derhammer. Monica has been a long time friend of mine. She's also been my worst enemy when I have had her as my trainer telling me to do multiple burpees, and we're gonna talk about that during this call as well.
[00:00:55] Ami Graves: So, Monica, thank you for joining me today.
[00:00:57] Monica Derhammer: Thank you so much for having me.
[00:00:59] Ami Graves: I wanna dig in and first kind of take it all the way back and talk about when you were a little girl. You can pick the age you're at home. I know you have a sister, you're with your mom. Talk to me about the conversation in your household about work and education and school.
[00:01:17] Ami Graves: what was that like and what was the conversation of work like in the Derhammer household?
[00:01:22] Monica Derhammer: so my mom has been just my basically motivation, inspiration, for working for anything. my dad traveled, so, um, my mom. Pretty much ran the household for me and my sister. So she not only worked outside, but did everything at home and just kind of instilled both me and my sister to be very, self-motivating, independent, but also strong women to, you know, handle everything what we could.
[00:01:47] Monica Derhammer: And so I started working at a very young age. I think my first job was the tanning place at, suntan City or Sunspot. It's still there in Avon, right next to the high school. So I walked over from. School, you know, worked there. I worked at Ritter's. you know, I always have had a job and just had that mindset to hustle and work hard.
[00:02:07] Monica Derhammer: you know, nothing's really been handed to me. Um, you know, I was fortunate, you know, growing up, to have a good, childhood and everything. But I've always worked hard and my mom's always instilled, to no matter what, you know, hustle and, and get yours, you know?
[00:02:22] Ami Graves: when you were younger, w was the conversation at home, you have to go to college and you have to get a degree, or was it you have to work and you have gotta, take care of yourself? Or was it like a mixture of both?
[00:02:33] Monica Derhammer: Yeah, it was a mixture. So my dad worked at the railroad for Conrail for a long time. So his thing was work, make money. you know, as soon as you can, you know, he, probably honestly would've charged me and my sister rent if he could have
[00:02:44] Ami Graves: Yeah. Right. And your mom was like, no, I don't
[00:02:47] Ami Graves: think we're doing it. Yeah.
[00:02:48] Monica Derhammer: college first.
[00:02:49] Monica Derhammer: College first. So yes, me and my sister both went to college. you know, I started out Indiana State, I was on a cheerleading scholarship. And then when I came home I did finish, through IPY through iu. my sister went and, you know, got her degree. I got mine, you know, finished that out and everything.
[00:03:04] Monica Derhammer: And luckily both of us are working in the field with our degree, but, you know, education back then. Was very important. I felt like for anybody to get ahead, you have to have an education to get any type of job.
[00:03:16] Ami Graves: Yeah, and it's interesting too because I mean, you work in the fitness, you know, industry, and a lot of people who work as trainers or even gym owners, It's not a requirement to have a degree. You don't have to have that. So I'm curious what was the real tangible benefit that you see, especially like looking back that getting a college degree was a differentiator.
[00:03:40] Ami Graves: Or maybe you, maybe you'll say, I didn't really need it,
[00:03:43] Monica Derhammer: you know, we'll probably get into it. There's a lot of people doing what I do that aren't educated or certified and you know, it it is very frustrating. But I also
[00:03:51] Monica Derhammer: feel like
[00:03:52] Monica Derhammer: with all my degrees and certification, it
[00:03:54] Monica Derhammer: does
[00:03:55] Monica Derhammer: give me a little bit more credibility.
[00:03:57] Monica Derhammer: I know a lot of people will just go to anybody for a gym, for a trainer. But you know, for me having a license and you know, a degree and then 10 or 12 certifications, it does show I know what I'm doing. there's a lot of people out there that just lose weight and call themself a trainer. And so, you know, I wish I could have done that.
[00:04:16] Monica Derhammer: Would've probably saved me a hundred thousand dollars, but. You know,
[00:04:19] Ami Graves: Yeah.
[00:04:19] Monica Derhammer: but you know, back then when we were going to school, you had to have a degree to do anything.
[00:04:24] Ami Graves: Yeah.
[00:04:25] Monica Derhammer: my degree is actually in exercise science and I minored in cardiac rehab. I actually thought about going into physical therapy, but back then when I applied, they only took two or four out of the school.
[00:04:35] Monica Derhammer: And if you didn't get in, you had to sit out and wait. And I was like, well, what do you do Until then? So
[00:04:39] Ami Graves: you had your dad in the back of your mind saying,
[00:04:41] Ami Graves: go make money. Go make money.
[00:04:43] Ami Graves: Go make money.
[00:04:44] Monica Derhammer: Don't put me more in debt,
[00:04:45] Ami Graves: Yeah. Right?
[00:04:46] Monica Derhammer: I pretty much just paid off my Sally Mae like loan, like probably five years ago.
[00:04:50] Ami Graves: Yeah.
[00:04:51] Monica Derhammer: I feel like it does gimme a little bit of a leg to stand up on, but I also know there's a lot of people doing it that don't have the education. it's definitely frustrating to see that. But also, you know, it's like anything, people probably out here doing surgeries that aren't doctors.
[00:05:07] Ami Graves: I'm pretty certain I saw a Netflix show on that, like in the, in the recent week.
[00:05:11] Ami Graves: So
[00:05:11] Monica Derhammer: They're making more money than any of us.
[00:05:13] Ami Graves: Yeah, they really are with very little education. It's kinda
[00:05:16] Ami Graves: scary.
[00:05:17] Ami Graves: okay, so I wanna talk about, obviously working young, you went to school.
[00:05:21] Ami Graves: So did you know when you went to college that you, well you thought you were gonna do some physical therapy, so at what point did you decide, was it in college or after college where you thought, I'm gonna be a trainer?
[00:05:32] Monica Derhammer: Yeah, so actually when I was at IPUI, we had to do like an internship for one of our classes and I started mine at a gym called the Avon Tower Club. And back
[00:05:41] Monica Derhammer: then, you know, that was the only gym around Avon. it was a, big, you know, facility. And so I started my internship there. I worked the front desk and just kind of really liked it.
[00:05:52] Monica Derhammer: there was a husband and wife, Missy and Steve that owned it. and just really. Enjoyed it. And so that's when I actually got my first certification was for cycle. So I started teaching cycle in 1999. I was 18 years
[00:06:03] Monica Derhammer: old, you know? Got it. And just really liked it. I have a very outgoing personality. I am not a sit behind to desk type of person,
[00:06:12] Monica Derhammer: and so it just really intrigued me to be able to be kind of hands on or work with people.
[00:06:18] Monica Derhammer: And so from then on, from my. Internship, I actually started working at the Tower Club. they gave me a job, you know, I did work the front desk, but I ended up getting my license to Personal Train and it just kind of took off from there. And I stayed there for about nine years
[00:06:34] Ami Graves: Oh really?
[00:06:36] Ami Graves: I didn't realize you were there that long. Yeah, that
[00:06:38] Ami Graves: was a long time.
[00:06:38] Monica Derhammer: when I was 18 years old
[00:06:40] Ami Graves: Yeah.
[00:06:41] Ami Graves:
[00:06:41] Ami Graves: so nine years there, uh, at the Avon Tower Club. are they still a thing? I don't.
[00:06:46] Monica Derhammer: No. So they actually closed, it's sad. Um, it was a husband and wife that owned it for many years and then they actually sold it to like a franchise company.
[00:06:55] Monica Derhammer: And that franchise company came in and basically restructured the whole gym. you know, tripled the prices, put a bunch of like juice bar stuff in that wasn't Avon, you know,
[00:07:06] Monica Derhammer: basically got rid of all of us old and, you know, The original
[00:07:10] Ami Graves: The OGs. Mm-hmm.
[00:07:11] Monica Derhammer: So it, closed. And so, I had just recently got married at that time, and so me and my,first husband, we.
[00:07:18] Monica Derhammer: Bought and opened an appliance business.
[00:07:21] Ami Graves: so I went from working at a gym to an appliance business,
[00:07:24] Ami Graves: Mm-hmm.
[00:07:24] Monica Derhammer: know how to, um, get people fit and I fix their appliances too,
[00:07:30] Ami Graves: Okay. That's so interesting. So was your husband, first husband was an electrician, or was he He
[00:07:35] Ami Graves: was.
[00:07:35] Monica Derhammer: um, he just, he did construction and stuff,
[00:07:37] Monica Derhammer: his grandparents were looking to sell their business.
[00:07:39] Monica Derhammer: So,
[00:07:40] Monica Derhammer: you know, at 20, you know, some years old, you know, we took over a business
[00:07:44] Monica Derhammer: and, you know, that was our life for a little bit.
[00:07:47] Monica Derhammer: So did that, and then, I'll be honest, I missed the gym,
[00:07:51] Monica Derhammer: so I got right back into it, you know, working at a gym, in Brownsburg at that time called Hip Fitness.
[00:07:57] Monica Derhammer: and then I got into the racing industry. 'cause at that time, hip fitness was just a little bit of part-time. So I was doing, you know, receptionist stuff there, but it's just like, I just kept getting pulled back. they had an opening for a cycle instructor or stuff like this, so it was just a little bit here and there, but it just kept drawing me back in.
[00:08:17] Ami Graves: I think that's where you and I met, was at Hip Fitness and I was looking for a personal trainer and we and you, you. You know, put me through the ringer, but, you know, and that somehow we're still friends. You know, I appreciate all that.
[00:08:29] Ami Graves: I might have cussed you a time or two, but it's all in good fun, you know?
[00:08:33] Ami Graves: I think at the time HIP was dissolving and you were gonna, I think they were looking to sell, I don't know all the details, but you ended up, were you, did you kind of purchase what they were selling or
[00:08:43] Ami Graves: start your whole own thing?
[00:08:44] Monica Derhammer: Yep. Jamie, the owner. We were, um, good friends and,
[00:08:47] Monica Derhammer: you know, they had came to me before they announced it and was like, are you interested in buying this? You know, and at the time it just kind of hit me, you know, I don't know if I'm, you know, ready for this and everything.
[00:08:57] Ami Graves: I mean, it's big it's not like, do you want a job here? It's, do you wanna buy the company?
[00:09:01] Ami Graves: at that time I wasn't a manager, but I was kind of helping run
[00:09:05] Monica Derhammer: the gym. I was teaching the majority of the classes. I was there every day. So that was kind of why they came to me. And at that time she had another partner and stuff. And, that wasn't their main income,
[00:09:15] Monica Derhammer: this gym. And so to them it was like, if we can sell it, we can close it, you know? I was like, I don't know if I can do this. And so, they ended up announcing, you know, 30 days everybody were closing and, and it was just kind of a punch in the stomach to everyone just because
[00:09:29] Monica Derhammer: we all felt like it was in a good place.
[00:09:31] Monica Derhammer: You know, everyone was enjoying it. And same thing at that time, you know, 10 years ago that was really the only gym around doing group fitness.
[00:09:38] Monica Derhammer: So,
[00:09:38] Monica Derhammer: I was secretly kinda working on everything behind the scenes and you know, when they pulled all of us in and told everybody, everyone was kinda like, what am I gonna do?
[00:09:46] Monica Derhammer: And you know, I was having to tell everybody, don't panic. I got something in the
[00:09:50] Monica Derhammer: works.
[00:09:51] Ami Graves: hip closed on Friday and I opened Hoosier Trainer on that Monday.
[00:09:55] Ami Graves: Wow. Yeah.
[00:09:57] Monica Derhammer: for seven days we completely remodeled, you know, another
[00:10:00] Monica Derhammer: spot. got it to where I could open. I knew, at the time that if I did not grab the members at that time, they'd go elsewhere.
[00:10:11] Monica Derhammer: So it, it had to be a quick transition of, Hey, this is closing. I'm opening literally two doors down.
[00:10:19] Monica Derhammer: Come here, you know, type of thing.
[00:10:21] Ami Graves: So tell me about the first year of owning your own business. Like, actually, I can't imagine the chaos I've done, I've done this too. So it's it's not just personal training, it's not running the cycling class. You have to, you're answering the phone, you're paying bills, you're hiring talent, you're dealing with issues, it's insurance.
[00:10:38] Ami Graves: All the things like it's the non-glamorous piece of business ownership, right.
[00:10:44] Monica Derhammer: Yeah. And so when I took over, I kept all of the rates the same, you know, just
[00:10:49] Monica Derhammer: basically moved over. And in my mind I was like, I need a hundred people to believe in me, trust me, come to this gym so I can make the overhead. You know, I had three or four instructors at the time. we started out like 1 75 and within three months we were over 300 members to the point that
[00:11:08] Monica Derhammer: I literally had to take the spot next door.
[00:11:11] Monica Derhammer: you know, myself and three other people knocked the wall down in between and we
[00:11:15] Monica Derhammer: expanded from 2,500 to 5,000 square feet, which obviously doubled everything, including space and bills. And
[00:11:24] Monica Derhammer: so. it was amazing. We grew and,from 300 members, you know, I eventually, by the end of that first year was up to five, 600 members, you know, surpassing the memberships of the gym I ever worked at.
[00:11:37] Monica Derhammer: you know, that first year, very, very stressful, but it was also very, successful I should say,
[00:11:42] Monica Derhammer: as you know, an owner. I have two boys. so I will say sacrifice. Was the biggest thing, you know, that first year I was having to miss games. I was having to miss, you know, certain things, school things, because as the owner, you know, you're there, you're there
[00:11:57] Monica Derhammer: seven days a week, six days a week, you're teaching, you're filling in, scrubbing, toilets, doing whatever.
[00:12:01] Monica Derhammer: So that was the biggest change from working as a trainer at HIP to being an owner is you never leave it. You're
[00:12:08] Monica Derhammer: never done.
[00:12:09] Ami Graves: And everything is your responsibility. And, no matter how many employees you have, not that they don't care, I mean, great employees do care, but it's a different kind of care than the ownership. I, you know, my oldest two daughters own an aesthetics business in Brownsburg, and we talk about this a lot, like everybody cares, but it's a different kind of level of, you know, care and protection and investment.
[00:12:33] Monica Derhammer: when they're, yeah, they care when they're there, but they get to leave and it stays I will say the biggest, thing I took away from working at a gym and owning is I do not have a comment box. I learned very, very quick,
[00:12:45] Monica Derhammer: never have a comment box in the open because people are brutal.
[00:12:50] Monica Derhammer: Brutal.
[00:12:51] Monica Derhammer: And I will say back then it was comment box. Unfortunately, now it's social
[00:12:54] Monica Derhammer: media.
[00:12:55] Monica Derhammer: you know that comment box will never appear at my gym.
[00:12:59] Ami Graves: No, because. I don't know what it is as human nature. We, we don't mind bitching about the things that upset us, but we, we, we sometimes, for whatever reason, won't take the extra step to say the things that are really exciting to us or that we're happy about, or that we're pleased with.
[00:13:16] Ami Graves: One of the things that me as a person that comes to Hoosier Trainer? I have always loved your cycle classes, and I'm plugging because I can, but it's true. Like, I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it like I never thought I would take a cycle class because.
[00:13:32] Ami Graves: They just looked so brutal and horrible. I will admit, the first time I took a, a cycling class even with you, I thought I was gonna vomit. Like it was really hard work. you made it so much easier, Monica, you really do. One of the things that I, I think that you do so well is.
[00:13:49] Ami Graves: There's like some kind of reverse psychology mind games that you play with people where you're like, one more set. And then I'm like, oh, I got one more set. And then I get that set done and you're like,
[00:13:58] Ami Graves: One
[00:13:58] Ami Graves: more. Damn.
[00:14:01] Monica Derhammer: I know I'm still doing that. They call it, the Monica minutes 'cause they're like, you just said that was the last one, and then you're like, there's five more
[00:14:09] Monica Derhammer: or there's 5 seconds left and that felt like 30.
[00:14:12] Monica Derhammer: So Yeah.
[00:14:12] Ami Graves: that's a real thing for sure. So let's talk about COVID because I, again, like, I mean, I'm so happy and thrilled that you were able to sustain your business through that time. 'cause not a lot of businesses could and did, in fact, a lot of gyms shut down.
[00:14:26] Ami Graves: Talk to me about that. How in the world you got through that, what you were thinking about? Did you consider closing?
[00:14:34] Monica Derhammer: Yeah, so, I mean, I'll be honest, COVID it killed my business then and I'm still trying to recover.
[00:14:40] Monica Derhammer: we shut down in March
[00:14:43] Monica Derhammer: and we were closed over eight months, so we were the longest shut down because on the list they felt like gyms were the
[00:14:51] Monica Derhammer: worst. And for me.
[00:14:54] Monica Derhammer: I couldn't understand it because one, you know, this was a respiratory type of virus. So sitting around, laying around was the worst thing you could do. Now I understood, you know, they think gyms are the dirtiest and stuff. I will say during that COVID time, or when we opened and we did all this protocol, my gym was probably the cleanest it's ever
[00:15:13] Monica Derhammer: been.
[00:15:14] Monica Derhammer: but in January I, got this wild hair that I'm gonna do these online videos and, you know, I started it in January, but I was like, eh, I don't know about this. And then COVID hit and I was like, what am I gonna do? I'm shut down.
[00:15:29] Monica Derhammer: But what people didn't know is I still had to pay rent.
[00:15:33] Ami Graves: I mean, they gotta pay their bills too, so
[00:15:35] Ami Graves: I get it.
[00:15:35] Monica Derhammer: Yeah. So we all tried, you know, we're all in this complex. I tried to get any type of assistance. I was too small. I pay all my employees, they're all contract 10 99. So you did not get any assistance in that, so
[00:15:48] Monica Derhammer: literally did not get a dime assistance. So here I am, no memberships closed down, and I've got this rent.
[00:15:55] Monica Derhammer: So. What really saved me was I, every day went live at 6:00 PM and did a workout and it was open to the whole
[00:16:05] Monica Derhammer: United States. Anybody could come on and it was free you know, we started out the first week doing that, and I'll be honest, we broke my bandwidth, the internet.
[00:16:17] Monica Derhammer: We had people in Canada, Germany, we had this little, you know, map that we could see.
[00:16:22] Monica Derhammer: And it picked up so big, which is great,
[00:16:25] Monica Derhammer: you know that everyone reached out and so we did that. And so I'm like, I have to capitalize on this. So
[00:16:31] Monica Derhammer: we gave all my members access to those videos and I worked my butt off and got over 200 videos put on there. And if everyone kept their monthly membership, they had those videos for free.
[00:16:45] Monica Derhammer: So I was able to get monthly memberships. People could go on and buy that. They could work out. It was every class that, pretty much I taught. So I would go in the gym by myself, I'd set up a camera and I would teach two or three hours of workouts, record 'em, go home, load 'em up, put 'em on this site. we still did a couple free ones, but. I was able to keep that membership to pay my bills, and that literally is what saved me
[00:17:13] Monica Derhammer: was every one of my members they needed that workout, they needed that, you know, mental, release
[00:17:20] Ami Graves: we would've paid big dollars for that at that
[00:17:22] Ami Graves: time. The first few weeks we were like, oh, COVID, you know,
[00:17:25] Ami Graves: we'll work from home for a few weeks and.
[00:17:27] Ami Graves: still be great.
[00:17:28] Monica Derhammer: Yeah. And the, the problem was, is that, and I don't know if you remember, we kept getting told it's just a
[00:17:33] Monica Derhammer: week.
[00:17:33] Monica Derhammer: It's just a week. we would be like, Hey, we're closed until this, we're closed until this, so during that time is when I would do these free workouts. 'cause you know, everyone's like, oh, we'll be back and stuff.
[00:17:42] Monica Derhammer: So,
[00:17:43] Monica Derhammer: I personally went through a lot. I gained over 30 pounds.
[00:17:46] Monica Derhammer: I was very depressed. I was like, what am I gonna do
[00:17:48] Monica Derhammer: that was my livelihood. unfortunately I was going through a divorce, at that time too. So here I am, you know, divorced, two kids, no gym is what I'm looking at. So. I really, really did bust through, you know, and do everything I could.
[00:18:03] Monica Derhammer: and like I said, it's so funny, if you go back through those videos, you can see, you know, I'm 30 pounds heavier. It just doesn't, it doesn't look like me. And so as you see those videos progress, I, I do lose and stuff. But, I was very fortunate to have that option to.
[00:18:17] Monica Derhammer: Reopen with that. had I not, I, I wouldn't have been able to make it.
[00:18:21] Monica Derhammer: you know, I didn't have a, second income or my, you know, a husband to help me out with that. So, it was sad that, you know, I didn't get any assistance. I get it, the landlord, everyone, they needed their pay,
[00:18:31] Monica Derhammer: but, you know, to come up with five or $6,000
[00:18:34] Monica Derhammer: in expenses when you have nothing coming in, it definitely took a toll on me.
[00:18:39] Monica Derhammer: You know, and when we opened, you know, we were able to open, but I had to do so many different things. we couldn't use my cycle room upstairs, so we had to bring all the bikes downstairs and I had to have extra classes and
[00:18:50] Monica Derhammer: I had to put spots.
[00:18:51] Ami Graves: the reason for that was like the, the social distancing?
[00:18:54] Ami Graves: Yeah.
[00:18:55] Monica Derhammer: we reopened they were like, you still have to do all
[00:18:58] Ami Graves: Yeah.
[00:18:58] Monica Derhammer: it's so amazing. Um, I followed everything to the t and I tell you what, I got turned in probably once a week by somebody, you know, just being nasty and trying to get me in trouble. And so we'd have the CDC come in.
[00:19:12] Monica Derhammer: I got fined a couple times because
[00:19:14] Monica Derhammer: they felt like I had. Too many people in there, even though we were, you know, spaced out and, and people were very good about staying on their spots. You know,
[00:19:22] Monica Derhammer: everyone wanted to be in the gym and everything, but, you know, there was always once a week I was dealing with something like that.
[00:19:29] Monica Derhammer: So,
[00:19:30] Ami Graves: it's amazing what fear will ignite in people.
[00:19:33] Ami Graves: and especially during that time. 'cause really nobody knew this was like unknown territory for
[00:19:38] Ami Graves: everybody.
[00:19:39] Monica Derhammer: Yeah.
[00:19:40] Monica Derhammer: I say I'm still, you know, having the effects. 'cause you know, before COVID I had 820 some members, I
[00:19:47] Monica Derhammer: mean, top of the world. And, not even at 300 now.
[00:19:51] Monica Derhammer: So, I mean, it's, it's amazing It caused people to stay home.
[00:19:55] Monica Derhammer: You know, the Peloton, all of that stuff,
[00:19:57] Monica Derhammer: became accessible. People being able to work out at home, and then just the economy, I mean, people not working and all this stuff,
[00:20:03] Monica Derhammer: you know, the cost. you know, unfortunately a gym is like your hair and your nails. It's a necessity, and to some people, that's the first thing that
[00:20:11] Ami Graves: Yeah. Which is crazy because if you think about that, especially at a time when we are stuck inside. I get it, gyms were closed and all those things, but as soon as they reopen, like it's almost like, It's really great therapy to work out, and we all needed it during that
[00:20:27] Ami Graves: time, you know, for a variety of reasons. yeah, even till this day, if I go days without working out, I'm grouchy.
[00:20:33] Ami Graves: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:20:34] Ami Graves: I'm interested in hearing about a success story that you still think about that was really impactful or more than one.
[00:20:41] Ami Graves: but a client story that kinda keeps you motivated, keeps you going.
[00:20:45] Monica Derhammer: I, you know, applaud everyone that walks through my door. I tell people all the time, if I did not do this as a job, it would be a struggle to get in. I mean, life
[00:20:53] Monica Derhammer: happens. So, you know, walking through that door is. anybody's first, success to hit a journey and stuff. you know, like you said, you talk about, you know, success stories and you know, there's been times where, you know, I doubt myself and then, you hear a success story.
[00:21:09] Monica Derhammer: And so, there's two that I can really think of. there's a guy that comes to, cycle, that's all he does. And he was diagnosed with. Stage four cancer and they, you know, put him through treatment and all this stuff and he does cycle two or three times a week. You know, get through the chemo, live life longer.
[00:21:32] Monica Derhammer: And so, you
[00:21:33] Monica Derhammer: know, he always applauds me and everything. And it's just that to me is one of the bigger success stories than a scale story. You
[00:21:39] Monica Derhammer: know, people want to think it's weight loss or inches, but for me, you know, hearing him have a better life, a longer life just from taking my cycle
[00:21:49] Monica Derhammer: classes, you know, that's a huge success for me.
[00:21:52] Monica Derhammer: Because like I said, a lot of people want the weight loss story. So that's the stuff that I hear that really means a lot to me as a trainer.
[00:21:59] Monica Derhammer: it's easy for people to do the food and the, the
[00:22:02] Monica Derhammer: exercise, but to hear someone physically healthier and you know, living longer because of something, I'm doing it, it's very rewarding.
[00:22:11] Monica Derhammer: I have girls that, you know, come in for weddings. They wanna hit this goal and they, they do. And so, um, you know, probably one of my other success stories is, my friend Savannah, she got married and I'm sorry, I'm gonna get
[00:22:23] Monica Derhammer: emotional.
[00:22:24] Ami Graves: I love that you, it is just because you care, Monica. That's why we, that's why we all love you so much.
[00:22:29] Monica Derhammer: so she lost weight God love her. She, um, she had a, you know, really bad pregnancy and now she's found out she's got breast cancer. And so you know, every time she gets ready to come back to me, to, you know, get on this journey and stuff, she's ran into something and, you know, she's younger than me and everything, and so, you know, right now she just finished her last chemo and so she texted me last week and was like, I can't wait to get back in this gym.
[00:22:54] Monica Derhammer: She's like. need you to get me healthy again. 'cause she's gotta unfortunately have a double mastectomy. So, you know, that's my goal in the next couple weeks is to, you know, not so much get her to lose weight, but to get her healthy enough to, you know, have this, you know, double mastectomy.
[00:23:09] Monica Derhammer: But
[00:23:09] Monica Derhammer: it's kind of another story kinda like yours. You know, we went back and forth, you know, I got her down 35 pounds for a wedding
[00:23:15] Monica Derhammer: and you know, she got pregnant. And then when she came back in with me and then. She just got diagnosed with this cancer. And so, you know, for her to look to me, you know, to be able to help her, get through this, you know, time, just means a lot.
[00:23:27] Monica Derhammer: And you know, it does get emotional 'cause you see someone that's healthy and they're just going through a hard time and you just wanna do everything you can. And so, you know, she's probably one of my, you know,
[00:23:36] Monica Derhammer: best success stories. Yeah. So.
[00:23:39] Ami Graves: I think as a person that has had weight to lose I could have gone to a big box gym. Right. but. There's a level of embarrassment I'm speaking for myself, I can't speak for everybody, but for me there was like a level of like, I can't believe I've let this go and gotten, you know, this outta shape and I just felt not good about myself.
[00:24:00] Ami Graves: So for me, I wanted to hire a personal trainer that. a helped me do the exercises right? But b, just honestly just be a cheerleader for me. an accountability partner was probably the biggest thing I needed. because I remember saying this to you and I was going to a big box gym in addition to coming and working out with you, and I would go to the gym and, I would spend twice as long in the gym, but I would get.
[00:24:25] Ami Graves: A half-ass workout because, I wasn't forcing myself. Let's just be honest. I wasn't forcing myself to do burpees and do these rope. Throws, or I don't even know what the hell you call 'em, Monica. This, the, yeah, man, those ropes. Um, but all those things, like I wasn't forcing myself. I was hopping on a treadmill listening to some music.
[00:24:42] Ami Graves: I might have done some weights here and there, but the level that I was pushing myself, even though I was in there twice as long, was not nearly the workout I was getting. And literally 30 minutes a couple of times a week with you. I needed that accountability partner. the other, I think, differentiator
[00:24:59] Ami Graves: For me with you was also the realness. Like I remember too, you saying. Girl, don't worry. I just was drinking my diet Mountain Dew and eating a french fry like I am. Like, okay, she's real. Not like somebody that only eats lettuce all day and then judges me when I said, well, I had three cupcakes last night.
[00:25:17] Ami Graves: Let's not talk about that. You know what I mean? There's like a level of, oh, you struggle too. And in fact I know gaining 30 pounds during COVID, it doesn't feel good to you, especially as a person that is a trainer, by trade and by going about what they do in their career.
[00:25:30] Ami Graves: But. Honestly, like for a person like me, I'm like, oh, I'm kind of glad to know that my trainer can have those exact same situations happen to her too. Like there's a realness associated with that, that sometimes people that struggle, and yo-yo their whole lives, like I have, it resonates, you
[00:25:49] Ami Graves: know.
[00:25:50] Monica Derhammer: Well, and that, like I have a lot of clients that will, you know, basically look at me and say, you don't understand. You have no clue, you know, with the weight loss. And to be honest, I do. I mean, I've been on the. Other side. you know, I had an eating disorder in college, kind of put it a little bit over the edge.
[00:26:06] Monica Derhammer: We had to weigh, I had to weigh 95 pounds. And so, you know, I went through, you know, the binging, the purging, not eating, you know, I was taking 20, 30 laxatives a day.
[00:26:17] Monica Derhammer: going through that and it carried over, until, you know, I got pregnant with Jace
[00:26:21] Monica Derhammer: and was in and outta the hospital, and the doctor said one day, you know, you choose, you choose this eating disorder to be skinny or you keep your son.
[00:26:28] Monica Derhammer: And so
[00:26:29] Monica Derhammer: I jokingly say, Jace saved my life,
[00:26:31] Monica Derhammer: but he did. And, I deal with it. All the time. I stand in front of a mirror to teach five hours a day, and unfortunately, you know, it creeps up on me. I sometimes see myself 200 pounds in the mirror because of the body dysmorphia or I spot, you know, a bit of cellulite on my leg and it gets in my head and I gotta go home and think, do I eat, do I not eat?
[00:26:53] Monica Derhammer: So. those demons are constantly in my head and you know, I get people that say, you know, how do you deal with that teaching? That would basically, I mean, I hate to say this, but it would be like a drug dealer working in a drug clinic, you know? because you're just constantly around it. But I try to use what I deal with to reflect on other people.
[00:27:13] Monica Derhammer: I know what they're feeling on the other side, but it's the same thing. It's such a mental thing that you deal with that you,
[00:27:21] Monica Derhammer: you constantly thinking about food, not food, exercise. And it's the same struggles. It's just, for me, it's, feeling heavier where other people are trying to lose.
[00:27:31] Monica Derhammer: And so it is a struggle. It's a
[00:27:33] Monica Derhammer: struggle that I feel. A lot of people probably go through that nobody knows. You know, probably people look at me and have no clue I deal with
[00:27:40] Monica Derhammer: that, you know, if I get on the scale and I'm five pounds up, it, it does mentally, you know, get to me. But I have to tell myself I'm healthy
[00:27:47] Monica Derhammer: now. I can't go back to that lifestyle.
[00:27:51] Ami Graves: what would you say was most important to, like the work that you're doing right now as a trainer and a business owner? Was it the college degree? Was it the certifications? Was it a mixture of both? And I asked this question from the reference. Point of, let's say somebody thinks they wanna go into this field, or maybe they're in a totally different field and they wanna pivot because they have a passion for fitness.
[00:28:13] Ami Graves: Where should they start? What would you advise?
[00:28:16] Monica Derhammer: definitely the certifications. a lot of gyms, when I even was looking, would not take certain certifications because they know you just go online and take a test.
[00:28:27] Monica Derhammer: I went and got a licensed, for my personal training, I have to, you know, either redo or take, you know, every certain,
[00:28:34] Monica Derhammer: years where someone down the street could just go online and take a test and, and claim to have the same cert. the actual in-house or, on hand. Certification places give you so much education. You know, there's so many things now. people with bad knees, bad backs, you know, there's certain exercises you cannot do with someone where if you don't have that education and you have someone deadlifting with a bad back, they're gonna not get outta bed tomorrow.
[00:29:00] Monica Derhammer: And then. You're the reason, you
[00:29:02] Monica Derhammer: know, so there's a lot of education with the true certifications that you know, if I was to recommend anybody getting into this field to long term, you know, do it. Definitely get the education. If you can go somewhere and get an In-house type of clinic, you know, or certification, definitely do that.
[00:29:21] Monica Derhammer: You know, the online things are great to renew, but without that education, there's just so much. You know, I just literally got nutrition certified after 20 years because there's so much information. so many people are different. I didn't wanna steer people in the wrong way. I'm glad I did it. it's definitely a process and I have learned so much that I thought I knew before just from my, you know, education with exercise, that I'm so much more educated with this nutrition cert.
[00:29:50] Ami Graves: Yeah. So does that nutrition start mean that you can. Advise clients on diet, in addition to giving them kind of a workout plan
[00:30:00] Monica Derhammer: Yeah,
[00:30:00] Monica Derhammer: so my nutrition's basically on the macros. I don't set diet plans. you know, there's so many people that have, you know, diabetes or CPD. Just different
[00:30:10] Monica Derhammer: things with food, that, that's where a,dietician would come
[00:30:15] Monica Derhammer: in for. What I do is more so about setting your macros to know how much protein, carbs, and fats to eat, to lose weight.
[00:30:23] Monica Derhammer: I couldn't have someone come to me that has a food allergy or, you know, something that's like what do I need to do to fix that type of thing, but with my nutrition, people are able to put it together. what people don't realize is nutrition's 80%.
[00:30:34] Monica Derhammer: So the gym is the easy part. And I've already got that down pat, you know, with my stuff. It is the food. And I cannot tell you how many clients I have had, including my sister, that never stepped foot in my gym that have lost weight just from changing their
[00:30:49] Monica Derhammer: food. And it's, you know, it's that mindset.
[00:30:52] Monica Derhammer: People think it's the gym, but it's actually the food. So that's probably the best thing I could have done
[00:30:58] Monica Derhammer: in this whole career. Is the nutrition
[00:31:01] Ami Graves: the value in that is,
[00:31:03] Ami Graves: 80% of it's food, right? But, but that 20% we can't ignore the, I think, importance of that. Not just so much for like weight loss, but for me, my mental health. I feel so much better. Not just physically, of course, but mentally and even like when I would walk out of sessions where I think I wasn't gonna make it through, like I feel stronger, I feel proud, I feel better.
[00:31:25] Ami Graves: I've never regretted. Going to a workout when it's over.
[00:31:29] Monica Derhammer: what's great about what I do with nutrition, it's the macros, and you know, I set people's macros and I tell them, you eat what you want to eat to hit those numbers. I mean, I have clients that eat ice cream every night. They have wine.
[00:31:41] Monica Derhammer: That's what's great about the
[00:31:43] Monica Derhammer: macro counting versus. Let me put you on a strict diet. Only eat this stuff, who wants to live like that?
[00:31:50] Monica Derhammer: You know? You don't. And you know, like you said, the 80 20, you know, I have clients that have a bad weekend and they get back on. They're like, I'm down a pound.
[00:31:58] Monica Derhammer: I'm like, 'cause that's life.
[00:31:59] Monica Derhammer: No one's gonna be strict, strict, strict, and enjoy it. you'll fall off the bandwagon and you know, you'll go backwards.
[00:32:07] Monica Derhammer: that's where, you know, I, try to bring up, you know, how important it is putting those two together. You know, people that you know don't eat or, you know, unfortunately, I'm gonna bring it up.
[00:32:17] Monica Derhammer: The ozempic, the shots, you know, that stop your stomach. It's not sustainable. You're gonna gain it back because your body needs food.
[00:32:25] Monica Derhammer: I've had clients unfortunately, that have came to me after being on it and went off of it and gained 40 pounds and, their metabolism has just flatlined on it, and which that's what it's supposed to do.
[00:32:35] Monica Derhammer: But then you start introducing food and your body's like, what are we doing? And
[00:32:39] Monica Derhammer: it just absorbs. So it's no different for clients that starve themselves and then start eating. So it's
[00:32:45] Monica Derhammer: like. to tell someone you have to eat more to lose weight. They wanna laugh in my face,
[00:32:49] Monica Derhammer: but every time I get a client to eat more, they're
[00:32:52] Monica Derhammer: down because your body needs food.
[00:32:55] Monica Derhammer: I mean, it's just what type of food you put in
[00:32:58] Ami Graves: absolutely. Yeah.
[00:33:00] Ami Graves: Hoosier Trainer. Talk to me about like, what's exciting. What are you working on right now?
[00:33:04] Ami Graves: What do you envision for the future for Hoosier Trainer?
[00:33:07] Monica Derhammer: Yeah, so we actually just got nominated in the top three for the Indies best.
[00:33:12] Monica Derhammer: what's great about it, you know, yes, we plug it and we ask people to vote for us, but it's, it's true nomination. So, you know, we're getting nominated and we're getting voted in by our
[00:33:21] Monica Derhammer: members, you know, and. I'm very, honored just to be nominated, it's very satisfying,to win it.
[00:33:28] Monica Derhammer: Um, last year I actually won the Best Trainer, award for, you know, being a personal trainer in Indianapolis.
[00:33:34] Monica Derhammer: And, you know, that's very rewarding for myself. But, you know, for the gym to get it, you know, I have, eight other employees, you know, we offer a variety of classes, so, you know, people come to our gym.
[00:33:46] Monica Derhammer: For the classes and the instructors and the staff. And so it says a lot when we get nominated that what I'm doing is working.
[00:33:53] Monica Derhammer: So, we've got that in the works. Fox 59, where Sherman's coming out in a couple
[00:33:58] Ami Graves: Oh, good.
[00:33:58] Monica Derhammer: us. Yeah. So that, yeah, that'll be exciting. you know, we like to always do a.
[00:34:03] Monica Derhammer: Fall, bingo type of challenge. who doesn't like winning free stuff?
[00:34:08] Monica Derhammer: So, we do a Bingo card and we challenge people to, you know, mark off things on that bingo card, but we put things that are different, like try a new class or do this or that. So it challenges people to get that bingo star, to try.
[00:34:21] Monica Derhammer: And I'll tell you what, fitness people are. Competitive. Competitive,
[00:34:26] Ami Graves: wanna win.
[00:34:27] Monica Derhammer: Oh my gosh. Real quick, funny story is one of the tag things was you have to wear a Hoosier trainer shirt and this group of people came in and they had one shirt and they would go to the bathroom every 10 minutes and swap out this T-shirt and come out and work out for a little bit and then go back in and swish it with somebody else so that they all could get that sticker.
[00:34:45] Monica Derhammer: I mean, I loved it,
[00:34:46] Ami Graves: Yeah.
[00:34:47] Monica Derhammer: that is competitive. So,
[00:34:49] Monica Derhammer: you know, we have a new schedule coming out I like to try to do in the winter. You know, I'm always looking to add new classes. We're gonna bring dance fitness back. That's one of our favorites.
[00:34:57] Monica Derhammer: So, you know, stuff in the works. it's really good vibe right now. they say the fitness, you know, industry is a fitness family, and it is, I
[00:35:05] Monica Derhammer: mean. Let's be honest, that's my second home. I spend as much time, if not more time there than my
[00:35:09] Monica Derhammer: kids. And you know, it's really great to see all of the friendships that have developed.
[00:35:14] Monica Derhammer: You know, Wednesday night there was a group that went out for, margaritas and Mexican after class, you know, and it's like, would they have done that had they not, you know, met at the gym?
[00:35:23] Monica Derhammer: So it's like they do that they gain the friendships and you know, that to me. Is very special. 'cause you know, I'll be honest, I've been doing this, it'll be 10 years and it's, hard on my body mentally and physically.
[00:35:36] Monica Derhammer: And there's been some days I'm like, do I wanna do this?
[00:35:39] Monica Derhammer: But then that success story
[00:35:42] Monica Derhammer: or seeing those friends, you know, it's like, this is why I do it and I
[00:35:46] Monica Derhammer: can't give up.
[00:35:47] Ami Graves: I love that you've got two boys. One of them plays football and is in high school. and I've, been to the gym where Jace has worked out alongside me,
[00:35:55] Ami Graves: just being as cute as ever. So talk to me about like how fitness for you has kind of bled over into your family. I mean, what do they think about their mom being a
[00:36:04] Ami Graves: personal trainer?
[00:36:06] Monica Derhammer: I take full credit for both of my boys being very athletic.
[00:36:10] Monica Derhammer: I taught with both of them. so Brody, um, my youngest, he plays baseball, so very, very active. Obviously Jace, you know, football starting quarterback. so both of them have grown up in this gym. I mean,
[00:36:21] Monica Derhammer: I tell you what, these members love my boys just as much.
[00:36:24] Monica Derhammer: But it's just taught both of my boys, you know, how important being physically fit. not just for like the fame of, you know, being a, a star athlete, but just how
[00:36:33] Monica Derhammer: important it is to be active. they both enjoy doing it. You know, Jace, my oldest, he's trying to figure out what he wants to do
[00:36:41] Monica Derhammer: in school, and he wants to stay in the line of, you know, sports or fitness and
[00:36:46] Monica Derhammer: everything. You know, not just so much from me. Think he enjoys it. I
[00:36:50] Monica Derhammer: mean, like I said, I could never sit behind a desk job, you know, I don't think that's me
[00:36:56] Monica Derhammer: and I feel like he's the same way. But, you know, having both of them in the gym has, opened their eyes to education of fitness, but also has made them both very, very outgoing kids.
[00:37:07] Monica Derhammer: I
[00:37:07] Monica Derhammer: mean, Brody will sit at the front desk and someone will come in and he'll say, good morning and say their
[00:37:12] Monica Derhammer: name and it just catches. It catches, you know, members offline, you know, off guard.
[00:37:16] Monica Derhammer: But it, it has made both of my boys very outgoing, very social, um, they do a
[00:37:22] Monica Derhammer: lot in school. Jace is known as a very, a very good leader.
[00:37:25] Monica Derhammer: them watching what I do has taught them how important it is to stand out in a crowd and be
[00:37:31] Monica Derhammer: a leader.
[00:37:32] Ami Graves: One of the things that you're known for, in our community for sure, is the music. I don't know that anybody can put on a cycle class like Monica Derhammer.
[00:37:43] Monica Derhammer: DJ Monica?
[00:37:44] Ami Graves: DJ Monica. It is so good. I think it's, honestly, the reason I kept coming back to cycling so many times is 'cause the music and then just having you in my ear was always really encouraging and helpful.
[00:37:54] Ami Graves: But, what's a favorite song right now that you just got on the playlist?
[00:37:58] Monica Derhammer: I love like any type of EDM,
[00:38:00] Monica Derhammer: so I've been adding a little bit of explicit, uh, hip hop rap on my Wednesday night,
[00:38:06] Ami Graves: I get so nervous, but I'll tell you what, everyone loves it
[00:38:09] Monica Derhammer: because like you said, you're in the mix and you get some, you know. down with the sickness
[00:38:14] Ami Graves: yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:38:15] Monica Derhammer: playing, you know, and usually you would cringe, but they're over there cheering and stuff.
[00:38:20] Monica Derhammer: So I joke and say that if I ever close the gym, I'm gonna be a DJ at a wedding because I
[00:38:25] Ami Graves: Right, right, right. Yeah. Is there, um, a favorite piece of equipment or a favorite like workout that you personally enjoy?
[00:38:34] Monica Derhammer: it's so funny 'cause everyone says, what do you do when you're not, you know, like, do you, work out and stuff? And so, I mean, I love a good heavy lift.
[00:38:43] Monica Derhammer: if I could, you know, when I used to have days off and stuff, I would go in my training room and I'd lift some, you know, heavy deadlifts, glutes, you know, pullups, anything like that just something different that I'm not doing.
[00:38:54] Monica Derhammer: but you know, cycling's probably my always go-to. I could, I go sometimes at night when I don't have a class and go up there and I'll cycle.
[00:39:03] Ami Graves: you, kind of own the gym, so I guess you can go in there whenever you
[00:39:06] Ami Graves: feel like it.
[00:39:07] Monica Derhammer: can see in my back corner, I have a folded up treadmill
[00:39:09] Ami Graves: yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:39:11] Ami Graves: Yeah.
[00:39:11] Monica Derhammer: living room, so
[00:39:14] Ami Graves: This is what a trainer's house looks like.
[00:39:16] Monica Derhammer: yep, yep.
[00:39:17] Ami Graves: All right. Just quick hits. Do you drink coffee or tea?
[00:39:20] Monica Derhammer: I do not, I drink Monster or Diet Mountain Dew.
[00:39:23] Ami Graves: You are still on that dying mountain, do you girl?
[00:39:25] Monica Derhammer: I went to Diet. I was regular.
[00:39:28] Ami Graves: I know. I'm, I'm, I'm pretty proud of that
[00:39:30] Ami Graves: actually. So that's good stuff. Uh, do you read
[00:39:33] Monica Derhammer: No
[00:39:34] Ami Graves: No, not because you're too busy putting playlists together for
[00:39:37] Ami Graves: cycling.
[00:39:38] Monica Derhammer: or, I mean, I'm a good lifetime. Uh, Bravo reality show. I, I watch those to feel better about
[00:39:44] Ami Graves: I swear, I admit right now on this show, Monica, my husband's gonna kill me for saying this, but pull him in and make him watch some of these reality
[00:39:53] Ami Graves: shows with
[00:39:53] Ami Graves: me, and I'm hooked too. I just can't stop watching the train wreck. It's wonderful.
[00:39:58] Monica Derhammer: Yeah. It makes you feel like, well, then my life's not
[00:40:01] Ami Graves: It can't be so bad.
[00:40:02] Ami Graves: You
[00:40:02] Ami Graves: know? any partying words or piece of advice for somebody who's, interested in a journey like yours?
[00:40:09] Monica Derhammer: I mean, just don't give up. It's so easy to get frustrated when you don't see that scale move everyone wants a quick fix and it's a process. The longer it takes you to hit those goals, the longer you'll keep it off. it's a journey. Just don't give up.
[00:40:24] Ami Graves: I love that. Monica, thank you so much for
[00:40:26] Ami Graves: joining me today. Always a pleasure. I appreciate your friendship and I know that this whole community just appreciates you. And by the way, I've already voted for Hoosier Trainer. I know you're gonna win it. Congratulations ahead of time. It's all yours. I'll look forward to seeing you soon.
[00:40:41] Monica Derhammer: Thanks for tuning in to The People of Work. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow along and share it with someone who loved these stories too. Do you or someone you know have a unique job or an inspiring work journey? I love to hear about it. You can find me on Instagram at The People of Work, or visit ThePeopleofWork.com, and if you're navigating a career transition or just.
[00:41:03] Ami Graves: Need support in your work life. I'm here for that too. From personal coaching to leadership and HR consulting, I'd love to help head to ThePeopleofWork.com to learn more and get in touch. Until next time, thanks for being a part of The People of Work.