What are you most passionate about and how does it relate to your business?
That's an easy answer.......cycling! "When we ride our bikes we look forward. Ahead we see challenges where we use our bikes to create opportunity in the form of confidence, strength, and health. On the bike we are free to go anywhere we want and become who we want to be. The bike is the tool for transformation of the soul to a better place and to discover personal transformation." -Tom Danielson (my Coach). This quote says exactly what the bike does for me and how I transfer that to my work with my clients. How can I expect my clients to overcome adversity and achieve their goals if I cant do it for myself? Whether it's mindset, adversity, fitness, or terrain.......I don't give up. I fight until the end. All in. I give that level of coaching to my clients......I pave them a road to their goals and I am by their side every step of the way. Every time I get on the bike, I strive to overcome challenges whether it's fitness, execution, nutrition, or chasing mountain passes and impossible terrain conditions, or watts. No matter how difficult, ......I seek it, fight for it, and achieve it. Perseverance, consistency, courage, heart and soul, hard work......and grit!

What led you to your current profession?
I was a biology major in college (pre-med), and was already running my own personal training business out of the studio/gym where I taught taebo. I took exercise physiology my senior year, and absolutely fell in love with it. So I decided to add on kinesiology as a second major and stayed a 5th year to finish that. So when I graduated with two degrees, I decided I didnt want to go to school anymore and really just wanted to personal train people. And 25 years later, here we still are!

What's your superpower?
I have an eye for detail and are super strict on form........but I have a unique ability to be able to push people in a way that is just right.......and I GET PEOPLE TO THEIR GOALS (while teaching them how to maintain them). I think improving someone's quality of life is a gift that few people can actually do.

What's your favorite thing about what you do?
Being able to give someone life......a much higher quality......is like saving their life! I can't tell you how many people in my 25 years of personal training, have cried because they achieved something they never thought they could. And their gratefulness for that, and me being the one to give them that, is just priceless.

How have your perceptions of life changed as you got older?
I would say.....I care way more about my epic experiences and experiences in general than I do about something I've already achieved or been there done that. I'll be turning 45 soon. 10/15. I live for my epic riding in the mountains and all the places I want to experience on my bike!

In the past, what have been your biggest obstacles in business?
I would say getting new clients is always a challenge, especially having my own business and not working at a big gym with endless exposure. I've gotten really good at hustling and marketing with the time I have.

What is one piece of advice you'd give your pre-career 20 something self?
Travel more.....and all those things you wanted to do, see, experience and don't wait till your 40's to start. Start now! Spend more time with my parents. Get into online sales and coaching and social media marketing before a pandemic.

If you have a bucket list, what's your favorite thing you've checked off?
I've had some amazing European cycling camp experiences with my dad. Skydiving! Riding what I ride in the summer/fall months in the mountains as much as I do......pretty damn epic. I've seen and rode more places, scenery, roads, than natives even know about. I really feel like I experience more beauty on a bike in one year than most people dream about in a lifetime. I've always wanted a REALLY nice car and bike, and I have both. I've loved cars my whole life, and love bikes so much as they are an extension of my me! You should look up my stats on Strava.....but when you spend as much time on a bike as I do, you'll understand why the bike IS an extension of me.

When in your life have you felt most confident and why?
I think I've felt the most confident in many parts of my life. I was super confident when I won my first figure competition which was the state championship title. I was confident when I was racing, as I was very good, still am. I feel very confident on a daily basis with my clients. I feel very confident when I'm in my element.....riding something epic and gorgeous.

Do you have any exciting ambitions for the future?
More traveling to Europe for cycling! I want to ride the Dolomites, French and Swiss Alps, and the Pyrenees, etc. I would also love to ride through many of the national parks and I have a goal to ride Beartooth Pass during some national park stuff. I'd also like to be as famous as Ben Greenfield and do what he does for his career, which is way more than just personal training and coaching. He's a biohacker, leader, speaker, author, father, husband, etc.

What's been the best career advice you've ever received?
Don't get comfortable.....always be hustling.

What's your life mantra?
Live with passion! It's on my business cards and my website. I'm a very passionate person and everything I do in life is full of passion.......passion for riding my bike (especially super epic stuff), for working out, for optimizing my health, performance, and life in general, and helping people have a better quality of life through health and fitness.

Jennifer Schumm is a professional cyclist and personal trainer in Lone Tree, Colorado. She can be reached at www.FitByJenny.com.