Sometimes the challenges of life provide inspiration for our purpose and passion. Master Trainer, Casaundra Bouldin draws on the challenges of diabetes and dementia to motivate her passion for inspiring higher wellness in the community.
Trainer and Wellness Expert, Casaundra Bouldin
So how did you get into fitness? Were you always inspired for a career in wellness or was it from your own athletic background?
From childhood, I was always physically active, whether I was in sports or just participating in recreational activities. Growing up, I was in and out of several sports, such as tennis, basketball and swimming, but the one I stuck with was track, for 11 years.
Since about 5 years old, I had a desire to be in health care, though I jumped around with different fields. By high school, I landed on a career focus in the Sports Medicine field, which became my study track. I then graduated college with a degree in Kinesiology, with the thought of becoming an Athletic Trainer. While in college, I obtained my license for Personal Training, which became a major starting point for the fitness endeavors I’m involved with today.
What's the spirit behind the name Higher Powered?
I came up with Higher Power Fitness while creating my first business plan for a fitness and wellness sportsplex. The idea is to take fitness to a higher level than just "working out".
I want people to be able to train their bodies based on the area of life they are in, whether it's to promote a better health lifestyle, sports performance, etc. Also, I want to teach the importance and relationship between physical health and mental health. There are many benefits of exercise on cognitive function, at the same time, your mental state has a major effect on your physical state.
"Fitness should be promoted as a gradual lifestyle change, with a focus on proper movement, not just how fast you can make it to a size zero..."
What's the hardest thing about being an entrepreneur and a fitness trainer?
The hardest thing about being an entrepreneur in the Personal Training/Health field is inconsistency! Personal training is first looked at as a luxury service not a necessity, which automatically decreases clientele. It's either "too expensive" or "time consuming"! Then there's fear. There are people that have seen or experienced bad trainers that lead them, or an associate, to an injury or decreased self-esteem. Basically, our success/profit is reliant on the accountability and seriousness of another person.
What would you change about the fitness industry if you could?
Like every industry, there are ups and downs. The one thing I would like to see changed is the portrayal/marketing of fitness/weight-loss. First, there is no HEALTHY "quick fix" to good health! All the false guarantees of the "weight not returning" or "dropping 60lbs in 60days" and "crash diets" are just lies and discouraging for those who repeatedly try them. You can not guarantee how fast some specifically and average person will lose weight, there's too many factors in the formula. Fitness should be promoted as a gradual lifestyle change, with a focus on proper movement, not just how fast you can make it to a size zero(which you’ll never get to).
Higher Power brings High Energy to Fitness
Is it hard balancing your own personal fitness with the demands of being an entrepreneur in the fitness industry?
It can be challenging at times to maintain my desired level of fitness, when trying to accommodate my clients and work obligations. I am most successful when I complete my workouts early in the morning to avoid task complications in the afternoon/evenings.
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What's been your most challenging client experience?
My most challenging client experiences were working with a few individuals with fibromyalgia and/or rheumatoid arthritis. Trying to modify exercises so that there was limited pain is difficult because they were, for the most part, always in pain. We do a lot of stretching to increase blood flow and fluidity of the joints, which would help and strength training, to tolerance. Both illnesses can be so bad to the point that even gripping a light weight is a challenging. The most frustrating thing mostly for the client, is understanding and accepting that the weight-loss process will be slow, but it will happen. So, motivation, reassurance and proper care were top prior for our program.
Could you tell us more about your Diabetes/Dementia Campaign? What inspired you to launch this program?
My goal for “Fight Against Diabetes & Dementia” is to provide affordable education and care options for those at risk or currently suffering from Diabetes. My belief is that, even if Diabetes is hereditary in your family, you are not guaranteed to have it, unless you do nothing to prevent it. Diabetes is often underestimated, but has very serious adverse effects, such as limb amputation or eventually death. I began this campaign because I watched both of my grandparents slowly die from Diabetes related illnesses. My grandfather passed from kidney failure and cancer which developed from poor management of diabetes. Amputation was an option to control the issues but likelihood of survival was very low. My grandmother's main cause of death was Dementia, but also branched from Diabetes. After some research I learned the connection between Diabetes to Dementia and other illnesses, if not properly managed. My goal, is to promote good health to as wide-spread of an audience as possible, starting in my community.
Casasundra Bouldin, Sprinter turned Fitness Pro!
Where can people sign up for more about the program?
The program will be launched Spring of 2020, but you can find more information at higherpowerfit.com.
What's your vision for Higher Power Fitness?
Higher Power Fitness is the seed to developing each branch of health services I am building. In the future, HPF will be the personal training company that will run the fitness services in my wellness sportsplex and will also train and develop start-up trainers that want a career in Personal Training or health services. For now it is building a reputation for current services so that people will see and understand the quality and care we provide.
What advice might you give someone who is interested in starting a fitness venture?
Research and get more certifications! Yes starting out the more visually successful health professionals are the ones who “look” like they eat and breath weights, but the ones that appeal to wider ranges of clientele are the ones that know and understand the inner workings of the body.
My recommendation is to find areas of health that your are interested in or that you can see your immediate community benefit from, and specialize in it. The more people you help, the more marketable you are, which increases the demand for your services.
What's your approach for incorporating recovery into your own training program or for your clients?
My recovery process currently fluctuates. My biggest thing is to maintain my flexibility! I try to stretch before and after every workout; time period depends on soreness. I also stretch in or after my shower most nights. One thing that helps tremendously is yoga, but unfortunately I don’t always have the opportunity to do it. In addition I foam roll my larger muscle groups and use a pressure point ball for tight areas on my back, neck & foot. Most recently I have been struggling with a heel/ achilles injury, where I use foot soaks, ice and calf stretches for recovery/relief.
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