We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Natalie Barger. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Natalie below.
Alright, Natalie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.
A defining moment in my career was during the pandemic in 2020. As a nation we experienced a wake-up call to those who weren’t taking care of themselves physically or mentally. Illness hit harder on those who were obese, out of shape, and unhealthy. Not enough conversations were being had about vitamins, nutrition, physical and mental health. I noticed a need for more education and support in the community. During that time, I developed at-home workouts for clients and the community through social media, posted nutrition and fitness tips on all platforms trying to help. Educating clients, strangers, friends, and family isn’t easy when stress levels are high, sleep quality is low, fitness centers are closed and food is limited and financial struggles weigh heavy on them. It can be overwhelming knowing you need to make changes but are not sure where to start. I wanted to find a way to make it easier and realistic for beginners and those with experience that need support, or a restart as well as accountability. In my time at home during the quarantine, I created a 4-week overall health, fitness, and wellness program called “Get Mindfit”. The program touches on multiple areas of health, fitness, nutrition, techniques for optimal energy, mindfulness, and strength. We discuss awareness of current lifestyle/routines that are working or need adjusting, as well as nutrition choices that will help them reach their goals. I am their accountability coach; I build a routine with them that works best for their lifestyle and will yield the best results for the long term. This isn’t a diet, gimmicky workout plan, or quick fix, it focuses on long-term habits that will aid in living a healthy life where they feel good in mind and body. I designed this plan to focus on one element of health/fitness/mindfulness/sleep each week. In my experience with clients, I have found failure happens when they try to many things at once. Mastering one change at a time, building upon each goal reached each week will get them where they want to be in 4 weeks. A sustainable lifestyle that is not restrictive, but enjoyable, and healthy for their mind and body. This has been a successful program both in person and virtually. I send a package with 4 gifts/tools to support their goals for each week and keep in constant contact through the process. My mission is to educate and demonstrate how simple changes add up to incredible growth. Knowledge is power and after 4 weeks they will be MindFit and equipped with all the information they need to live a healthy lifestyle both mentally and physically.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Natalie Barger. I am a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) certified personal trainer, ACE nutrition specialist, wellness coach and owner of MindFit Muscle LLC; a personal training and overall wellness company that focuses on building a strong mind and strong body through exercise, nutrition, wellness and mindfulness practices. I have been training clients at the Lakota Family YMCA in Liberty Township Ohio for over 5 years and also train clients out of my MindFit Muscle home gym. I am a happy wife and mother of 3. I love strength training, yoga, exploring wellness modalities and competing in natural bodybuilding competitions. My intentional and consistent health and fitness journey started in 2013 when I realized I was taking care of everyone else, but put my health on the back burner. I had been active growing up participating in gymnastics and cheerleading and that continued through college at Xavier University. My challenges with physical and mental health occurred when I struggled with infertility at the age of 25. I had 2 miscarriages before conceiving my daughter with the assistance of fertility treatments. I gained weight with the miscarriages and fertility medication and out of fear and lack of education about fitness during pregnancy, I slowed down my activity when I got pregnant with my daughter. At that time my priority was keeping my baby safe and carrying her full term. Nutrition and exercise through this process were not something I knew how to navigate. I gained more than the recommended amount of weight with my first pregnancy and didn’t address it for a year post-pregnancy. Fast forward another pregnancy with fertility treatments and then a surprise baby number 3 naturally, I had 3 babies in 5 years. Each pregnancy I gained less weight but still didn’t feel back to a “normal” healthy weight, energy level, or sleep schedule post pregnancies. It took me until my youngest child turned 2 to make significant changes. I made small changes which included eating healthier and focusing on strength training. I learned a lot from my sister who was a certified trainer, nutrition specialist, and pro bodybuilder. I enjoyed the process so much that I studied many different styles of training, experimented with different techniques and wellness modalities, and loved it so much that I decided to get certified as a personal trainer and became a nutrition specialist. I wanted to share my knowledge and teach others they can do it too. It took me years to figure it out with a busy schedule raising 3 kids full time, but I had to prioritize my health for my family. I wanted to help other moms figure it out sooner than I did. I aspired to show and teach others you don’t have to put yourself last, you can make realistic changes and make it fit into your lifestyle.
My WHY. 10 years ago, I started my journey, I was a police wife, mom of 3 children under the age of 7 with little energy or motivation to take care of myself, I was happy but didn’t realize I could be healthier. My job and focus was keeping children alive, fed, happy and healthy and for some reason I put my health on the back burner like lots of moms do. I didn’t realize I felt bad until I slowly started making changes to my nutrition and lifting weights with minimal cardio. After 30 days I felt a difference after 60 days I could see a difference, and after 90 days other people could see the changes. I never felt unhealthy until I had something to compare it to. It was slow progress, but progress. I learned so much about myself along the way. One big hurdle was letting go of the number on the scale, that’s where the mental piece comes in, so much of being healthy is being mindful, mindful of what you eat, your relationship with food, when you eat, who you eat with, and how often you eat and how you feel after you eat. Being aware of who you surround yourself with can make or break your progress, I found gym friends who became like family a career that I love and a bodybuilding hobby that my husband and I share. It’s about so much more than aesthetics, it’s the mental and physical strength I gained and continued to gain over the years. I want every mom, woman (and man) to know if I can do it, you can too and if I can shave a few years off of figuring it out and get you stronger quicker that’s my reason for doing what I do. It’s my passion, my commitment, and my purpose.
I found my purpose and my passion through my challenges. I have actively sought out alternative modalities to help with the mental piece of the puzzle. Research and experimenting myself with multiple wellness modalities is what sets me apart from some other trainers. I incorporate suggestions outside of the gym that feed the mind and body. Some of those techniques are intentional combinations of food, water intake, nature walks, sun exposure for Vitamin D, sleep strategies, meditation, soul strengthening practice, energy awareness and mindfulness practices, hot/cold therapies and much more. The overall health and wellness practices are the magic combination for long term healthy living. I know what it feels like to struggle and I never want anyone else to go through it if they don’t have to. My hope is that children will see their parents make healthy changes and grow up with the same mindset. Physical and mental health are so important for a healthy future. It’s never too late, you are never too old or young to get your mind and body fit, MindFit!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
One story of mine that illustrates resilience is my most recent bodybuilding competition prep journey. I have competed in bodybuilding competitions for 5 years, but the past 3 years have led me to shift what I offer my clients and how I specialize my company in strengthening and healing both their bodies and minds and helping them become MindFit. I have always focused my business on strengthening the mind and body, but this recent experience cultivated a new level of mindful practices that challenge both the physical body and brain connection. Training the body and fueling yourself properly are very important, but what I also noticed was a need for healing all areas of our human body. Healing the body and mind are common needs for a healthy balanced life and I experienced a situation where I felt like my body and mind were out of balance and both in need of healing in order to progress in my sport. In the end, I learned so much about how to help others who struggle with similar issues due to stress which effects their health and can stop progress and normal functions if they are not healed. Cortisol is our stress hormone and plays a key role in our health. My last bodybuilding prep in 2021 was extra hard, despite my best efforts. I followed the plan 100%, just like other preps, I wasn’t losing strength, I wasn’t losing muscle, both of which are common during the end phase of training, but to be competitive my body wasn’t leaning out and progressing like it normally should. I was confused, but I still stepped on stage, not confident or ready. I promised myself I wouldn’t do that again. After my 2 competitions were finished, I went to my Dr. and asked her to run labs to check my vitamin levels, hormones, etc. The results came back with high cortisol levels and that was the issue. The tricky part, in my case is I didn’t feel the typical side effects or signs of high cortisol, but my body not leaning out was a clue. My education and experience as well as my internal knowing was that the training was not the problem, it was an outside stressful situation. What I wanted to prove to myself and others who assumed it was from overtraining, is that it was not from the bodybuilding prep process (although that is the case for some competitors), it was probably there long before I started that training in 2021. Having high cortisol presented in me as living in fight or flight mode for an extended period of time, I had a fear based situation happen that I thought I processed through, but in my case my body was responding as if I were still in danger. My brain ignored all the signs of danger at the time and my intuition failed me. I was strong in body but my mind was out of my control. My nervous system acted like I was still afraid of that danger all the time, but what used to be a scary situation was no longer a threat. I had to work hard to find ways to change my brain, the overthinking, ruminating thoughts of what I could have done different and why I didn’t see the warning signs were thoughts that were always going through my head. I had to find a way to destress and calm my mind. I changed the environment and got away from the person who created this issue, I learned to protect myself in many ways so I would feel safe again. Then I had to work hard retraining my brain. I did not seek out traditional talk or medication type therapy, but alternative ways to heal myself. I knew I had to prove to myself I was resilient, and that this one experience wasn’t going to affect me forever. I was determined to heal my body and mind. I continued to train for an extended off season phase for as long as I needed to restore my cortisol levels to normal.
I took natural supplements for a few months that my Dr. recommended specifically for cortisol regulation and I found alternative ways to build my tolerance to stress and retrain my body to recognize temporary stress and how to calm my system. I also learned about energy healing and had to soul search and figure out why I ignored or couldn’t hear my intuition or built in internal warning signals. It took a while to trust new people, environments and myself, but all these modalities helped. It took time, but I was patient and hopeful, like all things in life, you have to TRUST the process, TRUST yourself and always ask for help when you need it.
Some of the modalities that helped me, that I now recommend in certain cases are; hot yoga and sauna (which I have done for over 10 years). I also learned from an expert in the field the effects of hot and cold therapy. I incorporated cold showers, ice baths, meditation, breath work, energy healing and the easiest free healing modalities we all have access to in nature. Those include walking/hiking, grounding, being near water, sitting still and listening to our inner voice. The most helpful effect was being able to decipher the difference between the minds thoughts and our inner souls guidance/intuition, all of which we have access to. Returning to a peaceful mind. I am thankful for that personal experience because it made me resilient and now I can offer support and recognize if someone needs these types of mental and physical strength healing modalities.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
There are many resources that significantly impacted my style of training and business philosophy.
My philosophy is that through training all your muscles, mind and body, you can achieve a longterm balanced healthy lifestyle. MindFit Muscle training methods were created to get clients stronger by healing their body and mind, inside and out, through multiple styles of fitness, nutrition, health and wellness modalities.
I have seen and experienced strength and healing first hand through clients and my own personal experience.
Over the years I have cultivated my philosophy thanks to books that impacted my training style and supported my methods, some of those books are; The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van Der Kolk, Hard to Kill by Jamie Seeman, Habits that make a champion by Allistair McCaw and Energy Healing for Empaths by Lisa Campion. Along with those books I found a way to personally develop a mindset that supported my competition training and can help athletes and everyday people who are looking for motivation, inspiration and strengthening and healing their bodies and minds from the inside out.
One experience that significantly impacted my philosophy was training for my last bodybuilding competition. I intentionally cultivated a mindset before starting my 2023 bodybuilding prep. I knew this was my last one so I wanted to be sure to set myself up in every way for success and practice what I teach. I know from experience it’s as much a mental challenge as it is a physical challenge. My frame of mind was to give this last competition prep everything I had in a healthy way, no regrets, and as always, all natural nutrition and vitamins, natural remedies for any injuries, mindful recovery methods, brain food & mindfulness that would keep my focus where it needed to be. Energy played a key role in my mindset. I had specific music, podcasts, inspirational speeches from coaches, fitness experts and military veterans. Some days I listened to coaches that sounded like they were yelling/pumping me up for a football game or a military general prepping his soldiers for battle (specifically to get through long endurance sessions) All motivating voices and words that resonated. The energy behind the words were feeding my brain with positive mantras I could later recall when I needed to dig deep and work harder. My playlists of music, podcasts and fitness motivational speeches were intentionally chosen and once in a while I would get suggestions for new inspiration that I know divinely came to me when I needed it the most. Driving to the gym ready to start my workout was already filled with energy from the sounds coming from the speakers or sometimes I chose silence.
Another form of motivation came to me on my watch, randomly during a workout or in the middle of the day. Inspirational quotes that kept my mindset in check.
Another intentional mindset practice was social media breaks, sometimes a month at a time. No distractions. I shut them off at specific phases of training, especially the week before a show.
I also found a book “Habits That Make A Champion” that kept me inspired along the way.
Last but not least I started most of my mornings with a 5 minute guided meditation before I got on my phone or turned lights on. I also joined live breathwork sessions with The Positive Pineapple on YouTube once a week, both created a clear focused peaceful mindset for my day.
I also reminded myself often that it a privilege, I get to do this, I don’t have to do this,I want to do this! It’s all about your mindset when training for a competition or for life.
Some of the significant podcasts that have influenced my philosophy are MindPump Media, The Huberman Lab, The Happiness Lab, The Joe Rogan Experience, On Purpose with Jay Shetty, Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.facebook.com/MindFitMuscle
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nataliemindfitmuscle/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natalie.dwyerbarger
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/me?trk=p_mwlite_feed_updates-secondary_nav
- Other: https://lakotaymca.com/personal-training
Image Credits
Tyler Breedwell Photography StudioJ_Dayton Katie Laughlin Cin Day Photo LLC