How H.E.A.T. Fitness Came To Be

My name is Allie and I am the Owner of H.E.A.T. Fitness.

For years, it has been my dream have my own fitness company and finally in 2021 I had the opportunity to do so.

For as long as I can remember I have struggled with my weight and confidence. As a teenager I always felt like I was the odd one out, the “DUFF” so to speak (based on the movie the DUFF — stands for designated ugly fat friend😰). I had lots of girlfriends who I thought were way prettier than me and never found myself attractive. This continued all throughout college too. I was always self conscious and never liked how I looked.

I have always played sports and been athletic but I didn’t start weight lifting until I was 16 years old. Lifting weights sparked a passion in me that I didn’t know existed and the group classes made me feel like I was a part of a team again. The classes were fun and supportive and I was hooked immediately. This was when I discovered what I wanted to do with my future.

So when I went to college, I majored in Exercise Science with a Business minor. I learned a lot of the fundamentals and hands on experience through the 700 hours of internship I did yet I must have been missing something because I graduated at a whopping 190 lbs. For a 5 foot 3 inch 22 year old woman, this was not healthy. I knew I needed to make a big change to move in the right direction. So, after graduation I moved to Tucson, AZ to live with my mom.

I landed my first full time coaching job and finally was able to put all of my hard work into action. Having a consistent workout schedule and doing my best to eat healthy helped me lose 30lbs in my first 10 months after moving to Tucson. Then I got a new job where fitness became my whole life. I worked more than 80 hours weekly, was on a strict nutrition program, worked out 6 days a week in addition to coaching and struggled with constant pain and binging issues. Although I did lose another 30lbs, I realized that this lifestyle is NOT sustainable or healthy physically or mentally. I was burnt out and my body was too.

Finally, after 2 years, I made the choice to leave the overly demanding job and start my own business. H.E.A.T. Fitness! Thanks to my wonderful, supporting boyfriend, we built a gym in the garage and I started an outdoor group fitness class at a park nearby. Right now, I am taking on personal training clients, coaching my small group outdoor fitness class and educating/coaching people with nutrition.

It has already been an amazing journey and I can’t wait to see where I go from here. About 6 months in and I know this is the best decision I ever made.