Santa Barbara’s Older Adult Fitness Trainer
Professional Biography
I have been a serious student of health and fitness my whole adult life. It’s been my lifelong mission to become an expert at self-care strategies to optimize healthy aging & function. I was first exposed to non-sport exercise at age 15 with resistance exercise (weight training) and later became an avid fitness runner from my early 20s to 50s. At community college, I wanted to become a gerontologist ( scientist who studies aging) and transferred to UCSB as a biology major. I later learned that a lot of the negative effects of “aging” are actually impacted or directly caused be chronic degenerative disease processes, so I switched majors to earn a BA in Health Studies. I became fascinated while taking exercise physiology courses, so decided to continue my studies to earn an MA in Exercise Science. My first real world fitness-related job (while a graduate student) was as a physical therapy aid and fitness programing consultant for a local physical therapy clinic. I’ve been an exercise and fitness professional ever since. My first professional fitness training certification was earned after my MA degree and I’ve earned many more. I started my full-time professional fitness training private practice in 1986, and have continued to the present, which definitely makes me Santa Barbara’s most experienced fitness trainer.
Since 2005, my private practice has focused exclusively on partnering with older adults to optimize their functional fitness & physicality. I’m very grateful that health care professionals trust me with their patients – I often receive referrals from Medical Physicians, Physical Therapists & Chiropractors. I am very fortunate to have overcome active cancer twice in my forties. I would not be a “survivor” today without the health & medical knowledge I began accumulating as an undergraduate student: At age 40, I personally requested a (new at that time) cancer screening test typically not given to men younger than 65, and the surprising results gave me the opportunity to seek cancer treatments to save my life. Needless to say, I have lots of personal experience with the health care & medical professions, and my clients tell me I always have good advice for them regarding using and communicating with their health care professionals.
I have a growth mind-set and I’m strongly committed (I would say passionately so) to constant learning! Accumulating new knowledge, tools, techniques, skills and wider viewpoints to help my older adult clients is of immense importance to me, so I regularly attend professional learning events and earn new professional certifications, as well as have a daily habit of early-morning reading on professionally-related topics like exercise/training/nutrition/health promotion/fitness. I enjoy my work now with my older adult clients more than ever before and find it most satisfying & fulfilling to be a helpful resource for positive change.
Personal Biography
I was raised in Simi Valley, California, in a family of 7, with a home-maker mother & police officer father. My sister & I were the first in 3 generations to go to college. I fell in love with Santa Barbara at 16 when I was able to drive and take “surf trips” with my high school friends. I moved to Santa Barbara to attend UCSB and have lived in the area since, as my plan was always to stay in SB after college; it hasn’t always been easy, so I’m very grateful to still call SB home. I try to always appreciate the unique charm and beauty SB has to offer in this special location between the mountains and the sea. In my interpersonal life, I have not been particularly “lucky in love” as I’ve twice been married & divorced, however I’m very grateful for the opportunity to keep trying.
As I mentioned in my professional bio, I am a “cancer survivor” (is there a better term?) which has certainly shaped who I am today. Probably no surprise that I’m devoted to taking care of myself physically (duh!): I put positive attention and action into near-daily exercise with varying amounts of joint-tissue mobility work, resistance & power exercise and cardiometabolic sessions. I’m a fan of morning quiet time with meditation & deep breathing. I am a passionate student of plant-based eating: my personal eating pattern is plant-exclusive (often termed vegan) because the science tells us this eating pattern optimizes for the lowest chronic degenerative disease risk. I admire Joel Fuhrman, MD, Simon Hill, MSc, & Michael Greger, MD, who are the most important influencers of plant-forward nutrition.
I have a thirst for knowledge & a growth mind-set, so no surprise that I enjoy reading – professional topics in the morning & pleasure in the evening. I also enjoy a bit of Netflix or Tennis Channel in the evening. An occasional treat for me is enjoying and sharing the elegant pinot noir wines from Burgundy, California & Oregon (sadly the science tells us no amount of alcohol is safe; I don’t like that, but it is a fact). Probably my favorite travel trip was going to Paris and Burgundy in 2015! I find it pleasurable to listen to string musical instruments – violin & cello – but have somewhat varied musical tastes. At different points in my life, I have been passionate about running, surfing, tennis, Latin dancing (Tango & Salsa) and wine tasting & collecting.
