Meet the Trainer

Hi! I thought I would start this blog by introducing myself. Here is a picture of me with my amazing husband and the 3 smallish people I call my kids. I have wanted to be a personal trainer since I was 19 but every time the thought came up, my inner self doubt would scoff and push the thought away until I dished up a bowl of ice cream and reminded myself that I would never be smart enough or skinny enough or (insert terrible insults we all give ourselves here).... You get the idea.  I've always struggled with low self esteem. I've suffered from anxiety for as long as I can remember. My mom would take me to the doctor for my terrible stomach pains related to it but at the time, we didn't know what was going on. as I got older, it became worse. Sometimes walking through the halls in High School I would suddenly get tunnel vision until everything went black and I would have to crouch down until I could see and breathe again. I didn't know what was happening. Sheer panic out of nowhere was never fun. I never knew when it would hit or how long it would last. I learned to deal with these emotions in negative ways. I was desperate to find relief but was afraid I was straight up CRAZY so I did my best to hide it. Once my parents realized something was going on they made me see a doctor and get some help. I had been good at hiding it and pretending things were totally fine but that only works for so long. The 2nd counselor I saw gave me some great tools to use to help me through some difficult panic attacks and I was prescribed some medication. One thing I could always fall back on for relief was physical movement. I used to roller-blade EVERYwhere. Then when I went to Dixie State College I took up longboarding as my mode of transportation since I didn't have a car. Some days I just had to MOVE or I would literally go nuts. Whether it was on wheels or a brief walk around the block, releasing those endorphins made all the difference. I used to love rock climbing and I swam in High School. I took a few swimming courses at Dixie as well and ironically I now teach water aerobics.  The one class I never actually participated in.
Fast Forward to 2007. I was pregnant with my first baby and worried that my medication would affect him. I slowly weaned myself off and it was a very difficult time in my life as I couldn't just get up and leave to take a walk whenever I needed to anymore.
Fast Forward to present time. I have been learning more and more about the human body and how greatly nutrition affects mental health.  I'm not sure why, but mental health is such a taboo subject I've always struggled talking about it.  It's amazing how many people are secretly coping with mental health issues of their own. I hope that by sharing this about myself you will feel comfortable enough to honestly open up and see if I can't help. Mental health is so closely correlated with physical health that one will never be happy with the physical outer improvements until one is in harmony with who they truly are.

My goals as a personal trainer:
1. To prove to myself that I smart enough and capable enough to achieve more than I thought possible.
2. To help others achieve their personal health goals by writing strategic workouts using the OPT Model as I learned through the N.A.S.M. course.
3. Continue to learn more about strategic eating and the best foods to eat together along with meal timing and which vitamins and supplements could improve an individual's health the most.

Those are my top 3, though I have many more.

I'm hoping that by starting this blog, I can open discussions to questions you may have in regards to health, fitness, and nutrition. If you have a specific topic in mind please leave a comment or shoot me a message!
You can find me on instagram @train_with_tara
facebook: Total Training
e-mail: tara.allred@yahoo.com

If you're still reading this, I thank you for your time and hope you have an amazing day!