My 1:1 coaching time with Athena was SO POWERFUL!

I came into the program feeling like I was in a negativity vortex. Although before signing up for coaching I was a regular gym rat and a runner, I had put on weight, my clothes didn’t fit, and I had developed some bad eating habits. Plus my metabolism is slowing down as I get older, and it felt like everything was just spiraling out of control.

Something about Athena’s philosophy really clicked with me. We worked together to identify the issues that needed to be addressed, and we talked about solutions and then broke those solutions down into manageable goals on a weekly basis.

Athena was always accessible and willing to talk through any issues/habits/problems that came up for me. Sure enough, I began to slowly change my eating habits, lose some weight, and feel stronger and more in control of my life.

Working with Athena, I lost 15 lbs and 2 jean sizes, but MORE IMPORTANTLY, I have made changes to my lifestyle and eating habits that will stay with me for my lifetime!

I cannot recommend 1:1 coaching with Athena enough!

I initially signed up because I was looking for a lasting, long term solution to consistently eat better and exercise more regularly. Before working with Athena, my weekly routine would consist of a variety of group exercise classes and eating “healthy” Monday through Thursday. Once the weekend came, however, my entire schedule went out the window. It was a constant up and down battle, and I wasn’t seeing the fitness results I was looking for.

From day 1 with Athena, she pushed me to figure out WHY my goals of eating better and exercising more were important to me. It was through discovering this why that we were able to make a solid plan for me with realistic, yet challenging goals that I was able to stick to. For example, I had never even lifted a dumbbell before, but now I use them 3x a week and LOVE IT!

In addition to all the results I’ve seen in the weight room, with Athena’s help, my confidence and approach to life has improved immensely. I recently made a huge life change and relocated to DC after living in Boston for over 9 years. This was a BIG and SCARY change for me that I don’t think I could have done before working with Athena.

I was able to successfully navigate the difficulty and stress of this move by leveraging ALL of the techniques Athena has taught me over the years, including journaling (which is NOT as scary or foreign as it sounds), exercising consistently, fueling my body with the right types of foods, and celebrating all my successes each week.

Athena’s approach truly is holistic, and I can’t thank her enough for all of her patience and knowledge which has made me a stronger woman. If you are at all looking for a better way to increase the wellness in your life, trust Athena!

Working with Athena 1:1 was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for myself.

I always told myself that I’d sign up “one of these days” and finally told her the next time she opened up spots, to let me know and remind me that I wanted to do this.  She did and I worked with her for just under a full year.  I signed up because while I knew all the things I was supposed to be doing, I never seemed to quite get where I wanted to go. 

Having Athena take all the guesswork out of what I needed to do (and how often) let me focus on figuring out how to fit it into my busy schedule as a full time working mom of two. 

She really focused on working with the tools I had at home so I didn’t have to add “going to the gym” to my never ending to-do list.  The extra bonus was my kids got to see me taking time to workout, and even incorporated themselves into the workouts from time to time.  She helped me change my mindset from what I can’t do to what I can do, and helped me see the progress I was making even when I was focused on the pieces that weren’t quite working right.  We were working cross country from MA to WA so being able to send her videos for form checks was super helpful at first and gave me a visual record of the improvements I’d made as well. 

Her whole philosophy is how to make things work from a place of empowered decision making.  We worked together to be thoughtful about the nutrition choices I’m making and finding solutions that worked for me and my family.

 She creates a positive space full of possibilities and capabilities.  She meets you where you are, and helps you move towards where you want to be.  I’ve never felt more empowered as I did when working with her and that’s something I can take with me for the rest of my life.

I began Athena’s coaching program pretty consistent about exercise and eating decent. I was self-confident and accepting of my body but looking for change and not seeing it.

Previously I would go to the gym without a plan and default to zoning out on a cardio machine; when I began to incorporate strength training it was haphazard and I saw no results.

My motivation for working with Athena was to get myself out of “good enough” mode and start meeting my potential. I knew I needed goals and a challenge and Athena has given me that.

Athena creates workouts for me that make me excited to go to the gym. When I get to the gym I know exactly what I’m going to do. From week to week I can see and feel my progress as I get stronger and challenge myself.

She’s helped me freshen up my nutrition (plus I get lots of ideas from the women in her Empowered Together Coaching Club, an awesome perk of being a 1:1 client!), and her strategies around mindfulness have helped me to be intentional about choosing the food and beverages that I want and like while keeping in mind my long term fat loss goals.

I wasn’t looking for a complete overhaul or a diet, and Athena helped me tweak my actions and thinking in ways that work for my lifestyle and help me see change physically.”

I hired Athena to get myself back into a routine and put fitness back at the forefront of my life after I moved, lost my routine and regular class schedule, and was struggling to figure out my next step.

I did NOT expect to get out of it what I did: a completely new approach to fitness and food.

Athena asked me to give her 12 weeks and to trust the process. I trusted Athena, I did NOT trust the process, but in I went.

And it was Athena in the end, not my doctor, who was able to figure out that my approach to nutrition and fitness had not been working and why.

First, I used to be someone who took two or three Zumba classes back to back, and when I couldn’t get to a class, then I didn´t work out. I knew that I was supposed to also do strength training, but if I had to choose I would always choose cardio because I genuinely thought that’s how I would lose more weight.

Second, I have a two month period every year where things get crazy at work. This year, as I approached this busy season, I expressed to Athena how nervous I was. I had already worked so hard for 6 months with her, and I knew what summer brings for me and in my industry. It is all-consuming, 6 weeks of around-the-clock, sometimes sleepless, overwhelming insanity. And every year for me that means the same things: I stop working out because I don´t have the time or energy, and I eat whatever, whenever, or sometimes not at all.

Every year, I end summer heavier, exhausted, drained, and then it would always take me a month or two to get back to “normal.” I never lost weight because of this pattern.

Through coaching with Athena, we planned DOABLE strategies for meals, we planned when and how I would get my workouts in, how many, how much time, what to do if I was stuck in the office, what to do if I didn´t get any sleep, and she attempted to convince me that no, I would not lose the 6 months of work I had put in, and that I would survive summer. I was terrified but in we went… AND SUMMER WENT OFF WITHOUT A HITCH.

I worked out 5 times a week, I ate nutritious meals, and I took care of myself. Summer was insane, chaotic, exhausting, and nuts as it always is. It made our team shine and do their absolute best work as it always does. But this year, it didn´t happen at the expense of ME.

Before summer I had already taken my new tools, strategies, and workouts to 10 different cities, a few different countries, hotel rooms, conferences, cruise ships, and it was awesome, but summer scared the hell out of me, it was my Everest, but I made it, and at the other end of the text message was always Athena, cheering me on.

In total, I have lost over 30 pounds this year and dropped multiple sizes.
I no longer have an excuse to not exercise. It’s not all or nothing, it’s not dependent on whether or not I can make it to a class. I have SO much energy now, I am SO much stronger, I eat WAY less, and I HAVE SO MUCH FREE TIME. It’s completely counterintuitive and I still can’t believe it. But it’s working!

As a coach, Athena takes your successes and celebrates them with you. Your wins are hers too: she is always there to help and coach you on how to make things easier in order to be successful. This past year has taught me that it’s okay to admit when you need help, it’s great to be able to lean on others to help change your story. And Athena Concannon helped me change mine, 100%.

My 1:1 coaching with Athena has been eye opening! I never thought having a coach would be so valuable.

It has helped me to change my mindset on so many levels between fitness, nutrition, body awareness, and personal development.

Athena has helped me change my beliefs about myself internally and externally. As someone who has struggled with lifetime body issues, to the point where I didn’t leave my house for a while and skipped all social events, I can honestly say my mindset has finally started to change. I feel stronger, I feel more confident, and I have developed better habits overall with exercise, nutrition, and self care. It’s a work in progress, and Athena has helped me in all aspects.

In addition, my attitude has changed. I no longer have the all or nothing mentality. Athena’s tough love, encouragement, motivation, and push is exactly what I needed!! She’s always been there for me to work through a struggle or challenge as well as provide videos of exercises or alternatives for me.

With Athena’s guidance, I have made significant lifestyle changes including my exercise habits (I’m focusing more on strength training), my relationship with food and fueling my body, and my focus on body appreciation and self care. Athena is also helping me with how I respond to any negative thoughts about myself or stresses that I may have. I am down about 15 pounds and look forward to my continued journey with Athena!

I found Athena at a time in my life where I felt like everything was working against me.

My commute was long, my work hours were long, and I didn’t feel like I had any time to myself, let alone time to cook and workout every night. I had gained weight and lost confidence and became accustomed to experiencing frequent shame spirals.

After years of identifying as a high school and college athlete, I would think about getting back into running and my inner voice would tell me “wow, look how far you have fallen.”

I was engaged, a year out from our wedding and instead of feeling excited to find my dress, all I could think was “what happened to me?”

I came across Athena’s page and couldn’t stop reading about her coaching program. I knew I had reached a point of such overwhelm that I was going to need help putting the pieces back together. And that’s exactly what we did.

Athena started by helping me look at the big picture and identify what things I could take off my plate in order to feel less stressed.

She helped me be kind to myself and meet myself where I was, instead of shaming myself for not being where I used to be.

She helped me put into words the reasons WHY working out and eating food that served me was important.

Turns out, it was never about losing weight just to look good. It was always about feeling good in my own body and having a strong sense of self that let me rise above the day-to-day obstacles and stress that comes my way. It was about operating out of a place of self love and looking for the opportunities in the day instead of focusing on what had to be done. It was about showing up as the best version of myself in all of my relationships.

Through her coaching on mindset shifts and custom workouts that make me feel strong AF, I finally have my feet back on solid ground. What Athena truly gave me were the tools to take back my own power.

After working with Athena, it is clear that I have gained so much more than I have lost. My 17 pounds lost does feel incredible, but what feels even better is my confidence level, the way I show up for myself and in relationships, and knowing I am in control of my own story.

I began working with Athena after my second child stopped nursing.  Life was different with two children, and the previous ways I had lost weight in the past were no longer possible.

I had a different job that included a longer commute and evening conference calls. Two kids now needed my attention instead of one. I was also a few years older so things weren’t “bouncing back” like I might have wished.

I knew I wasn’t living my best life. I wished my body was a different shape. I knew what I needed to do in theory, but starting that journey felt overwhelming.

This is when I connected with Athena!  She helped me easily establish things that felt manageable for ME.

She set me up with effective workouts that could be done in my basement within 30 minutes. It was harder to make excuses with convenience like that!

She helped me learn to eat mindfully, with more veggies that felt do-able with my already jam-packed life.

We also worked on me letting go of feeling undeserving and unworthy, to shifting to a healthy frame of mind that I do deserve this, and that exercise doesn’t have to be punishment!

What does life look like now? I feel good from when I wake up to falling asleep (on most days anyways, I’m still human!).  I can now eat cake and pizza with my kids and not feel guilty, because I’ve planned for it and ate mindfully earlier that day OR because I’m living in the moment and now trust that one meal like that won’t derail anything. I workout because I GET to, not because I have to.  And if I’m having a day when I’m not feeling it, I consider what movement would be exciting – and then I do it.

I’ve learned that it’s ok to take time for myself, because I can’t pour from an empty cup and I’m a better mom, wife, person because of it.

Working with Athena has been a huge game changer for me! All my life, I’ve been “the bigger girl,” and I have tried every diet known to man. Nothing stuck for me, and I wanted something that would work for me long term, especially since I had my wedding come up. My best friend had worked with Athena for a few years, and after hearing how she had helped her, I knew I owed it to myself to give Athena’s coaching programs a try.

During my 1:1 time with Athena, she was always there for me when I needed her, whether it was to do a form check for a new exercise I was trying for the first time, to help guide through a challenging situation in terms of food, or when the guilt took over! After the first few weeks, I quickly learned that the work that needed to be done FIRST wasn’t the fat loss, but the mental piece. After years of dieting, and absorbing all of the diet culture, I needed to learn how to neutralize food, how to remove guilt around food, and how to detach emotion from food. I also focused on not exercising in order to eat later! I needed to learn to work out because I wanted to for my body. This work took a few months, but it was so worth it!

In addition, I was able to work with Athena on a fitness plan that I could do with knee injuries that required upcoming surgery and that kept me sidelined from running (my favorite!). With Athena’s help, I learned my way confidently around the weight room and was able to stay consistent through the knee issues. My customized plan taught me so many new things to use and try in order to a) get stronger, and b) help me return to running.

My coaching program started in July, and it ended right after my wedding and honeymoon in October. Since then, I have been a part of Athena’s Empowered Together Coaching Club to continue my journey. I no longer look at food as good or bad, it just is food! Since overcoming some of the mental obstacles around food, my focus has now turned to fat loss, which Athena is helping me with now that I’m in a better mindset! I have an arsenal of workouts that work for me and a routine of when I do them. I set weekly goals to stay on top of veggies, protein and water intake, along with movement outside of my scheduled workout time.

If you’re looking for a long-term program, and want to invest in yourself, work with Athena. Set up that first call, send that email. It’s absolutely worth the investment!

I never imagined having a virtual coach, but I am so happy I invested my time, money, and energy into Athena’s program.

Her incredible knowledge, honesty, patience, kindness, and everything she stands for are things that are hard to find in the fitness world, so I could not pass up the opportunity.

I lost 18 pounds working with Athena, but more importantly, I have gained an immeasurable amount of knowledge on health, nutrition, fitness, and self-care that I will take with me for the rest of my life.

One of the biggest dial-movers for me was realizing that I have always had the tools I need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Athena simply helped me bring them to the forefront and learn how to prioritize what is important to me.

I know my weight loss is something that I will MAINTAIN and keep working at because I did not participate in some crazy fad diet where I will gain it all back.
I have now developed a lifestyle where meal-prepping, eating healthy, exercising, sleep patterns, and self-care are all pieces of a bigger puzzle that has so much more to it than a number on the scale!

During one of my last 1:1 coaching calls with Athena we discussed how much I have changed across the board in a year: not only physically, but mentally and emotionally.

The girl who signed up 16 weeks ago? Green and nervous. The girl I am now? Strong, confident, healthy, knowledgeable, and HAPPY! I think I will stick with her.

Athena, you have changed my life in so many ways and I could never put a price tag on it. THANK YOU for bringing out the girl I am now!