Meet Lizzy Wolterbeek | Personal Trainer/Movement Specialist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lizzy Wolterbeek and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lizzy, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Really, I just wanted the freedom to offer people a higher quality experience with personal training. I was working for a corporate gym where I was doing 80% of the business running, but I was getting 70% of my money taken by the company. I figured, if I could figure out how to fill in the gaps of what they were providing (the gym space, equipment, and a pool of people to work with), that I could do it all exactly the way I want to and give people a way better experience as well.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My education and background are in Athletic Training which focuses on a wide range of clinical and sports related areas, but my speciality has always been injury prevention, rehabilitation, movement assessment, and exercise prescription. I take a huge amount of pride in having my Bachelor’s Degree in the field because it isn’t required to practice as a personal trainer/someone who works 1:1 with people to help them with their bodies/fitness in Colorado. To me, my education and experience significantly sets me apart from those in this career. I have thousands of hours working with a variety of populations to help them move better, recover from injury, and get them to their highest potential with their physical bodies.

But it isn’t always easy to stand out in this field, as there are literally thousands of personal trainers to choose from. It’s been a huge challenge to gain visibility, credibility, and sustain clientele— especially through the pandemic (2020 & 2021), and especially as someone who doesn’t focus at all on nutrition, weight loss, or aesthetic goals.
The networking group I’m a part of (BNI Peak Performance) and the group of people I keep in my circle have truly helped me continue to push, kept me focused, and provided me with new insights, skills, and perspective to be able to keep going. They’ve also kept clients coming my way by word of mouth referrals, which are the most value able type of referral in my opinion.

My goal since the day I started has been to be the most highly regarded personal trainer and movement specialist in the Denver area and that is because I truly believe in what I do and have seen how it can help so many. I want to grow and train a team of people who have the knowledge, skills, and experience to help people the way they deserve to be helped. There are so many missed opportunities in the average world of personal training— so many undereducated individuals who don’t know any better and can really end up hurting people or making them worse off in the long run. And this isn’t to put people down or blame— to me, it really is the society that we’ve built that has made it “more important” for us to only workout if we have the goal of losing weight or looking more muscular and the influence of social media and diet culture.

But I want to change that narrative. I want to create a world of people who workout so they have the tools and skills to make the rest of their lives easier, better, and more fulfilling. I want to help people get back into their bodies— hike, ski, and squat without knee pain. Bend, lift, and twist without back pain. Reach, stretch, and press without shoulder pain. I know it possible with the right mindset and the right help. I believe my business can be the influence that makes this the new standard in fitness.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would absolutely take them to the mountains for a nice hike, and then grab food somewhere downtown. Spots like Necio, Postino, My Neighbor Felix, and Happy Camper are amazing spots to get delicious food and drinks and really get a feel for what Denver has to offer. I don’t spend a ton of time in the city, but when I do, RiNo is always a great place to walk around, do some fun activities like playing pool or hanging out on a cool lawn venue with some food trucks. There are so many things Denver has to offer and I feel like the possibilities are endless.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are a lot of people I’d love to give credit to for my journey in business but first and foremost is my wife. I absolutely wouldn’t have ever started my own business if it weren’t for her and, furthermore, don’t know if I would’ve been able to keep it up and running without her. Secondly is my BNI group— Peak Performance— especially people like Meghann Feldman, Ann Brecke, and Carolyn Seeger. These women have truly supported me and helped me grow in many ways to support the growth of my business and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.

Website: www.embodiedmovementts.com

Instagram: embodiedmovement_ts

Facebook: Embodied Movement Training Systems

Image Credits
Janice Stevens— Winsome Witness Photography