We recently connected with Terri Walsh and have shared our conversation below.
Terri , we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
I developed my confidence through continually trying to do things I thought I couldn’t do.
This is why fitness is so important in one’s life. If you want to develop confidence start with 10 straight leg pushups.
Doing things you can’t do – and continuing to try when you really really suck at something is where confidence is developed.
Whatever you believe about yourself is true.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am a professional trainer, fitness instructor, studio owner and author with now 40 years experience. I’ve created my own modality Active Resistance Training.®️
A.R.T. Is a multi-disciplinary fitness practice that uses two foam yoga blocks to create what I call ‘active resistance.’ It is entirely low impact, joint friendly and only needs the space of a mat.
Using everything from bands, ankle weights, dumbbells to kettlebells – I believe I’ve erased the lines between barre, Pilates, yoga, strength training and mobility to create a unique challenging complete fitness system that heals and strengthens , leaving you stronger, more mobile,and healthier than ever before.
I was the first ever Creative Director of Crunch Fitness and I’ve built two studios from the ground up and built two successful businesses before I set myself up to pivot to an online fitness studio in 2014.
Knowing the environment was changing I planned from 2008-2012 and started moving my brick and mortar active Resistance Training studio with boot camps/classes and personal training into an online format.
In 2014 I moved from the NYC urban jungle to the jungles of Costa Rica where I run my online fitness business and train my clients – all remotely from my jungle studio.
Along the way I’ve been called a celebrity trainer an entrepreneur a fitness guru and have been respected enough to present my work at fitness conventions. My clients range from people like Norma Kamala, Edgar Bronfman Sr, and Jan Bronfman, Actor Mandy Patinkin to Joesph Carter/Marc Jacobs, NYT Bestselling author Michaela Angela Davis, to artists like Lisa Yuskavage, Cindy Sherman and Rachel Feinstein to The first black woman nominated for an Academy Award for a work she directed. Dianne Houston..
Along the way I relearned that every client hour and every class and every new skill I’ve learned to build studios and now online business makes me UNSTOPPABLE.
Everyday I add wings to my unicorn and the more I do the more interesting places there are to go!
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?
The three most important skills:
1. Strong foundational basics and enough time learning and deploying the standards of my profession.
2. Remaining open to what I don’t know. You can’t break the rules if you don’t know enough about their limitations. Experience allows you to then redefine boundaries.
3. Understanding your customer. Empathy and real human connection along with creatively engaging and always redefining what’s necessary to appeal to them.
One more thing: INTUITION Pay attention to your gut.
Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
My ideal clients are people in charge of their own destinies that understand that fitness isn’t a luxury- it’s a necessity for the maintenance and expansion of their lifestyle.
The clients for my online studio are in charge of their creative lives and are practicing ART as a basis for their wellbeing. They use the workouts wherever they are and are largely digital nomads unvarying capacities!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.activeresistancetraining.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/activeresistancetraining_
- Facebook: Facebook.com/terriwalshtheartmethod
Image Credits
All images owned by TW Training NYC, LLC
