November 28, 2014

InMenlo Article from 10/14

InMenlo: “More than a work out, Stella Bergan offers clients a wellness boutique” 

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More than a work out, Stella Bergen offers clients a wellness boutique

Posted: 14 Oct 2014 12:02 PM PDT

As she looks back on her life, Stella Bergan says she’s has always been “people focused.”

“When I was an undergrad, I would be the person people would come to help them solve their problems,” she recalls.

So it’s not surprising that her first career choice was family therapy. The focus turned corporate during her years as an executive coach at Ernst and Young. For the past five years, the Ladera resident been owner of Perfectly Fit, where she serves over 50 clients both in small group training and one-on-one.

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“My passion is really helping people live their best life,” she says. “I’m a personal trainer but also offer nutrition consulting, parenting help, and stress reduction. Ii think of my services as a wellness boutique.”

One discipline she offers her clients is running, which she’s been doing since she was a freshman in high school. “Running has been a huge part of my life,” she says. “I still run for fun and really enjoy doing group runs with clients.

“When people are new to running, their brain is saying ‘I don’t want to do this.’ But if you can get through the first month, then most get that good feeling when they’re done. I call it ‘the feel good carrot.’ That’s why most of us exercise.”

Stella’s male and female clients come mainly from Menlo Park, Atherton and Portola Valley and cover a wide age range. She also blogs about a variety of health-related subjects.

The idea of wellness boutique evolved as she realized her services were more than a typical boot camp workout. “If you want a good work out and that’s what you came for, you’ll get it,” she says. “But if you have other needs, I can probably help with those too. My goal is to make sure my clients got what they came for today.”

Photos by Rebecca Flanagan