Transcript Below
1:10 - What was your journey of fitness and ultimately opening your own business?
For me, I’ve always been interested in health and fitness. I used to play competitive tennis, which is where it started. I went to college for exercise science and I always thought maybe I would take that into nutrition or physical therapy. But making a grad school choice can be tough, so I took some time off in the field. I ended up applying as a trainer, thinking to give it a go and I loved it. I started working with clients in a few different settings and evolved it into my own private business. I worked primarily in private settings but also group settings and with gyms, and also a little bit of physical therapy - so a more clinical setting in the rehab facilities. I’ve always loved it - for me, its really rewarding to help people whether they’re looking to lose weight, feel better about themselves or rehab an injury. It’s really fulfilling getting to know clients on a working relationship level but also personally, and it’s nice to be their all around health coach.
3:24 - Even the process of rehabbing through your own injury I’m sure helped with your own clients.
I had torn my ACL almost 2 years ago and it was at a time when I took a break from fitness and decided to play softball with our church; and I tore my ACL playing. It was a great experience because going through that process of rehab and building by strength back made me realize I missed the field and I got back into it and opened my studio shortly after. So it was a blessing in disguise.
4:24 - Were there any insecurities you had to overcome in the process of opening up your own studio?
For sure, so first thing I would say is, even as a woman I’ve been in this field for while, but it’s intimidating because a lot of the times the best way to get experience is to be thrown into something and just do it. So for my first training job, I started working at a NYSC and it was a nice big gym with an array of different people. And you know, as a girl, our biggest fear is picking up these big weights that fit people are using. And I used to tell myself that I know what I’m doing and I’m not gonna worry about others and I want to help my clients work in those sections of the gym. I was the only female there that wasn’t a bodybuilder. But most of the clients would come to me and say they didn’t want to be a bodybuilder. Sometimes just having a trainer help you get some knowledge, being confident in what you know, is a big step for a lot of women.
Then with opening a studio, you always have people in your ear telling you how hard it is to run a studio. People will always give you negatives and not necessarily focus on the positives. So it was through a lot of prayer - direct prayer - where I would just say, if this is not You then close this door and if it is then let it be. There were a bunch of doors shut in my face where we thought it was so perfect, and then it was a freak thing that happened. And when we felt that it was the right thing, the lease was put in front of us and I didn’t have any hesitations in signing it. Definitely a lot of trust.
7:14 - Running a brand new business during COVID had to be challenging.
We opened Dec 14th, and then closed March 17th so almost 3 months exact. And now I’m over 5 months of being closed.
Everyone always tells you to prepare that you won’t make any money at first until you get rolling. Our first month open, we broke even, which is better than what most people will tell you. And then the next month we made a little more, and then March we were on track to have our best month.
COVID happened quickly for us, it was like one day we were open and the next we were shut. For me, it was like okay let’s see what happens because in the beginning they were saying 2 weeks. Obviously it wasn’t a convenient thing for a new business, and something that has brought us a lot of uncertainty, but at the same time it’s been a blessing in many ways. It was a time where I could reevaluate how I wanted to have the layout of my studio, how I wanted to run these classes, because before this it was such a crazy time of good things happening that we were kind of just going with it. We even came up with some new models for our business.
We started to do home rentals with our commercial bikes and we had so many people who wanted to rent our bikes because of that, who missed riding and wanted to stream the classes. It was a complete life saver for us because it was enough to maintain what we needed to.
When things got indefinite, it started to get a little scary, because we had no date in sight. People were still renting the bikes, and I was streaming our strength classes for free. We had success in both avenues. And we were just doing whatever we could to make some income.
We were blessed that our landlord worked with us also because he knew it was out of our control. It was also tough for him because this is his livelihood, but we realized we might not make it past if we didn’t have an end date soon.
Then we started to transition into outdoor classes, which is fun, but July and August are very hot. We’ve had a lot of troopers come and brave the heat, with some cancellations, but people are excited and ready to get back and join us again. We’re still at a point where we aren’t exactly sure what’s going to happen because indoor classes haven’t been fully cleared yet.
13:50 - It’s such a season of learning radical trust in God, and it’s so uncomfortable I imagine.
I make jokes to every body but every day is different for me. And whether it’s good or bad, I’m praying for wisdom and guidance and just thanking Him for his provision thus far. One day I’m like this might not work. The next day I’m like “no, people are emailing me we’re gonna be good.”
It’s just so up and down and that’s where the trust definitely sets in.
14:50 - It’s so cool to see the community you’ve developed on social media even in the midst of this pandemic where community can’t really gather in person.
We’ve had an amazing outcome - people have been so supportive. We have a great group of people who come, and tell their friends, and repost things on social media. I’m so thankful people have been spreading the word about it on social media. Now I’m having classes with people who have become my friends. If it weren’t for support, I wouldn’t have been able to keep pushing through.
16:39 - How do you incorporate faith into your business?
It’s interesting, it’s cool for me because I’ve always been into fitness, health and nutrition and felt that was the direction my life was supposed to take. But very specifically, I felt like God told me he wanted me to encourage and help other women. So that’s amazing and awesome but I was asking how. I knew fitness could be an avenue, but it was discouraging to me because fitness is very much competitive, comparative and image absorbed, where you feel like you need to look a certain way, and to me, I was like okay - this can be dangerous for women. There’s so many good things to it, but because of what it’s become it can be dangerous as well. But I kinda felt like that’s where God was helping me to help women become more confident with themselves.
I’ve worked with a lot of different people, the studio isn’t for girls only, our strength and cycle classes are for everybody, but primarily I do work with a lot of women looking to lose weight, gain strength and build confidence.
So I really felt that God pulled me in this direction to encourage ladies that they can do it, things you never thought you were strong enough to do, you can. One of my very first long-term clients, in her 40s, was very timid in the gym, and she did so well and lost so much weight she was starting to feel better about herself and would walk confidently through the gym. It’s just a cool thing to see when people feel like, on a day to day basis, more confident and healthy. It’s more than just getting people to lift heavier weights, it’s a lifestyle change, and self-esteem goes hand-in-hand with wellness. Being able to show women that the only goal is not to put a dress on, but to not be weighing yourself every day or every week. Lasting change doesn’t happen over night, it takes time. So just being able to encourage people to push through things, I feel like God has given me an ability to communicate and to have patience. I just like to encourage people that it’s a process. I always make sure the atmosphere is encouraging and then the people who come begin to support and encourage one another.
23:31 - 1 Cor 6:19-20, I think sometimes it’s so interesting because I think that scripture applies to wellness and health and being able to steward well what you’ve been given by God. How do you encourage your clients to glorify God in their bodies or to be good stewards of their bodies?
I encounter a lot of people who are Christian and have an awareness of these things, but I think as Christians, we’re given our bodies by our Creator and God wants us to take care of our bodies. He made our bodies resilient and treating our body like a temple and knowing I’m here on this earth for a purpose, you can’t accomplish a purpose if you’re in failing health. Being able to take care of yourself so you can set out on whatever God has for you is so important.
God gave us plenty of availability. Look what He provided in the garden of Eden, any one going through a transition of learning to take care of themselves knows it’s just no comparison to how you feel emotionally, mentally and spiritually. You become clearer and when your body feels good, you can be more focused. God has called us to take care of our bodies. I always try to encourage people that things are interconnected. Fitness can sometimes function as a medication for some, and this will affect you in multiple ways - you’re not just here to lose weight for an upcoming wedding. This is for you to enjoy your life as much as you can.
29:15 - Let’s talk about unhealthy habits and control with fitness, how do you encourage clients to walk the line of stewarding vs becoming obsessive?
It’s a tough thing, because what destroys a lot of fitness/well journeys is complacency. So on the flip side of that, when you’re overly obsessive it can be destructive as well. It’s finding the balance in that realm, and something I tell people is - I’m not an advocate for counting every single calorie, but it’s very easy for people to become obsessive over. And I can attest to that even for myself, as a trainer, I’ve always put a certain pressure on myself to look a certain way. And it’s something that, when I tell people, if you’re not feeling good with what you’re doing than something is wrong. You’re either over doing it or some things have to change.
I had a friend who lost a lot of weight leading up to their wedding and they looked incredible, but afterwards, she confided in me she wasn’t looking at food in a healthy way. She didn’t really feel great about how she got there.
My greatest advice to people is just to be consistent and know that, Rome wasn’t built in a day but it was probably worked on every day. So it’s small changes; putting stuff into your body that you feel healthful and good. I always try to focus on health as opposed to pounds lost on the scale.
We’re always quick to look and compare our situation to someone else, and it’s hard! It’s hard not to, even as a trainer. But every body type is different and that’s important to keep in mind. People look differently and are built differently. It’s hard to compare your body with another persons. You are only competing against yourself, and it’s important to keep in mind you’re going to crash and burn if you aren’t looking at this in the right lens. It’s a constant reminder of perspective for people. It’s hard. Nothing that’s worth it every comes easy. It’s perspective and knowing you need to feel good. You shouldn’t be obsessing over the scale or the mirror and you shouldn’t be hungry all the time.
34:40 - How do you encourage women to not be so entrenched in comparison?
Statistically, I’ve read, women are more active on social media than men which is definitely a proponent of comparison. It’s so easy to compare yourself to other people, and social media has been an amazing thing but also destructive because I’ll look at fitness accounts that aren’t even certified. That becomes something that - there’s positives and negatives - and it’s important to remember that the things you see on social media are probably their highlights. When you’re in a streak of comparison, stop looking at those profiles. He made me the way I was made for a purpose, and it’s so easy to get caught up in looking at every one else. Take a break.
If in real life, let it be a healthy motivation for you but don’t let it consume your thoughts. Every one was built differently, you have to focus on your health and feeling good. And remembering that you’re on your own journey.
39:15 - So let’s keep talking social media and unhealthy body expectations. How do you feel these unhealthy body expectations affect women?
Be careful about fast results programs. You want to see fast results, but sometimes the faster the results the easier it is to bounce back. The more time and effort, the more likely if you were to fall off your wagon, you’re not gonna lose everything, when you make it a part of your every day life.
It is tough, sometimes a lot of these accounts I have to remind people, that it’s hard for them to do - to have all of these pictures, it must be consuming for them. It’s important to be healthy and it’s a good thing to have a goal, but it’s important to know it may not come as fast as you think and it might be harder than you think.
You have to come back to: God created me perfectly. God doesn’t make mistakes, even if you’re not exactly where you want to be, God made you perfectly and you’re on your own journey. It’s important to love your body, and love yourself, and recognize the machine your soul is occupying. And taking care of it is more important than how you look in a pair of jeans.
Body positivity and health are important to me - sometimes body positivity now is accepting it’s ok to abuse your body, or allow your health to falter and that’s not healthy either. Love your body, but work at getting it healthy and strong. It’s more important how you feel and the status of your health.
44:20 - It’s never really immediate gratification with God. It’s a daily walk with God.
Health is important, and it might look different for everybody. The emphasis is always on health. Love your body, but know you need to take care of it. It’s important.
46:06 - What is one thing you want every one of your clients to know?
It’s gratifying to me when I can get them to do things they never thought they could do, in a safe way of course.
