Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Pilling.
Anna, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
When I went off to college, I had a pretty clear vision of what I wanted my career to look like one day. I loved health and fitness and I had a passion for helping other women, so I knew I wanted to combine the two in some form or fashion.
I graduated with a B.S. degree in Kinesiology from Dallas Baptist University with a minor in Management. For a whole year leading up to graduation, I had been working at Larry North Fitness in Dallas and commuting back and forth. I really poured everything I had into that year as it was my first real job as a trainer. I would wake up way before the sun came up, pack up all my meals for the day, grab a change of clothes and drive out to Dallas and start training by 5 am.
As a trainer at that gym, you were responsible for making the calls, sending out emails, meeting members on the floor, and building your clientele. I would train all hours of the day, drive back home after the sun went down and go to bed so I could be back up there early the next morning.
I grew so much that first year and was promoted to Assistant Fitness Director, taking on a management role at LNF. By the time graduation rolled around, I had a booked schedule and moved out to Dallas to be closer to the gym. I met my now husband, Austin shortly after graduation. Little did I know I would marry one of the new trainers hired on at the gym!
Austin and I were married in the fall of 2014 and continued to work together at LNF. We had talked several times about wanting to start our own business one day and in the meantime, I started the Equipping Strength Blog. Several months later we decided to leave our jobs at the gym and take a leap of faith on our own.
A little over three years later and I believe that was the best decision for us. Last Christmas, we bought a house and my biggest dream came to life. I had been wanting to have my own workout studio from home and so Austin, being the best husband he is, made it happen! I currently train out of our renovated garage gym and it’s so much fun! My clientele is mostly female of all ages and fitness levels and I work with quite a bit of mom around the East Dallas area.
I can confidently say I love my job! I am so passionate about helping women find beauty in their strength and feel confident like they can conquer anything that comes their way. The way I train my clients is with a focus on getting stronger, setting goals, and making changes that lead them to a life that is sustainable and realistic for them.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Definitely not! I had to work my butt off to get to the point where I am at today. When I first started training, it wasn’t easy. Waking up at 4 am back in college so I could get up and drive 30min to the gym, wasn’t easy. I had to say no to a lot of things, so I could put the energy into building my business.
Having the schedule of a fitness professional is a lot different than the typical Mon-Fri 9-5 job. We are up before the average person and usually still working after people are clocked out for the day. I have been able to set boundaries when it comes to my schedule these days, but when I was first starting out, I took whatever I could get.
If someone wanted to come in on Saturday, I would be there! If I had a 5 am client and then someone wanted to come in at 7 pm that night, I would stay late. I catered to my clients and put all my energy and effort into encouraging, motivating, teaching, and instructing.
The work we put into our clients isn’t just in that hour they are with us. And I can’t speak for all trainers and coaches out there, but Austin and I definitely use our “in between clients” time to write out our client’s training programs, sending emails, writing out nutrition plans, etc.
And all this to say… I wouldn’t have it any other way. I truly love what I do because I know I have been given an opportunity to truly impact somebody’s life.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Equipping Strength story. Tell us more about the business.
Equipping Strength is based on the idea that we want to help others and “Equip you with STRENGTH.” Physical strength, mental strength, emotional strength. These are all tied together and are all very crucial for growth and change.
We specialize in one-on-one training but we also offer buddy training and small group training. We design programs individually for each one of our clients, but all our clients do similar things. Our focus is to get our clients stronger and moving better so that they can feel better, avoid any potential injuries, and even address any injuries they might have.
We have all our clients performing a variation of a squat, deadlift, press, and a pull. For example, barbell squat, barbell deadlift, pull-up, push-up. Compound exercises such as these work for multiple muscle groups at once and are the “bread and butter” of the workout regimen. We focus on getting our clients stronger at the main exercises and add in what we call accessory exercises (lunges, glute bridges, curls, etc.) to create greater volume to their workouts and isolate certain muscle groups.
What sets us apart from others is that we are constantly learning and getting our knowledge from science-based evidence, rather than the ever-changing whats “in” today and “out” tomorrow hodgepodge you might find in fitness magazines and catchy news headlines.
And most importantly, how I approach my female clients and the message I try and get across to them, is that they are beautiful the way God created them! I don’t want anyone of my female clients to feel like they have to change something on their body to be worthy. I really preach a healthy and sustainable way of balancing exercise and nutrition with one’s lifestyle. You won’t ever see me pushing “quick fixes” because I know those never turn out well in the end.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I’m not sure I believe in luck! I am a Christian and thank God each day for the blessings He has poured out over my life. You have all these plans for your life and then God blesses you with something bigger than you could have dreamt up. With that being said, I also believe that without all the hard work I put in, I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am or be who I am today.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://equippingstrength.com
- Email: equippingstrength@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/equippingstrength/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/equippingstrength/
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