personal Trainers That Care About YOU

---

I was overweight as a child and it haunted me into my adult life. I tried everything: Nutrisystem, Weight Watchers, cabbage diet, low fat diet, jazzercise, etc. I did have short term success with many programs but ultimately, every time, I gained the weight back.  

In 1998, my 12 year old daughter encouraged me to go to the gym with her. I hired a personal trainer for her and ultimately I ended up training with him. I lost 80 lbs, gained a love of weightlifting and discovered a new way to reduce stress, feel better and deal with emotions. FITNESS became my passion and I wanted to share it with anyone who would listen.

After my first trainer moved, I had many more personal trainers that I hired to help me. A few were stellar but many of them--due to their lack of education and experience, recommended supplements and programs that have had a permanent and terrible effect on my body. Supplements burned out my thyroid and caused extremely elevated cortisol, along with exercises that caused destruction to joints and programs that weren’t at all designed with my body in mind. 

They failed me. And I made it my goal in life to never let that happen to anyone else.  I wanted to share my new found passion of lifting weights and feeling energized with other women who had struggled with yo-yo dieting like I had. I wanted to tell everyone how important healthy eating and exercise was along with the feeling the "strength" and empowerment I felt.

I decided to become a personal trainer. I took classes, went to seminars, and read many books learning as much as I could about all different types of bodies and how they work. My career took off and I trained hundreds of clients and relished in the joy of seeing them accomplishing their goals. I became a fitness manager and trained and educated trainers on how to help their clients. I had the advantage as I had been a client and now was the trainer. My goal with my clients - to ensure they get programs and information that is beneficial and not destructive to their bodies. 

I met for a few years with a renowned nutritionist (Philip Goglia, author of "Turn up the Heat") who, through our in-depth discussions, workouts and persistence helped identify strategies that would help me with my cortisol levels and thyroid issues. We developed an eating plan to continue on that path. When opening my own fitness/nutrition studio, that education--along with my own personal experiences and time spent on numerous certifications, continuing education, and having worked at Weight Watchers helped me develop programs that I now offer to my clients.

And then, 5 years ago, I suffered a whiplash/concussion causing injury to my neck and  my jaw, triggering trigeminal neuralgia to kick off. I enlisted help from a chiropractor, structural integration therapist, craniosacral therapist, TMJ specialist along with visiting UCLA and many specialty dentists.  It has been a long journey as many doctors want to put you on drugs to mask pain and most dentists aren't sure how to proceed.. The permanent damage and constant pain has required me to adjust many things in life but the hardest has been my workout regimen. Going from heavy weight lifting to incorporating less invasive exercises for my neck, jaw, back and any other muscle groups that aggravated the nerves is a challenge. I never know when the "shocks" in my face will begin.  So my perfectionist “failure is not an option” personality continually pursues ways to exercise and lift weights and be healthy and fit but I have had to forgo the perfect workout as there is no such thing.  I have learned to do my best for that day based on what my body is telling me. That is what I try to teach my clients too. 

In the 20 plus years I've been part of the fitness industry I have learned many strategies to help my clients as they transition from one phase of “workout life” to another.  No matter what "trends" come along, the basics of how to feel healthier, eat healthier and exercise are pretty constant and as a professional that is what I believe and preach to my clients.  "You can CONTROL you" is what I tell clients. It isn't easy, but YES it can be done through persistence.

My life experiences raising 3 wonderful children, being grammy to grandchildren, working in education, teaching adults about fitness and nutrition,  and my own physical struggles all continue to enable me to empathize and help those seeking to improve their overall health.  I love seeing the look of amazement as clients accomplish things they never thought possible.

I'm here for you.