Sticking to a fitness routine can be challenging or intimidating, but having a good mentor can make all the difference. At CrossFit Tsavo, this fitness family all shares one goal—to be a better version of themselves. And co-owner Michelle Palmer does everything she can to motivate and encourage this fitness family.
Michelle is a certified CrossFit coach, but more than that, she’s her clients’ and members’ biggest supporter. “My mission has always been to inspire people to believe they are more capable than they realize—to encourage them to step beyond their comfort zones, to find the courage to take on hard things, and to accomplish more than they ever thought possible,” Michelle said.
Michelle’s grit comes from a long background of strict fitness routines and regimes.
Growing up in an active family, she always saw the value in health and fitness in her and her family’s lives. From preschool all the way to college, dance was her biggest passion where discipline and hard work were instilled in her. These traits earned her a dance fellowship in college where she received a bachelor’s degree in sports science and physical education.
After college, she earned her license as a certified personal trainer, yoga and pilates instructor, and CrossFit level-1 trainer. Through her many fitness ventures, CrossFit became her greatest calling.
But before she found CrossFit, she pursued a number of other fitness goals. Throughout the years, Michelle has participated in a physique show, competed in an Olympic lifting meet and navigated her fitness goals during her pregnancies, all leading her to her next venture.
“Growing up as a dancer, fitness was always about cosmetic things. How much do you weigh, what do you look like, what’s your body fat? So, I was always really fixated on that,” Michelle said. “When I found CrossFit, it changed everything for me.”
“All of a sudden fitness to me was about overall health and well-being, and being strong as a female, especially, more so than what I look like.”
After attending a CrossFit class with a friend, Michelle fell in love with this form of fitness. So much so that she went on to get certified as a CrossFit trainer, competing at a local and national levels. In 2021, she qualified and earned her place among just 20 women in the world to compete at the CrossFit Games, an achievement most will never experience. “I’m grateful for the blessing of that success and I felt a responsibility to share my journey with others.”
During COVID, people recognized Michelle’s strength and ability after the CrossFit Games and many began asking to train with her. When all of the other gyms were closed, she started letting a few people train in her garage gym, which led to the idea of opening her own gym.
In 2021, she opened CrossFit Tsavo, a gym focused on living a happy, healthy lifestyle, stronger minds, and especially being a part of a community of people with a similar drive to live better.
As a mother of three, Michelle’s fitness experience and knowledge reflects in the gym community she has created here, especially for other women and mothers.
“When I set out to build my gym, my vision was clear: to create a place where mothers could feel supported, where childcare was never a barrier, and where every member felt empowered to step outside their comfort zone,” she said. “I wanted to build more than a gym—I wanted to cultivate a community where people could gain confidence, discover strength they didn’t know they had, and accomplish things they once thought impossible.”
CrossFit Tsavo fosters growth by balancing members’ physical health with an emphasis on mental health. “A lot of members come here because they want the community,” Michelle said. “You perform or work in a certain way when you’re around people. You expect more of yourself when you’re around people and it’s more fun.”
All classes at the gym are coach-led and vary in weight and intensity so any body is able. Whether it be parents, professional athletes or seniors, CrossFit invites all fitness levels.
For more information about this gym community, head to www.crossfittsavo.com.
