I’m a Ninja Warrior athlete and coach, personal trainer, dog mom, director of a nonprofit, and work full time with kids in foster care
Ms. Health and Fitness and Jared Allen's Homes for Wounded Warriors would like to thank Alex Katz and her voters for helping us donate to our injured United States military veterans!
Trust the process and know that the benefits go beyond physical. Being fit and healthy not only makes you look good but feel good as you become stronger both physically and mentally. Every time you hit a PR, complete a new obstacle, or see changes in your physical appearance, you change how you see yourself and what you are capable of doing, which translates into all aspects of your life.
I used to struggle with depression and eating disorders. I started obstacle course racing and powerlifting as an outlet and to fix my relationship with food. What I found was that I really needed to fix my relationship with myself and with my confidence. Fitness helped me do that. Now, as an American Ninja Warrior athlete and coach, I have found confidence and physical ability like never before and the ninja community has become the family I never had.
I currently run a Ninja Warrior nonprofit, Neighborhood Ninjas, that provides ninja mentors and unique ninja-warrior based experiences for kids who have experienced foster care or trauma. I would use the money to open my own ninja gym that offers trauma-informed practices to help these youth develop resiliency, positive coping skills, growth mindset, and a community that can become family.