Meet Terri Walsh | Fitness Expert & Celebrity Personal Trainer, Studio Owner, Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Terri Walsh and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Terri, alright, let’s jump in with a deep one – what’s you’re definition for success?
I define success as using my energy and talents for the betterment of my and my family’s life. Meaning, my energy is not making someone else more money than it makes me.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

I’ve been a Professional Fitness Expert for 40 years. I started cleaning the locker room at Jack LaLanne when I was 19. I discovered I had a gift for teaching. I discovered I think differently. I discovered that no one can do what I do the way I do it. It’s innate.

I’m 59 now and have written a book, been on television, been in all the fitness and traditional media of the time and became the very first ever Creative Director in a major gym chain in 1994 for Crunch Fitness.

What sets me apart from others: I don’t believe in staying in my lane. I was part of a generation that created the entire industry. There were NO female personal trainers when I started in 1988.

There was no organized way to learn this career so I learned from all the people around me. I was invited to work in NYC’s Vertical Club in Manhattan because I stood out in Jack LaLanne and had quickly moved from cleaning the locker room to running the gym floor. I was 21.

I learned EVERYONES JOB in every place I worked. I studied dance, gymnastics, weight training, power lifting, yoga, Pilates, boxing, kickboxing, cycling & karate.

I got ‘fitness famous’ at Molly Fox Studio and started headlining on the schedule. The press became interested in my unconventional approach of ‘strength equals beauty’ and I was booked for modeling jobs and the burgeoning beauty/fitness media tapped me for advice and workouts.

After a few years as Creative Director of Crunch Fitness – I found my intellectual property on t-shirts in Macys for Crunch. My class names were mine before I worked for them. When I questioned why I wasn’t consulted- I was fired.

This was a big deal at the time. I opened my own studio in NYC Revolution Studio in 1997 and never looked back. I’ve been my own business ever since.

I’ve since created my own fitness practice called Active Resistance Training. I live and work from my home studio in the jungle in Costa Rica after moving my life and business online in 2014..

I train performers, creatives, artists and writers via zoom.. My entire catalogue of over 500 workouts and counting is online via website and app for $97/monthly at www.activeresistancetraining.com

I overcame challenges by continually adapting to shifting conditions and that means proactive action instead of reactive action. I have one firm belief and this may sound awful: there is no such thing as security. I am only as good as my last workout and happy client. I’m most excited by how I can leverage my class hours for my online membership! And I am most excited by my clients emerging from my classes pain free and in (live) LOVE with their bodies!

I am never bored – people are endlessly interesting and I get better with every client hour because everyone is different and I have to adapt to them for them to succeed.

This makes me a unicorn – And all the other unicorns that need me, SEE ME, refer me, or find me.

Is this easy? No, and 40 years of clients isn’t magic, luck, or privilege. It’s dedicated work to the craft day by day hour by hour. Client by client. Push-up by push-up.

Lessons:

Know your worth in the market.

Always overdeliver.

Study long enough to not parrot conventional wisdom. You need unique insights.

No one cares about your business but you.

Know how to do everything in your business.

Never stop studying and always be technology forward.

Make your business work for you, or you’ll END (need) up working for your business.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Book Shoutout: The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

Website: www.activeresistancetraining.com

Instagram: activeresistancetraining_

Linkedin: activeresistancetraining

Facebook: Facebook.com/terriwalshtheartmethod

Image Credits
Douglas GOMEZ