Spencer
I grew up in West Valley City Utah. I’m currently single and I have four children, two boys and two girls. They range in ages from 15-5. I have always loved sports especially basketball and football. I played football in high school and ran track. Since that time I have had a passion for exercise.
Work: I work a full-time and part-time job as a firefighter. I work full-time for Orem and part-time for Lone Peak. I have been a firefighter for 16 years and I think it’s the best job in the world. It is extremely rewarding, challenging and dynamic. I’m also fortunate to call my fellow co-workers family.
I have a business idea I’m working on now that’s fitness related. Unfortunately, time and circumstances have forced me to prioritize other things for now. I am optimistic and I do believe the business model has potential for success and eventually this dream will become a reality.
Hobbies: I love the outdoors and I am constantly in awe of the beauty found in nature. I love hunting, fishing and camping with my family.
Fitness: Weight training is my favorite form of exercise but I also like HIIT training. I consider the HIIT training I do to be cardio. I don’t like to run for distance. I ran two marathons in the past and by far the best part of each marathon was the second I finished. As I mentioned before I also have an unquenchable appetite for exercise. I usually try to work out for an hour and a half to two hours a day.
Over the years my workouts and diet have evolved and so has my body. I have always been in decent shape but I always wanted to look and feel better.
About five years ago I really started a concerted effort to change my body. Because I’m a slow learner, it took me about three years to figure out the two principles I consider to be the secret to success when it comes to body transformation. The first principle I learned was that I can only look and feel the best that I can be. I stopped comparing myself to others and stopped wanting to look like other people because I learned that having the same physique as someone else is physically impossible. Once I understood this I realized that I could focus more intently on my personal strengths and weaknesses and make the changes I needed to. This doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate others who have worked hard to look good; I just don’t compare myself to anyone else. The second principle relates to a navy seal motto which states “the only easy day was yesterday.” I try to challenge myself to be stronger mentally and physically today than I was yesterday. Having this mentality has pushed me through more workouts than anything else. I owe my body transformation to these two principles as well as great people who surround me and make my life happy and more fulfilling.
Chantelle
My name is Chantelle Steadman and I currently live in Orem, Utah, with my husband Bryan, and our two daughters Oaklee and Savannah. I was born in Arizona, but moved to Utah when I was 3-years-old, my Dad accepted a job here. I consider myself a Utah girl through and through. From a young age I was taught the importance of being healthy and staying active. Part of the curriculum my mom created for my siblings and I, was regular P.E. and learning how to care for my body.
Hobbies: I enjoy being active and spending time outdoors. I danced for Utah Regional Ballet for eleven years.I also took up running shortly after having my first daughter and successfully completed my first half marathon in June 2014. Currently, I enjoy training at home with my resistance band. However, I also try to do some running and my husband and I have goals to take our little family on some hikes this summer. Our family enjoys spending time outside, having bbq’s,and attending college soccer games. I also enjoy cooking and trying new meals. An ever growing hobby is fashion and keeping up with the latest trends. I have a (not so) secret goal of beginning a blog dedicated to fashion and health. I also enjoy cross stitching, exercising, and shopping.
Work: I work part-time as a contract freelance writer for BKA, for four years now. I enjoy playing the piano. I studied with The Five Browns Desirae Brown, for nine years, and Dr. Irene Peery-Fox for many more.
Fitness Background: When January 2016 rolled around, I was encouraged by my mom (Jill), to participate in a meal plan and training program. I was intimidated and came up with every excuse I could, but finally gave in and decided to give it a try. Much to my surprise, I began dropping even more weight and body fat. In six weeks I dropped from 123 lbs. to 114 lbs. and I went from 18.5% body fat to 13.1%. I guess you could say my understanding of the importance of a healthy and active body as always been there, but not until recently have I allowed myself to stretch and do hard things. I’m determined to keep up my training and to have continued health and success throughout my whole life.
Jeanine
I am originally from Richland, Washington. My family moved to Utah when I was a young girl. I enjoyed going to school in Orem, Utah. Where I was involved in Cross Country, as well as dancing on the Drill Team. I continued my education at Utah State University, and upon graduation moved to Utah County. Where I married my husband, Sean and had our three lovely children. (Ellery, (9), Jens (6), Lucy (4).
Extra Time: I enjoy dance, cross country, snowboarding, and hiking.
Work: I write e-learning courses, as well as, run Glow Tanning, for a living. Glow Tan is a mobile organic UV free tanning airbrush tanning service. I have 6 years experience.
Email: glowutah@gmail.com
Hobbies: Cooking and baking, making up healthy recipes, reading, travel (I love road trips), as well as, re-finishing vintage furniture, and DIY projects.
Fitness Background: I have always had an interest in exercise, and over the years trained and ran 10 full marathons. 26.2 miles! After I had my 3rd baby the weight did not come off as easily with running, as it did with the first two. I had put on 60 pounds, (mostly due to emotional & stress eating.) I was trying everything I knew how to do, and nothing was working for me. I asked for help, got a nutrition and weight training plan. I stuck to it, and found the results I was looking for! I trained for one year, and set a HUGE goal for myself to compete in an competition. I placed 2nd in my first show, in my division. The following two years I have competed 5 more times, with 4 top 5 finishes, and traveled to new states. The challenge, goal setting, and hard work has paid off. Last year, I was able to run a Boston Marathon qualifying time, at the St. George Marathon. In 2017 I'll be headed to Boston to run. That alone is a huge dream come true for me.
Camille
I moved to Utah when I was three years old. I am now 26 years old and a single mom. I have one son who I love spending time with.
Fitness: I began my fitness journey at a young age. I was six when I started taking ballet classes. I trained in classical ballet, and other various dance forms, from contemporary to hip-hop, until I was 17. Dance consumed a great deal of my time, I hit the 10,000 hour mark for sure. In the course of that time, I danced with Utah Regional Ballet for six years. I danced many wonderful parts in many ballets, and enjoy dancing to this day.
I’m currently working on improving my eating habits. In this regard, my goal is to eat more consistently, elude packaged food, and overcome cravings. Recently, my fitness focus has been full body training and plyometrics. I also enjoy an occasional Zumba, yoga or Pilates class. I’m a certified yoga instructor.
My mother is my inspiration and the reason I know any fitness goal is not beyond reach. I believe the keys to overall wellness are: 1) A healthy view towards your body, and 2) A desire to overcome unhealthy habits.
Trina
I was born and raised in Utah, always with the plan that I would leave to somewhere new and exciting. What I found in my travels over the last twenty-five or so years is that there is nowhere more exciting than Utah. Where else can you go snowboarding and desert hiking in the same weekend! I grew up mainly in Utah County and Cache Valley in my early years, the 7th of 10 kids. I spent a lot of my youth hiking and exploring Utah’s mountains and built a strong love of Utah’s outdoors.
Hobbies: My primary hobby is my family. My husband and I "manage" a family of 8 kids. I have 3 sons, 2 step-sons, and 3 step-daughters… it frequently feels like that adds up to 27 kids! I am an avid snowboarding and have been boarding now for twenty years, and love spending time with my family on the mountain as well. We spend time traveling and going to our Ranch to camp and 4-wheeling throughout the summer months. I love hiking, camping, wakeboarding, fishing, as well as road and mountain biking. In my free time I mentor with a few organizations promoting young women in technology and another called People Helping People that helps single women build careers to provide for their family.
Work: My secondary focus in life after striving to be a fabulous wife and mother is my work. My career has been focused in Technology for the last twenty-plus years. I have an Associates degree in Computer Science, a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Information Systems, and a Master’s Degree in Business from the University of Utah. (Yes, I am a Utes fan!)
I have worked for a few of the technology companies here in “Silicon Slopes” Utah, providing me with a great career and opportunity to see the world and still live in Utah. I have worked for Novell as a Network Engineer, at Oracle as a Technical Consultant and I currently work for eBay as a Strategic Performance Manager for a technology organization.
Fitness: I have always been active throughout my life whether it was playing sports, mountain biking, hiking, snowbarding, and in my thirties I overcame my fear and finally learned how to swim and did a sprint triathlon. Over the years going to the gym was my "emotional outlet" allowing me to detox from daily stress. I was spending a lot of time there, but wasn't feeling like I was getting any results for all the effort. I thought, "if I am going to be here I should try and at least get something out of my time." I met Jill and the rest is history.
I now have a better understanding of the impact of nutrition and effective workouts. Small changes have made a huge difference in getting noticable results. I have always been thinner, but didn't have the muscle or tone I would like. I have been working with TIGHT for just under a year and have been able to add significant strength, muscle, and reduce my body fat over 4%... and continuing. I look forward to all my workouts and pushing my next level.
Leona
I grew up in a very modest home in Rockland Idaho. It was a small farm town, beautiful, and peaceful. I participated in all of the sports offered because that was what I could do for fun! They were: basketball, volleyball, cheer, and track. I tore my ACL my senior year in basketball and never have had it repaired, instead I was able to rehab and learn the importance of strength training to support it. After high school I moved to Utah in search of bigger dreams and schooling. It was a tearful day, leaving my single mother alone, and scared of the new life ahead, but nonetheless I made it.
Work: Since moving into Utah, I earned my Massage Therapy License at Myotherapy College, and Masters of Esthetics at Skinworks College of Advanced Skin Care.
My husband along with being a fireman/paramedic, started a business selling grass fed local beef. The CowShare has been a great way to connect with the fitness community even more, I also started blogging on Instagram @firemommyfitness to share health and fitness tips with others.
Fitness: During my good ole college years I gained the dreaded freshman 15, I didn't have any clue as to how much to eat, and I certainly didn't have a coach blowing a whistle at me anymore. So I decided to spend time reading books on diets, health, and cleansing my body. I explored trying organic food, and every diet plan under the sun. I also signed up for a gym pass with my roommate and tried out different workouts like hot yoga, and spin classes. This really helped my self confidence, and during this time I met and married my dear husband. We now have 2 young and crazy boys that keep me busy! I was fortunate enough to have healthy pregnancies that allowed me to workout until days before giving birth. Keeping up a healthy lifestyle while raising children is no joke, but I plan it into my day, and we do our best!! Kevin (my hubby), has been the one to credit my regular gym attendance. He used to drag me there after work, and now it’s one of my favorite things to do.
Consistency is key, and it has taken me years of trial and error to understand what works best for my body. Now I enjoy participating in bodybuilding shows, in the bikini division. I love learning new things everyday about health and fitness. The fit life has taught me how to work, how to have discipline. Do hard things even if I don't feel that motivation. I have learned that once you endure the task at hand the reward of self accomplishment is so worth it! Naturally I am a lazy person, I don't want to do hard things, but fitness has shown me that I can and will get the job done. Whatever it takes, it may not be perfect, but I will stay on track, and I will pick myself up and keep going.
