I never would have imagined myself being here today fully embracing my own business, particularly in fitness.
When I decided to pursue the personal training industry, it was with years in college of telling myself that I would “never be a personal trainer, particularly my hometown gym Crunch Fitness”.
Rewind about four years prior, wrapping up high school with a passion for dance and no clear vision on what I wanted to do with my life. I was an advanced performer after 15 years of competitive dance, but was not the best, and I was nowhere near a scholar or even a top grade student.
My curious and empathetic nature fell into what was apparently Kinesiology; I enjoyed learning about the body and how it moved and I also loved the idea of helping people make positive changes in their lives.
The first year at Chico State University in my Kinesiology degree felt a bit passive and unstimulating to me, even for just a 3.0 (ish) student: a yoga class here, a rock climbing class there, I felt like I wasn't utilizing my fullest potential.
I had so much more to give to myself educationally and craved to learn and challenge myself. I switched to the Exercise Physiology degree, which I not only learned how the body moved, but focused on the human response and adaptation to exercise.
Fascinating!
I thought. And so it was, but extremely challenging. Classes and subjects seemed daunting, and I was surrounded by students who were already applying for Physical Therapy school, Nursing programs, and having the desire to get their Master’s in Exercise Physiology.
There were times where I would ask myself why I was here with no clear plan? If anything, my intuition in knowing I was meant for the health and fitness industry that’s beyond the measures of test scores and A grades.
After graduating with my Bachelor’s, I took about a year and a half of “soul searching”, exploring other fields of work with still the passion of a potential fitness professional. I worked in membership sales of a gym, and during that time they honored me with a free personal training certification I took online.
Sure, it’s free, and something to add to my toolbox with my degree. I whizzed through every quiz and the final exam. Shortly after, I jumped into a Fitness Manager role where I really experienced working in corporate fitness and its dark side: taking advantage of their employees, being bought out by a company who has never run a gym before, paying their trainers dirt while running business in a competitive demographic for trainers to jump ship.
I envied my coworkers with their scheduling freedom, their relationships they made with their clients, and just being unable to utilize the knowledge I had gained from school. That’s when I bit the bullet and ironically “jumped ship” to Crunch Fitness in Blackhawk, California, exactly where I said I would never go. It was the best career decision I had made at the time.
After being in corporate fitness for well over five years, I have gained so much experience in my education, working with clients 1 on 1, small groups, and large groups, and have shaped and expanded the quality of my training and have been consistently a top trainer among my peers. I already had what I thought I didn’t have or deserve, and it took years of doubt in my capabilities to rise above that.
With this experience, I have helped clients break free of what they didn’t think they were capable of, from physical strength to mental resilience and a healthy outlook on fitness.
Now, it’s your turn.