Today we’d like to introduce you to Mara Marek.
Hi Mara, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My path into the golf and fitness world really started with playing sports myself, especially golf. I grew up playing competitively through school, and being around the game early on gave me a firsthand understanding of both the mental and physical demands that golf places on athletes. Even back then, I was fascinated by why some players could generate effortless power, stay consistent under pressure, and avoid injuries while others struggled physically despite practicing constantly.
That curiosity eventually evolved into a career focused on strength and conditioning, corrective exercise, and performance training. As I continued studying human movement and applied physiology, I realized that golf was one of the most physically misunderstood sports out there. At a high level, golf requires explosive rotational power, mobility, stability, coordination, endurance, and nervous system control all working together at once. I became obsessed with understanding how the body creates and transfers force through the golf swing and how training could dramatically improve both performance and longevity in the game.
Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with a wide range of athletes, from everyday clients to professional and elite level competitors, including LPGA players, NFL athletes, and high level junior golfers. My approach has always been highly individualized because no two athletes move the same way. I focus heavily on biomechanics, mobility, injury reduction, and building efficient movement patterns that allow athletes to perform at a higher level while staying healthy long term.
Today, my business focuses on golf performance training, strength and conditioning, mobility, and movement based coaching for athletes across Dallas, Los Angeles, and Florida. A huge part of my philosophy is helping golfers understand that the body is the engine behind the swing. When you improve how an athlete moves, stabilizes, rotates, and produces force, you can completely change their consistency, power, and confidence on the course.
In addition to coaching, I’ve expanded into writing and media because I wanted to help bridge the gap between sports science and what everyday golfers actually understand. I contribute to outlets like Golf Digest, Golf Channel, and Avid Golfer Magazine, where I break down topics like performance, recovery, mobility, and golf specific training in a way that’s approachable and practical.
Looking back, the biggest thing that got me to where I am today has been staying relentlessly curious and genuinely passionate about helping people improve through movement. Whether I’m working with a tour player chasing speed or a client trying to get out of pain and enjoy golf again, the goal is always the same: help people become stronger, healthier, and more capable both on and off the course.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not. Is any sports movie worth watching without the overcoming obstacles arc?
Like most businesses in the fitness and performance world, a lot of what people see now is the polished side of years of uncertainty, long hours, and constantly having to prove yourself. One of the biggest challenges early on was breaking into industries that are both highly competitive and heavily relationship driven. Golf and professional sports can be difficult spaces to enter, especially as a woman in strength and conditioning. There were definitely moments where I had to work twice as hard to establish credibility and trust, particularly in environments that have traditionally been male dominated.
Another challenge was learning how to balance the science side of performance with the business side of entrepreneurship. Being good at coaching athletes and being good at running a business are two very different skill sets. Building a brand, creating opportunities, marketing yourself, managing schedules, traveling for clients, and maintaining consistency while growing a business can be overwhelming at times.
There were also personal sacrifices that came with building the career I wanted. Long hours, constant education, early mornings, travel, and the pressure of always needing to perform at a high level yourself can take a toll. In performance coaching, your clients trust you with their health, careers, and goals, so there’s a huge responsibility attached to the work.
At the same time, a lot of those struggles ended up shaping my approach and making me better at what I do. I learned how important adaptability is, how to communicate with different personalities and athletes, and how to continue evolving instead of getting stuck in old methods. The fitness and golf industries are constantly changing, and if you stop learning, you fall behind quickly.
I also think some of the hardest moments taught me the importance of authenticity. Early in my career, I felt pressure to fit into what people expected a trainer or coach to look and sound like. Over time, I realized the reason clients connect with me is because I bring both personality and science into my coaching. I genuinely care about helping people improve, but I also try to make training approachable, motivating, and human.
Looking back, it definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, but I’m grateful for that. The challenges forced me to become more resilient, more creative, and more intentional about the kind of business and impact I wanted to build.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about M & M Golf Performance Training ?
My business is centered around helping professional athletes and everyday people move, perform, and feel better through science based strength and conditioning, mobility training, and golf performance coaching. While golf is a huge focus of my work, my overall philosophy is really about improving the human body’s ability to produce force efficiently, stay resilient, and perform at a high level for the long term.
I specialize in golf specific performance training, corrective exercise, mobility, rotational power development, injury reduction, and movement analysis. A lot of golfers spend years chasing swing changes without realizing their bodies physically cannot access the positions they’re trying to achieve. My job is to bridge that gap between the body and performance. When you improve an athlete’s movement quality, stability, sequencing, and force transfer, you can completely change their consistency, power, and longevity in the sport.
What sets me apart is that I don’t approach training from a one size fits all perspective. Every athlete moves differently, compensates differently, learns differently, and has different goals. I combine biomechanics, applied physiology, performance training, and real world coaching experience to create individualized programs that actually fit the athlete standing in front of me.
I also think my personality and coaching style are a little different than what people traditionally expect in the fitness world. I love the science side of performance, but I also believe training should feel motivating, approachable, and human. My clients are trusting me with their bodies, confidence, and goals, so building real relationships matters to me just as much as the programming itself.
Over the years, I’ve worked with everyone from beginners and junior golfers to professional athletes, including LPGA players and athletes from other professional sports. That range has helped shape my coaching style because it taught me how to communicate with and adapt to very different personalities, skill levels, and physical needs.
Brand wise, I’m probably most proud of building something that feels authentic to who I am. I never wanted to create a brand built around intimidation or unrealistic fitness culture. I wanted to create something rooted in education, performance, resilience, and helping people realize they are capable of more than they think they are physically.
I’m also proud that my business has expanded beyond just coaching sessions. Through writing, media, speaking, and content creation, I’ve been able to help educate a much broader audience on performance, mobility, recovery, and golf fitness. I contribute to outlets like Golf Digest, Golf Channel, and Avid Golfer Magazine, which has allowed me to bridge the gap between sports science and practical application for everyday athletes and golfers.
At the end of the day, I want people to know that my brand is about empowerment through movement. Whether someone is chasing professional performance goals, trying to gain swing speed, recovering from injury, or simply wanting to feel stronger and healthier, my goal is always to help them build a body that supports the life and performance they want.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
What matters most to me is helping people realize they are capable of more than they think they are, both physically and mentally. A lot of people walk through life disconnected from their bodies, stuck in pain, lacking confidence, or believing limitations about themselves that aren’t actually true. Watching someone rebuild trust in themselves through movement, performance, and discipline is probably the most rewarding part of what I do.
I also care deeply about authenticity and impact. The fitness industry can sometimes become more about aesthetics, marketing, or trends than actually helping people, and I never wanted to build a business that felt superficial or performative. I want my work to genuinely improve people’s quality of life, whether that means helping a professional athlete perform at a higher level, helping a golfer play without pain, or helping someone simply feel strong and confident again.
Education matters a lot to me too. I’m passionate about helping bridge the gap between sports science and real world application because there’s so much misinformation in both the golf and fitness spaces. I want people to better understand their bodies instead of feeling intimidated by training or overwhelmed by conflicting advice online.
Beyond work, relationships and connection matter enormously to me. Some of the best opportunities and most meaningful moments in my career have come through genuine relationships, mentorship, collaboration, and community. At the end of the day, success without people to share it with feels pretty empty.
I also think resilience matters deeply to me because so much of growth in life and business comes from learning how to adapt when things don’t go according to plan. Some of my biggest professional and personal lessons came from failure, setbacks, uncertainty, or moments where I had to rebuild and keep moving forward anyway. That perspective has shaped not only how I coach athletes, but how I approach life in general.
Ultimately, what matters most is creating a life and career that actually helps people while staying true to who I am. If people walk away from working with me feeling stronger, more capable, more educated, and more confident in themselves, then I feel like I’ve done my job well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://trainwithmara.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maramarek/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marajmarek/
- Twitter: https://x.com/maramarek
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@maramarekgolftraining
