Meet Shana 

Writing about myself is terribly challenging - I am much better focusing on loving and uplifting others. What I do know about me is that I have been intricately shaped by my tribe, especially my incredible husband and my three amazing sons. Loving to lead and being in front of people is counter balanced by the introverted, private side of my personality. 

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The best part of my life has always been the space I am living in at the time - the NOW. My attention is not spent looking back with regrets -- all roads have led me here to this place and this day. A California born girl, I was raised happily by my single, strong-valued working mom. Anyone who has experience their parents’ divorce knows that it leads to insecurities, questioning, and self-blame, even in the best of circumstances. Responsibility greeted me early in life – I learned quickly that if I wanted things I had to earn them; if I wanted to be happy I had to make it happen. Not an athlete in high school, I spent all four years as a cheerleader; this is where I learned to be in front of people and found enjoyment leading and motivating, and being loud! 

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Within 3 months of my high school graduation I ran my first half marathon, driven by a desire to get stronger and faster than my non-athletic high school self. This is when I really started to care about my body. I began teaching aerobic classes when I was in college, after I “auditioned” and got the job. There wasn’t much education in the industry then – no training, no certifications - so I had to learn on my own and build my knowledge. My teaching continued as I began a full- time career in advertising: 5 AM classes before work and evening classes after work. I loved the feeling of pushing myself and others and hearing the difference fitness made in their lives. 

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I met and married my soulmate in my mid-twenties and I continued to teach fitness classes in several modalities – high impact, step, and weight bearing classes, and kept this going through three pregnancies. As my three boys grew and entered school, I found it harder to continue my job teaching aerobics classes and heading up and developing aerobic programs for a fitness club. Not wanting to miss a precious moment with my boys, I let go of teaching and took to the road with distance running - usually before the sun and the boys rose in the morning. This led to seven marathons, including the Boston Marathon and finding great joy helping middle school students find their own passion for running and preparing them to run the Los Angeles Marathon. My knees eventually decided it was time for me to stop long distance running as I had to undergo two knee surgeries due to overuse. This made me reevaluate my training once again. I began to do more strength training and found not only did I love the way it made my body look, I loved even more the power I felt from within. The more I learned about the benefits of strength training; stronger bones, better sleep, better stability and a clearer mind, the more I was sold and it became my mission to share my knowledge with others. Motivated by this, I began my own fitness boot camps and small training groups. In order to further improve my knowledge and skills, I secured a coveted National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Personal Training Certificate and additional certificates in Group Training, TRX Bands, and Nutrition. 

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This brings me to my NOW – the best part of my life. My workouts today are a combination of strength, power and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). I believe using resistance and weights is the key to achieving not only the toned, strong look most people want, but also the key to a 

healthy long life. I LOVE hearing the results from my strength workouts. I love dispelling the myth that cardio is the only way to get lean. 

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Four years ago, my husband and I began participating in Spartan Races – some as far away as Scotland. Last year, we competed in nine races within one calendar year, ranging from 5 miles + 25 obstacles to 13 miles + 40 obstacles. Spartan Races are grueling, and I have had to work even harder on my upper body strength in order to be a strong competitor. I have done twenty races so far and have placed first in my open age group over fifteen times. 

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My three boys are living their best lives, all played college sports, and have adopted their own fit, athletic and happy lifestyles. For the last six years, I have coached for Orangetheory Fitness. It has allowed me to meet so many wonderful people and stay on my game in the fitness industry. The recent pandemic and lock down have given me a great opportunity to return to my love of developing and instructing challenging workouts with live streaming and recorded videos. The feedback from my fantastic fitness community has been awesome and uplifting. I have a great opportunity to share what I love, fitness for the now and the long term. I am so glad you are with me and that your story is NOW here with me!