Strength & Fitness Coaching Coming Soon! For Social Workers & Therapists
Who The Hell Am I?
My Story
Hi, I’m Justin! I’m a licensed clinical social worker and therapist in Michigan who decided it was time to reclaim my health and feel at home in my body again. For five years, I poured everything I had into advancing my career, building a private practice, and growing a successful business. I was thriving professionally, but my body was paying the price. Comfort eating, trading workouts for post-work doom scrolling, and constantly pushing myself to achieve more led to significant weight gain, worsening chronic pain, persistent fatigue, and shortness of breath. Even bringing in the groceries became so exhausting that I had to plan when I would get them into the house.
At the beginning of 2025 between my binge eating challenges, and my own more interpersonal challenges when it came to managing ADHD, Autism, and Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), I decided to kickstart this change. I simply wanted to be healthier before my daughter was born. Between working with a dietitian and several therapists, over the course of 18 months my ARFID became a lot more manageable! At the beginning of 2026, I decided to become more active again to help not only with my strength but with my chronic pain. I ended up losing around 35 lbs, over 10% of my highest bodyweight, by the Summer of 2026. I also started lifting heavier than I ever have before, ran my first 5k race in 7 years, and I do not feel breathless after taking a walk around the block now!
Some of the story is unique to me, but the part that is not is the chronic pain, fatigue, and even breathlessness that many social workers and therapists face because they have given themselves and their bodies to the career. Sitting still with clients for hours on end does not help our bodies one bit, and then going home to not be active at all adds to it. The chronic pain and fatigue catches up to us eventually in the career, often becoming spacey in sessions or feeling discomfort while sitting that it is hard to focus on the session.
Who I Help
I help social workers and therapists increase their energy, decrease their chronic pain, and improve their overall cardiovascular and strength health/abilities to help them become better social workers, and more importantly to live a happier life outside of the chair!
My ultimate goal is to get you to double (or even) triple your daily activity, feel better in the body you have, live a happier life, AND do it all while loving being active! YES, you too can love being active even if you "have been this way my whole life".
My Qualifications
I have worked in the social work field for more than 10 years, which is exactly why I chose to serve therapists and other helping professionals. I understand the unique pressures of this work because I have experienced them personally—the long days, emotional exhaustion, compassion fatigue, and struggle to prioritize your own well-being while caring for everyone else.
In addition to my education and experience as a therapist, I have spent the past decade incorporating exercise and movement-based strategies into my clinical work. I also have extensive experience supporting neurodivergent individuals and people affected by addiction and binge-eating disorder. To further strengthen my knowledge and skills, I am currently completing my personal trainer certification through the National Exercise & Sports Trainers Association (NESTA).
My Approach
ONE change
Body & Weight Neutrality
Body & Weight Neutrality
Whatever your specific Fitness or health goal is, we are going to start out by focusing on ONE specific change to your daily life. Whether that is moving more between sessions, adding a simple low prep protein source to your day, or something else we will just add ONE thing to your daily life that you are already living for your first 1-3 months.
Body & Weight Neutrality
Body & Weight Neutrality
Body & Weight Neutrality
We are going to think of the changes to our body and weight simply as either information and data or as something not powerful. We will celebrate them if that is helpful, but otherwise if focusing on them increases anxiety and limits progress we are just going to look at them as little things that exist and nothing more. Much like when y
We are going to think of the changes to our body and weight simply as either information and data or as something not powerful. We will celebrate them if that is helpful, but otherwise if focusing on them increases anxiety and limits progress we are just going to look at them as little things that exist and nothing more. Much like when you are home during a thunderstorm, you either notice it or don't pay attention to it but you do not have to go out of your way to go fight off the thunderstorm; you won't win!
Strength Training
Body & Weight Neutrality
Behavioral Activation
My one non-negotiable is you WILL be strength training! You will be lifting weights and moving heavy shit! We will accommodate your workout plan based on your disabilities if these apply, but we will find a way to get you to strength train. Even if you are wanting to get into Marathon running, which for the record I AM NOT SO HAVE FUN BY
My one non-negotiable is you WILL be strength training! You will be lifting weights and moving heavy shit! We will accommodate your workout plan based on your disabilities if these apply, but we will find a way to get you to strength train. Even if you are wanting to get into Marathon running, which for the record I AM NOT SO HAVE FUN BY YOURSELF (LOL), you will still be lifting heavy shit in my program. Prolonged sitting and a lack of physical movement increase the risk of developing low bone density and osteoporosis over time, and therapists/social workers are at risk of this significantly as they get older! Strength training and lifting will help!
Behavioral Activation
Short Coaching Sessions By Design
Behavioral Activation
Behavioral activation is at the heart of my coaching approach because meaningful change begins by taking action even when motivation has not arrived yet. The PAM Method and CLEAR Framework are original tools I created using psychological principles and strategies from CBT, DBT, motivational interviewing, and other therapeutic approaches.
Behavioral activation is at the heart of my coaching approach because meaningful change begins by taking action even when motivation has not arrived yet. The PAM Method and CLEAR Framework are original tools I created using psychological principles and strategies from CBT, DBT, motivational interviewing, and other therapeutic approaches. We will use the PAM Method to move beyond overthinking and the CLEAR Framework to recognize and overcome patterns of self-sabotage, helping you make clearer decisions, build consistent habits, and create a fitter life. To get the most from this approach, I highly recommend reading my book, Think Later and Live Now, Edition 2: Three Steps for Successful Overthinkers and the CLEAR Path to Better Decision-Making and Beating Self-Sabotaging Behavior.
Radical Acceptance
Short Coaching Sessions By Design
Short Coaching Sessions By Design
Radical acceptance is a concept drawn from Dialectical Behavior Therapy that helps us acknowledge life as it currently is even when the reality genuinely sucks. It does not mean liking, approving of, or giving up on your situation; it means recognizing the hand you have been dealt without wasting energy fighting the fact that it exists.
Radical acceptance is a concept drawn from Dialectical Behavior Therapy that helps us acknowledge life as it currently is even when the reality genuinely sucks. It does not mean liking, approving of, or giving up on your situation; it means recognizing the hand you have been dealt without wasting energy fighting the fact that it exists. Once we radically accept where we are starting, we can use that energy to make realistic changes, work with our current circumstances, and begin building a healthier and fitter life.
Short Coaching Sessions By Design
Short Coaching Sessions By Design
Short Coaching Sessions By Design
Through my work as a therapist, I have found that shorter, focused sessions are often more valuable than traditional hour-long appointments, which is why each coaching session will last no longer than 30 minutes. Clients can sometimes overthink their challenges, overestimate the power of existing barriers, or create new barriers that wer
Through my work as a therapist, I have found that shorter, focused sessions are often more valuable than traditional hour-long appointments, which is why each coaching session will last no longer than 30 minutes. Clients can sometimes overthink their challenges, overestimate the power of existing barriers, or create new barriers that were not originally present. Keeping our sessions intentionally brief helps us stay focused on practical solutions and meaningful action rather than overthinking the process.
My Books
Think Later & Live Now: Three Steps To Success For Overthinkers
Life Has No Purpose & Then You Die: How To Stop Overthinking So You Can Start Living
Life Has No Purpose & Then You Die: How To Stop Overthinking So You Can Start Living
Think Later & Live Now teaches readers how to break out of overthinking through the PAM Method—Pause, Affirm, Move—grounded in research from neuroscience, biology, kinesiology, and evidence-based therapeutic approaches such as CBT, DBT, and solution-focused brief therapy. It gives readers practical, brain-based tools to calm their nervou
Think Later & Live Now teaches readers how to break out of overthinking through the PAM Method—Pause, Affirm, Move—grounded in research from neuroscience, biology, kinesiology, and evidence-based therapeutic approaches such as CBT, DBT, and solution-focused brief therapy. It gives readers practical, brain-based tools to calm their nervous system, interrupt spirals, and take confident, meaningful action in their daily lives.
Life Has No Purpose & Then You Die: How To Stop Overthinking So You Can Start Living
Life Has No Purpose & Then You Die: How To Stop Overthinking So You Can Start Living
Life Has No Purpose & Then You Die: How To Stop Overthinking So You Can Start Living
Life Has No Purpose and Then You Die challenges traditional ideas about meaning, success, and purpose, showing readers how to create their own direction instead of waiting for life to make sense. It’s a guide to living more freely, thinking less fearfully, and embracing the messy, unpredictable parts of being human.
Hire A Coach, Not A Tutor: For ADHDers In Their 20s
Life Has No Purpose & Then You Die: How To Stop Overthinking So You Can Start Living
Hire A Coach, Not A Tutor: For ADHDers In Their 20s
Hire a Coach, Not a Tutor helps ADHD young adults understand why coaching—not traditional tutoring—is the key to building independence, confidence, and academic or career success. It focuses on executive functioning skills, accountability, and real-world support to help readers thrive beyond the classroom.