COACH JULIA GIRMAN

---

I began participating in sports at the early age of six and continued my competitive athletic career at Gettysburg College in both varsity soccer and swimming, earning many athletic and academic distinctions. It was in college that I first discovered the amazing world of human performance science. I graduated with a dual Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Exercise Science and immediately embarked on my journey in health and fitness, working as a fitness specialist, certified personal trainer, physical therapy aide, and assistant collegiate women’s soccer and golf coach before finding my niche in strength and conditioning. 

COLLEGIATE STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACHING

In 2007, I returned to grad school for my Masters in Strength and Conditioning at Springfield College, where I coached over 10 different college teams at both the D-I and D-III levels including soccer, gymnastics, football, baseball, softball, crew, basketball, volleyball, track 'n field, & lacrosse; taught four college-level classes to undergraduate students; and worked full-time as the Head Coach and Assistant Director of Operations at a small private training studio in West Springfield, MA that specialized in adult fitness and youth sports performance (i.e.,  ice hockey, baseball, etc).

NO STRANGER TO INJURY

As a former competitive athlete, I’m no stranger to experiencing successes and setbacks, including my fair share of injuries, but it wasn’t until my post-competitive years that I lost sight of my real purpose for training and eating well and instead focused on “having the perfect body”. During those few years, I trained more to look good than to feel good. I pushed myself so HARD to excel physically, thinking that I could outsmart my body, that I ended up riddled with injuries and stomach problems and feeling more unfilled than ever. That experience taught me that I really needed to SLOW DOWN in order to heal not only my body but also my relationships to exercise and food. 

FINDING MY BALANCE

That experience also served as a major catalyst for bringing the practice of yoga more fully into my life and in 2017, my desire for deeper yoga immersion brought me into the Pranotthan School of Yoga Teacher Training at All That Matters (YTT). Personally, that experience was by far one of the most healing and transformative I’ve had to date. Professionally, YTT helped me enhance my already holistic coaching philosophy by equipping me with new skills and tools that could easily be integrated into my coaching and client programs.

MY LIFESTYLE PHILOSOPHY

Over my past 21 years of coaching and lifetime of personal experience, the most valuable lesson I have learned is how to teach people to LISTEN to their body and HONOR what they need. It's not about comparing ourselves to or competing with the people around us. It's about knowing what we need to take the BEST care of ourselves and DOING IT. One of my new favorite phrases is, "Your body doesn't change during your workout; it changes during your recovery." While exercise IS important, so is how you treat your body through nutrition, with active recovery, and sometimes even complete rest. Ultimately, my coaching is about equipping you with the tools to LIVE YOUR LIFE FULLY each and every day.