Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Kummerle.
Hi Laura, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up doing gymnastics, and that’s when I fell in love with learning how the body moved and the capacity that the human body has for movement. I ended up competing in college and going onto grad school to get my Doctor of Physical Therapy.
After retiring from gymnastics in 2015, I felt like something was missing. That was until I stumbled across calisthenics on Instagram. I started including more body weight/gymnastics style training into my lifts and ended up adding hand balancing and ninja warrior training into the mix. Without the community I found online, I would have still felt lost and too embarrassed to include the type of training I enjoyed while at the gym.
Through training, I started to learn who I was again after losing my identity when I retired from gymnastics. This was when/why I decided to create my Instagram page back in 2017. I thought if I was able to impact one person’s life the way I was impacted by seeing the community online, it was worth it!
I decided to name the page @paradigmofperfection because I initially wanted it to be anonymous in case people I knew found it. I was a recovering perfectionist and wanted a daily reminder for myself to change my own paradigm of what the definition of perfection is and to remind myself that no one is perfect and that in itself, is perfect.
Fast forward to 2020, people started asking me for training advice online, and that was when my training services were born. I now have programs you can purchase to help you learn more about your body, be able to continue to do the things that you want to do or learn specific skills. These programs include general training programs, skill-focused programs (like pull-ups, muscle-ups, and handstands), or prehab/injury prevention programs. I also do individualized workout programs online for people who want more feedback or an individualized approach.
Since physical therapy school, I have also been treating patients in the clinic, completed a post-doctoral orthopedic residency program, and received my Orthopedic Clinical Specialist certification, in addition to completing many other continuing education courses to further my education.
My goal with Paradigm of Perfection, LLC is to educate people on their own bodies to allow them to continue to do what they love safely, for as long as possible, to allow them to live the life they want.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As in life, the road is never smooth! I have been fairly lucky so far in my struggles and they have been more related to balancing in clinic work assisting patients with my own business as it has grown. The work-life balance has been the most challenging as I have had to spend early mornings, work lunches, and weekends working on my business and helping clients. I’m still working on that part as well, as we’re all a work in progress!
Additionally, with a business that started on social media, I’ve had to deal with the nature of the platform including inappropriate comments, people commenting on my body, people stealing content I’ve worked hard to create, etc.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Because I am a physical therapist by trade, I perform online training services with a unique perspective. With my education in physical therapy and background in gymnastics, I can take a unique approach with different populations that may find it challenging for someone to understand the demands of their sport. I work with anyone and everyone from the high-level athlete to those wanting to get back after an injury or an average person wanting to learn a split or handstand or just have a well-balanced training program. Due to my unique perspective and understanding of bodyweight sports, I have worked with many circus artists, rock climbers, martial artists, swimmers/divers and other bodyweight athletes.
I specialize in taking a balanced approach to training including mobility, strengthening, and specific skill work while optimizing how the body moves to reduce injury risk and continue to progress my clients toward their goals while educating them in the process. I am able to bridge the gap between skilled physical therapy that you may get in the clinic and actually getting back to sport/training.
It truly makes my day when I receive messages saying by including some of my mobility work, they were able to recover faster from a marathon or by doing one of my programs, they’re no longer having back or shoulder pain. I love hearing the feedback on how my programs, or even the extensive free content I have online, has made a difference in someone’s daily life!
What was your favorite childhood memory?
There isn’t necessarily anything that stands out to me as a child. My childhood was filled with training 24 hours per week in the gym with gymnastics and dealing with a host of mental health issues that made me into the person I am today. Gymnastics truly kept me alive during that time, gave me a purpose, and allowed me to smile and find joy in the small things. The lessons I learned through this has translated into my life today and has given me more compassion and understanding for what my clients go through today.
Pricing:
- Online programs starting at $25
Contact Info:
- Website: paradigmofperfection.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paradigmofperfection/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paradigmofperfection
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/paradigmofperfection
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@paradigmofperfection
Image Credits
True Light Photography, LLC (for all pictures except the fall picture on a dock, that one is one I took myself)
