Transformation to Trainer: Grad Spotlight

Nicole went from athlete, to unhealthy, to fitness-focused and has experienced a transformation – physical and purposeful. Now she’s working as a personal trainer and feels fulfilled daily as she helps clients reach their goals. She loves being surrounded by a team of people that help her prioritize and improve on her own health & wellness. Here’s her story!

“I started being active at a young age; I played soccer for 12 years and softball for 2 years and other sports in high school. As I grew older my aspirations changed and I decided, when I was 16, that I wanted to start working to make money. That was a big shift in how I was spending my free time and all of a sudden I wasn’t paying attention to my health & fitness anymore. In less than a year I got to the point where I was 160 pounds. It affected my life drastically; I didn’t see myself as someone who I knew and loved anymore. I hit an extreme low in my life and as a result I ended up with an eating disorder – Bulimia. I struggled with it for 6 years, finally deciding that I needed to change my life. I came to Steve Nash Morgan Crossing, got myself a gym membership, started weight training and that has brought me to where I am today.

I worked for Steve Nash at the front desk for 10 months before I decided to go into personal training. I’d always had an interest becoming one but I wasn’t sure if it was really for me. I started to work with one of the trainers at Nash and saw the value in what they do. It took a ton of courage for me to open my eyes and realize that it was time to take a step forward. My training career started with BCPTI. I knew that BCPTI was the school for me. It was a 7-week program with hands-on learning and lots of opportunities to teach back to the other students in the class. I’ve never been a fan of going to school but this didn’t feel like school to me. I loved going to each class since I knew that we would be learning something new every day. The instructors were so great – Logan, Josh, Cam, and Marc. It was awesome to see them training clients at the gym and then showing us how what we learned in class applied in the real world. Also, I can’t forget my amazing class mates who are all killing it as personal trainers as well! Shout out to you guys!

Building my client base for the first 3 months of being a trainer was hard work. But once I got myself in front of as many people as I could, I was able to show who I am as a trainer. It was scary at first but it has become way easier now. I’ve learned throughout these last few months that I had to get over the fear of getting a “no.” One of the best things I did as a new trainer was completing certifications such as – Trigger point, Therapeutic Fascial Mobility, TRX Suspension Training, and learning more about nutrition through the dotFIT certification as well as an awesome seminar from Precision Nutrition. I knew that adding to my knowledge would help me stand out as a trainer and I have more to offer my clients.

Now, 4 months into my training career I realize it was the best decision I’ve ever made! People always say that if you don’t love what you do for your job, you won’t want to go, you won’t enjoy it to the fullest and you probably won’t stick with it. I can honestly say that I absolutely love getting up every morning to train my clients because I know that I change people’s lives every day. Never give up on yourself or what you think that you can accomplish – surround yourself with successful people, push yourself to learn and try new things and you’ll succeed!