HEATHER HARALSON
Education & Certifications
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Certified Personal Trainer, ISSA
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Nutritionist, ISSA
My fitness journey didn’t truly “begin” until I was in my twenties, but I have always lived an active lifestyle. Growing up I was very active, I would ride my bike anywhere I could and spent a lot of time doing things outdoors.
Throughout high school and in the years following I remained active and started to get into running. Around 2012 the opportunity was presented to me to participate in a Warrior Dash mud run with a few of my friends. We trained together for a few months and I did my best to focus on increasing my overall speed and endurance. I wanted to be able to keep up with them throughout the race. Race day came and I was able to run most of the course but I literally needed help over ALL of the obstacles that required any type of upper body strength. (Talk about a humbling experience!) I had complete strangers lifting me up and over walls and platforms because I physically lacked the upper body strength to do it myself. My overall performance for that race wasn’t the greatest but overall I had an amazing time and enjoyed the challenge.
Shortly after I decided to sign up for another race the following year and made it a personal goal “mission” to be able to get myself over the obstacles. I started going to the gym, lifting weights, and joined a group class that I went to regularly. That is when my love of strength training began and sparked my true passion for fitness.
My mindset completely shifted and instead of training to be as fast and as small as I could be, I trained to become stronger. I worked on fueling my body properly and made working out a priority. The following year I was able to do all the obstacles of the race with very little assistance. Since then, I’ve completed five Warrior Dash races, two 75-mile Bike For MS fundraisers, A Spartan Race, and I plan on taking on even more as the opportunities come. I truly believe the phrase “you don’t know what you’re capable of until you try”. To this day I make daily movement a priority and work on getting stronger.
I’ve worked in an office for over 10 years and know first hand the toll sitting long hours can take on your body, and also how challenging it is to not only adequately move but to find the motivation to do so after a long day at work. Sometimes it helps to have someone in your corner to push and cheer you on along the way. Someone who knows the struggles and works with you to overcome them. Fitness has become my passion and I have a natural drive to want to help others achieve their goals no matter what they may be. Being able to take my passion for fitness and turn it into a career where I can help people along their own personal fitness journey has been a goal of mine for quite some time and I’m so happy to finally be here!