Hey! I'm Emma!
I’m the founder and Head Trainer at Rise & Thrive. Thanks for coming by!
So, you wanna know a little more about me? Awesome! Here’s how my fitness journey began and how Rise and Thrive came to be:
About twelve years ago, I was at my heaviest. I had two kids, worked a full-time office job, and I did NOT watch what I ate. I was 28 years old. Keeping up with my kids was supposed to be easy. Instead, I found myself getting winded and making excuses for my sedentary lifestyle. I was depressed, and really hated what I saw in the mirror. Despite being an active participant in youth sports (and I loved hiking!) I was always overweight. It had been a lifelong struggle.
I finally got real with myself and decided to do SOMETHING about it. Because I’d played sports I had a little exercise technique and knowledge, but I was nowhere near confident. Whatever, though; I didn't care because I was done with excuses. I signed on at a local gym and just started showing up. I knew that half the battle for me was just that: to show up. I did, day after day after day. Hour after hour after hour.
Fast forward a year, and I was down 100 pounds! I was REALLY doing this thing where I achieved my goals! Don't get me wrong, there were some pretty ugly days that year and some serious ups and downs, but what I started to realize was that I LOVED everything about working out. It became more than just the reduction of the number on the scale or the lowering of the pant size. It became who I was. It became my passion! Throughout that year, I learned so much from the other people I met and spoke to who had more experience than I did.
Later on, I took some time to reflect and realized that my journey might have been a little easier if I’d had someone by my side to high five me, to give me a pep talk on those worst days, to teach me the right way to do certain things… to just be my cheerleader and understand and appreciate the work that I put in. That was when I decided to make it my mission to help others who might be feeling the same way, and I started this crazy fun fitness career I now have and love! I went back to school, got my Athletics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA) certification in group fitness. Then I earned a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) certification in personal training to become more skilled at one-on-one coaching.
Then… I got hurt. I had to have surgery to repair my ACL. I not only gained some weight, my body became unbalanced. I went through physical therapy and also decided to work with a trainer who specialized in corrective exercise to level myself out and kick my butt back in gear. It was such a transformative experience—physically and mentally—that I decided I would go back to school AGAIN, this time to specialize in corrective exercise.
And here we are today! I started my own business that I named Rise and Thrive, in honor of the ups and downs, success and failures that are part of every journey. I want to help channel all my clients’ inner phoenixes and bring them out!
I’m still on my own journey, and still LOVING every minute I’m able to help others get closer to and achieve their goals. I love celebrating the successes, offering a helping hand, and redirecting negative thinking during the ugly times. I feel a deep connection with the people I work with because I 100% get it, I’ve been there, but together, I know we can all achieve our goals!
So that’s my story! If you’d like to chat about how I can help you, send me an email! No pressure to sign up for anything; we can just have a talk about what you’re looking for.