I had a very active childhood and grew up dancing competitively with my dance studio (tap, jazz and ballet!) from the young age of 3 all the way through my high school graduation. Dance was my “sport” and and I remember spending 8+ hours every week after school training with my team in dance classes.
As a freshman in college, I had never stepped foot in a weight room before and I had absolutely no knowledge of how to exercise outside of dance or how to eat to nourish my mind and body. And, sleep?! Coming from an academically rigorous high school, pulling all-nighters was the norm. So, I definitely had no idea about how to structure my day or my life with healthy habits. There was no “college prep class” on how to be well and live well in college.
I remember the first time I tagged along to the USC gym with a friend. As an 18 year old girl, it was extremely intimidating walking in and realizing it was packed with “buff fraternity guys” throwing heavy weights around. We did not know how to workout, lift a dumbbell or use any of the machines. So, of course it was pretty scary. The last thing we wanted to do was draw attention to ourselves. So, like other college women, when I’d go to the gym every now and then, I’d stick to the cardio machines, stretch and do the only ab workouts I knew how to do from my dance days. Then, I’d drink a Jamba Juice smoothie or eat frozen yogurt that I thought were “healthy.”
Living in the dorms with not so healthy dining halls and an open meal plan didn’t help, either. I remember I loved my morning lattes, blueberry muffins and pizza, which became my daily diet. Going away to college is a big lifestyle change and while I succeeded academically and socially, I didn’t have the tools to guide me and help me be my best personally. After freshman year, I knew I had to make a change as I had lost confidence in myself.
Luckily, sophomore year I lived in sophomore housing two steps from the school gym, so I was able to get in there more and start learning how to workout properly. Exercise was a vehicle that not only gave me endorphins to help me feel good emotionally, but also physically! I set out to learn how to exercise and eat right, but quickly realized that mainstream fitness information and resources available to young women my age were fragmented, confusing, misleading and almost non-existent. Surprisingly, I gained more fitness and nutrition knowledge by reading all of my brother’s fitness and bodybuilding magazines and researching the science behind exercise and nutrition. As I started to gain more confidence with exercise, I realized that I was one of a handful of girls that ever even stepped foot outside of the cardio room and into the weight room at the USC gym.
By Junior year, I was a little more versatile and confident in the gym, but still had a lot to learn. I immersed myself in the industry interviewing everyone that gave me the opportunity to chat with them and learn from them. I was given the opportunity of a lifetime to intern for Kim Lyons, former NBC’s Biggest Loser celebrity trainer and now a close friend and mentor. She encouraged me to continue learning and to start a blog to share my new healthier lifestyle and to help other college women learn how to workout and eat healthy on campus. Little did I know at the time that that blog would turn into what The Strong Movement is today!
By Senior year, my mind and body had transformed. I walked around more confidently and friends and other students at USC began to notice and started asking me to train them and create custom meal guides for them. Again, I was reminded about the lack of fitness and nutrition resources available to college girls. College women wanted guidance on how to properly workout at the gym to achieve their fitness goals. Additionally, they wanted information on what to eat to compliment their active lifestyle and workouts. The same information I had wanted for myself months before.
The more time I spent at the USC gym, the more I observed college women spending hours on end in the cardio room and then heading straight to Jamba Juice or Yogurtland for their post-workout meal. I began to ask them what their fitness goals were and their responses included, “losing weight” and “toning up.” However, they believed that lifting weights and training like a guy would “bulk them up” and “get them big,” which is why they stuck to the cardio machines and followed the latest trends about how women should exercise, workout and eat (cardio and juice cleanses!). This is when it dawned on me that I needed to create a resource and be the resource that women could trust for fitness and nutrition advice.
I realized that I was blessed with the ability to motivate and inspire others and knew I had to find a way to share information and inspiration to live our best lives and achieve our dreams—fitness, personal and professional. Thus, the foundation of The Strong Movement™ was born to empower women to be their best selves and to build a Strong Body and Strong Mind in the process.
After graduating college in 2012, I earned my Personal Training and Fitness Nutrition Specialist Certifications from the National Academy of Sports Medicine and continued to learn everything I could about fitness and nutrition. As I customized more fitness and meal plans for friends, I realized I wanted to help as many women as possible, especially college women. It was then that I decided to create The Strong Movement™ Strong Girl Guides so I could help more women learn how to exercise, nourish their bodies and gain the confidence to live the life of their dreams.
Soon after, as I was pursing a career in sports broadcasting, I landed my dream job of hosting for the LA Dodgers. It was during this time that sorority chapters at USC asked me to come back to campus and share my story and experiences after college. It wasn’t long before I found myself leading confidence workshops and workouts not just for sororities at USC, but sorority communities on college campuses across the country! After working with thousands of sorority women on dozens of campuses, I realized I wanted to dedicate my life to helping young college women. So, I decided to go back to school and was accepted to the University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Positive Psychology Degree Program where I studied under the world’s leading researchers in the field and scientific study of well-being!
I am passionate about creating well-being programs for sorority and college women. I’m humbled The Strong Movement community is growing today and I’m able to help Strong Girls all over the country build Strong Bodies, Strong Minds and help them live positively and accomplish their goals in all aspects of their lives. I know we can all support and empower one another as a community of women with the same desire–to be strong, happy, healthy and confident women.
I invite you to explore the website, blog and resources on TheStrongMovement.com! Also, follow @TheStrongMovement on Instagram for daily inspiration!
Cheers to Confidence, Strength + Happiness!
Love + Sweat,
xoxo