The Story of Rise Health Coaching 🐦🔥 ✨
Shifting Perspectives
In 2020 during the shutdown an opportunity to purchase the CrossFit gym I had attended for the previous several years arose and that purchase was the catalyst for my career and priority shift.
Prior to 2020 I had been solely focused on my business as a luxury real estate agent with a brokerage I still partially own. I had built that business and my book of clients completely from scratch and if I am being honest, I was quite successful in my area. I had a reputation for professionalism and high sales volume. I was driven.
I was driven physically as well. I attended the gym regularly and was an avid long distance runner, completely over 20 races per year in distances ranging from 5k’s to a full marathon. I had played sports my whole life and had been a college soccer player. So when the idea of buying the gym came around I saw it as an opportunity to pursue a career in the arena of sports that I had never previously considered. A second chance at what I had truly loved.
The Next Steps Didn’t Lead Where I Expected
To own a CrossFit gym, you have to be certified so in the time of Covid and masks I attended the CrossFit Level 1 Seminar and obtained my coaching certification. All while wearing a mask and making sure not to touch anyone. What a weird time it was!
Very early into my tenure as a CrossFit coach, I realized that coaching group classes was not my passion or the place I shone. I coached classes to learn techniques and how to manage classes and that was very valuable knowledge but I found that I was drawn more towards the nutrition aspect of coaching and health and the individual fitness approach so I obtained my first two certifications, the Active Life CCP & the Precision Nutrition Science of Macronutrients.
Slowly Finding My Niche
As the saying goes you you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find the right one. Or maybe I should say try a lot of hats. Either way I do believe that as a business owner, you should have experience working in all aspects of it. Since I was not previously in this industry, I was a clean slate to learn and try all the areas and I found that I loved coaching people, but I love doing it 1 on 1. I love that this method gives me the chance to make the most connection and impact with my client. I also found that I love training teens. I train several teen athletes, both male and female, for supplemental strength, agility and speed for their respective sports. This space feels like home to me. As a previous youth and then collegiate athlete, this feels familiar and challenging at the same time. Now it’s my turn to be the guide and not the athlete. And as a parent of two kids who play sports, I can see multiple perspectives.
But I Wasn’t Done Yet
While I train teens for physical performance as well as nutrition, that is where my fitness coaching ends. The majority of my time is spent coaching health and nutrition clients now. While I started with just nutrition, I learned over the course of 3 years that I was both providing more than just nutrition advice and was at the same under-qualified to help them with all aspects of their health so back to learning I went. If you learn anything about me from this post, it’s that I will find a class to teach me anything I don’t know know, and right away! So I went back to Precision Nutrition and completed their internationally recognized PN Level-1 certification. It was intensely scientific and as a girl with an international business degree it was a slog at times but I did it and completed it ahead of my self-imposed deadline. Then I immediately signed up with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition to become a certified Holistic Health & Wellness Coach with their intensive 6 month program.
How Rise Health Coaching Was Born
I am still the co-owner of Celebration CrossFit here in FL and I am its Nutrition Coach but I also wanted the autonomy to expand both my reach and my brand into other areas of health and wellness. I believe that I can be a trusted resource and support system to people looking to better their health and thus their lives. So I thought long and hard about what I wanted to call it. I can pull from several authors I have read but this one is always my favorite and has stuck with the longest.
“And still I rise.” -Maya Angelou
I truly believe that we always have the opportunity to rise, to be better. To rise above preconceived limitations we have about ourselves. To rise above the level of our current habits. To rise above our current knowledge level and systems. Life isn’t meant to be lived in one accepted state. We are meant to grow and that growth depends on our health!