Meet Pamela Painter of Fitness to Go!

Today we’d like to introduce you to Pamela Painter.

Pamela, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have always loved Fitness. Ever since I was a little girl, my mother worried that I spent too much time running around the perimeter of our back yard. I just wanted to see how many times I could circle it and if I could increase the time it took me. My dad worried too, because when I looked at a field I would comment to him while he was driving, “Daddy, I wonder how long it would take me to run across that field?” In grade school, I was the fastest kid in school, period. In fact, my 5th grade teacher motivated me into making better grades by saying “Pamela Rinkle (maiden name), there’s a track meet coming up and unless you bring up those grades, you can forget about participating.” Those words won my attention and motivated me into winning the 50-yard dash and the best athlete of the meet. Fitness and motivating people has always been my passion and my own motivation in life. It was the one thing I believe I excelled in. As a freshman in high school my grades kept me from being on dance team and again a coach motivated and mentored me forward. I was the only girl ever, in the history of Oliver Wendall Holmes High School to make the dance team without first being in pep squad. I had to stand outside the presentation banquet to hear I made the team. Fitness has also been my mental medicine. My wonderful father was an alcoholic and my mother suffered from mental illness, so to escape from those troubled times as a teenager, I turned to fitness. In the 70’s, girls were not encouraged in sports, like today, so I was a cheerleader…until I went to college and discovered soccer. I tried out and played for the San Antonio Women’s Soccer Association and played for the Fury. My position was left forward wing and my team mates called me their secret weapon since I was blazing fast and could kick in a goal with either my left or right foot. My major in college was kinesiology and I planned on being a coach, but life changed directions for me, at least for a while. I married my wonderful loving husband Frank Painter (41 years) and had 3 amazing children (5 grandchildren now) and put my career on the back burner. When the children were old enough, I went to work at the YMCA as the Fitness Coordinator, finally leaving there and opening up a gym across from an upscale neighborhood. One day, two ladies drove up to the gym in a red Bentley, came in sporting two decked out little doggies under the arms and said to me “We want to look like you, but we hate sweaty gyms, can you come to our homes?” That is when Fitness to Go! was born. I started going to people’s homes taking all my equipment, music, motivation and VIOLA’, everyone loved the concept and they spread the word. I started the company Fitness to Go! ® and never looked back. There has been some hic-ups along the way. My father committed suicide which left me caring for my mentally ill mother which was now in addition to being a full-time mommy and trying to be a perfect wife. I went from 115 pounds to 190 and became addicted to food. It was my comfort. Although the loss of my father was a tragedy, it helped me realize the struggles of food addiction and obesity. From those struggles I learn how to lose that weight with a program I developed The Stick to the Basics” Eating Plan®. I coined the phrase “Nothing feels better than taste”. Then in 2000, I was diagnosed with cancer. I had to undergo a radical hysterectomy. That was more than a hic-up in my life, but again this experience helped me help others. I refused to take hormones and was told that I would “dry up” and have a heart attack. Not only did that NOT happen, I pushed ahead to the best fitness level and health of my life. These are just a few of my experiences that paved the way for hiring, training, expanding the knowledge of some very special people…my Fitness to Go! ® team. I became aware that the certification programs trainers were getting were not preparing trainers to work with the public, especially clients who had special needs. I wanted a group of trainers who were the best in the industry with an unmatched reputation, which is what I have had over the 30 years I have been a trainer. That is exactly what my FTGO team has become. I am proud to say Fitness to Go! ® is expanding all over the country where I am hiring and training new team members every day. We need an army of Fitness Pros to combat the unhealthy state of our country as the confusion about Fitness and Health. I was the hostess of a radio show a few years ago that I sponsored, so people would not think that I was influenced by anyone…the name of the show was “Health and Fitness Matters”. I was a live call in show, where I answered questions and cleared up the confusion about health and fitness every Saturday morning. I loved it! Now that I’m 61, hopefully there will be another radio/TV opportunity in my future in the meantime I am working on the publishing of my Fitness Manual. Fitness to Go! ® Is my passion and my heart…My FTGO! team and I will keep marching across the country helping people work out where they feel comfortable… Fitness to Go! We come to YOU! HOME, OFFICE, EVERYWHERE!

Please tell us about Fitness to Go!
I’m a Master Fitness Specialist but with the experience I have in this field, I train all my instructors. Even though most of them have multiple certs. and/or have degrees in the field of fitness. We are mobile trainers, going to the client. Home, Office, Everywhere! Our reputation is unmatched in the industry. Fitness to Go! ® specializes in my HITT routine that I developed called HIC-UP! ® (named after all the hiccups in my life), which is a fun group training session that involves interval training…HIGH INTENSITY CARDIO-UP! I specialize in rehab and helping special population clients, such as clients who have cardiovascular disease, arthritis issues, auto-immune issues, joint replacement rehab, etc.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fitnesstogosatx.com
• Phone: 210-960-6863
• Email: fitnesstogo@hotmail.com

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