Hey y’all, I’m Brittany from Sweet Home Alabama! 🎵
I grew up as an active child & athlete but in my teens, experienced a lot of loss & fell into deep sadness — I gained 80 pounds by my early twenties & was extremely unhealthy — physically, emotionally, & mentally.
At 23 years old, I was caring for my Daddy who was 53 with stage 4 colon cancer — I was eating the most unhealthy foods, never slept, never drank water or moved my body & lived off of pure anxiety hype. I would become winded climbing the 4 stairs in to our home & could hardly cope with life.
The year following his death, I had our first daughter & the following year, our twins. Yes — three under two. It was wild & I decided that I wanted to be healthier for them — to be able to keep up with my new life & be around for them as long as possible. I also needed a healthy outlet & for the new season of life that I was in, with different stress than I’d ever experienced.
I had tried “getting healthy” before & always failed. So, I started simple — I downloaded a free “Couch to 5k” app & told myself that if I stuck with that for the recommended 6 weeks, that I would allow myself a gym membership. I also started drinking water for the first time in my life & being more mindful of what I ate. 🌅
I will NEVER forget that first “run”… oh, I use that term VERY loosely. 1 minute of running followed by 1 & a half minutes of walking. 🥵
I couldn’t do it.
I was wheezing.
I was SO discouraged... embarrassed.
But something snapped this time — I reminded myself of all the hard things that I’d done before, women do hard things ALL THE TIME — college, a competitive internship, the unimaginable losses, a twin pregnancy, raising 3 under 2...
This time, I didn’t get defeated.
I got determined.
And I never looked back. 👊
That was 8 years ago.
I’ve since lost 90 pounds & kept it off — the same consistent way I did it in the beginning — never over restrictive or radical, just choosing a little healthIER foods & moving my body in workouts I enjoy!
A little, a little at a time, adds up to a lot!
It’s INSANE to say that my life is now completely consumed by fitness — & I *love* it! The girl I was at 24 would never believe this.
I am a group fitness instructor & homeschool Pe coach at my local recreation center, personal trainer, lead an online fitness community (started during the 2020 shutdown & now ladies all over the world join us for workouts, healthIER family friendly meal plans, & daily accountability), a youth league basketball coach, & I organize/train ladies’ obstacle course race (OCR) teams! 💪
I’m passionate about women feeling their best & believe that bleeds over into every avenue of their lives in a positive way — helping them reach THEIR goals while maintaining a healthy balance within their LIFE. I believe every woman can move their body in a wise & fun way for them AND that no woman should starve themselves — we can find that personalized balance!
What started as getting healthier for my daughters has led me to SUCH fulfillment in what I get to do every day, the women I get to work with, the opportunities I’m allowed to be apart of like being a MudGirl Ambassador, the life that I get to live in how my body AND mind operates, & the healthy example that I get to live out for my girls! Watching my Daddy take his last breath has made me exceptionally aware of the gift of my own.
These days, my girls have to work to keep up with me — not the other way around.
Since becoming healthier, I fell in love with OCR’s — in 2019, I completed a Spartan Trifecta. My daughters, who are now 10 & 8, completed the kids Spartan on their own but will ALL be joining me for MudGirl this year — I cannot WAIT to run alongside them! I think back to the moments when I was “learning” to run, they would ride their power wheels alongside me or I’d push them in the triple stroller — barely making it… those are memories I’m so grateful for & we get to keep making new memories like this together! 👩👧👧
I’ve managed ladies-only OCR teams for years — bringing my largest team of over 60 ladies last year to MudGirl! I love when first timers cross the finish line — they’re NEVER the same! It’s so emotional for me because as women, we pour into so many other peoples’ lives — & to see these women experience something so empowering personally & have their cups refilled — it really is special!
Thank you, MudGirl, for letting me share my story, for giving us ladies a safe place to have fun while also challenging us — if it doesn’t challenge us, it doesn’t change us — here’s to a great & powerful year of MudGirl! ❤️
Strong women — may we know them, may we raise them, may we be them!
Feel free to friend/follow on all of my socials:
FB: Brittany Prater Olson
IG: BrittanyPraterOlson