When people hear that I’m a freelance writer, they imagine me holed up in my at-home cubicle, rocking a bathrobe and yesterday’s hairdo. “So do you, like, sleep till noon and work in your pajamas?” they ask. Not quite.

By 6:00 a.m. on most days, I’m at the gym demonstrating split squats and racking dumbbells for my personal training clients.  By 10, when other writers are sitting down to their first cup of Starbucks, I’m downing a protein shake as I scan fitness newsfeeds on my laptop.

As much as I love to write, I love to sweat – and to make others sweat.  A nationally published freelance writer and a certified personal trainer, I enjoy the best of both worlds. The balance of mental and physical stimulation gives me an edge in my career. My writing is sharp and energized. My workouts are based on the latest fitness research.

I have been writing about fitness for consumer magazines since 2005, when I served as an intern for Chicago’s Windy City Sports. Upon graduating in 2006 from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, I moved to Michigan to work for the Detroit Media Partnership as a copy editor.  Within one year, I was promoted to editor-at-large, a position that allowed me to edit, develop and contribute to a variety of local publications.

My interest in fitness drove my enthusiasm for working on Vital, southeast Michigan’s former health and fitness magazine. After the book was discontinued in 2008, I left Detroit to pursue fitness writing as a freelancer.

To enhance my understanding of this niche, I enrolled at the National Personal Training Institute (NPTI) in Chicago, where I studied anatomy, physiology, nutrition and fitness industry basics.

I now combine both of my passions, fitness and writing, to produce insightful, well-researched articles for national and local publications, including Experience Life, Competitor and Momentum magazines. I also serve as a personal trainer at a large, upscale health club in suburban Chicago.

I am a dedicated runner and enjoy strength training, Pilates, yoga and swimming. I live in the near west suburbs of Chicago with my husband, Darek, and our beloved BOSU, Squishy.