Personal Training with Positive Coach Rachel
Licensed Massage Therapist
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
Behavior Change Coach
Schedule a free call with Coach Rachel
Training and Certifications
About Rachel
A Trainer Who Cares
My life’s mission is to apply the best techniques to every individual client to improve their physical wellbeing, which I believe impacts their mental and emotional lives. I am driven to help you live with less pain and more joy.
Since 2006, I have been a Certified Personal Trainer and finished an eighteen-month intensive study in 2009 to complete my Massage Therapy Certification from Boston’s Cortiva Massage Institute. In 2019, I completed American Council on Exercise certification as a Behavior Change Coach who meets the International Federation of Coaches standards.
I work to build you up with a strengths based forward focused training.
Personal History
During college I was a dance major at Northern Illinois University where I spent up to ten hours a day perfecting my body alignment, movement techniques, and choreography. I realized that my joy came not only in dancing, but in analyzing efficient movement. I took every class I could in Kinesiology, including a cadaver lab to study actual muscles and joints of the human body, exercise testing, weight training, and kinesthetic pedagogy. Fresh out of University I worked as a Speech Language Pathologist Aide with United Cerebral Palsy to study the subtle movements of the mouth, lips, and tongue working with neuromuscular dysfunction. I saw people get better, overcome pain, and gain new confidence in their bodies. I was hooked on assisting individual people work toward their unique physical goals.
My first gym job was at an enormous gym, Super Fitness. It was a giant warehouse of old-school workout techniques - think old-fashioned barbells, heavy chains for weight training, and simple machines. I loved it! I was learning from these “old school” lifters, the fitness fanatics from other countries and the regulars who were in great shape (or worse shape) from coming in and working out every day. During this time, I also learned about nutrition, breaking unhealthy mindsets, and figuring out how to eat better in order to fuel my body into a leaner, stronger, more efficient physique.
Several years later I proved myself an effective fitness professional worthy of the iconic Equinox 'TRAINER' black tshirt. There my coworkers were former Olympic hopefulls and the clientele came with security. The standards and the service were set on a very high bar. Again, I loved it!
By 2005, I had my dream work-life. I was a professional dancer and choreographer with Andary Dance Company and working independently as a Certified Personal Trainer known for my attention to detail and positive attitude.
With the 2007 economic downturn I adapted by adding skills and services. I earned a 250 hour Certificate at the Cortiva Massage Institute in Waltham, MA. I am able to sense the anatomy with my hands that I had learned with my eyes. I can feel the different qualities in tissue and have buckets of techniques to bring about change and balance. I especially enjoyed the ethics classes, which enhanced my business foundation and informed my intentions to practice a client-centered service.
I graduated massage school in Boston, but I’m a Midwest girl at heart. I have a brother-in-law involved in auto racing and much of my family had landed in Indianapolis, so to Indianapolis I went. I am professionally licensed by the state of Indiana since 2011. Here in Indy I am pleased to find myself surrounded by kind-hearted, welcoming, and smart Hoosiers. I met my husband in Indianapolis and started a family in Midtown. We live in Rocky Ripple in a healthy happy home. I'm proud to call myself a Hoosier.
I absolutely LOVE my one-on-one personal training business - and my clients tell me how much they love me. My approach is to be encouraging, prepared, and client-focused. I see my clients really enjoying the process of improving their health and our system of working together.
"I don't know what it is about Hoosiers. But wherever you go there is always a Hoosier doing something very important there." ~ Kurt Vonnegut Cat’s Cradle.
I find maintaining a home-work balance very important. Our family connects every night at the dinner table, I volunteer with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful and I’m president of the Rocky Ripple Community Association.
My big vision is to have my clients inspire others to improve their health, fitness, and joy of movement.
Success Stories
After becoming a professional trainer, my greatest joy is passing my knowledge along to clients. People come to me with limited beliefs in what their body can and can not do. My science background and rigorous training provides many clients with new options, alternative therapies, and solutions that actually work. The results are nothing short of astounding.
- Longtime dojo owner who wanted to improve his flexibility. He was frustrated that his range of motion was shrinking as he aged. After only six weeks of training with me, he added two inches to his height through increasing his flexibility, improving his posture, and correcting his patterns of stability and mobility.
- 45-year old woman had serious trauma to her leg from a massive bike accident. Her x-rays showed that she didn’t have any broken bones. She didn’t want a restrictive cast so she came to me for an alternative solution. I took one look and knew she needed simple RICE therapy (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation). 18 hours later, her leg was significantly better and in just a few days, she was completely recovered.
- 56-year old healthy executive could barely walk because of stability issues. She had damaging movement patterns and pain from a sedentary, yet demanding, lifestyle over the course of many years. Less than a year after weekly training sessions together, she was able to walk with an even gait in any direction. With her strength and good reflexes, she was able to keep herself and the luggage she carried from tumbling when an escalator malfunctioned. In the moment, far from home, she said, “Thank you, Rachel.”
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