I was born and raised in England. After a few different jobs in business and sales, I began to experiment with fitness instruction. During a floor aerobics class in the 1980’s, the instructor suggested I give class leadership a try, and I was hooked. In 1993, I moved to the United States, where I made group fitness instruction and personal training my career. I spent seven years teaching a class or two of virtually every sort of group fitness offered in the large multi-sport complex in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Also during that time, I expanded my own personal training. I began to run seriously, entering 5K and 10K races at first and eventually working up to my first marathon. I also competed in a body building competition, taking third place in the women’s competition for Kentucky.
In 2000, I married a Marine, and I continued my career of group fitness and personal training. Accompanying my husband from assignment to assignment, I was exposed to many different styles of gym management, class instruction, and people reaching for the next health or fitness goal. Also, I jumped into the physical training of military personnel, which is still one of my favorite jobs. I worked with Army soldiers at Fort Knox, Kentucky and Marines at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and Camp Pendleton, California. I aggressively sought new opportunities, getting into the newest lines of instruction as soon as they came out, such as group cycling and Zumba. During the past ten years, I have run five marathons and countless half marathons, 10K’s, and triathlons. I have kept all this up through the hectic lifestyle of a military spouse and the demands of mothering two children.
I believe my diverse fitness background enables me to quickly fit into a new environment, assess the needs of the facility and the clientele, and develop the best instruction to motivate the group. I love classes with energy, positive attitude, motivation, and enthusiasm, and I do my best to draw these qualities out of others. Most importantly, I love to have fun. I truly believe in healthy lifestyles, and I like to teach others how to keep themselves healthy and fit. From my husband, I learned one of the Marines’ mantras: “Pain is weakness leaving the body.” I use that, adding my own ending “but smiling while you do it is strength coming in.”