We were lucky to catch up with Giulia Cammarano recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Giulia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I was 22 years old, living in Virginia as I finished up my masters degree in Kinesiology & worked full time as a trainer at a local gym I had interned at since I was 19. I had spent the last 4 years at school, living with my best friends, working a secure job for the last 3 years & supported by a community of clients who loved me & I loved back. I lived only a 4 hour drive from my family in New Jersey & I had just started dating the man I am now married to, Anthony. Life was good & comfortable, but it was getting kind of boring. I yearned for a new environment & I dreamed of opening my own training business but I certainly was not going to take the first steps.

Anthony proposed we move in together after 8 months of dating & suggested Denver Colorado as the place for relocation. I laughed at his sarcasm that I later learned was not sarcasm at all but that first step I was not brave enough to take on my own. I had never been farther west than Tennessee, hated the snow & had no connections for work or friends out there. Alas, we made our decision. Over those next 6 months, we shared the news with our friends, families, jobs & started the process of moving across the country. I contemplated this decision every day – “was this the right choice?” “what am I going to do for work?” “how will I meet people?” “do I have to learn how to ski?”. Millions of thoughts, questions & fears of this big move consumed my mind, but I trusted Anthony & took the leap of faith with him.

This leap of faith to move all the way across the country inspired another big risk, & that was to start Evolve Strong, my health & fitness coaching business. Although I had no clue what to do first, how to start a business or how to even run one, I was confident in my skills as a coach and changing peoples lives & I knew my bull-strong ambition & grit would get me there. I struggled for months, throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what stuck. I had no clients, I had no idea how to get them & no clue how to market to them. I worked at a restaurant as a waitress full time in the evenings to make money but still spent every morning & day working to build my business. I eventually made a major investment in a business coach & things took off from there. I wanted to give up almost everyday but this was something I’ve always wanted & dreamed of. I knew I could get it I just had to be tough & keep going, keep putting myself out there, keep taking risks & be uncomfortable.

Now, here I am, almost 3 years later still living in Colorado, skiing, camping & hiking every weekend. Spending time with all the new friends I’ve met here. Running my business, working with my amazing clients in person & online everyday. Building a beautiful life with my husband in a place we love & will never leave. And running & growing Evolve Strong, the career of my dreams every single day. I would never be where I am today with my business & my incredible life if it were not for that first big risk that inspired another. I am so grateful I leaped!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a personal trainer + health & nutrition coach who helps women on their health & fitness journeys build a strong body they’re confident in, learn how to fuel that body without restriction & build sustainable habits for a healthy lifestyle.

I have my bachelors & masters in Health Psychology and Kinesiology from George Mason University. I am a certified Strength & Conditioning Coach, a certified Integrative Nutrition Coach, a certified Health & Life Coach & a Pain Free Performance Specialist. My expertise are in habit / lifestyle change, exercise programming, strength training, pain-free movement & sustainable nutrition.

I work with my clients online & in person through different coaching services that help them reach their health & fitness goals in sustainable ways:
The Empower Program – 1:1 online coaching program
Personal & Small Group Training – in person, located in Denver
Strong Girl Club – online group training
Strong for Life – personalized training programs

I help individuals build strength & muscle through personalized training programs & sessions, exercise to alleviate pain, through weight loss journeys, create a healthy relationship with food & learn how to eat healthy in sustainable ways that support their goals, shift their mindsets & habits to support their health goals, take the guessing out of exercise & train with purpose.

What sets me apart from others is the in-depth personalization of my coaching services. No one body or lifestyle is the same, & therefore, each client plan of action & training program should reflect their individual season of life, starting point, body & lifestyle.

Another thing that sets me apart is that weight loss is NOT a key part of my business. Almost all my clients experience weight loss & body recomposition when working with me BUT, my main focus is to help them build a strong body, increase muscle mass, move without pain, eat with food freedom & feel confident & proud of the life and health they’re nurturing while working with me.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

Other then the extensive knowledge & education I have in the health, nutrition & fitness world, one of the most helpful things in succeeding in my field is the ability to connect with & understand your clients.

I believe that every client has an amazing experience with me not just because of the results they get but because of the sharp attention to detail I have with each of them – how their bodies move, what’s going on in their current season of life, what their self-sabotaging habits are, what roadblocks are most challenging for them, etc. Having this context & care for my clients helps me deliver the most supportive, individualized & positive experience.

I am deeply invested in each of my clients journeys, I celebrate their wins with them, I catch them when they fall & pave the way for them to get back up and keep moving forward. I help my clients reach their health & fitness goals, get stronger, feel freedom around food, help them build a healthy lifestyle that is unlimited but more importantly, I am a consistent person in their lives that guides, hears, & sees them in a vulnerable setting. This is worth SO much & provides SO much value.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn is that perfection does not exist & what I accomplish is good enough. I grew up in a home where perfection was expected in school, appearance, in the home. This elevated pressure to be good enough was exhausting, demoralizing & extremely frustrating. This eventually turned into extreme anxiety & stress as I entered college which served me well in academia & extra curricular’s but burnt me out completely. I was a ball of stress, spreading myself so thin & still being the person others relied on for guidance.

When I started my business, I was forced to unlearn this because nothing about starting a business is perfect. I had to unlearn perfectionism & learn that what I did was always good enough because I was working hard and I was putting my best efforts forth. This was a really important lesson I had to learn & bled into the way I coached my own clients out of perfectionism & encouraging taking messy action – whether that looked like attempting to meal prep for the week or showing up to the gym to just do something. On your health & fitness journey, perfection does not exist & any effort towards a healthier lifestyle is always good enough!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.evolvestrong.co
• Instagram: @giuliacammarano_
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giulia-cammarano-a441a7161/