Hi everyone and welcome to my blog!
Let me start off by introducing myself and giving you my background; basically let me tell you why I want to start this blog! My name is Julia Rose and I fell in love with fitness, working out, and health when I was about 14. I’ll admit at this point I knew as little as what you could learn from a simple Google search, but I immediately found my passion for health and fitness. Fast forward to where I am now… I have learned and grown so much, and along my journey my passion has shifted from not only loving fitness myself, but wanting to educate as many other people as I can and help them fall in love with becoming a healthier version of themselves as well!
There are so many topics that are brought up to my team and I on a daily basis about workout programs, diets, clothing brands, motivation, goal-planning, lifestyle changes, etc. Over time, certain topics have stuck out to me as the more popular ones; the topics no one seems to know enough about but everyone would benefit from learning more about. These are the sort of things I have been itching for a platform to speak on to educate others, share my thoughts, answer popular questions, speak about things no one else seems to be addressing, and interact with the community. Over the past few weeks, months even, I have come to realize that starting a blog would be a great way to do exactly this! I am eager to include my team on this as well in order to ensure we are delivering the most accurate and relevant content.
Now, I am not a writer. I am not a journalist. I took a total of maybe four writing courses throughout my entire college career. So, I have been slightly hesitant in regards to the fact that this method of communication is not my area of expertise. Buuut, I am hopeful that you will not hold me to the same standards as Stephen King, and will still be able to learn, laugh, and relate with me lol.
I feel I should tell you a little bit more about me to give all these words a better context. I grew up in Westford, a suburban Massachusetts town not too far from New Hampshire. I was lucky enough to grow up with a very active and outdoorsy lifestyle. When I say active I mean I was always riding my bike, jumping on the trampoline, swimming in the lake, or exploring. I do NOT mean I played a lot of sports…oh my was I terrible at any and all mainstream sports. Instead, I was a dancer throughout all of my childhood years and even up through college as well. I have to give dance a lot of credit for helping me learn the power of dedication and hard work at a young age. These are two principles I have carried with me ever since in all that I do, and have absolutely played a role in how I got to where I am today.
As I mentioned, I love the outdoors. I grew up on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire and that place will forever be home to me. Lake life has always run deep in my blood. In fact, I learned how to drive a boat completely alone at the age of 4. Here I am 20 or so years later, and not much has changed. Anyone who has ever known me knows I enjoy weekends on the lake more than anything else in this world. The water is truly my happy place. In the winter I do not shy too far away from a similar lifestyle, but on a snowmobile instead of a boat. I absolutely love spending the weekends up in the snow-covered mountains with my friends and family. As you can probably tell, I don’t like to sit still... Which may be another way my passion for fitness was born.
I started working out in a gym setting at 15 and grew from there. I had little to no idea what I was doing, and my gym anxiety was through the roof. I felt that everyone was staring at me judging my every move. It honestly took years for that feeling to get better. Don’t get me wrong, it has not fully gone away, there are absolutely still times I feel that same anxious pressure. At that point in time I did many Google searches and watched plenty of YouTube videos. I knew the bare minimum about fitness. All I did know was how much better I felt after I got a workout in. It became a routine for me very quickly, but the knowledge did not come as quickly as adapting the routine did. I didn’t have any specific goals in mind, I didn’t know how to create and train for different goals, and I didn’t know how to track progress. All things that I am sure some of you are reading right now and relating to.
I started working in gyms at the age of 17 and the rest was history. I got my Bachelors of Science in Health and Exercise Science at Syracuse University. At the beginning of college I got my personal training certification and began training clients. This was the most rewarding thing I had ever experienced. Helping people realize they are capable of reaching their goals, and giving them the tools needed to do so is so empowering. Seeing your clients grow both physically and mentally is rewarding beyond measure. This was the moment I knew I wanted to make a career out of helping people grow physically and mentally, and give them the tools needed to become a healthier version of themselves.
I spent time shadowing physical therapists to observe the link between exercise and injury rehab. I also spent many hours interning with the strength and conditioning teams of Syracuse University football, men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, women’s soccer, and track and field. During this timeframe, I realized how much I loved working with athletes and quickly saw the immediate association between what is done in the weight room and performance on the field. This became another huge focus of mine. Working with athletes is incredibly motivating. The immeasurable dedication and hard work athletes put into their sport is both rare and admirable. Since then, athletes have been one of my (many) favorite populations to work with - brand new beginners to the gym being another of my favorites. Yes, I recognize that those two types of people could not be on two further ends of the spectrum, but both are equally rewarding and empowering to train with.
After college I became the Fitness Manager at a local gym and continued to train/work with all different populations. I enjoyed this position a ton since I was operating with a team of trainers and fitness professionals instead of just myself, and therefore could impact and help that many more people. Working with a team also brings that much more knowledge and varied experience to the table, ensuring that our clients and members get the best treatment possible!
I am a gigantic supporter of women in fitness - both those trying to better themselves and those working in the fitness industry. Like many things in life, women tend to end up with an unfair disadvantage. In the workout world we are automatically at a ‘disadvantage’ for being naturally weaker than men. Due to being naturally weaker we sometimes end up being looked down upon as incompetent, less knowledgeable, or less capable. Nothing in this world drives me more crazy than exactly this. I have made it one of my missions in life to prove those unfair stereotypes wrong. The world overestimates the strength of men and underestimates that of women. Point blank. And I do not just mean in the gym. I am lucky enough that I get to spend every single day with strong women from all different walks of life. I want to encourage these women, promote them, and teach others how to find that mental and physical strength as well.
I most certainly did not learn all that I know now overnight. In fact, I believed a lot of the myths that are still out there today without even realizing I was falling into the same trap that thousands of other innocent people who want to better themselves do everyday. That brings us back to exactly why I want to start this blog. I remember having millions of questions about working out and a healthy lifestyle, and sometimes there were questions I didn’t even know I should be asking but needed the answers to. Who are we kidding, I still have tons of questions. The crazy thing about this field is that the research and science is forever changing. What you learned last year about how much cardio you should be doing to reach your goals could completely change next year when a new research study is published. So, essentially, I want to use this platform to discuss all of the various topics that relate to fitness, working out, and just living a healthy lifestyle.
I will deliver real time science from up to date research and help you all apply it to your every day, while also giving my own input when relevant. I will also recall from my team’s and my own 10+ years of experience and use this to provide helpful stories, thoughts, and information. But I still aim to keep a light and fun tone because trust me, I am the first one to fall asleep while reading a boring article, and I definitely do not want to do that to you guys. One other thing about me is that I am an open book and try to stay as transparent as possible with any and all topics. There are some ugly truths and not so glamorous sides to all that goes into your fitness journey, and I will be the first one to talk to you about this. I promise to always deliver information in the most bare form possible. I am not perfect, and I most certainly will never try to seem that way to you guys. I will be the first one to admit that there will forever be more to learn, and I am 110% eager to continue learning every single day.
This is all completely new to me so I ask for your feedback as I go. Let me know what I should change, what you like or don’t like, and/or any topics you want me to talk about! I am a huge advocate in learning at least one new thing everyday. If you are able to do just that from these blogs, then I will deem that a success!
If you’re still reading then wow I am impressed... Thanks for reading to the end & I hope you will join me as I navigate this new-to-me blog world!! Feel free to give this a like and let me know what you want to read more about in the comments below! :)
