Home | fitness-coach

HEALTH

& FITNESS

B. STRONG

HOW IT ALL STARTED

HELLO!

ABOUT ME

My name is Rebecca Brown but people call me Becca. I am a strength coach, entrepreneur, beach volleyball athlete, clean eating machine, & introvert.

I love all things outdoors: plants, sports, you name it! I love, love, love sunflowers and sunsets! If you ask anyone I know, they will tell you that I am a sucker for some good food! Especially if it is good for the body.

During my college years I played beach volleyball while earning my bachelors degree in Kinesiology. After graduation I continued my volleyball career playing semi-professionally throughout the state of Florida, as well as coaching at my al ma mater. I enjoy continuing to grow in my profession while helping my clients reach their goals .

MY HEALTH JOURNEY

My journey to a healthy lifestyle really started after graduating college, although my junior year of college is when I realized I wasn't in good health. I got really sick.. swollen neck and throat, body aches to the point where I couldn't even lift myself up, and all of it unfolding in just a couple of hours! I was hospitalized multiple times, had 2 spinal taps, and even had an infectious disease doctor come look at my case. After every test imaginable, not exaggerating, nobody could figure it out. I have had endless amounts of antibiotics and steroids pumped into me because that was the only thing that seemed to work. It was like clock work; every couple weeks I started to feel it come on again and there was nothing I could do to stop it.. I thought it was my new norm, something I just have to live with. After college I went back home and started to dive a little more into nutrition, and experimented with elimination diets.. I removed things like gluten, dairy, sugar, alcohol, and grains. It was tough at first but man did I feel great, and even better my body felt NORMAL! No body aches and no swollen neck!! I realized it has to be related. Moral of the story is that things we consume on an everyday basis can effect us without even knowing it. All of that to say, health is an important part of your fitness journey so don't neglect it! Health and Fitness is a passion of mine because the body is so complex and what we put in our body is going to set the tone for how we feel.

MY FITNESS JOURNEY

My journey to fitness started in college. I always had a passion for fitness but it became more of an obsession.. I worked out everyday and sometimes twice a day on top of volleyball. If I wasn't working out that day I had to be doing something active. I referred to it as an "active rest day." I had an unhealthy relationship with health and fitness. Everything I ate was meticulously tracked. I was careful to never put seasoning on anything because of the fear of added calories. Crazy, right?! It certainly wasn't a sustainable way to live. This caused a lot of negative thoughts about myself when I would look in the mirror, and led to bingeing on unhealthy food, and mental burnout. After chronic bingeing I would have to go to the gym first thing in the morning, before I ate or drank anything, to "work it off". I remember looking at myself in the mirror and pointing out all the areas I didn't like and what I needed to change. One particular day at volleyball practice our coaching staff was conducting a preseason assessment. During our individual assessments our strength coaches would measure body weight, body fat percentage, and track performance during a conditioning test. My body fat was at 7% as a college athlete... As a female 7% is beyond low, and some would call it dangerously unsafe. Learning and growing in fitness helped make some changes with how often I work out, my mindset, and not depriving myself of life's many gifts, like flavor! Currently I work out 4-5 days a week and feel great! My relationship with food is healthy, balanced, and better than ever. Most of the time I still eat good nutritious foods, but I don't forget to allow myself to have some treats now and again (as long as I am not letting it become a habit). On days that I don't eat the best, I don't go down that road of shame that only leads to more unhealthy habits. In fitness and health, I do my best because I want to and not because I have to. Remember, if you're obsessing about the results you can't appreciate the journey. The key to sustainability is understanding that we are running a marathon not a sprint. The road to success has many ups and down and how we handle the "downs" determine the results. My passion is to guide and encourage those who are taking those steps in their lives towards healthy lifestyle choices. Let's go together!