Nancy Nash

Southern California and Zoom

Purpose and Passion

I am driven by a passion to help others develop physical and mental strength to pursue what makes them feel purposeful and successful. My personal vision of a perfect world is that the vast majority of people would have perspective, strength, resilience and a heart to help, and that my small actions create waves that roll alongside a sea of others in creating this greater good. Growing up as the oldest child in a family of 11 meant that I found my purpose for helping others very early on. I see my purpose as a ‘facilitator of fitness’ who works in tandem with clients, asking good questions, sharing inspiration and being an innovative problem solver who brings out the best in them. I am committed to constantly expanding upon my knowledge and coaching abilities, with a strong focus in the elements of physical and psychological wellness and the science of behavior change.

My Personal Pivot Point

I am an unlikely person to have wound up with a career in fitness. Although I loved playing and hiking outdoors as a kid, I always felt awkward. Athletic movement felt like an impossible math problem to me, and I was more likely to score another ankle sprain than a soccer goal. I was the kid that you didn’t throw the football to, the kid that got hurt during the warm-up. My array of injuries definitely played a role in my ongoing battle with self-confidence. Into my teens and 20s I had an on-again/off-again relationship with healthy eating and movement. After being laid off from my dream job at the time, binge eating became a frequent coping mechanism, and by age 27 I weighed about 350lbs. More importantly, I married the love of my life at age 27, and thinking about our future helped me acknowledge that I wanted a long healthy life together. For me, my memories of being an active kid, and experience losing weight in my late teens and early 20s solidified my resolve that if I wanted to take control of my weight, I could. I slowly started pairing down portion sizes and doing 10 minute workouts a couple days a week. I didn’t weigh myself initially, because I was scared to. I began to notice that I didn’t have back and knee pain, that I panted less going up the stairs. Over 7 years I lost 170 lbs. Writing it like that always feels funny, because fitting it into one sentence makes it look like it was all roses and sunshine. In actuality, it was so many little steps and side steps that added up. As I felt better, I wanted to do more. Living more richly made me want to do more healthful behaviors and set bigger goals.

Seas-ing My Inner Star

As the weight came off and I physically transformed, people around me began to ask for advice on how they could apply my learnings to their own goals. I wasn’t ready to be a leader to them, I wasn’t even sure how I had kept this going. My desire to help others was stronger than my lack of self-confidence, and set me on a deep journey to uncover the science behind physical and mental well-being and what I could do to make it available to others. What I now realize is that this psychological shift in my perspective was truly the secret sauce of the radical change that I experienced in my mind, body, and entire lifestyle. Its empowered me to question my preconceptions of what I was capable of, and emboldened me to change careers and pursue educational opportunities. This is the resilient mindset that I continue to cultivate and grow that helps me get back up when I fall. It’s the buried treasure I didn’t know I needed until I uncovered it. This is what I want to give to my clients, and to the world. Although I’ll be the first to crack a terrible joke, I take my role in coaching others to find success quite seriously. I still feel like a starfish out of water sometimes, but my desire to help, to really get to know what each individual wants and needs is genuine. I still have my awkward duckling moments, but I’ve learned to embrace them. I am always working to become better, but it is often my imperfections that help me make exercise feel approachable and enjoyable for people from all walks of life. I hope that you will feel that if I can do this, so can you!

Coaching Specialties, Certifications and Coursework

Habit and Behavior Change
Motivational Strategy
Functional Movement
Injury Rehab
Surgery Prehab & Rehab
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
ACE Certified Behavior Change Specialist
ACE Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist
ACE Group Fitness Instructor
ACE MIndful Eating: The Future of Eating for Weight Loss
Fascial Line Mobility (ACE Mover Academy)
Understanding and Alleviating Back Pain (ACE Mover Academy)
Corrective Exercise for the Kinetic Chain (ACE Mover Academy)
Functional Anatomy: The Secret to Efficient Movement (IDEA Health + Fitness Association)
Proven Techniques for Knee Pain Relief (IDEA Health + Fitness Association)
Shoulder Function, Assessment, and Reaction (IDEA Health + Fitness Association)
MIT Global Entrepreneurship Bootcamp Program

Client Testimonials

Nancy was my personal trainer before and during the pandemic years. While I have had other personal trainers through the years, Nancy is one that always had a plan. She is interested inworking with you for balance, strength and diet. I went from 290 pounds to to 203 pounds and Nancy was a big part of that process. I regard her as one of the best trainers and people that I have had the opportunity to work withthrough the years and I highly recommend her for a great all around fitness program.

Nancy has been my trainer for three+ years. She has helped me to age better and stronger. We have worked on muscle tone, stretching and balance. Recently, I was walking when my ankles rolled. Amazingly I did not fall but stumbled to upright balance. This was due to the training I did with Nancy including squats and lunges of all kinds. She is really dedicated and I highly recommend her as a trainer.

I have had the pleasure of training with Nancy in person. Her story of why and how she became a trainer was one reason why I selected her. She is real, honest, positive, but not a rah, rah. I am so happy she is sharing her story with everyone. She is "one of us", she gets it.