For Patrice Braack, fitness isn’t just a means to lose weight, it’s a lifestyle she lives and breathes. While her journey originally began with the goal of weight loss, it quickly grew into a passion and a way of life. Now, Patrice wants to spread her love of fitness to help her peers, family members and beyond reach their health and fitness goals by attaining her personal training certification as well as her nutrition coach certification.
Patrice’s fitness journey began in 2015, when she started fitting workout sessions into her routine to try and shed some weight. At first, working out was something she forced herself to do to feel better and to make progress on her weight goal, but soon, she found that her workouts gave her a sense of accomplishment and overall wellbeing. It boosted her morale and helped her have a productive day. Patrice says that in 2020, she clearly recalls a shift in her mentality toward training, and she started consistently working out six days a week in the morning before work, and she hasn’t stopped since.
Her ambitions moved on to not just losing weight, but building muscle and toning. She was also fueled by a need to learn more about fitness and nutrition by trying out new exercises and routines, and fine-tuning her diet to aid in muscle growth.
“Although I was mostly self-taught, I started taking a group of coworkers to the gym with me over our lunch breaks,” said Patrice. “I would come up with workout for us to follow, and this was the start of when I began to think of earning my personal training certification. I just like to help people.”
In 2024, Patrice completed her personal training certification and is now fully licensed to train clients. She is also currently in the process of earning her nutrition coach certification so that she can provide full service to those she trains. “I wanted to be able to provide a wholistic approach to fitness and wellness, and be able to give clients a nutrition plan if they want one. I’ve always been really into working out with other people and helping them reach their goals as well, so I decided to do both the personal training and nutrition certifications.”
While the lunch-time workouts petered out after some time with a few members changing positions and work hours becoming increasingly busy, Patrice now does her workouts in the morning. She wakes up at 3:15am to ensure she gets a full-body workout in her home gym before leaving for the office! She truly exemplifies the work ethic and commitment needed to realize fitness goals, and exudes the energy of a role model in the industry for those she wants to help reach their goals.
While she doesn’t have a personal training business officially set up, Patrice does provide workout plans for family and friends that ask her for help or advice. Her biggest clients and supporters right now are her daughters, ages 17 and 20. Patrice says that once she earns her nutrition coach certification, she’ll entertain the idea of opening an LLC and creating her personal training business. She already has a name picked out: Grit & Grind Fitness. She has a loose concept for branding to go along with the name that she will continue to develop as she gets closer to earning her nutrition coach certification.
Besides creating her own personal training business, Patrice’s plans for the future are to keep herself as healthy and fit as possible to keep up with her active lifestyle and those of her young daughters. “It’s my antidepression. I’ve done it for so many years now that I need that in the morning to feel good and get my day started. Fitness is more than just losing weight; it’s a lifestyle so that I can keep up with life and my two daughters. It helps me be more active in general.”
Patrice has also started a 6-week fitness accountability group, where she will provide three workout a week for the duration of the challenge. All who are participating will be given a printable tracker to keep tabs on their workouts each week. Designed to be beginner friendly, each workout is 20-30 minutes long and doesn’t even require any weights so participants can do them right in their own homes. The challenge will kick off on August 11, and Patrice already has multiple people signed up to participate.
Some of Patrice’s more ambitious goals include competing in a body building competition, which would be a true test of her grit as a fitness enthusiast. It’s both physically and mentally challenging to get to the point of stepping on stage. Another aspiration of hers is to start up with CrossFit and even compete in some CrossFit events. The combination of weights and cardio exercises appeal to her. The best thing about fitness for Patrice is building muscle so that she can be strong in and out of the gym. We wish Patrice the best of luck in all her future fitness endeavors!
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