Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelby Peterson.
Hi Shelby, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been working in the fitness industry since 2014. My love for health started by running an obstacle course race in college after missing the competition of sports I played growing up. I joined a gym and continued to show myself that I could do more than I ever imagined.
As a Biology and Spanish major, I knew graduate school was on the horizon, and after finding a love for health and the human body, I decided to attend UGA for a graduate degree in Exercise Physiology. I got my personal training certificate while simultaneously going to school and started working in a gym setting while also doing time in a clinical setting working with older adults. It allowed me to learn about all kinds of people, and their needs both physically and mentally, which allowed me to grow as a coach.
I moved to Atlanta to work for an obstacle race company as well as continuing in a gym setting in 2016. I worked in smaller gyms until 2018 when I started working at LifeTime Athletic in Sandy Springs. There I worked as an Assistant Manager and coach in the Personal Training department.
When the world shut down, I started to look into more virtual training options. I had been doing this small scale on my own from day 1 but was able to find a wonderful, evidence-based company called Level TEN Coaching, owned by Joelle Cavagnaro, to continue my career. I’ve now been working as an Assistant Coach, fully remotely in fitness and nutrition coaching, since September of 2020. I work with clients from all over the world, helping guide them in both fitness and nutrition, as well as managing stress and changing their lifestyle for the long haul.
My goal is always to help others, like any coach, but I also try to do my best to educate on the why—this is what makes the changes stick. This is what allows people to have consistency over time. It’s why I have a social media presence based in educating and entertaining simultaneously, to make health available to the masses.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Is life ever a smooth road? Haha! I didn’t know where my place in the health industry was, honestly. I was more educated than your typical Personal Trainer, but the clinical setting (hospitals) don’t always put the money into a program for Exercise Physiologists, helping rehab patients post cardiac episode, or to educate on the importance of healthy eating and exercise. When I graduated with a Masters Degree, I didn’t know my direction. I continued working at the gym, not making great money, but couldn’t find the right move.
After being hired by the obstacle race company I worked for, within three months, the investors pulled out and I was without a full-time job. I was lucky enough to have made good contacts at local gyms in the Atlanta area to pick up coaching at a second gym in Cumming, so I could continue to live in Atlanta. Making it in the fitness industry, as a full-time job, is hard. It isn’t an industry that gets enough respect but also simultaneously has too low of a barrier to entry (not enough formal education required, no regulation). It’s fully up to the coach to have the drive to continue the effort and make it.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My coaching style is a combination of tough love and hard work, with a sprinkle of empathy. Showing vulnerability as a coach is what connects me to my clients, but I also do my best to have clients prove to themselves they are capable of more. Most don’t know what it feels like to truly push hard yet. I hope to bring that out of them.
I specialize in mostly women who have not spent adequate time lifting weights, and specifically, not lifting heavy enough. Teaching women that they are powerful and strong is what I love most.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I have learned is that you have to keep moving forward when things are difficult. You do not stop because it gets hard, because the motivation is gone. You have to keep moving in a forward direction, or at minimum, hold steady where you are. That’s where the growth happens!
Pricing:
- 1:1 Remote Nutrition and Training Coaching: $400/month
- Power Hour (Hour Consultation based on filled out questionnaire): $250
Contact Info:
- Email: Shelby@leveltencoaching.co
- Website: www.leveltencoaching.co
- Instagram: @stronglikeshelby
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCI0e90zHbkeqxw0KQj2Rm5w
Image Credits
Photos taken by Kara Everill (Kara E Photography)
