ACE certified personal trainer

Leila Harper lightening bolt

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About Leila

If you are interested in losing fat, gaining lean muscle or simply getting healthier overall, call for your free phone consultation today! My approach is a holistic one that focuses on educating you on how to get stronger, balanced and connect mind/body/spirit. I specialize in women's health, corrective exercise, fat loss, strength training, ELDOA Spinal method, Myofascial stretch/flexibility, nutritional counselling, stress management, relieving back pain and strengthening the core. Pre and post natal exericse as well as training with your hormonal cycles rather than against them. Menses cycles and when they stop during menopause. There are specific times that are best to train for high intensity or strenght alone.


 


Before an individualized exercise program can be properly designed a full postual, core, movement & flexibility assessment is done in order to find any muscular imbalances that may need to be addressed in your program. Throwing a bunch of exercises at a person will only lead to faulty movement patterns and injuries. Stress is the number one killer in this day and age and exercising to exhaustion can add to that stress by releasing more stress hormones and putting you in a catabolic state or tissue breakdown. Exercise should be anabolic or build you up so that you create nice lean muscle, feel better, have more energy, improve sleep quality and overall quality of life. If your exercise program is suited to your body's stress levels you will be successful.


 


I specialize in correcting imbalances, strengthening the whole body, correcting spinal dysfunction, functional training, corrective exercise, core strength, lifestyle & nutrition coaching as well as, helping you to gain a better understanding of how your body's many systems work together as one organic unit to keep you healthy and thriving. 


My favorite client story

I had a client in Chicago who had Fibromyalgia and wanted to lose 40 pounds. We worked together for about a year and she worked very hard to reach your goals. She changed her lifestyle and eating habits to do so. She would come to me some days in pain and feeling really tired but would still want to do some kind of workout so I'd give her more of a 'workin' program for that day, something less intense. She reached her goals and to this day has kept it off by living a healthy lifestyle based on what I taught her. It really rewarding to see her so happy & am grateful I was able to help her on her way to living a more fit and healthy life.

My favorite exercise

I don't really have just one favorite, I love movement and enjoy learning new modalities of exercise. I love exploring how my body responds to it and learning about where my own blockages are to release them and get stronger. The human body is incredible and will heal given the right tools. With that said, I do enjoy pull-ups and sprints because I feel strong and they are body good for total body but in different ways. They both also require core strength and they really strengthen your core the best way possible.

My favorite quote

"Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience"

My training philosophy

Before an individualized exercise program can be properly designed a full assessment is done in order to find any muscular imbalances that may need to be corrected and included in the program so that you don't get injured. Mobility is so important and is the pillar to any good program. If you don't move well and start doing a bunch of hardcore workouts you'll just create more disfunction and then get injured. Throwing a bunch of random exercises at a person will only lead to faulty movement patterns and injuries if a proper assessment isn't done first.

Stress is the number one killer in this day and age and exercising to exhaustion can add to that stress by releasing more stress hormones and putting you in a catabolic state or muscle breakdown. Exercise should be anabolic or build you up so that you create nice lean muscle, feel better, have more energy, improve sleep quality and overall quality of life. If your exercise program is suited to your body's stress levels you will be successful.

I specialize in functional training, corrective exercise, ELDOA spinal method, myofascial stretch/mobility, core strength, lifestyle & nutrition coaching as well as, educating you to gain a better understanding of how your body's many systems work together as one organic unit. That is the holistic approach.

My training experience

When I earned my Bachelor of Science degree in Health Education at the University of New Mexico in 2002 and worked many years performing health assessments, education, research, and disease analysis related to health care in the community, I realized a compassion for patients who suffered physically and emotionally from health-related traumas. There I gradually discovered how these patients come to grips with their response mechanisms to external influences, which facilitates improvement in health. I also discovered that many of their diseases and health related problems could easily be resolved with proper nutrition and exercise. I realized at a very young age how perseverance and dedication through physical endurance can help one with self-worth, self-esteem and confidence to be a productive member of society and I had a passion to want to help others do the same. Perhaps for these reasons did I continue educating myself in health care, obtain a certificate as a Personal Trainer, and work with one of the top training agencies in Chicago. A few years later I moved to South Florida and gained more education through the C.H.E.K Institute and with Dr. Guy Voyer DO in the ELDOA spinal method. I also worked with a brilliant C.H.E.K staff educator who is also one of the best Physical Therapists I've seen.

As a holistic trainer, I have helped clients from many walks of life in Chicago, Ft. Lauderdale, Pasadena, and now Austin, Texas areas to achieve healthier states of being through exercise and dietary programs. The sense of personal satisfaction in seeing my clients lose body fat, straighten their spinal dysfunctions like scoliosis, improve self-esteem, overcome vertigo, bipolar disorders, rehab injuries, or fibromyalgia, and gain a heightened sense of awareness fuels my continuing interest in how nutrition and movement affect the human body. Truly it's incredible!

Areas of Expertise

  • Core and Balance
  • Strength Training
  • Weight Loss
  • Functional Training
  • Flexibility and Mobility
  • Muscular Definition
  • Muscle Gain
  • Posture
  • TRX
  • Myofascial Release
  • Cardiovascular Conditioning
  • Cross Training
  • Injury Prevention
  • Stress Reduction
  • Wellness
  • Corrective Exercise

NCCA Accredited Certifications

ace certification ACE Certified Personal Trainer

Additional Certifications

CHEK Level 1, MYOFASCIAL STRETCH, SOMA GOLF, ANIMAL FLOW L2, TRX Certified Suspension Trainer, ELDOA Trainer, CHEK Exercise Coach, Pre/Post-Natal, Older Adult Strength Specialist

Education

Bachelor of Science

Who I Especially Like Working With

Beginners, Cancer Survivors, Men, Peri/Post-menopausal, Post-rehab, Pre/post-natal, Rehab, Seniors, Women

Medical Conditions Experience

Anxiety, Arthritis, Autoimmune Diseases, Back Pain/Issues, Bad Posture, Bone/Joint Injury, Breast Cancer, Depression, Diabetes, Fibromyalgia, Golfers Elbow, Hamstring Issues, Headaches/Migraines, Hernia, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, Hip Pain/Issues, Hypothyroidism, Joint Pain, Knee Pain/Issues, Limited Mobility, Lower Body Pain/Issues, Menopause, Metabolic Dysfunction, Neck Pain, Osteoporosis, Piriformis Syndrome, Plantar fasciitis, Postural Issues, Prediabetes, Pregnancy, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Rotator Cuff Issues, Sciatica, Scoliosis, Shoulder Issues, Sleep Apnea, Stress, Tennis Elbow, TMJ

Training Areas Served

In-home or Outdoor Training

2745 Bee Caves Road

Austin, TX 78716

Session Surcharge: $25

Gym Membership Needed!

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