We were lucky to catch up with Lenny Antonina Colarusso recently and have shared our conversation below.
Lenny Antonina , appreciate you joining us today. Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.
When I decided to start my own practice, it wasn’t a dramatic leap. It was a gradual realization that I could no longer work inside systems that didn’t align with what I knew to be true about health.
I’m a Registered Nurse by training, but over the years I saw the gap between reactive care and proactive strength. I knew I didn’t want to just manage decline I wanted to build resilience. So I stepped out and built something that reflected that philosophy.
The early days were simple but not easy.
I started with what I had my certifications, decades of experience, and a deep belief that strength training, nutrition, breath, and mindset are non-negotiables. I didn’t wait for the perfect studio or perfect conditions. I trained clients in homes, outdoors, wherever I could. I invested slowly in equipment. I built trust first.
The biggest challenge wasn’t logistics ,it was ownership. Owning my voice. Charging what I was worth. Being clear about what I do and what I don’t do. When you step out on your own, there’s no one to hide behind. That part builds you.
Looking back, I would have trusted my instincts sooner. I would have worried less about how I was perceived and more about staying aligned with my standards.
For any young professional considering starting their own practice, my advice is this:
Don’t build something trendy. Build something durable. Build on skill, discipline, and integrity. Social media may bring attention, but competence keeps clients.
It’s simple. Not easy. But worth it.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m a Registered Nurse, holistic health coach, strength trainer, and yoga teacher with over 25 years of experience in fitness and health. My work sits at the intersection of clinical knowledge and practical strength.
I didn’t enter this field through trends. I entered it through necessity and experience. As a nurse, I saw what happens when people wait too long to take ownership of their health. As a woman aging myself, I saw how often strength, muscle, and metabolic health are ignored in favor of aesthetics.
I built my practice around what I call the Five Pillars: breath, strength, nutrition, mindset, and recovery. These are not hacks. They are fundamentals. My work focuses heavily on strength training for longevity especially for women over 40 and 50 who have been told to shrink, slow down, or accept decline.
I provide private coaching, strength programming, mobility work, nutritional guidance, and educational content across social platforms where I reach thousands of people daily. My approach is direct and evidence informed, but also deeply human. I do not promote quick fixes. I promote skill, consistency, and personal responsibility.
The problem I solve is this: confusion and overwhelm. There is too much noise in health and fitness. I simplify it. Lift progressively. Eat adequate protein. Walk. Breathe. Sleep. Repeat. It’s simple. Not easy. But it works.
What sets me apart is integration. I understand labs. I understand hormones. I understand injury prevention. And I understand discipline. I also live what I teach. I train hard. I age visibly. I don’t outsource my message.
What I am most proud of is helping women see themselves differently — not as fragile, but as capable. Not as “too old,” but as powerful.
If someone follows my work, I want them to know this:
Strength is not cosmetic. It is freedom. And it is never too late to build it
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Resilience for me wasn’t built in a gym. It was built long before that.
I experienced trauma early in life, and I lost my oldest brother to suicide when I was nine. Those events shaped me in ways I didn’t fully understand at the time. For many years, I coped the way many people do, by pushing forward, achieving, staying busy.
But resilience isn’t just endurance. It’s integration.
There was a period in my life when I realized that strength couldn’t just be physical. I had to confront what I had compartmentalized for decades. That meant therapy. That meant reflection. That meant rebuilding my sense of identity from the inside out.
At the same time, I was building my professional life, raising five children, working as a nurse, training clients, showing up every day whether I felt ready or not. There was no dramatic breakthrough moment. It was repetition. Discipline. Choosing not to collapse into circumstances.
What resilience looks like now is different. It’s boundaries. It’s self-trust. It’s aging without apology. It’s continuing to lift heavy at 60+ not to prove something, but because I can.
Resilience isn’t loud. It’s consistent.
And that consistency has shaped both my life and my work.
Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?
Yes , I would choose the same path, but I would walk it with more confidence much earlier.
Becoming a Registered Nurse gave me a foundation I still rely on every day. It taught me how to assess, how to observe patterns, how to think critically, and how to stay steady in difficult moments. That clinical lens informs everything I do now in strength training and holistic health.
What I might change is how long it took me to trust my broader vision. For years, I operated within traditional structures before fully stepping into my own philosophy , that health is built proactively through strength, muscle, metabolic resilience, and personal responsibility.
If I could go back, I would still pursue nursing. I would still pursue fitness. I would still pursue holistic health. But I would integrate them sooner instead of seeing them as separate lanes.
Every step, even the hard ones, built the practitioner I am today.
So yes, I would choose the same profession.
I would just choose myself sooner.
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