I originally got into coaching because I, personally, loved training and wanted to help people experience the joy that I felt. But, as I grew as a trainer and a person, it became so much more than that.
From 2016-2022, I was a group fitness instructor for, let’s say, a large outdoor boot camp-style fitness company. In this job I quickly learned that training a group of people is so much more than just guiding them through a workout. You create relationships with the people you train. They tell you about their triumphs and tragedies, personal and professional milestones, changes in their health, and everything in between. Throughout the years, I realized that my style of training was one of empowerment. I was able to see how strong -- both physically and mentally -- the people I trained were, and so I made it my goal to have them believe that as well.
But as the saying goes: even coaches need coaches. So as someone who loves strength training and challenging themselves through all sorts of training methodologies, I decided I wanted to give something else a go. So, with my friend and co-worker, Lauren Bratcher, we decided to sign up and try out a month at CrossFit Renew.
And it was love at first month.
I fell in love with the style of workout, the community, and had a great appreciation for how the coaches led the workouts. Because of a move, and, because the world imploded, in 2020-2022, I took a hiatus from Renew, but with the birth of my first born in January 2022, I came back to work with Sadie during my postpartum journey and knew I needed more out of my career. Sadie’s methodical training, focus surrounding the well-being of the whole mother, and staunch push back against “snap/bounce back” culture ignited a fire in me to change my path and come on board with Renew as a Pregnancy and Postpartum Coach with their program, Rebuild.
After years of coaching and the growth of my family, I realized I wanted to focus on two specialities: Nutrition Coaching and Pregnancy and Postpartum training. I chose to focus on these two specialties because I wanted to change the narrative of how we view both of those aspects of fitness and wellness. More specifically, I want to change the narrative of how to train pregnant and postpartum women and I want to retrain people’s brains when it comes to food and fitness.
Food is in everything we do. Food is sentiment. We laugh around food, we mourn around food, we celebrate around food, we fuel our bodies with food. I want to help people realize that they can enjoy the food around them, be present in the moment, and still feel good about themselves and still make any changes they want to -- without starvation and restriction. The diet industry has caused generations of otherwise well-intentioned people to develop an unhealthy relationship with food, and I want to be able to help individuals and families eat balanced meals, while at the same time being an example for future generations to, hopefully, break this cycle. I want to help show families how to eat balanced meals that promote health, rather than showing their children how to eat to promote a certain body type. I want my role as a Nutrition Coach to be one that not only helps you achieve your fitness goals, but to also feel good about and inside the body you have -- just from the habits you create and the foods you eat.
Pregnancy and postpartum are both an extremely special and vulnerable time in a woman’s life. While I was pregnant, I quickly realized that there were a lot of unknowns in the fitness industry surrounding training pregnant and postpartum women. I watched as women were “cleared” by their OBs at 6 weeks postpartum jump right back into working out without any considerations for what their bodies just went through. Pregnancy and postpartum training is a relatively new topic. We know that our body shifts throughout pregnancy, but how do we train a body throughout pregnancy that keeps our pelvic floor in the forefront? How do we train that same body through postpartum to help the mother feel strong, protect their pelvic floor, and allow them to move through their daily activity of living safely? I have trained many women and have heard them talk about how they experience incontinence when running, jumping, or doing core work. This is a very common experience, but it is not normal. Because of my experiences, I want to be better for other pregnant and postpartum women down the line. Knowledge is power. I want to help women realize that taking time to recover from pregnancy and delivery is okay and to help silence all of the “bounce back” noise they’re seeing through social media. Everybody recovers at different rates, but my goal as a Pregnancy and Postpartum Coach is to help women feel strong and capable of moving through their activities and daily life empowered, and with confidence.
As I mentioned before, my style of training has evolved to one of empowerment. I am so excited to take my values around training and apply them to my new roles at Renew! Whether it be through Personal Training, Nutrition Coaching, or Pregnancy and Postpartum Training -- I’d love the opportunity to empower anyone who needs it!
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If you're in need of personal training, nutrition coaching, or pregnancy and postpartum training -- or you just have questions and want to learn more -- head to crossfitrenew.com/no-sweat-intro and connect with one of our coaches, like Chloe, who can passionately talk your ear off about why joining the Renew Crew will be the best decision you've ever made.
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