Meet Lauren Watson of Southern Belle Trainer

Lauren, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.

Ever since I was a little girl, I loved being physically active and going to the gym. Some of my best memories are regularly tagging along with my mom to her step aerobics and body sculpting classes at the YMCA, or doing her Sunny Omartian aerobics workout videos at home for fun. My mom, a trauma nurse, was always teaching us about the human body along with all her wild nursing stories from her work at Parkland Hospital. This really sparked my interest with the human body and how it works.

I pursued my degree in health education and spent a lot of time studying nutrition. While in college, I married my husband who was a very passionate and disciplined weightlifter. We were a great match- I had our diet on point and he began to introduce me to the other side of the gym – the weights. Back then, you hardly ever saw women off the treadmills and ellipticals and into the male-dominated weighted area. Women were scared of getting “too muscular” and thought that hours of cardio was the best way to get lean and stay lean. At this point, I piddled around with the weights but was still very intimidated by them. Unfortunately, same old basic cardio was not achieving the results as they once did in my younger years.

With the help of my husband, I forced myself to get better acquainted with weights and other forms of resistance training. I worked with numerous personal trainers and bodybuilders and Pilates instructors who taught me proper form and new techniques. I also learned how much fun it is to explore outside of the typical trainer’s text book and experiment with my own creativity in designing new moves specifically gearing toward women and their problem areas.  I poured over books and articles and watched workouts online. My love for resistance training was in full force working with kettle bells, TRX straps and sliders etc…

After two pregnancies, I was determined to not let the busyness that life brings with 2 beautiful babies be an excuse to let my physical state go down the tubes. I wanted to be a healthy and strong mom. I worked out (with my doctor’s blessing) during both pregnancies and I felt the most fit I ever had. Although I had not gained an enormous amount of weight, I found it extremely difficult to get the baby weight off after birth. This again led me to more experimentation and studying of postnatal exercise and nutrition. I transformed my workouts as well as my body! Who would have thought I would be in the best shape of my life in my 30’s after having two babies?!! Strangers and friends alike were constantly asking me to train them and for nutrition help.

For 5 years I trained people on the side (for free) with great results and I had a blast doing it! After years of encouragement from my husband, friends and “clients”, I decided to take the plunge in starting my own business as Southern Belle Trainer. Since then, I have had the privilege to train numerous women of all different ages and physical backgrounds. I am truly blessed that I get to educate women on how their body works through nutrition and various styles exercise. The journey I take with them is priceless and the relationships I walk away with are the icing on the cake!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion
No, to be honest, I faced a lot of fear along the way. Fear that training on my own and not for a corporate gym would be unsuccessful. Fear that no one would want to train between 7 am and 5 pm. Fear that I wasn’t knowledgeable enough. I am so glad that I did not succumb to those voices of fears! In fact, I wish I had pursued it much sooner!

We’d love to hear more about your business.
I specialize in training women. I know through experience the physical, hormonal, and metabolic challenges there are to staying healthy and accomplishing goals of feeling comfortable in your skin.

I am particularly known for my ability to sculpt legs and booty.

What set me apart as a trainer, is my versatility in effective styles of workout and being able to customize a work out to the individual woman. Everyone’s body responds differently to exercise and nutrition- one size does not fit all. Unlike corporate gyms who typically offer the cookie cutter workouts to everyone, I like to tailor mine to each woman. I also know that the privacy of my training removes the obstacle of intimidation by onlookers found at big gyms.

What were you like growing up?
Friendly but slightly introverted (still am). Being the oldest of five kids, I was a caretaker – always eager to help. Like I mentioned in the previous section, I was, as my whole family, very physically active. I loved going to the gym with my mom and my four younger siblings. I also loved reading and studying and immersing myself in the latest science.