Today we’d like to introduce you to Breanne Turner.
Hi Breanne, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Thanks so much for having me. First and foremost I’m a wife of over 20 years to an amazing man and mom to beautiful twin teenage girls! Of the countless hats I wear after being a wife and mom, my other top two hats, Health Coach and Personal Trainer makes my heart so happy and I’m honored to share a little bit about that today.
I know many women can relate to the struggle of losing their sense of self in motherhood, which is exactly what lead me down this path and why I’m so passionate about it today.
As I sit here writing this, it hit me: I’ve been doing this for over a decade now. It seems like yesterday my twins were toddlers and my physical and mental health were a hot mess. It’s hard to believe they will be starting high school this Fall.
I was your typical exhausted mom who, from outward appearances, had it all together but like many new moms, I was struggling. I was barely fitting into my clothes, hated the way I looked, and was NOT happy or fulfilled. I was sick to death of the monotony of being a SAHM (stay-at-home mom) and frankly, didn’t enjoy it. It was never part of our plan, but after having twins and seeing the price of daycare, we made the decision for me to stay home. Even when we were going through fertility treatments, I knew being an SAHM was not for me, but we do what’s best for our families, right? I am grateful for that time with them, and I sure do miss those squishy little babies now! That said, it took a toll on me. Some women won’t understand this, and I’m okay with that but I was bored. I spent all day entertaining, playing, shuttling all over to the zoo, kids’ museums, splash pads, trips to Target, keeping the house clean, meals prepared, changing a crap ton of diapers, washing 16 bottles a day, laundry, etc., etc. You get the idea. And yes, I signed up for all of that, but I was not designed to be a SAHM, and that is okay, too. I have an incredible amount of respect for the women (and men) who thrive and love being home with their kids all day! We are all made differently which plays a huge role in how we approach our health too.
For me, though? I was worn out and felt like my only identity was mommy. Thankfully, I had an amazing support system from my husband, my parents, the girl’s Godmothers, and friends (and still do!).
Long story short, my husband encouraged me to take some time for myself and invest in my health again because I was always happier when I worked out and it would give me something to do just for myself. I found an at-home workout program that I was able to follow during their nap times or after my husband got home from work.
Slowly but surely, I started feeling a little better and my clothes started fitting better. I looked forward to that ‘me’ time every day. From there, it morphed into a whole thing and I joined a fitness MLM company to make a little side money and get a discount on more workout programs. While I have nothing to do with said company and haven’t for a very long time, it was mostly a good experience that led to all this.
That experience taught me a lot about what not to do, but it also sparked my passion for helping people, which propelled me into what I do at Relentless Lifestyle.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Short answer: Yes and No. Nothing worth having comes easy, right? Breaking away from that community and mindset with the MLM was hard. It was a big leap to branch out on my own and do things the way I wanted to do them.
I studied my butt off and took course after course after course to learn all the things about personal training, nutrition, coaching, corrective exercise, and more, but having credentials doesn’t mean you suddenly have a full client load or income to match.
After sitting on my personal trainer certification for longer than I care to admit, my husband told me it was time to do something with it or move on. I was holding back from fear of the unknown and fear of failure (something many of us struggle with!). I finally put myself out there and Hope & Faith Fitness was born (I’ll explain more in a minute).
Not knowing how I was going to get clients was a definitely a perceived roadblock early on. I didn’t have a budget for advertising so I started with a simple post or two on Facebook and Nextdoor. When I started out, I was only offering personal training as I am a big believer in staying in my lane and not coaching/teaching something I wasn’t yet credentialed and versed in. It served me well for several years and my little personal training business grew out of my garage.
Over time, my client base grew pretty quickly by word of mouth, and of course, it couldn’t have had anything to do with my insanely low rates, ha!
Time went on, my client list grew and I slowly inched up my rates as I continued to add on more certifications. Every bit of income I earned went right back into furthering my education and upgrading equipment. I worked tirelessly posting on social media, taking courses, writing workouts, and training clients. After a few years of gaining confidence in my abilities and learning to understand and read people, I recognized a big disconnect in the personal training world which led me to transition my outlook on health and fitness, ultimately changing the trajectory of my business.
I made a bold decision both professionally and financially to enroll in a Health Coaching program because I wanted to bridge the gap with my clients. After years of training and watching them succeed with the caveat that everything in their life was copacetic, I knew something was missing. As soon as they encountered a road block they would go off the rails completely. I also recognized that in my own journey early on when I would do so well with my nutrition plan on the weekdays and then blow it on the weekends.
We could do all the things right in the gym and follow a plan so well until life happened and it sent us into a downward spiral. I enrolled in the coaching program as much for me as for my clients. Personal training courses don’t teach you the importance of mental and emotional health and how much they factor into someone’s fitness routine or nutrition plan. I wanted my clients to learn how to navigate life and learn how to roll with the punches. Whether those punches were major life events, holidays, birthdays, or a random Tuesday where everything goes wrong.
Hope & Faith evolved into the Relentless Lifestyle because life isn’t conducive to a strict meal plan or rigid exercise routine, and the sooner we embrace the fact that we WILL have setbacks, the easier it gets. There is no perfect. There is no one right way. Be Relentless in the pursuit of a healthier YOU. Maybe you can’t do all the things you intended to do today, so I encourage my clients to focus on what they CAN do, find the lesson, and keep moving forward.
Running your own business is HARD. Having boundaries, especially when you’re working from home, is HARD. My work/life balance is a constant struggle. Managing our home, my business, our twin girls’ social and sports schedules, and running the gym we own (shoutout to Relentless Training Facility in Spring, TX)-it’s a lot. Some days I rock all the things and some days end with me wanting to hide under the covers. But I get up every day with gratitude, even when it sucks. I’m so incredibly grateful for my clients who allow me to be a part of their journey and feel incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to help people improve their lives.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Oh man, this one is so fun to talk about, and I can be long-winded, so bear with me!
I’m honest to a fault and have no problem telling a prospective client I may not be the best fit for them. I have a fantastic network of trusted health and wellness professionals that I work with, and I will happily refer a client to them when necessary. I’m a huge believer in staying in my lane, and I know, aside from my sarcasm and no-BS attitude, that people appreciate that. While I love helping people, sometimes that means they are better suited for someone else, and I’m okay with that because I truly want what is best for that person.
I’ve been a Personal Trainer for over a decade and have had the absolute honor of helping hundreds of people change their lives for the better. I don’t believe in contracts as a personal trainer because my philosophy is to teach you all the things so you can confidently walk into any gym and know what to do without me, when you feel the time is right. I have clients that stay with me for 6 months to a year, while others have been with me for over 6 years.
Additionally, I’m a Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES) and Certified Health & Life Coach.
Being a CES allows me to work with special populations, post-surgery rehab/strength and recovery, injury prevention, youth athletes, and more. Think of a CES as the next health professional in line when you graduate physical therapy after an injury or surgery. My job is to help you fully recover while gaining more strength and adding muscle to reduce the risk of re-injury.
I have had the privilege of working with amputees, youth athletes, post-surgery clients, pre-and post-natal women, and many in the EDS and hyper-mobile community. EDS, or Ehler’s Danlos Syndrome, is a connective tissue disorder that usually comes with a myriad of autoimmune conditions which range from client to client. No two are the same but they all share one common theme: muscle and gaining strength are vital component to reducing flare-ups. They require a different approach than someone in the general population, but they are some of the most rewarding clients I work with. Watching them get stronger despite constant setbacks, reducing pain and flare-ups, and helping them tune into their bodies is such a gift!
My health coaching practice affords me the opportunity to work with a wide range of people in various stages of life. I work primarily with women who are exhausted, over-scheduled, and struggle to set healthy boundaries for themselves and others in their lives. As a health coach, I’m able to dig deeper and ask the tough questions to help my clients uncover what’s really holding them back from achieving their health goals, and spoiler alert-it’s rarely as simple as their nutrition. Once we get to the root of the ‘why’ we can begin to reframe our thinking and work to create new, healthier habits. You’d be surprised how much easier the nutrition and exercise pieces are when we work on our mindset, schedules, boundaries and habits. Most clients need a little reboot and reframing, while others may need additional support from a licensed professional counselor. A coaching client can expect to work with me for a minimum of 6 months because this is a journey, not a race. We go at your pace and customize the experience to your unique needs because there is no one right way to do things.
What do you think about happiness?
Happiness is fleeting, and I think it’s important to look for it in the everyday. I love seeing others happy or being the reason someone smiles or feels better. There is so much drama in the world, and it’s so easy to get caught up in the doom and gloom, but I really feel if we would all focus on the positive and find joy in the little things, we would all be much better off. And happiness comes from within not from someone else. Much like our health, we have to work on the inside and that’s not dependent upon someone else.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.therelentlesslifestyle.com
- Instagram: @relentlesslifecoach
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/relentlesslifecoach
Image Credits
Chelsea Rodriguez
Merge Film
