Kimberlee Dee Montoya
I met this beautiful woman several years ago at the gym. I remember that our babies played together in the nursery, and during my workout sessions I would admire her physical strength and work ethic. I told her I wished I could be like her someday. She quickly responded with kind words and encouraged me in my physical training endeavors. She even encouraged me to think about doing a show. This was over a decade and a half ago.
We would talk often, and she would give me pointers on workouts and diet. She invited me to watch a competition in Denver to see what competing was about. She had nothing to gain; she was simply a kind-hearted person sharing her passion. Though I did not believe I could ever step on a stage, I hoped I could be in good enough condition to be proud of—and that my family would be proud to call me Mama.
Fast forward several years later: Norikobecame my personal trainer and continued to nurture the seeds she had planted years prior. More than physical training, she encouraged me to think beyond what I saw or believed about myself. She always said that working out wasn’t just about winning a show, but that taking care of the body is a way of life because it affects so many other areas of our lives. As a mother of five and a grandmother of eight, I agree.
Skip ahead several more years, and after much of her continued dedication and belief in me, my father was diagnosed with cancer. Before he passed away, the inevitable surfacing of life's unhealed traumas became present and extreme anxiety and depression stormed over me in a way I never believed possible. I made many poor choices in an attempt to escape my thoughts and emotions and lost most of my positive motivation and focus in what felt like every part of my life.
She consistently checked on me to see how I was doing. I had days of little sleep and no focus or energy. Some days I felt beyond hopeless, and my behaviors reflected that. Noriko would call and say, “Just get here,” meaning the gym.
I would go and meet her, and I would cry at a machine or on a bench for most of the session, managing only a set or two. Little by little, I left each gym session with a bit more focus and hope. During those sessions, she poured love into my spirit and helped nourish and rebuild parts of me that weights alone could not. Little by little, she brought me back to life.
As I began to feel more in tune with my physical self, I initiated the training of my daughters with her, and she poured the same love into them. I watched as their physiques and self-esteem grew in ways I hadn’t seen in some time. She helped bring their spirits back to life as well.
I absolutely believe in divine intervention, and Noriko is a powerful example of the Lord providing exactly what was needed. He brought Noriko into my life when I thought I was okay and clearly was not. He sent her to plant seeds and water my soul in places I didn’t even realize were famished. He sent her to water the dry places and revive these bones. He said, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper,” and sent this tiny warrior to provide a shield of love and hope.
For approximately 20 years, she has known my failures while contributing to my physical successes. She never judges, but is always supportive in loving yet firm ways. This year, I competed in my first show. It meant far more to me than a physical accomplishment. That event represented a level of mental, emotional, and spiritual healing that I alone never believed was possible. She was there along with all of my babies, offering unwavering support.
She isn’t just part of a success story; she has been an important human in my life. This journey has been more than physical, it has been mental, emotional, and spiritual as well.
Noriko, I admire you. I look up to you, and I know my girls feel the same. We love you forever. You are beautiful and amazing inside and out, and I am so very blessed to have you in my life.
In this whole wide world there is only one Noriko. I am beyond thankful that God brought you into my life. God brings us some of the greatest gifts in tiny packages, and Noriko, you are one of those gifts to me and my loved ones. God bless you always.
Jennifer Santistevan
I started my fitness journey with Noriko in May 2021, when I had some unforeseen medicalsurgery come up. I decided I wanted to get in shape to help that surgery go smoothly. When I started with her, I was not quite sure I wanted to do a show, but I wanted to look and feel like a bikini competitor. So, we started off slow, just getting me stronger and healthier. The weight started to shred off and I was feeling so much better. Surgery day had finally arrived, and it ended up being fairly easy. I was back in the gym with light workouts 2 weeks later. Once I had come back with full strength, I had decided it was time to make the show a goal. Prepping for a show was one of the hardest most rewarding thing I have ever done. Nutrition is key. Noriko was able to help and guide me through this perfectly. Then with 3 weeks left to go until show day, I had to work with another coach to get me through show day. Changing my entire workout routines and changing my entire diet. It was extremely challenging not only on your body but mentally as well. I was able to push through and made it to show day and competed. It was one of the most rewarding days of my life.
Thank you to Noriko and her guidance, I was able to check off an item on my bucket list!
Brittany Varbel
I met noriko in 2018 when I decided body building was something I wanted to get into, I ended up pulling from that show just shy 2 weeks, I tried for another show that following year and got pregnant 8 weeks out, competing has been something my heart has LONGED for.. I had my son 2019 and shortly after COVID hit, all gyms were closed, door dash was the new normal & at the time being a mom was the only thing I focused on.. I got furloughed for roughly 23 weeks during that time so I was home a lot, doing nothing but mommin & snackin w the kids. Work started again and gyms were opening my husband and I decided it was time to pick it back up because the mom & dad bods weren’t cutting it anymore.. sluggish, big, unhealthy were all the feelings and as hard as it is after having a baby the extra lbs I gained didn’t help w my confidence. Tay got out south side membership back when I started just going here and there and along came Noriko. She said we were getting on the stage in November & wellness would be a perfect fit for me. I literally was like “yeah right, there’s no way” I told my husband and before I knew it I was meeting w noriko for my first show. Noriko is a wizard, she ran my body w food and workouts that didn’t completely make me “hate” the cutting phase. She wanted to make sure mentally I wasn’t struggling and she ALWAYS spoke nothing but life into me. The confidence this woman gave me really was the push I needed to get back into the swing of things. My first comp, I dropped 30 lbs of body fat. My second we dropped a total of 50 lbs total. I have never looked or felt this good. I know I would not have been able to do this without Noriko’s guidance, positivity & knowledge. She cares for her athletes and speaks life into them. I know that if I can make it though the hard times at the gym I can also carry that into life and push forward. Having noriko was a god send, I am so blessed I get to call her my coach.
Kellie Avila
THIS IS 50
“If it doesn’t challenge you it doesn’t change you”
25 Years of Marriage
5 Daughters aged 12 to 21
CFO/CCO of a Healthcare Company with 5 Divisions
What hadn’t I mastered?
This testimonial describes my journey to conquer the last milestone I had yet to reach in my personal life... Conquering my MIND, BODY, & SOUL!
As I embarked on the year where I would hit the milestone age of 50, I knew there was still one goal I desired to accomplish. I’ve trained with Noriko for numerous years and have always been focused on maintaining an active lifestyle. Even completing two half-marathons!
The nutritional guidance that Noriko provided me with was the blueprint to transforming my body. The diet, exercise, patience, persistence, and consistency became the key to my success.
I am grateful to JPFit, and blessed for My Loving Family who has supported me along this Challenging, Cognizant, and Rewarding Journey! My Goal is to Motivate & Inspire others to become a Healthier Fitter Version of Themselves.
May God Bless Me with the opportunity to Compete in 2021 and Beyond!
Carina Vandengurg
"You need to take care of yourself, in order to take care of others."
As a nurse, working during this pandemic, I realized how true these words are. Caring for others can be hard work, but it is definitely harder when you've neglected your own mental and physical health. Many times I've attempted to get in shape, eat healthier, and failed. My desire to attain a state of happiness through my physical health was there, but I lacked the motivation & energy. Norikos personal training, along with wise words and encouragement, taught me that if you really want something & you really want to see changes in your life, that anything is possible. Due to COVID, I wasn't able to train with Noriko in person, but that didn't stop me. We made the needed arrangements, set fitness goals, and in just 4 months of online training, I lost over 25lbs and more importantly, have become a happier & healthier individual, better equipped to care for others in my line of work.
My challenge was to lose the excessive amount of baby weight I gained in order to fit into my wedding dress in time for my wedding. My daughter was 8 months old at our wedding.
Right when I met Noriko, she wanted to see a picture of my dress so that she could tailor my program and help me meet my goals. She helped me manage my nutrition plan while I was nursing my baby and provided constant support. Even though my goal was to lose the baby weight and fit in that wedding dress, what I gained from my experience was so much more than that. I lost more than 40 pounds, but working with Noriko made me stronger mentally and physically, and it made me a better mother and a healthier role model for my daughter. I realized that the money spent with Noriko was an investment in myself, and it was the best money I have ever spent! I can't say enough positive things about my experience with her!
Jill Mattoon
"Nevado del Tolima is a 17,300 ft. volcanic glaciated peak in Colombia's Los Nevados National Park just to the west of Bogota. We spent four days hiking, all above 12,000 ft., to get to the high camp at 14,700 ft. We went to bed early and slept until 2:00 a.m. and started climbing at 3:30 a.m."
"We got to the glacier just after sunrise, roped up together and climbed up to the top. It was cloudy but not windy, so it wasn't all that terribly cold. We went down after about 30 minutes on the summit, and were back in high camp at 11:00 a.m. We ate lunch, took a nap, and then packed our stuff and hiked out to the next camp in the valley."
"The four days of hiking before we went to the summit was good to acclimatize to the altitude, which meant that no one got altitude sickness going up to 17,300. The picture is with our Colombian guide, Rodrigo Arias. He said that Tolima is named after a god Tolimo, from the indigenous people of Colombia."
Allison
As a teacher, I tell my students to set goals for themselves, yet I didn't have a goal of my own. Doing a competition was my goal and now I impose this event onto my students, creating a successful learning environment for both myself and my students.
I met Noriko in 2008 from mutual friends at the gym. I set a goal for myself just to get on stage /compete in a Figure show. Little did I know Noriko would be my guiding light through this journey. During the journey of my "1st transformation/ Figure show" I discovered "this lady is not just a trainer" she became my life coach (as I often refer to her).She taught me to think about how things I did,thought and ate affected my mind ,body and soul.
Eight competitions later and to this day Noriko keeps me grounded, continues to inspire me, still educates me and continues to empower me more importantly she taught me how to empower myself and has pushed me beyond limits I never imagined. She's a plethora of knowledge (if she doesn't know exactly she'll find out------quickly). This little lady has a way of becoming that little voice in your head that makes you "think" and sometimes say "uh Noriko probably wouldn't like that" (to be honest I never thought that little voice would be Japanese lol!)
Needless to say Noriko has made such an impact in my life and has become my life long friend....my soul sister and has made my journey life changing and rewarding. I can't wait for what the future holds
I started training with Noriko in October 2014 and have lost more than 100 pounds. More than the lost weight, I have the gained strength and flexibility to be active. We are continuing to work at weight loss, strengthening, and developing a healthy nutrition plan that works for me and I can continue.
My wife had trained with Noriko and encouraged me to start training with her. When I started training, it was an effort to bend over and pickup something off of the floor, much less getting off of the floor without something to help me get up on my feet. Almost 25 years at a sedentary work and lifestyle had taken it’s toll. During this time, my weight had gone up, I lost weight more than once, only to gain it back and more. The weight loss is the easy part, not having a healthy way to transition from loss to maintaining weight has been my the problem.
Noriko brought encouragement and patience to each session and stressed nutrition. I was afraid of overdoing it at first, but Noriko was always there with patience and encouragement. Her focus is on the client during each session, making recommendations about how each move or exercise is going and corrections needed to be made or encouragement. If I was not able to completely do each exercise or move, she would recommend adjustments so I could get the benefit of the exercise. We still have to make adjustments even now.
She looks at fitness goals of the client and assesses their current condition to develop a training plan that will meet their goals.
I am 75 years old and have COPD from years of smoking and being exposed to dust at livestock sale barns.
My doctor recommended exercise program. I was on 4-5 liters of oxygen 24/7 . Since exercising with Noriko I have reduced oxygen to 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 liters. I had problem climbing 10 stairs but after training with Noriko For several weeks I can do 25-30 stairs. I recommended her highly if you need exercise program. She spends every minute of your time with you making sure you are exercising safely!
Thank You Noriko!
Sheila Norton
My goal is to tone and strengthen my muscles so as I age I will be able continue an active life style. When I tell Noriko about weaknesses that concern me she designs work-outs especially for me. Noriko is very gifted and has more than adequate training to meet her clients needs. She focuses on client from beginning to end of session, counting repetitions, monitoring muscle response to get maximum results from every effort! In the midst of hard work she keeps me laughing! It's a total physical, nutritional, emotional and spiritual overhaul!
I’m a 87 year old man that is recovering from cancer. I was working out with JP Fit twice a week before coming down with cancer. I continued to work out all through radiation and chemotherapy treatments. I feel that it was very beneficial to my recovery. This picture shows me one year after surgery.