Meet Dana! Education, Athletic Experience, and Health Struggle

Welcome back! The purpose of this blog is to introduce myself on a deeper level. Read about my education, personal experience, personal struggles, and my current goals.

Educational/Professional Experience

If you’ve read part of our website, or the blog before this, you know that I’ve got my bachelor's in exercise science, and my master's in wellness promotion. I also had my personal training certification from ACE back in 2020, but that expired. (More on that another time) I am currently studying to recertify my personal training certification through NASM! I’m also adding a nutrition certification to my repertoire! On top of that, I am a board-certified health coach through the National Board of Health and Wellness.

Personal Experience in Fitness

I grew up playing all kinds of sports but eventually landed on Softball, and that stuck for good! I played softball in college, which consisted of hours of practice each day, lifting, conditioning, and taking care of my body so that it could continue to perform at a high level each day. After softball was over, I found myself a little bit paralyzed by the fact that I didn’t know what to do! I knew I wanted to be active, but I always had this clear-cut goal… this reason for training. Once softball was over, I had to figure out what I liked… and why I liked working out. I tried a few different styles of training but always came back to weight training. It’s what makes me feel the best! I still switch things up but I almost always do some variation of weight training.

My freshman year of college softball, I didn’t get a lot of playing time. Actually, I almost got zero playing time besides running bases. We all have a role on the team, but I wanted my role to be more involved. So, after that first year I went home for summer and I got myself a trainer. He was AMAZING. He specialized in softball and baseball players. Honestly, I got lucky. I didn’t know what to expect. I just walked into a gym (literally the closest one to home) and said “I need a trainer.” LUCKILY, my trainer happened to work at that gym and he was EXACTLY what I needed, when I needed it. He helped program an entire summer worth of training specifically for my sport, and for getting quicker/stronger. I put in the work, I didn’t miss a day, I missed out on trips and events. I. WAS. FOCUSED. In hindsight, 12 weeks might not seem like a lot of time, but it is. I was completely dialed in for those 12 weeks of summer. I lifted, I ran, I ate well, I drank my water. I BELIEVED I COULD DO IT. (This was an ALL IN mindset, but for what I wanted to achieve, it had to be done. For overall health and wellness, I don’t recommend being so strict) When I returned to school, everyone seemed shocked. They asked me what I did. I said I got a trainer. I worked out, I stuck to the plan. Which was 3 days of weight training, and 2 days of conditioning. Roughly 1-2 hours of my day each day was dedicated to training, which is pretty reasonable. I stayed consistent, and that’s what helped all the hard work pay off. I started at first base for the next 3 years. If you want something bad enough, YOU CAN ABSOLUTELY HAVE IT. Find a way to make it happen friends, and be open to different opportunities/possibilities.

Since softball has ended, I mentioned above that I’ve tried a few different things but always ended up coming back to weight training. I worked as a trainer at LifeTime fitness for a little bit before I got a job as a remote health coach. Which is what I’ve been doing for the past 4 years. Some of you may know that I was recently laid off, unfortunately. Although it was really sad, it has given me time to really focus on Vitalia, which is where my true passion lies! I get to do what I love, on my own terms. There’s nothing better than that! Sometimes we need a storm to come in order to enjoy the rainbow.

Personal Struggles in Health and Wellness

I don’t really know where to start with this. As an athlete, you get dialed into what you are doing. You are making choices that help you excel in your sport. I focused on eating to fuel my body, but sometimes it got to an extreme. I experienced severe anxiety about making healthy choices and extreme guilt for making unhealthy choices. I didn’t realize it as much until after I was finished with softball. I focused wayyyyy too much on my appearance. I made healthy choices because I wanted to be healthy, but I put way too much pressure on succeeding in appearing a certain way. I felt like my body didn't represent all the hard work I put in. You know, wanting abs, defined legs, defined arms, etc. The truth is that those things do not justify the state of your health. Most women are not built to sustain 6-pack abs! That’s just how it is! We are literally meant to hold onto some belly fat for childbearing purposes. It’s not in our DNA. Yes, some people naturally will have that, but that’s their shape, and most women don’t have that shape, and THAT’S OKAY!

Around 2017, my anxiety and depression had been getting worse. (I've had clinical depression from a young age.) I remember I had gone to the doctor for my annual, and I could not stop crying. For no reason! She suggested that I start a low dose of medication and start seeing a therapist. Again, I found myself getting REALLY lucky because the first therapist I reached out to turned out to be AMAZING, and now I still see her once a month! You aren’t always going to click with every therapist you see. It may take some trial and error. Luckily, my therapist was exactly whom I needed, when I needed her. So, I initially went to her to deal with anxiety and depression. She did her thing, asked me questions, and we realized pretty quickly that my relationship with food and my body was a huuuuggeee trigger for how I was feeling. I couldn’t eat anything without thinking of the calories or macros, I couldn’t walk past a mirror without looking at my body and wishing it looked a little different…. It all started to click for me. I came to learn that the obsession with healthy eating and restrictive behaviors is called Orthorexia. It’s an eating disorder. I never thought twice that I could have an eating disorder until my therapist mentioned that my behaviors sounded disorderly. It took some time to work through this, and things aren’t perfect, but holy cow, I’m in such a better place. I accept myself and my body for who I am! Right now I weigh the most I’ve ever weighed, but I’m in one of the best mental states I’ve ever been in, and I just had a baby. Yes, my body does feel foreign to me right now. Yes, my body is hurting in ways it doesn’t normally hurt. Yes, I’m still recovering and I want to work to improve parts of my health, but I don’t have an issue with where I am, and that’s the difference. I love myself. I enjoy eating and I enjoy moving my body. I accept myself for who I am. I spent yearssss putting so much pressure on looks, and that’s just exhausting! I’m so grateful for the growth I’ve been able to achieve. I went from being somewhat of a perfectionist and super anxious a lot of the time, to being more laid back. I trust the process. I believe that whatever is meant for me will come to me, or something even better! I KNOW that I will ALWAYS be okay. I surrender to the things I can’t control. I enjoy my life, and that’s real success. This brings me to my current health goals!

Current Health Goals

I am currently working on getting my body to a place where it physically feels better. Since having the baby, I’ve got a little extra fluff. It’s okay to have the extra fluff, but it’s affecting my range of motion. I can’t move around as easily as I could before. So it’s a process for me right now! I’m doing a lot of strength training, walking, and tonsssss of mobility and stretching. With time, I know I’ll improve. I lift 3 days a week, and interval run/walk 2 days of the week. Right now that’s feeling really good. I’m excited to see how I feel in the next couple of months!

My hope is to help anyone who may be experiencing any of the same things I've experienced. Reach out and we can work together!

Written by: Dana Robinson