We recently connected with Carley Horan and have shared our conversation below.

Carley, appreciate you joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My parents are each their own person with their own careers, hobbies, workout routines and friends. Each took time to find all those things on their own before coming together. I think this makes them very secure people and contributes to their secure relationship. If they ever had a problem my brother sister and I never knew about it. They kept their issues between them. They were not afraid to show their love and affection toward each other in front of us which fostered a very loving and supportive home to grow up in. They both came from modest means and made financial stability a priority so my siblings and I try anything sport, instrument, play, art, activity we wanted. They never forced us to do things they wanted, and they were great at giving honest feedback and advice. I love them so much. So much of my confidence, willingness to bet on myself and zest for life comes from them pouring into me and my siblings in all the ways that they did.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a holistic health coach for athletes of all kinds. My target market are female athletes or girls/women who want to be more athletic. My mission is to increase the confidence of women overall and in the weight room.

From my personal experience as a D1 lacrosse player and now strength and conditioning specialist, girls aren’t escorted into the weightroom at a young age at the rate boys are. Most girls are uneducated, not skilled, scared of getting big or injured, and/or intimidated my all the testosterone that dominates these masculine spaces,

As a Registered Dietitian who supported clients with disordered eating behaviors and a variety of eating disorder diagnosis, I’m extremely passionate about nutrition and exercise education and skill building. They go hand in hand, and way too many people are struggling to achieve balance with both.

Therefore, I’be created a female only strength and conditioning program called Athena Athletics. Classes are 60 min. We currently train at Full Circle Athletics in Lawndale and at Mira Costa High School ~4-6x per week. Schedule can be found on Athena Athletics Mindbody.

I also offer group/team sports performs workshops of all kids (ie. Sports nutrition, injury prevention, yoga etc). These are typically tailored to the groups needs/interest. These are anywhere from 30-90 minutes, one time or series, in person or online.

My goal is to create safe spaces for girls and women of all ages and levels to be able to train. There aren’t many strength coaches credntials as dietitians and there aren’t a lot of dietitians who can help you train physically. Very little practitioners have experience in disordered eating, and mental health. I want my clients to know I have 10 years experience in all of it and I am excited to support you as a person first.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

During January of 2024, I made the most money in 1 month than I had ever made in my coaching business, I was living the independent life I had always wanted in the beautiful costal town of Manhattan Beach California, and I was the loneliest I had ever been in my whole life.

While I loved the grit and hustle, hustle and discipline that comes with entrepreneurship, I realized growing my business didn’t fulfill me enough without other people to share it with. I think that is really hard for business owners to admit who are deeply connected to their identity as an entrepreneur. I’m proud of my resilience to not give up on my business in this moment, but rather the humility I had to make a major pivot to keep it alive.

In very vulnerable time alone, I realized I needed a team to collaborate with, I needed to work in an office instead of my bedroom, and I needed to see people I love more often.

So in May, 5 months later, Instead of quitting, I came up with a plan to reorganize my business and life so I could feel more supported, acquire more resources, and find connection. It was in a really vulnerable time that challenged me to be more mindful, reflective, humble, and honest with myself. It still does.

In July, I started a new clinical nutrition job where I collaborate with a team of medical professionals in a beautiful office. This helps me afford a new apartment with less roommates and a real gym space for my Athena Athletics who were coming to my garage. I gave up 1:1 nutrition counseling because I realized I love working with groups so much more. I’m currently restructuring my services so I can workshop with big groups less frequently. My new schedule opens up more time for friends, family and dating for the first time in may whole life! I”m much happier and excited for what is to come.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

Yes, Coach Carley isn’t just my name, it’s my personality. I’ve been playing the role of coach ever since I was blessed with two younger siblings. Leading my brother and sister through life, choreographing dances for my friends in middle school, playing captain for all my sports teams, and delegating work during group projects in school has always been my role.

Sports nutrition, fitness, and mindfulness are all passions and have always been my favorite pillars of sports. There is no way I was ever not going to pair my passion with my personality. The coolest part about blending them has been learning how to marketing and selling my personality on social media. It’s something I’m not always comfortable with, but I’m so happy that I’ve taken the risk to put myself out there and learned the skillset. If I ever did decide to pivot career paths, I’m confident in all the transferable skills I’ve gained from being in the health, fitness, and sports performance field.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cjtrain.com
• Instagram: @cjtrain @athena.athletics
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carley-horan-511452b2/

Image Credits

NA – Me