Conversations with Whitney Woolever

Today we’d like to introduce you to Whitney Woolever.

Hi Whitney, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up in a small town outside of St. Louis, MO with my mom and siblings. My mom’s work ethic has had a huge impact on me. Having me at 19 and being a single mom, she often had to work two jobs to make it all happen, and she never held anything back. Fast forward to college, I decided to pursue a teaching career and taught middle school for a handful of years. I knew I wanted to help people and wanted a secure job that could pay the bills. While I really enjoyed teaching, the school I was in just wasn’t right for me. Long story short, I realized that I couldn’t fit my teaching style to that system, so I decided to leave. I wasn’t about to spend the rest of my life hating the situation I was in, so I changed careers. Was it easy? Nope, but the payoff was worth it. During my first year of teaching, I married my college sweetheart. A few years into my marriage, my husband and I went through some rough financial patches, as most early 20-somethings do. I realized that I was constantly stressed out. I was always on edge. Always just a little irritable and felt like I was “getting through the week.” I tried to shake it off but slipped into a silent depression. I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t healthy. My body was constantly hurting, and I didn’t know why. I was taking (several) medications for depression and anxiety. No one in my family knew. I was too embarrassed to tell them that I was struggling with. Looking back at it, I remember how rough that time was, but it helped shape me into who I am today, and for that, I’m grateful. This is where I was in 2012, and this is when I decided to take a stand. I decided I’d had enough.

After hitting my breaking point, I joined a gym to find a coach who could help me get into shape and start feeling better about myself. I knew I didn’t want to be on medications and depressed the rest of my life, but most importantly, I knew I was too young to be in this much back pain. Taking care of myself FIRST ended up being the best decision I have ever made… bar none! So I went to the gym to meet my first personal trainer… JARED! He got me started on a trial membership and moving in the right direction. I came in every day, excited to learn more. My husband was COMPLETELY against me, going to the gym. He struggled a lot with unhappiness at his job, and I think it was tough for him to watch me get excited about the gym when he didn’t get excited about much anymore. I quickly learned that sometimes misery loves company. It became too difficult for him to watch me happy when he couldn’t find that for himself. Although we didn’t see eye to eye on the gym, I knew it was the place for me. My trial membership was coming to an end soon, and I needed to find a way to stick around. Since I couldn’t afford to continue training long term, Jared, my coach, gave me a job doing administrative work. I would help him with some admin work after my “real job.” I’d do a couple of hours of work, get in a good workout, and then head home. The gym quickly became my happy place.

After a few months, I was really happy with my progress and how things were going, but I still felt like there was still more I should be doing. So I talked with Jared about some of my goals. It was a little scary to have someone pushing me to be the best version of myself. He’d ask me questions I didn’t know the answers to, but I loved it! See, I needed that push to be uncomfortable. I needed someone to remind me that the reward of being the best version of myself is worth the work it takes to get there. He helped me realize that I wanted to help others fall in love with their health as I did. Now, let’s fast forward just a bit… I took over the role of student and soaked up everything my “boss” was teaching me. I dug into all the education I could get my hands on, shadowed TONS of training sessions, and eventually became a certified trainer. Our trade eventually turned into a full-time COACHING position! This is when things changed for me. I thought changing careers would be too difficult. Then I did it. I discovered confidence in myself.

Since then, I’ve had a very different outlook. Fast-forward a little more… it didn’t work out for my ex and me. I knew I needed to take charge of my health, and more importantly, I knew I needed a supportive environment that I could feel welcome to do that. My ex-husband and I both knew that neither of us lived our best lives together, so we decided to separate. Now, I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been. I lost the 10-15 lbs that hung on while I was a stressed-out mess. I’m completely off my depression and anxiety medications. I finally married my best friend (coach Jared, haha) and we have a beautiful little girl. I’m a dog Mom to three dogs and a cat (heart eyes)! I have a great support system who understands that self-care is important, and I get to share that with other women. I love helping women gain the confidence to take control of their health like I did… helping them navigate through those tough changes to become the best versions of themselves.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We help women feel better and look better. We help them fall in love with strength training and develop long-lasting healthy habits. Our group training environment provides an amazing community where women can feel comfortable exercising and even making friends! We specialize in customizing each session and tailoring the workout to meet the needs of our clients. Were can work around injuries and eliminate many of those aches and pains that don’t seem to go away. I’m proud to say that one thing that sets us apart is that I’ve lived those struggles. I’ve had aches and pains and struggled with body image. I’ve put in the work to create a healthy lifestyle when I didn’t have one before. I know how tough that can be, but we’re excited to help our clients work through those struggles.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
We’ve learned just how important exercise is right now. As we’re all doing our best to stay safe and healthy, one of the best things you can do for your immune system and body is to continue eating healthily and exercising.

Contact Info:

• Address: 4002 S Coolidge Ave Tampa, FL 33611
• Email: whitney@foxfitness.com
• Website: www.foxfitness.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/foxfitnesstampa