Q & A with Me!

​What are your current training goals?
I have two official training goals right now… 1) I run a 5k in May (this will be by 6th one) and my goal is to get my time under 21 minutes this year. 2) I want to be able to do 5 pull-ups by the start of summer and I have a great 6 week plan that I am starting this week! My ongoing goal is to train for LIFE! Jumping over puddles to get to my car in the rain, carrying my 80lb kid to bed when he falls asleep on the couch, climbing the stairs with ALL of the groceries in ONE trip and staying injury free all the while! And my secret goal is to beat my 9 year old in the 100 meter dash! Up until this year, I had it in the bag…now, he’s got my number!

Why did you become a trainer?
I always wanted to work in a job where I could make a difference in a person’s life. After getting my Master’s in Psychology and working in the San Francisco school system, I realized that my true passion was fitness. That is where I felt most comfortable, most needed and definitely happy! I am thankful to be able to use what I learned in psychology when training people-they actually go hand in hand. I believe the best treatment for anxiety, depression, stress, anger, lack of self esteem, addiction and life comes from exercise and training for your goals.

What is your training or sport background?
Growing up, I played volleyball and ran track. I always worked out at the gym but was stuck in the mindset that “cardio is king” and “heavy weights will make me bulky!” I would mindlessly climb away on the stairmaster and lift 5lb weights until I “felt the burn.” It wasn’t until I got my PT certification through the National Academy of Sports Medicine, that I realized picking up the heavy weights gave me results like I had never seen before. I ditched the long boring hours spent on the elliptical and added in short high intensity intervals and sprints and my body changed…go figure! I then got my IKFF Level 1 Kettlebell Certification and TRX Certification and AFFA Group Exercise Certification. I’m a firm believer that knowledge is power and I wouldn’t be where I am today without it!

Who is your favorite fitness person and why?
Molly Galbraith of Girls Gone Strong!! She empowers women to embrace their bodies no matter what the scale says and encourages women to be strong and healthy, not weak and skinny. Neghar Fonooni is a blogger, personal trainer, and all-around badass. She delivers equal parts fitness and nutrition tips and positive thoughts on self-love and self-acceptance. Adam Bornstein: he takes all of the conflicting information that’s out there, in regards to fitness and diet, and tries to simplify it for his readers. Also, Mike Boyle, Eric Cressey and Alwyn Cosgrove because I have learned so much from all of them in regards to programming, risk vs reward exercises and proper form.

Do you use any fitness apps on your phone?
My Fitness Pal – every couple of months for about a week at a time- just to check in on my caloric intake and macro distribution. Map My Run or Runkeeper to log my miles. Rock My Run or Pyro for workout music.

What is your favorite fitness website?
I LOVE Girls Gone Strong, Born Fitness, Breaking Muscle and MobilityWOD.

What is your favorite book?
Anything by Eckhart Tolle! Foodist by Darya Rose, A practical guide to ending the diet cycle and discovering lasting weight-loss through the love of food and the fundamentals of science. The Metabolism Advantage by John Berardi (Precision Nutrition creator).

What is your training philosophy with your clients?
Exercise and diet are two of the most important things you can do to improve your life. My training philosophy is centered around creating a program that can incorporate exercise and nutrition into your specific lifestyle in the safest, most effective, most efficient and realistic manner. Set a goal, make a plan, track your achievements, assess the results and tweak for improvement.

What are some of your favorite fitness quotes?
“The only person you’re trying to beat is the person you were yesterday.”
“If you don’t make time for exercise now, you should make time for illness later.”
“It is not enough to just do exercise, you should strive to master it.”

What is a favorite training program that you’ve done in the past? I have tried so many training programs, from the Primal Blueprint Workout to P90X to the Muscle and Fitness 6 week Fat Blast to Insanity to attending every fitness class in the city of New Orleans (not really a program, but back then, I thought it was!). They all have their pros and cons, but the one thing I learned from trying them all is that I needed to find a program that I actually enjoyed doing, could stick to and one that was created with my goals in mind. I like to train my body like the integrated system that it is rather than just a collection of parts. I believe that ALL training should be goal-oriented and should be designed with that specific goal in mind. If I’m not training for something specific, like running a race, trying to beat a row time or getting stronger on a certain lift, then I am training for life and overall health! So, to answer the question, my favorite training program is one which includes endurance, strength, flexibility, core, speed and power, balance and agility. I focus on the seven movement patterns that I believe are the cornerstone to a functional full body workout- squat, hinge, lunge, push, pull, rotation/anti-rotation and gait. I pair those movements with mobility work and a combination of conditioning intervals and I am ready for anything life throws my way.