My name is Kali. I graduated from Northern Illinois University with a Bachelor’s in Art and a marketing minor, married my best friend, and got diagnosed with POTS syndrome in 2023. You could say it was a big year for me. This past year, I completed my ISSA Certified Personal Training (CPT) Certification with the goal to help others like me.

I’m 27 years old and have a few challenges in life that have kept me from pursuing what I really want - a normal(ish) life. And while it’s fun to tell people that I can throw my “pancreas” (read as: Insulin Pump) at people on a string (the cord connecting it to my body), it can be really frustrating, too.

I’ve dealt with chronic illness in one form or another since childhood - and some since birth. Between Type 1 Diabetes, hypermobility pain, my newly-diagnosed POTS symptoms, and more, it can be easy to fall into a dejected and depressed mindset.

When I was 18, I joined a small family-run fitness gym. At the time, I was newly out of high school and not feeling very confident in my ability to take care of myself, especially since some of my conditions weren’t diagnosed yet. I just felt bad all the time, in pain, confused, and feeling very alone with these feelings.

At this gym, the coaches were kind, helpful, and were more excited about fitness than I could remember being about anything. They inspired me to look at what science - and not Instagram or influencers - were saying about the body and how basic fitness principles could help everyone - including someone like me!

During my time there, I fell in love with picking up heavy things and putting them back down again. The coaches cheered me on and fostered a huge love for the fitness industry that always seemed to stay strong, no matter how sad or discouraged I felt. There was always one more rep, one more step, one more set.

After a couple of years, the gym shut down and I was devastated.

My support network that I’d come to rely on wouldn’t be around much longer. So, in finding another gym, and different trainers, I also found something else: no one really knew how to actually help me lift while dealing with my pain and sometime-limitations that went along with living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), POTS, and T1D.

I soon quit that gym and trying to find a trainer to help me reach my goals. But I didn’t quit training.

I joined yet another gym. I was going to train myself and play trial-and-error to see what worked and what didn’t, with the help of a gymnast/weight-lifter boyfriend-now-husband.

It was humbling at times. It was empowering at times. And it hurt a lot of the time.

But I never stopped seeing progress, even in times of pain and in times of power. And while I’m still not as healthy as someone without these things, I at least feel physically able more than I ever have before.

This “Theory” that I propose comes from a place of science:

1. No human body is the same; we all have different specific needs*

2. Every human body benefits from being stronger and more active, even if there’s pain to go along with it in the short-run**

I can’t promise there won’t be pain. I can’t promise this will solve every problem you ever have. All I can promise is that I’ll do my best to help you and to meet you where you’re at.

Together, let’s use your power at your pace to find your progress.

We’ve got this. Let’s break the cycle.

— K.