Welcome! I am Elise and I am passionate about getting you to the healthiest version of yourself.
I am a Nutrition Specialist, Personal Trainer, and Corrective Exercise Specialist. With a Bachelors or Science and a Master of Teaching, I am here to educate and build programs that fit your individual needs, lifestyle, and goals. I am dedicated to moving you towards your goals in a way that is realistic, sustainable, and fun!
My Fitness Journey
Growing up, I was always athletic and played almost every sport: soccer, softball, kickball, lacrosse, field hockey, ping pong, volleyball, and basketball, you get the point. I loved being active and was extremely lucky to not have to worry about weight throughout these years.
Then, college came around. I stopped playing organized sports, only went to the gym to run or ride the bike, and got into a bad habit of eating all of the amazing campus food (this is not a joke, JMU actually has some of the best campus food) and partying with my new best friends.
This experience changed my whole perspective of how my body handles activity and how it responds to food. I always thought I had great genes and my metabolism would keep me skinny, but man was I wrong. As soon as I slowed down my activity I started seeing the weight change. I tried to deny it for all 4 years of college, but came to the realization that I was not happy in this body and needed a change.
Post college, I moved back home for a year and my sister became my fitness inspiration. She is a year older than me and had been focusing on fitness and healthy eating ever since she was ending her college career. Being back in the same house allowed us to go to the gym together and she taught me everything she had been learning. It was extremely eye opening. I could barely lift 10 pound weights to perform an exercise correctly and I was so sore I thought I had torn all of my muscles. This year was a true learning experience. I relearned how to be active and what it truly meant to challenge and use my muscles properly in order to reach my goals. Having my sister by my side gave me so much confidence in the gym and it was the most fun thing to wake up at the crack of dawn and work out together before work.
Fitness and Healthy Living: What brought on the passion?
After working out with my sister for about a year and living at home, I finally made the decision to pursue my dream of living in Hawaii. I took a huge leap of faith, flew across the globe, and ended up in a place with no support system, no job, and no idea what in the world I had gotten into.
In Hawaii, I struggled to keep up with fitness and found myself back in the rut of not knowing what to do and being afraid to start all by myself. My confidence in the gym faded once I didn’t have my workout partner anymore and my stress level was very high looking for a job and figuring out everything on my own. It was terrifying and I almost just gave up and flew back home after a few months.
Thankfully, I finally got a job, found an apartment, and gained some positive momentum forward. This relieved a lot of stress, but I still looked in the mirror and was so unhappy with myself. I joined a gym and decided I was going to do everything in my power to change for the better. I could not take it anymore. I hired a coach, competed in her 8 week fitness and health challenge, and began creating the future I wanted for myself.
I wanted this so bad that I had to get over my fear of being judged and start being okay with asking how to fix this. I immersed myself in this culture. I learned everything I could about weight loss, strength training, and nutrition. After 8 weeks of competing in this challenge, I experienced true change.
No, not just physically. I realized that mentally my perspective changed, my mood increased, my energy levels improved, and I was feeling absolutely fantastic. I was happier than I had ever been and it was all because of fitness, nutrition, and my own perseverance.
In that exact moment I knew that I needed to share this with others. I needed to tell others that it is possible to make a lifestyle change. I could not hold back how happy I was and how good I felt. My passion was ignited and I was never turning back.