Today we’d like to introduce you to Shana Ross.
Shana, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Most of my family had and has weight issues. My mom and her three sisters were all diabetic, three of the four developed heart disease and my mom was also diagnosed with Lupus at a time when not much was known about the disease. When I was 13, my mother at the age of 48, had a massive debilitating heart attack. I awoke in the early morning hours to find her on the bathroom floor with my dad struggling to get her to her feet so he could take her to the hospital. We lived in a rural area and ambulance service had to come from the nearest town to reach us. Driving her would be faster.
My mother survived, but never really recovered. Open heart surgery left her depressed, at times suicidal, and she slipped deeper and deeper into despair and sadness. She lived for 15 more years, but was never really alive. She didn’t enjoy life and became a weak, depressed, sedentary shell of her former self.
I knew from an early age that I didn’t want to live with sickness and disease. I vowed to take care of myself, keep my weight in check and stay active. All was well and good until I moved away from my country home where I baled hay, rode horses and played high school sports to attend the University of Houston. Well, the weight gain commonly referred to as the freshman 15, for me was more like the freshman 25. In a little more than a year I had gone from a muscular, athletic 125 pounds wearing a size 5-7, to 148 pounds in a size 14.
I went on a diet, and I lost a few pounds. Then I gained them back. So I went on another diet. I lost a few more pounds. Then I gained them back, plus a few more. I struggled for years to regain the athletic body and energy that I once had. Not until I joined a gym did I begin to learn the value of weight resistance training and cardiovascular exercise. The two combined helped me tremendously. But I also found that if my schedule got crazy and I didn’t make my workouts, my weight loss didn’t stick. The scale would start inching back up along with my frustration.
I, like most people, was still missing the boat on the “eat right” part. My knowledge about nutrition and its effect on metabolism was still sorely lacking. I had always heard how important it is to set goals to work toward, so I decided to commit and follow through on my dream to compete in a bodybuilding competition. I knew I had to finally understand how the three pieces; nutrition, resistance training and cardiovascular exercise; fit together. I found a great coach and mentor who unselfishly shared his knowledge with me. He taught me about nutrition and showed me how to train for maximum results. I listened to him, and I studied on my own. I did research, and finally, the pieces of the puzzle started to fit. With the help of my coach, I figured it out. I competed. I won two trophies. AND I never gained weight again, until — MENOPAUSE!
With menopause, my body, along with my mind, went insane! Weight gain, night sweats, hot flashes, foggy brain, unbelievable fatigue, mood swings. The combination was wicked and turned me into a stressed, exhausted, weight gain machine. Once again, it was back to the drawing board. I had figured things out before, and I knew I could do it again. I found a great book “Women, Weight and Hormones” by Elizabeth Vliet, MD. It helped me understand what was happening in my body and gave me clues about how to begin tweaking my nutrition to combat the hormonal changes.
The tweaks I began to make helped immensely. Eventually, I sought the help of a physician who specialized in bio-identical hormone therapy. The therapy, combined with the nutritional and exercise changes I implemented, began to work. The pounds started coming off, my head cleared, the flashes and night sweats went away and my strength and energy slowly returned which allowed me to get back to regular exercise. I’m not happy that I had that experience, but I am grateful that I was able to learn from it.
After that experience, I knew I had a mission to share my knowledge. After being the executive director of a non-profit wellness center for a year, I decided the time had come to become an independent coach. I became a certified professional fitness trainer in 1999 and began marketing my services to older populations in general and menopausal women specifically. In November of 2007, I opened Shana Ross Fitness, a private training studio located in the Heights.
I love working with my staff to teach them what I’ve learned so that we can reach more people. They are some of the best in the business and we are committed to helping our clients set and reach ambitious goals. We are more than personal trainers, we are teachers. We help our clients reach clarity about why they want to embark on a journey to better health. We help them realize that just wanting to lose weight is not enough. Just wanting to look good for a specific event is not enough. Those can be short-term goals that get them moving in the right direction. But, we challenge them to think bigger and find a burning desire to improve their health and their life long term.
Has it been a smooth road?
The fitness business is a funny animal. Our profession is unregulated, meaning that anyone who can read a textbook and comprehend what’s been read and pass a multiple choice test on the material, can become a certified personal trainer. This makes competition in our business fierce. An independent private coaching studio that is not open to membership has to quickly set itself apart from the crowd in order to survive. We must attract superior, experienced coaches, pay them well and retain them in order to effectively serve our specialized clientele.
Our prices are typically higher, but our level of service is superior. It’s impossible for us to compete with low dollar monthly specials like the big box gyms advertise. We rely heavily on referrals, so we understand that the service we delivery must be superior in order to stay competitive in a crowded field.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Shana Ross Fitness – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
When I started training as an independent coach in 1999, I already had the vision of what my future business would look like. I knew I would focus on older populations and concentrate on teaching the basics of human movement and the importance of staying active, flexible and adventurous in pursuit of better health. While there have been bumps and setbacks, it’s thrilling to realize that my vision has come to fruition and is a model that is working well.
We are known as the go to place to basically “get your groove” back. We have 60 and 70 year old men and women doing incredible things. They’ve become stronger and more vibrant than they ever thought was possible. The fact that we cater to this population sets us apart from a majority of other facilities and trainers. We are a welcoming, non-intimidating place where anyone, regardless of ability, can come and feel comfortable.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love going out and experiencing the different cultures of Houston’s diverse population. I grew up in a rural area of deep East Texas. To say that it lacked diversity, is the understatement of the century. When I moved to Houston, I found the different cultures, languages and colors of people incredibly invigorating. My eyes were opened to an entirely different world filled with exciting possibilities for new adventures.
I do have a beef with the weather. As a lover of the great outdoors, the summer heat gets on my last nerve. So from June to October, I’m usually a little grumpy. I’m always so happy when that first cool front moves through. I can handle the 80’s, but 90’s and above make me snarl just a bit.
Contact Info:
- Address: 629 West 22nd St.
- Website: www.shanarossfitness.com
- Phone: 713-861-7272
- Email: shana@shanarossfitness.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShanaRossFitness/
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
