From Athlete to Coach

I believe that everything happens for a reason. We are put on this earth to serve a purpose.  I found my purpose; to be able help others on their fitness journey. Because I was once at the point in my life where I lacked self-esteem because of how far I had let myself go. I remember stepping on a scale during one of my semi-annual physical fitness assessments in the Navy, and barely passing the need to be taped. It was at that point that I knew I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired! I wasn’t eating or sleeping right, I was depressed, and most of all I hated the way I looked in the mirror.

My fitness journey really began when I chose to start competing in the National Physique Committee. I decided on figure because I wanted to be strong but feminine, and I knew it would challenge my competitive side with the heavy lifting.  When I was in high school, I was never the athlete; I was actually the nerd that sat in the back with her head stuck in a book. I would become physically anxious anytime people would talk to me. I wanted to build my self-confidence and learn how to love my body, and my outlet became the gym.

In June of 2014, I reached out to Valkyrie Athletics to start prepping for a figure competition. My ship was getting ready to go underway for 2 months, so we started an online personal training and nutrition program and manipulated it to make it work for me while I was out to sea. With the way we made it work, I had a very easy time following the training and nutrition program.  After I returned from the underway, I joined a semi-private training group at World Gym with other Valkyrie Athletics girls. The workout programming was delivered to us in the same way, except that on the days we did not train together, we had training sessions to do on our own time. I really, really enjoyed the semi-private training style because I felt like I was on a team with the other girls, and it helped to push and motivate me even more throughout my workouts. Having a team to train with also made it a lot less nerve-racking to work out in the gym because I had other women there doing the same thing as me. I also loved that my training partners were dependable, and that they also pushed hard, which helped me to work at my fullest capacity.

As time went on, I realized how much I had a love for training and helping to inspire others by sharing my story. I reached out to Valkyrie Athletics again, this time requesting an opportunity to learn the trade, pay it forward and become a coaching consultant for others just like me. I was offered the position, and ever since then I developed a love even more than I could have ever imagined for helping others discover what makes them happy through health and wellness. I recently transitioned from service in the Navy, and I am now a full-time certified professional trainer and competitive athlete with Valkyrie Athletics. I am here to motivate, inspire, teach proper technique, coach people through their own fitness journey, and most importantly… help them learn to love their body!!