I help women in mid-life  build strength, health, and self-trust through sustainable structure, body literacy, education, and nervous-system-aware coaching.

We approach training sessions as "practice," and yet they still result in progress.

I promote Big Rocks first: training, sleep+steps, & simple nutrition changes. Integrate smaller rocks if and when: training frequency, power, cardio.

Nervous system - aware loading

Education integrated into coaching

Reducing unnecessary fear, loss of autonomy, or fate of oneself's language

You’re curious and analytical, and you want to understand the reasoning behind what you’re doing, and not just follow instructions.

You’re tired of all-or-nothing thinking, rigid rules, and fitness programs that expect you to fit into a box.

You’re looking for imperfect progress over perfection and want an approach that can adapt to real life.

Easy solution: We start where you’re at. MOST women in mid-life have never lifted before, let alone stepped into a weight room. But with practice, education, and patience, you’re gonna do just fine.

You don’t need a perfectly pain-free or “normal” body to benefit from strength training. I often work with people who have persistent pain, previous injuries, menopause-related joint and tendon pain, frozen shoulders, hypermobility (and more), helping them build capacity, improve function, and feel more confident in what their body can do.

We’ll adapt exercises and training demands to your needs, while recognizing that being completely pain-free isn’t always a realistic or necessary goal. I also know the limits of my scope and when a problem needs the expertise of a physical therapist or other healthcare professional. When appropriate, I’ll refer you out rather than trying to solve something that requires more specialized care.

You don’t need a gym to build a good training routine.

Many clients find that they do quickly get too strong for their home equipment, and progress far more efficiently when they have access to a full gym — either ME Fitness or a gym in their neighborhood.

No, you don’t have to be in menopause in order to work with me.

This is a good time to remind you that a “menopause-specific” training plan is a made-up marketing term. No matter their age or sex, my clients train for strength, muscle & bone growth, mobility, cardiovascular health, and metabolic health.

ME Fitness Studios:

4943 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland, OR 97211

ME Fitness is located in Northeast Portland at the intersection of Alberta Street and NE Martln Luther King Jr Blvd. There is a large parking lot west of the building + street parking.

You don’t need to join ME Fitness in order to work with a trainer or coach. But if you’re a client of a ME Fitness Trainer/Coach, you receive access to a ~33% discounted gym membership ($43/month — vs. $69 in 2026).

ME Fitness includes two studio spaces that are reserved for Personal Training sessions. I run nearly all of my semi-private coaching sessions in one of these studios.

In addition, ME Fitness offers a 24-hour access 2nd floor gym that includes all the necessary tools. This is the space available to clients when practicing their solo training sessions (for a $43/month membership).

I would describe the gym environment as a space that attracts a ‘neighborhood community,’ featuring a low-selfie per capita vibe, with zero Televisions blasting the news, walls of giant windows for great outdoor lighting, exposed original mammoth ceder beams, and a friendly & considerate client base.

I intentionally don’t offer Personal Training as a standalone service.

I created this coaching model because I found that Personal Training alone often wasn’t enough. Someone could come in for one or two sessions a week, do their workouts with me, and after the first 2-3 months, would stop making progress toward their goals.

The training sessions are important, but what was missed: the impact of the other 23 hours of their day. If we don’t look at what’s happening between sessions, how would you know that one small change to your routine, recovery, nutrition, or schedule might be the thing that moves the needle?

Those conversations are too valuable to squeeze into the last five minutes of a workout or treat as occasional add-ons. They’re part of the coaching.

This approach also works because those who decide to work with me are ready to lean in; into not only the discomfort of exercise, but more meaningful and lasting sources of change, like the discomfort of getting curious, Un-learning and learning, and being patient for change.

If you’re looking for workout sessions and nothing else, there are plenty of great Personal Trainers who offer that. That’s just not the service I offer.

You don’t need to be highly motivated to make progress. In fact, relying on motivation alone is rarely a very effective strategy.

We’ll build structure, skills, and routines that make training easier to follow through on—even when your energy, motivation, or circumstances change.

The goal isn’t perfect consistency; it’s learning how to keep moving forward when life gets in the way.

You don’t have to lift barbells to get stronger.

Barbells are a tool, and not a requirement. If they’re appropriate for you and your goals, I’ll teach you how to use them safely and confidently. If they’re not the right fit, we’ll use other tools and approaches that are.

The goal isn’t to make you a barbell lifter. It’s to help you become stronger and more capable.

Nutrition coaching is about helping you figure out how to eat in a way that supports your training, energy, recovery, health, and goals—without turning food into another thing you have to micromanage.

We might work on things like:

• Getting enough protein and overall food to support strength and recovery

• Building meals that are satisfying and practical

• Eating around your training

• Navigating hunger, fullness, cravings, and changing appetite

• Adapting nutrition when your schedule, energy, or circumstances change

• Making sense of conflicting nutrition information

• Identifying small changes that could make a meaningful difference

I don’t require calorie or macro tracking. We’ll use the level of detail that is actually useful for you and your goals, rather than tracking for tracking’s sake.

Because I am not a Registered Dietitian, it’s illegal for me to supply a meal plan or a list of foods you’re “allowed” to eat or not eat. That aside, my overarching goal is to help you develop the knowledge and flexibility to make decisions for yourself.

You can still talk with me about nutrition, but we’ll approach it thoughtfully. Nutrition coaching should not make your relationship with food more stressful, restrictive, or obsessive.

I don’t use food tracking, calorie targets, weigh-ins, or rigid food rules as a default. We can focus instead on things like adequate nourishment, protein, meal structure, energy, recovery, hunger and fullness, and making food decisions that work in your actual life.

If certain approaches or topics feel activating or unhelpful, we can adjust. And if your needs are beyond the scope of nutrition coaching, I’ll recommend working with a qualified eating-disorder professional rather than trying to address it through fitness coaching.

The goal is to make eating feel more workable—not give you another set of rules to follow.