Introduction

I started becoming health conscious around the age of 28. I wasn't trying to fit into a pair of jeans, I wasn't starting a new years resolution, I just wanted to be healthy. My grandmother at the time was ailing, congestive heart failure being a big component to her deteriorating health. She spent many years being over weight & eating unhealthy. Seeing how miserable she had become made me wonder if her health choices as a younger woman would've made a difference. At the same time, I started noticing my mother's health was also declining. Stress induced, diet induced, etc. Although my mother suffers from chronic Lupus, she was suffering a lot more from her outside stresses and health habits than her autoimmune disease. Sometime during all of this, I had a realization that I could maybe break the cycle.

I didn't need to be a swimsuit model, I just needed to be healthy (nutrition came way later, but I'll talk about that some other time). Amazon was running a deal on workout DVD's, so I decided to buy one for $7.99. That was when I was introduced to Jillian Michael's "shred" concept & I fell in love with high intensity interval training. I actually began to love my workouts & the more I did them, the stronger I got. And that was an unbelievable motivator. When people refused to work out with me because I was way too intense, or scary, I considered that my crowning achievment. It was the, "I made it" moment. The more involved I got with workouts, the more interested I became in how my body was working and responding. I started reading everything I could get my hands on, trying to cut through the fact and the crap. The more knowledgeable I became, the more people wanted to talk to me about it. Or the more I forced people to talk to me about it, I'm not really sure which, and I choose to live blissfully blind.

A year into my sweat sessions, I decided that I would get certified to train groups of people. It almost seemed like a pointless piece of paper, but for some reason it was the crutch I needed to help me see my potential. Once I received my certification, I started a Meetup group that allowed me to workout with people in the park. They would show up & I would instruct. I did this 5 times a week, right after work. It was an amazing experience, where I introduced exercise into the lives of people who thought, "only running makes you lose weight, and I hate running". After being told how much fun I made the classes & how much fun I had teaching them, I knew it was just a path I needed to go.

So here I am now, a certified personal trainer and exercise therapist. I did my certification via ISSA, which was actually more intensive than I anticipated, but it was a great course and I learned ALOT! I also start school for my masters in September with a degree in Exercise Science.

What I learned from all of this was that I wanted to help people who needed it, not the people who could afford it. The morbidly obese, the diabetic, depressed, etc. People who just don't know where to find the knowledge, or most importantly, the drive. I don't know exactly where this journey will take me, whether it's a physical therapist office, cardiac rehab, or just my own personal training business. But I'm looking forward to where it may take me.