KAITLYN

I have value. I have worth. I am more than my body.
My journey towards health and body positivity has been a very long one, beginning when I was just a small child. I hate to admit it, but like many of us, I've spent a lot of time obsessing over my body and how it looks; constantly trying to reach an image that is only really obtainable through clever lighting and Photoshop. I remember the first negative thought I ever had about my body: I was running down the street, and I looked down at my legs and hated how they would jiggle. From that moment on, I convinced myself that I had fat legs. I was ten years old.
Like for many girls, high school was tough. A lot of things happened during that time that made me feel out of control, so I resorted to taking control of what I could - and in this case it was my weight. I started out at 135lbs, and through a regimen of barely eating and working out four times a week, I ended up reaching an all time low of 108lbs. At my lowest weight, a concerned family member commented on one of my Facebook pictures that I "needed to put some meat on my bones". Looking back, I can see what they saw, but at the time I was confused. When I looked in the mirror at my barely-there body, I thought there was no way I could be too skinny because my legs still jiggled and I still had a stomach pooch.

​On the other side of the spectrum, I reached my maximum weight in December 2015. I've struggled with depression a lot, which can be traced back to childhood traumas, lingering body issues, and low self-esteem. A few major life changes sent me into a spiral and I stopped caring about what I put into my body. I ate whatever I wanted, when I wanted, and slowly crept up to 198lbs. I found myself caught in a vicious cycle. I hated how my body looked, which would feed my depression, which in turn would make me hate myself, but mask that pain my eating my feelings. When I saw the scale hit 198lbs, I finally decided it was time to make a change, but I had no clue where to start.
Enter Ashlie. Ashlie is by far one of the kindest, most caring, encouraging, and not to mention badass people I know. When I decided it was time to make a change, she was right there for me, and her passion for strength and body positivity lit a fire in my heart. It took me a little longer than I'd like to admit, to realize what my body is capable of, but she was always there encouraging me and lifting me up. I think the real change started happening when she had set me up for a squat, and she wouldn't answer me when I asked her how much it was. Once the squat was complete, she told me that I had just squatted 185lbs, which at the time was only 10lbs less than my body weight. At that moment, it hit me: I am strong, I have value, I have worth, and I am so much more than the number on that scale.
At this moment in time, I am still 30lbs from my "goal weight", but the amazing part is that I still love my body the way it is right now. At 165lbs, I may not look like the model on the magazine cover - I still have a few rolls, my legs still jiggle, I still have that lower belly pooch ... but you know what? That's ok. With a lot of continued encouragement from Ashlie, I have found myself in a place where I'm not working out to obtain an "ideal image"; rather I'm working toward a stronger me, both physically and mentally. The weight will come off with time, but what really matters is that I have found myself in a place where I love myself just the way I am in this moment, and I can genuinely say that I have never been happier.

GLORIA

I had such a great day at the Powerlifting meet today, and as I laid in bed tonight, I started thinking about lifting and about why I do it and who I do it with. I have to say, that after doing two meets and watching one strongman competition, I feel like the strength training community is about the most supportive bunch of people. At these things, there are people of all ages. There are 100 pound women, 250 pound women, 150 pound men and 350 pound men doing the exact same activities at the highest level their bodies can do it – and everyone is cheering for everyone as if they were the strongest human on the planet. Someone will complete a 150 pound deadlift and be jumping off the stage with joy – as happy as the person who completes a 500 pound deadlift. Powerlifting is about just doing the best you can do… and hopefully in the final attempt, do better than you have done before. The final attempts are hard and many don’t complete them, but that in itself is a life lesson. Some days you might completely kill it and accomplish something you’ve never done before and some days you might not. But I know that right after not deadlifting my third attempt today, at a weight I had never tried before, I walked off and immediately said that I wanted to try it again – that I thought I would lift it if I could have another try. And you know what? I think I will get it lifted. It will most likely be in Ashlie’s garage, and when I get it, we will probably jump up and down and smile really big and it will be great! I just have to do what she says, stay consistent, and then wait for the day when we get to try/test our personal best weights.

I started lifting with Ashlie because, honestly, I hate cardio stuff. During bootcamps a couple years ago I realized that I mostly loved when we did barbell stuff or tire stuff or anything other than burpees or pull ups! So I just decided to sign up and give Ashlie’s weightlifting class a try - Even though I am in my mid-50’s…. Even though I have a lot of excess weight….. Even though I had never done it before. 
I love that Ashlie is a mother. I love that Ashlie is passionate about getting people stronger. I love that she accepts you where you are at, and gently encourages you to do more. I appreciate that she can sense and reroute you when you are having an “off day” or maybe at the highest weight you can do correctly with good form. I love that she trains from her garage and that there are no mirrors in there. I’m glad that she lets me barge through her house every 5 minutes to use her bathroom. I respect how knowledgeable she is about strength training and fitness, how hard she works as a mother and a business owner, and how, without fail, she greets me with a smile every single time. I love that there are days that I feel like I am “too tired” to go, but I go, and an hour later when I leave I am fully recharged.
All of this to say that if you want to try weightlifting or you want to work on strength and fitness, I really would encourage you to give it a try with Ashlie. It’s not about the competing – unless you want it to be. Signing up for a powerlifting competition was just kind of a casual comment that I just started to take seriously the more I thought about it! It’s more about just feeling yourself getting stronger because of lifting weights a couple hours a week. It’s about lifting weights with personal attention from someone who is with you every step of the way and genuinely excited about your progress. It’s about feeling capable. It’s about doing something where progress is measurable – where one week you are able to move 5 more pounds than you could the week before. It’s about keeping your muscles and body strong – especially as we are getting older. It’s about spending time with other women and just enjoying each other. Also, it’s about maybe getting to a place where you can come to peace with your body and love it for what it can do rather than hate it for how you think it should look differently.

AMY

​I started training with Ashlie/Uplift in September 2017. I was skeptical about lifting big regularly because of my history with back problems but after my first few training sessions I knew that I was capable of strengthening my back and doing awesome stuff with it. Ashlie paired me with an amazing training partner with similar goals and the 2 of them have changed my life. Training with Ashlie has left me with accomplishments I never believed were possible, like making it into the 300+ deadlift club, and literally squatting/ benching anything with good form. The training program has prepared me to successfully compete in both strongman and powerlifting events which were so unbelievably fun and exciting. My success would not have been possible without the confidence and support that Ashlie gives to all of her clients. The belief she has in us, even when we are sometimes unable to believe in ourselves is priceless, and allows us to do amazing shit.

JOHN

​I don't think I can ever truly put into words what Ashlie has done for me, but I tried my best:
I never thought I would become an athlete. I was thought I was too fat, too slow, and too lazy. The truth was that I hated my body and felt trapped inside it, but that all began changing when I started seeing Ashlie at Uplift Strength and Fitness. And to be honest I wasn’t expecting much, my only experience with gyms came from school and the P.E. teachers who told me I was a failure because I couldn’t do what the other kids could. I was expecting more of the same, to be turned away because I was so out of shape when I walked through her door. Instead she made me feel amazing for even taking the step of coming to see her, she began encouraging me the moment she met me and has never stopped.
Little by little, session by session, I got stronger and more flexible. I also became a little bit more comfortable in my body with every session. Ashlie helped me discover how my body liked moving and taught me how to breathe through my core to keep from hyperventilating. She showed me the absolutely incredible feats of strength my body is capable of, things that I would never have seen myself doing before I met her. She saw it though and that’s her greatest strength as a trainer, her ability to see the potential in you, even when you don’t see it in yourself.
I’ve worked with Ashlie with two years now; I can deadlift 315 pounds, bench almost 200, and am now training to compete in Highland Games. I find myself in awe of the things my body is capable of, and that’s truly the greatest gift that Ashlie has given me:
I love my body. For the very first time in my life, I love my body.
I finally feel comfortable in my own skin.
I never thought that could happen, but thanks to Ashlie’s kindness and encouragement, it finally has.
No matter what your fitness goals are, go to Ashlie, because she will lift you to heights you never thought you could reach.

JUSTIN

SIERA

JONATHAN

HALI

JANA