Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Rutledge

Hi Megan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.

When I was still in high school, I knew that I wanted to help others with their fitness goals. And after I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at age 18, I definitely knew I wanted to help others with arthritis. I just wasn’t sure how I was going to fit the two together.
I started going to college for Exercise Science, and actually dropped out after 3 semesters (against my parents wishes) to pursue a full time fitness training job at a local gym. I took a chance and decided to go right into getting my personal training certification to start gaining as much hands-on experience as possible.

After working at the gym for about a year and a half, I decided to start my own personal training business. I began training at another gym, and gained clients fairly quickly. I used social media to help promote my business, and ended up gaining a few remote online coaching clients (who also had rheumatoid arthritis). This is when I realized that I could literally create my dream career; helping women with arthritis reach their fitness goals. When these first few clients began making progress and seeing significant improvement in their joint pain, energy levels, and strength, it clicked and I knew I had to dive into the niche that fulfilled me the most.

I transitioned my business into fully online coaching women with arthritis in 2020, and have been growing ever since!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

The journey has definitely brought on some challenges. As an entrepreneur, I had to learn quickly that prioritizing my mindset & self improvement was going to be VERY necessary in order to be successful.

I had to learn how to position myself as an authority and how to handle conflict (both of which were challenging for me at the time).

I struggled a lot with self confidence at first, not believing that I was good enough, smart enough, worthy enough of achieving success. Thankfully I eventually found a mentor who has helped me immensely with working through the limiting beliefs, reframing, and seeing myself in a more positive light.

I’ve also struggled with attaching my value as a person to my business. I feel like this is super easy to do as a business owner… I started to really struggle with negative thoughts & feelings toward myself whenever I felt like business wasn’t doing as well as I wanted. I had to learn to separate “Megan the person” from “Megan the coach/business owner.”

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?

I am a certified personal trainer & online fitness coach for women with arthritis/chronic joint pain! I also have certifications in nutrition and corrective exercise.
I created my signature Get Fit with Arthritis 1:1 coaching program, which helps women work around current pain & limitations in order to reach their fitness goals and improve their quality of life through customized training, nutrition guidance, and mindset work.

I’m very proud of the work I do to help others go from having a lot of joint pain, feeling weak. and not able to move well, to being able to work out consistently, gain strength to function better, and even run 5ks!

I think what sets me apart from others is that I have firsthand experience living with arthritis. I know what it’s like to have “flares”, fatigue, and deal with different medications. That’s why a super important part of my program is helping others learn how to work around flares when they come up, how to adapt their fitness routine to how their body feels, how to minimize inflammation through stress management, and how to find a healthy balance with their fitness journey. I also like to focus more on mindset; focusing on learning how to mentally have more flexibility and grace with their body, coping with pain/flares in a healthy way, and giving support whenever it’s needed in that aspect.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?

The best way to connect is through Instagram or TikTok! But I also have a Facebook page, and my email is always open! ([email protected])

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.megzzfitness.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsmegzz_fitness/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/megzzfitness
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@megantovar2228
• Other: https://linktr.ee/megzzfitness