We recently connected with Kami Blease and have shared our conversation below.

Kami, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about the best advice you’ve ever given to a client? (Please note this response is for education/entertainment purposes only and shouldn’t be construed as advice for the reader)

I have had the pleasure to work with so many wonderful women and honestly there are a few common threads between them so I end up giving a lot of the same advice. I think this consistency in advice and interactions show how similar we all are even across different ages, lifestyles, backgrounds & careers. One similarity is that we all want to feel like who we are is enough. And when we don’t feel that way, we are constantly preforming and acting in a way as to seek that validation. While this is human nature, it can also be an exhausting way to live. When many of my clients start with me, they typically have a complicated relationship with fitness, food and their bodies. They’ve spent most of their life hoping that if they can at least look a certain way, they will then feel like they are good enough. That is actually rarely the case and the pursuit of that leads many to have a worse sense of self rather than better. This is where I have the opportunity to come in and help them shift this narrative. The advice I give them can be phrased in a variety of ways but ultimately comes back to reminding them that they do not have to do it all and that they’re already doing enough. I’m not sure that’s technically advice but it’s an important truth that I have found to be life changing for the women who really let that truth sink into their lives and spirits. And often a follow up question might be, how do I know if I’m doing enough? And the truth is, that “enough” looks different for all of us. Your version might be different than mine but at the end of the day do we both feel like we’re showing up and giving what we can in this season? Then we’re both doing enough. Our culture has this messaging that you can always be doing better, keep striving, keep changing, keep trying to be the best/hottest/smartest/etc version of yourself. And that keeps people feeling like who they are isn’t good enough so they need to spend all this time & money changing that so they feel loved. But what if someone told you, you were already good enough as you were? That you could change, grow, and do all of those things, but also in this moment you’re good as well. You don’t have to preform for others or look a certain way to deserve that love and respect. Giving my clients the permission to show up messy, confused, empowered, tired & motivated, gives them the space to be who they are and feel fully connected to their lives and this experience. My advice is to ultimately peel back all the layers of bs that we’re constantly fed and to really ask yourself, what does it look like to find peace with who I am and how does that person show up in their life?

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 body neutral personal trainer focused on working with women who are pursing healthier lifestyles but also a healthier relationship to themselves, food and movement. Body neutrality emphasizes all that your body can do for you and is doing for you rather than how it physically appears. Shifting this narrative can be really powerful because as women we are so often judged by how our physical body shows up and that can lead to unhealthy behaviors in hopes of having a body/appearance that is deemed acceptable even if it is to the detriment of our mental or even physical health. I became focused on a more body neutral mindset & personal training style when I started to heal from my own disordered behavior in regards to food and working out. Changing my internal narrative around my worth & value allowed me to have a different perspective of fitness and I wanted to share that with other women. The fitness industry itself can be a really complicated space because so often people approach working out with the sole focus of weight loss. That gives you a very narrow perspective of the purpose of movement in your life. So what if you worked out for a non-appearance based reason? That’s what I try to focus on. Sure, you might lose weight, but that isn’t the goal. The goal is to move your body, be kind to yourself and create harmony in your lifestyle that feels aligned with the behaviors you want. That doesn’t mean we don’t work hard but it is all within what each of my individual clients is looking for. No two clients train the same because no two clients are the same and have the same goals. Approaching movement with the perspective that their opinion matters and its important for us to do things they enjoy, means that some clients lift weights, some swim, some bike or walk and some we focus on more gentle stretching and feeling connected to our body in general. I love that my approach does not make movement the center focus of success but tries to factor in their lifestyle & mindset as a whole. If you worked out but hated it and yourself the whole time was it really worth it? In my opinion, no. Do things you enjoy and give yourself the space to explore a variety of movements to find out what makes the most sense. I love that the transformation is so often more internal than external. Movement is such a small piece of the puzzle, so lets not give it more focus than something else just as important like your mental health. I work with clients primarily in a 1-1 training capacity but am working on more group options as well as some education based services like course & workshops!

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

I had to unlearn this concept that I had to already be at the end of my journey to be able to help others on theirs. This belief has kept me quieter and moving at a slower pace because I didn’t believe I was “done yet” in regards to all of my healing, so how could I help someone else? But the truth is, I am further down the path than I was a year ago and more so than I was a few years ago. There are people who are at those places in their lives and I know I am capable of getting them where I am today. And then once they get here, maybe I’ll be a little further along and can help get them there. This idea that theres an ending to learning and growing is silly to me when I really think about. I hope I am always in a place to acknowledge I could learn more, while also being able to celebrate how far I’ve come. I know there are a lot of people out there feeling like they can’t act on something yet because it or they aren’t “perfect” enough yet and that lie is doing a disservice to you and the people who need what you have to offer.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Be clear on who your ideal clientele is and talk directly to them. I have been so lucky in my business to consistently work with my ideal clients and to keep those relationships for years. This is not because I’m special but because I know who I want to serve and I do my best to speak to and advocate for her as often as I can. By the time a client finds me, reads about my philosophy and decides I’m the right fit, it’s rare that they won’t sign up. I realize I am not for everyone, and that’s okay! That’s actually more than okay because then I don’t spend as much time working with people who aren’t interested in what I have to offer and as a result having to potentially say no to someone who is a better fit. I think it’s better to have fewer but more quality clients rather than the opposite. If you get to work with the right people from the start, you wont have to be constantly working to acquire new people all the time. So be clear and then if you want to scale, make sure you build something scaleable, lol. That’s the next step for me because I only have so many hours in the day and so many more women I want to help!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kamiblease.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/kamiblease
• Other: tiktok: @kamiblease_

Image Credits
Megan Lynn Williams & Moonbeams Photos