I want to start by saying how excited and proud I am to bring Strength Lab Eugene to this community

As someone who has battled being overweight off and on throughout my life, fitness is my single biggest passion outside of my family. At one point I weighed 225 pounds and was obviously unhealthy. When my oldest daughter was one year old, we were looking at pictures of my Dad, who had passed away before she was born. In that moment I made the decision to get fit so that I could be around for my grandchildren.

In my opinion, strength is the basis upon which all movement is built. It makes everything easier. But I had to learn this the hard way. Coming from a childhood background of competitive swimming and then distance running as an adult, I mistakenly believed “more” was better. More distance, more volume, more speed. I kept pushing myself to do more, and I continued to get faster for several years, and then it stopped. The final straw was a knee injury that just wouldn’t heal and prevented me from running. That injury led me to discover kettlebells, Pavel Tsatsouline, and eventually StrongFirst, and sparked my desire to train others and share what I had learned.

Over the next two years, I read and watched almost everything I could get my hands on. I shared ideas with and learned from other coaches, and trained with two coaches of my own to prepare myself to help others as efficiently and intelligently as possible.

For me, obtaining the StrongFirst SFG Instructor Certification was as much about the journey to get there as it was about achieving the certification itself. I learned to listen to my body. I fought the urge to always push harder and heavier, but to do what I needed to do on that given day to get better. Over the long term, I truly believe consistency trumps intensity, and I carry that philosophy into everything we do at Strength Lab Eugene.

My life has improved so much since that day with my daughter. By building my strength and increasing my flexibility, everything in life has become easier. If I want to go on a run with my friends, I can. If I want to do a challenging hike, I can. If I need to move quickly and/or move something heavy, I have the strength and mobility to do it safely. And most importantly, I have turned around my health in a way I can maintain for the rest of my life, so that one day I will be able to get down on the ground and play with my grandchildren just like I can with my kids today. I hope to share this freedom and enjoyment of life with everyone who comes to Strength Lab Eugene.