We are so proud of all of our graduate of the Fitness & Nutrition Expert program! To celebrate their amazing achievements and inspire you to take action to go after your dream career, we are going to be featuring some of our amazing grads on the blog who have had great success in creating their career in health and fitness since graduating from the program.

This week we are excited to introduce Megan Leonard. Megan is a recent grad who began the her journey with the FNE program in April 2016 and now is a FIT CHICKS Bootcamp instructor!

Tell us a little about your career/business?

I’m Megan and I work for Fit Chicks as their Toronto Annex Bootcamp Instructor! Allyear round, I run classes for women in the College/Shaw neighbourhood, Mondays &Wednesdays from 6-7 pm. We are a fun, inviting group and we have fun and sweat/smile lots! I love my group and being part of such a supportive fitness community.

What made you decide to get certified and start a business or become a trainer in fitness and nutrition?

Teaching group fitness was something I had dreamed of doing for years before I finally took the first step and joined the Fit Chicks Fitness and Nutrition Expert program. I was a FIT CHICKS client (coincidentally at the Annex location I now teach) about 5 or 6 years ago where I was introduced to HIIT training for the first time. The gym had never been sustainable for me in the past so I appreciated the inclusivity I felt at Fit Chicks, as well as their challenging but fun workouts as well as the physical/mental benefits I felt almost immediately! One day I was showing some of my favourite moves from class to my youngest sister and she said “you’re really into this, have you ever thought of teaching?” That planted a seed inmy mind. I reached out to Amanda some time later, who graciously took the time to meet and answer all my questions about how to work towards teaching for FIT CHICKS.Her support and encouragement watered that seed in my mind and I signed up for the April 2016 session and here I am teaching and living out a dream!

What has been your biggest successes since graduating from FNE? 

My biggest success has been graduating from the FNE program (it’s a lot of info but SUCH a well-rounded course that literally covers everything) and seeing my Annex group grow from 3 women in February to now 10 in September! That may not seem like a big leap, but growth takes patience (something I still struggle with!) and creating meaningful bonds with your clients makes all the difference and keeps them encouraged to return. I have women who signed up in March and are still signing up, so I take that seriously as a win and so appreciate that they are on this journey with me!

What has been your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?

My biggest challenge has been leaning into my own fear to just take the first step and head in the direction of achieving this goal. It’s so easy for me to get lazy or say I won’t have enough time or come up with excuses that make it easy for me to back out and therefore not dig into that fear of something new (and fear of failure). I got past this through setting myself up for accountability through close family and friends, without whose encouragement I would probably not be at this point. Also, eating well and making time for rest and fitness really helped me keep some balance and ability to focus. When self-care slips, it can make it harder to stay motivated and willing to lean into new challenges and goals (and easier to give into fear and talk yourself out of it).

How do you feel the Fitness and Nutrition Expert Program helped you create your biz or dream job? What part of the program helped you grow the most ?  What was your fave moment of the program?

The FNE program literally was the key to my dream job! I put it out there in the universe, accepted that it would take work and time (as most meaningful things do), but once I dug in, it was work that truly interested me: learning more about my body, how to move it to feel stronger, how to better nourish myself to improve my mental health as well feel physically fit, etc… The fact that this course has 4 modules (Fitness, Nutrition,Wellness and Business) hits on all the key factors to help anyone with a passion for teaching fitness, personal training, or even running food prep classes, starting a food blog, or whatever! It’s no weekend crash course – you’re signing up to learn things that will stay with you for life. The FNE program provides you with so much useful info, and then the sky is the limit as to how you want to apply it your life and business! I love that they give you the tools and then you lend your own creativity to give real meaning to your passion. That’s what sets this program apart!

How do you stay motivated?  What keeps you motivated?

I feel so motivated when my chicks smile after a particularly challenging drill or share a new goal they’ve achieved. Most recently, one of my chicks switched to doing push ups on knees to toes, and even trying them with one leg raised now! AMAZING! I love that we can offer levels that encourage inclusivity but when a chick pushes past a threshold into uncharted territory and KILLS an exercise, it brings me such joy! Also, when a chick has missed class and told me they felt like something important was missing from their week, it really speaks to my heart! Nothing is more motivating then that kind of feedback.

What are your goals for the next year?

My goal is to keep working for FIT CHICKS and expanding my teaching skills, methods and fitness repertoire to keep my chicks wanting more! There’s always something new to learn and to teach.

If you could give one piece of positive advice to a chick who is thinking about getting certified or just getting started on her journey to fitness and health what would it be?

Take a deep breath, take some time to think about it if you need to, ask the important questions burning in your mind, but don’t wait too long because honestly, there is never going to be a perfectly convenient time. If it’s something your heart desires truly then try to do this for yourself. This program also offers a lot of flexibility and help is there whenever you ask! Also, finding a tribe of support (from a friend, partner, family, co-worker, Fit Chicks Facebook group, etc) because knowing you have at least one cheerleader helping you stay accountable and rooting for you, it helps so much.

 

Thank you so much for sharing your story with us Megan! We are SO proud of you and everything you have accomplished and SO happy to have you as part of the FIT CHICKS fam! xoxo

We would LOVE to help you realize your dream of becoming a health and fitness professional through our Fitness & Nutrition Expert program! Download our FREE 30 page program brochure here to learn more about how to start creating your dream life, health, and career!

And if you want to find out more about Megan, you can sign up for her awesome bootcamp classes!