Behind the scenes...

Let me start by giving you some information that most people don't know about my history in the fitness world.  It usually comes as a surprise when I say my background and passion is teaching youth athletes.  Yes, athleticism can be taught!  My entire structure for training is based on teaching movement, for kids and adults.  I see the way the body moves and I try to make it stronger and more mobile.  I am constantly trying to learn and better myself as a coach, and in my own training.  My skills as a trainer come with years of practice closely watching how people move and learning the most efficient ways to make the body better!

My fitness journey started as an intern with a major sports performance company is Lakeland, FL.  In that time, I learned how to teach young athletes how to move better, get stronger, run faster, and overall, become more athletic.  But... before I could teach them, I had to learn all this myself.  I grew up playing competitive softball through my senior year of high school and never had I learned anything like this.  With many, many...many hours of practice and dedication, I learned how to perfect my skills as an athlete and as a coach.

Later, my career moved to St. Petersburg, FL where I became a personal trainer for an all adult population.  What a change!  I had only known how to teach kids in a sports performance gym, which is very different from a basic wellness center gym.  I accepted the challenge and my knowledge and skills as a trainer grew exponentially!!  I was also blessed with great clients who trusted me, and had patience with me, as I tried out my new training skills.

I was very active as a kid and never had any serious injuries.  Since my training career began, I have dealt with an ankle stress fracture, sports hernia and torn abdominal muscles, shoulder problems, and terrible asthma attacks.  All problems caused by improper training patterns.  I was blessed with great coaches who helped mold me into the coach I am today, but not without many consequences.  I have learned and felt the struggles of not having coaches fix movement faults.  They all helped me become more athletic, but none addressed why I couldn't do something or why I had pain with certain motions.  Tough love doesn't fix joint and muscle pain.  With years of intense workouts and nobody correcting me, I am now fixing some very tough injuries to overcome.  With that, I have learned how to really help people.  I can tell them from experience why they need to fix particular motions and why correct technique is so important.  Good trainers will tell you what "good form" is.  I try to take that a step further and tell you why you need that good form and what limitations could be causing you from getting it correct.  I am thankful for the mentors I have had in the past, but I want to do things differently and with more effort in making sure my clients don't have issues because of lazy training actions.

My hope is that this blog can help you see that the fitness world is not a scary place and when taken through it correctly, you can achieve amazing, life-changing results!  On the other hand, if you already live an active lifestyle, I hope to bring some clarity and explanation as to how you can feel even better than you do now.  Thank you for taking the journey with me!