Balancing her own life in Barrhaven, Tracy Beardsley trains clients for a lifetime of fitness

By Louise Rachlis
For many people, a treadmill used as a clothes rack is as close to home fitness as they get.
But the recreation room of Tracy Beardsley’s Barrhaven bungalow contains 12 stationary bikes, a universal machine, and a free weight rack of weights.
And as the president of home-based TJ Fit, she’s responsible for turning a lot more people on to bicycles and exercise.
“When we moved into the house in 2002, we painted, but the basement was ready and we didn’t have to do anything. We never expected that that’s what we’d do, but it has worked out great.”
Always passionate about health, fitness and physical exercise, Tracy began her career in fitness downtown in 1994.
In 2005, when she was pregnant with her second child, the certified personal trainer decided to “move it home.” “I needed to balance my family and work life and ‘moving it home’ was the best thing I ever did,” she says. “It has allowed me the flexibility to raise my three children and yet still contribute to my family and the community.”
Her husband of 10 years, Peter Pearson, is a big cycling fan too. The couple biked to their wedding, and recently to Perth for their 10th anniversary. Their children are Ben, five, Katie, four, and Cloe, eight.
While she has developed a strong clientele from the neighborhood, she also has some devotees who come from downtown to spin.
She loves to work with people at a personal level, focussing her approach on “helping individuals to believe in themselves, set realistic health and fitness goals, and achieve them.”

In the spring, fall, and summer months she takes the indoor rides outside where she runs a cycle club. “We have local rides that take us to the Gatineau, Merrickville, Perth, along the paths in the city, as well as overnight trips to the Eastern Townships, Finger Lakes, Vermont, Mont Tremblant and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.” They do spring training on Steeple Hill Road near Fallowfield, and there are lots of pleasant bike routes from Barrhaven to Richmond, North Gower, and north of Dunrobin, she says, and they typically coordinate a lunch with their rides.
Winter is the busiest season for indoor spinning.
As for her own fitness, “I find I’m less fit now than I was years ago. I’m in a maintenance phase. It’s not about my workout, it’s about the participants. I can’t coach and work out at a high intensity.” She’s frequently off her bike, checking riders’ form, providing water, and looking after the class.
The bulk of her clientele are between 30 and 70, and many are couples.
She has two other instructors, Murray Kronick, and Karen Wheeler.
“Sometimes it has been hard,” she says, “but I wouldn’t change what I do. I love watching people change in fitness. With the growing obesity levels, heart disease and diabetes, we have to get people moving.
“I look up to my clients who are in phenomenal shape in their 50s, 60s and 70s. They are inspiring. It’s never too late to get active.”
Contact TJ Fit at tracy@tjfit.com or view www.tjfit.com.