Strength Coach
Weight-Neutral | HAES Aligned | Kettlebells | Pregnancy
My goal is to help you build strength and feel better. I will provide a custom plan, based on your fitness goals, injury history, and schedule.”
Our sessions will help you build strength and conditioning through barbell, dumbbell, and kettlebell training and focus on corrective exercise when necessary for conditions like plantar fasciitis, low back pain, shoulder impingement, sciatica, scoliosis, Parkinson’s, Lupus, chronic pain, pelvic floor issues, etc.
I am also a Girls Gone Strong pre and post-natal pregnancy trainer and am aligned with a Health At Every Size, joyful movement therapy approach.”
What are Dana’s Specialties?
Strength, Conditioning & Kettlebell Training
- Women’s Health Program: Holistic strength & conditioning
- Mix of Kettlebells, Dumbells, Barbells & Resistance Bands
Pregnancy: Pre & Post-Natal
- Girls Gone Strong Certified: Trimester-specific workouts & rehabilitation for post-delivery
- Written Plans, Online Plans, and mental wellness support resource recommendations
General & Specialized Rehabilitation Programs
- Traditional training for all age ranges
- Injury Recovery: Strength, Coordination & Mobility
- Training with Eating Disorders, Physical Disabilities, and Elderly Limitations
Coaching Certifications
NASM CPT, CES
(National Academy of Sports Medicine – Certified Personal Trainer, Corrective Exercise Specialist)
Certified Nutrition Coach
DV8 Kettlebell
Girls Gone Strong Pregnancy
First Aid, CPR, AED
HAES (Health at Every Size)
FROM DANA…
I’ve always struggled with my weight, but really, the actual struggle has been to love myself and feel comfortable in my body–whatever its size.
Like many, I was trained early on to criticize every body part. My mom’s comments reverberated in my mind about her weight and mine, which made me worry about gaining and losing weight while envying other girls whose body types had been deemed “the standard.” I was not taught to appreciate and love my body and understand its very biological functions – but instead taught to feel self-conscious about any so-called imperfection and feel shame about its natural state of being.
In my adult years, after losing both parents, my search for self-love and acceptance started with finding more balance and control in my body. I began to move more – starting with long treadmill walks and later running. Physically, I was challenging my body but I also needed a mental push. So I stepped out of my comfort zone and into the weight room at the gym.
As I started getting stronger and feeling more confident, coworkers would inquire about what I was doing in the gym and ask me nutrition questions. I loved sharing my newfound knowledge, and while reading and learning about human anatomy and musculature I also discovered the racist origins of anti-fat bias and worked to combat my own fatphobia.
What struck me was when someone’s in a bigger body, that in and of itself is not a problem to be solved, but that’s how we’ve been trained. All the learning energized my desire to meet and work with people who shared my values, treat people with compassion and empathy, and ultimately care for the whole person. This propelled me into my journey of becoming a personal trainer.
I began working at a big box gym in 2016 and I made the most of my time there. I worked with a variety of clients—ranging from folks who struggled with injuries to those who wanted to get stronger. I also began working with a lot of pre and postpartum women who wanted to use their kid-free time to destress and get back in touch with their body. Training these clients gave me insight into key elements that I wanted to incorporate into my own practice–inclusivity, empathy, empowerment–and helping people find loving words towards their bodies.
Today, I am honored to train amazing clients who continually inspire me with their journeys. I’ve created a safe and welcoming space where we focus on creating healthy movement patterns–finding joy in lifting weights and getting stronger physically and mentally. As I continue to evolve as a person and as a trainer–working on my internalized fat phobia, learning about systemic racism and its power over the fitness industry–I’m striving to build a better relationship with my body and am grateful for its innate abilities to walk and bike and lift and move. Hopefully I’m inspiring others to find the joy, love and kindness for their bodies and be proud to let their body tell their unique and powerful story.