From Burnout to Balance: How I Stopped Overtraining and Finally Got Stronger

Let me take you back. Back to a version of me that believed more was always better. More cardio. More hustle. More sweat. More doing.

If you’ve been here—living in a world of shoulds and more—then girl, this one’s for you.

My First Love: Cardio and Chaos

It was 2005 and 2006. I was in university, living off peanut butter and jam and the salad bar and late-night gym sessions, and fully bought into the lie that “working harder” was the only way to see results. I thought I had it all figured out: 55-minute elliptical sessions, back-to-back group classes, and eating just enough to function (barely).

actually 2006

And for a while, it looked like it was working. But what you couldn’t see was how tired I was. Not just sore-tired—soul tired.

Still, I loved fitness. So much that after graduating, I turned my side hustle into my full-time gig:

✅ Certified fitness instructor

✅ Registered yoga teacher

✅ Personal trainer

✅ … and honestly, every other certification I could get my hands on.

Before I knew it, I was teaching 16+ classes a week. I’d traded my desk job for 10-hour days in the studio, hustling hard, sweating harder, and telling myself, “I should be able to handle this. I’m a fitness professional.”

The Turning Point (a.k.a. the Frozen Lake Incident)

Cut to 2011. I signed up for the Tough Mudder in Whistler—the year they made you slide into a hole cut in a frozen lake. (Yes. That actually happened.)

Spoiler: I wasn’t ready.

I hadn’t trained properly. I couldn’t do a pull-up. I had no plan—just vibes and cardio. And surprise! I injured my shoulder badly.

Looking back, it’s obvious. I was living in a cycle of movement without intention, training without recovery, and confusing busy with strong.

Let me be clear: I looked fit. I was functional. But I was not building strength. I wasn’t moving with purpose. I was just… surviving my workouts.

I even remember one night, driving home, so sore I had to use my hand to lift my right leg between the brake and gas. I laughed—because what else do you do when your burnout is so ridiculous it’s laughable?

But inside, I knew: something had to change.

The Wake-Up Call (a.k.a. Pregnancy Changed Everything)

Then, in 2017, a miracle happened: I got pregnant.

At the 2017 CanFitPro Vancouver Conference on my due date

And for the first time, I listened to my body. Not just the fitness pro voice saying “push harder,” but the wise, inner whisper that said, rest is also productive.

I didn’t quit movement—I refined it. I built a consistent strength training routine (three times a week!) and layered in yoga multiple times a week. Not for the calorie burn. Not to “earn” my food. But because it felt good and kept me healthy through pregnancy.

This was the first time in my life I trained smart, not just hard.

I learned how to actually recover.

I learned that fitness isn’t a punishment—it’s a support system.

And I learned that building strength doesn’t require burnout. It requires strategy, consistency, and compassion.

From Overachiever to Strong, Sustainable, and Sane

Pregnancy and postpartum became the greatest transitions of my life—not because I finally stopped moving, but because I started moving with intention.

Today, I coach ambitious women (just like you) who are done with the “more, more, more” mentality. You’ve been told you need to earn your rest. That you should feel guilty if your workout wasn’t long or sweaty enough. That weight loss has to be hard and all-consuming.

But here’s the truth:

You don’t need more discipline.

You need a better strategy.

One that works with your body—not against it.

So if you’re exhausted from doing “all the things” but still not seeing results…

There is another way. A sustainable way. A strong way.

And it’s waiting for you inside the Muscles & Mindset world.

Let’s stop chasing extremes and start building something that lasts.

You in?

Click here to apply.