About ME

I wasn’t always in love with fitness. Growing up I suffered from asthma which prevented me from being active all through my school years. By the time I reached high school I had it under control, but by then the weight had crept on. Even though I struggled with my breathing, I loved to dance! I joined the cheerleading squad, step team and participated in high school musicals. When I went to college my activity level went from 100 to 0. This caused me to pack on the pounds. Being unhappy with my weight not only caused me to be depressed but the added weight made it harder for me to keep the asthma under control. One day I went to the doctor for my checkup. He looked at me and said “your lungs are already working hard, you are not making it easier by being overweight”  I was devastated. Not because he told me I needed to lose weight but that I finally reached the point for someone to tell me had.

After crying my eyes out, the one person who I could count on to be the loving person I needed spoke to me. My grandmother. She told me I was strong and I can win this battle. She signed me up for a nutritional food program which helped me with food portion control. I also signed up for a women’s only gym facility. Armed with determination, I went to work out for the first time. I remember seeing people walk up the stairs to the studio to take group exercise classes. I could dance, you know what I’m going to try it.  Did I mention the stairs? By the time I reached the top, I was already out of breath. I remember seeing the instructor setting up. She introduces herself, puts her music in and hit play. All I know is everyone started moving at what seemed like 180 mph. I took one look at the class and left. I walked back down those stairs feeling defeated. Instead of letting it stop me, I went to the treadmill and walked, and walked and walked. I did that for 4 months, almost every day. By the time I knew it, I had lost 40 lbs. That gave me the courage to start  a new journey by weight training. It was tough but I loved it. 

 After several months, I finally I decided it was time to climb those stairs again. I had a renewed sense of determination to accomplish finishing a class. When I got in the room I saw it was a step class. I had never done step before but now is as good as any time to learn. I got my step, put it down next to the instructor and prayed. Again, she hit play and took off. This time I was able to follow and keep up! The more I did, the more energy I had. I was so into it, I didn’t realize an hour had passed. At the end of class she came to me and said “you were great!” Then she asked me a question that would shape and change my life forever, “Do you ever think about teaching fitness classes?” At that point I had never thought about it, but I knew at that moment I wanted to do it. From that point on the facility trained me, mentored me and help me get my national fitness certification. The rest as they say is history.  

When people ask me how has fitness shaped my life, I think back to my beginning. Over 20 years later, I am still passionate about helping people achieve their goals and change their lives. I have grown in this industry, traveled many different roads and had many people be a part of my fitness family. I understand what it is like to feel like how can I have let myself get so far away, I can’t do it, it’s too hard, or I have no will power. I am here to tell you I am a living testimony that you can come back from anything. You can achieve what you didn’t think you could. My role is to help you see that, as my grandmother saw in me.

That is what Turnstyle Fitness is all about. It’s about showing you your potential even when you don’t see it yourself. It’s about improving on your personal perfections. It’s about taking your fitness journey to the next level. It’s about living a healthier lifestyle.

I look forward to working with you on your path to a stronger, healthier, spiritual you.

Tara