A Geek With A Passion For Fitness… My Story
Current Certifications/Accolades:
ACE Personal Trainer
ACE Functional Training Specialist
AFAA/NASM Group Fitness
Ultimate Portion Fix Master Coach
Founding Independent Team Beachbody Coach
Specialty Certifications held in – BODYPUMP, PiYo, P90X, Turbo Kick
With over a decade in the fitness profession, I have a lot of experience training a variety of clients. However, my passion is with helping people feel better. I’ve been living with scoliosis since my early teens, and I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease back in 2011. Due to these conditions, I’ve had to learn how to better care for my body and I realize that many “one size fits all” programs weren’t for me. My main objective is to help people reduce pain, increase movement, and improve their quality of life.
A lot of the pain we experience as we age comes from overuse of the joints, years of poor posture, and also years of having chronic inflammation (due to environment, lifestyle, job, stress, etc.). The answer may not be in eating less and doing more, it truly depends on the client. If you suffer from an autoimmune disease “doing more” is likely not going to work in your favor in the long run (if you are already working out rather hard or have a very physically demanding job). My goal is to help people learn to balance their bodies, their lives, and their passions all in one.
I wasn’t always into fitness, however. I was actually quite the un-athletic kid. You know the kind – the last one chosen for any sort of teams in gym class, and the one who often got made fun of based on my appearance and interests (so what if I loved science fair and comic books?). I literally wormed my way out of taking gym class for both middle school and high school. The only exercise I got happened from playing outside, like kids do, and also horseback riding as often as I could, and (once in high school) marching band and musical theatre.
Nutrition wise, I was addicted to sugar – sodas, cookies, ice cream, etc. – not to mention other junk foods. Years of this lifestyle eventually caught up to me and starting wreaking havoc on my body. You hit 30 years old and suddenly realize that the body can’t function well with the type of fuel you are used to feeding it. Now at age 40, I’ve learned how to better balance my lifestyle choices so that I feel my best and have energy to get through the day.
Chronic conditions such as heart disease, high cholesterol and diabetes run in my family, so I knew I had to start taking care of myself from the inside out, or else it was going to catch up to me fast! It started as a vanity thing – I wanted to “be skinny.” But in my journey to find “skinny,” I actually caused harm to my body through overtraining and severe calorie restriction. It wasn’t until I changed my mindset towards health & fitness, and my attitude towards loving my body, that things started to change for me.
Besides fitness, I consider myself a mega geek/nerd. I’ve been into comic books since I was a kid (X-Men being my favorite), I am a big lover of live music (and vinyl), I’ve done a variety of cosplay, I adore Renaissance Festivals, and one of my favorite past times is attending comic book/fantasy/sci-fi conventions.
Whether you are local to Los Angeles and want to work in person, or anywhere in the United States, Canada, the UK or France, and want to work digitally, I’ve got you covered! Check out my “Fitness At Home” page for more info.