We recently connected with Savanna Silva and have shared our conversation below.
Savanna, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
It’s funny you ask this question because I tell my husband all the time that I feel so fortunate to have known my true calling almost “right away” as an adult. Whereas, I have close friends and family, to this day, who still struggle with knowing what their true calling or passion is and it seems to deeply upset them for not knowing. I have always felt an innate calling from a Higher Power to help people. I wasn’t quite sure at first how I was going to help anyone, but after my first year of college as an education major, I quickly learned that teaching was NOT my calling. I was starting to really enjoy working out and couldn’t understand how teachers had any time or energy left in them to go to the gym after a long day of teaching, let alone have the capacity to be patient with their own children when they got home (and I’ve always planned to have a big family, so that was a concern to me). Sophomore year of college, I got a job at the student wellness center to work the gym floor, spotting members, giving tours, taking new exercisers through the machines, and greeting people on their way to and from the weight room. My boss almost immediately pushed me to pursue my personal training certification and she begged me to teach a spin class as a substitute teacher for the last half of the semester when she couldn’t find anyone to fill the spot. I had maybe taken 2 spin classes in my life, had no certification, and had NEVER been comfortable speaking in front of people – needless to say, I was a nervous wreck. My first spin class was absolutely atrocious. I was holding back tears the entire time because the look on everyone’s faces said it all – I sucked. But, thankfully, I kept working on honing my craft as an instructor and as a personal trainer and am so glad I never gave up because this was absolutely what I was made to do.
But, what is my deeper why? What keeps me going and inspired to help others achieve their health and fitness goals? Well, I grew up watching a very close family member of mine struggle with their health in just about every aspect – physically, mentally, and emotionally. I was constantly worried they were going to die because they were hospitalized a lot. In addition to their actual health, their self esteem was non-existent. As a little girl, I didn’t understand why they couldn’t love themselves, but it deeply impacted me and I always wanted to find a way to help them, I just didn’t know how. Fast forward to years later after I became a certified personal trainer, I realized, “Oh my God, I can help this family member!! I am going to learn everything I can to get them healthy again, inside and out.” So, that has been my mission ever since – to teach women how to love themselves from the inside out – starting with how they talk about and to themselves, what sort of nourishment they put in their bodies, and are they prioritizing their hormonal health with healthy habits around sleep and stress? Then from there, not putting an emphasis on changing their physical bodies, but LOVING their physical bodies through movement (strength training, especially). It’s amazing what working on become stronger instead of becoming smaller does to a person mentally. They go from working out because they hate themselves to working out because they LOVE themselves.
We’ve reached a full circle moment now, because this special family member who inspired my entire purpose in life now trains with me 3-4 days a week and is in a much better place with her health and relationship with herself, which is all I could ever ask for.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a wife and a mama to two littles – Scarlett, age 2, and Storm, age 2 months! When I’m not taking care of them, I am a personal trainer, both in person and online, and specialize in strength training and pelvic floor work for women, including prenatal and postnatal fitness. I train out of my in-home studio (The Shred Society) and mainly facilitate semi-private sessions, training up to 4 women at a time. This is MUCH different than a group fitness class because there is zero focus on calories burned, heart rate, etc. Instead, everyone is following their own program, focusing on progressive overload and their own personal fitness goals. I feel SO lucky to train the clients I do – everyone is so sweet and encouraging to one another, and I get to train women from all walks of life and different fitness levels. Our sessions are a safe place to come if you’re having a bad day, not feeling confident in your body, or feeling isolated. We are like one big family and it’s just the most beautiful thing to see my vision of what my business would look like come to life. Online, I offer custom fitness programs, but my main offerings are centered around workouts for moms! My online fitness platform is called Bump Club Official, and I offer both an on-demand Prenatal Program (called Bump Club) and on-demand Postpartum rehab program for diastasis recti and pelvic floor rehab (called Postpartum Heal + Restore).
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. An attitude of persistence – even when I wanted to quit or give up because I didn’t feel I was “good enough”. People these days just want a “get rich quick” solution, and unfortunately that’s just not how it works for most. Before you give up on your dreams, get real with yourself about if you’re putting in the necessary work required to be successful and if you’re not, find out if you’re actually up for the challenge. If you aren’t, maybe this isn’t your true calling or passion. There’s a quote I love about this – “I’ve learned that anything in life worth having comes from patience and hard work.” – Greg Behrendt
2. Public Speaking – I had to develop and refine this skill for YEARS and can finally say I am able to hop on any stage and speak. But, damn, it took time to get here. Truly, the only way to get better at this is through doing.
3. Humility and eagerness to learn – A lot of trainers get cocky too early on in their careers, thinking they “know it all” or “know better” and have it all figured out. The best piece of advice I can give to anyone in whatever career they’re pursuing is to always be in the pursuit of knowledge. Find a mentor, ask someone you admire for help or advice, keep studying and growing in your craft. And don’t get too comfortable in it – find ways to get out of your comfort zone and learn something new.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
My parents are the definition of hard work and doing whatever it takes to give their children a good life. My dad worked two jobs for a while, and worked nights when I was a baby so that my mom could go to work in the day and he could stay home with me. They didn’t come from much, if anything, and truly had to be self-made from an early age. They somehow were able to afford to send me to private school for all 13 years of my schooling, then pay for my college tuition and my wedding. Hard work has been engrained in me since I was a kid. I’ve never been naturally talented at really anything…. I was never the smartest, strongest, fastest, best singer or dancer or basketball player. Even still, they never let me get a bad grade in school, not because they cared so much about my grades, but because they wanted me to develop the lifelong skills of discipline, grit and determination. They never let me quit a sport without finishing out the season, even if I was benched the entire season. They didn’t let me quit piano lessons for almost a decade because they believed music was important. I can truly say, if it wasn’t for my strict upbringing, I most likely wouldn’t have the work ethic I do today.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.savannarose.co
- Instagram: @strengthwithsavanna, @bumpclubofficial @the.shred.society
- Other: Tiktok: strengthwithsavanna
