Episode 016: Mountain Madness
In Shake It Off Episode 16 Lauren and Kendra speak with special guest Ariel Zimmerman, the founder and CEO of Motivational Madness.
Ariel is a certified personal trainer, licensed massage therapist, and behavior change specialist who will help you achieve your health and wellness goals.
Lauren and Kendra talk with Ariel all about her passion for strength training, holistic health, and getting into nature which is intrinsically woven into her business, and her upcoming annual retreat Disconnect to Reconnect.
You can find all the podcast episodes at https://www.drlaurenhodge.com/podcast/
We created this podcast to give you the tools, strategies, and stories to handle the unexpected BS that life throws your way. We plant ourselves firmly at the gates of truth-telling and we discuss how to optimize and prioritize your physical and mental health.
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Kendra Till
Welcome to Shake It Off, a podcast that gives you the tools, strategies, and stories to optimize and prioritize your physical and mental health. Hi, everyone, and welcome back to Shake It Off. Today Lauren and I are excited to chat with Ariel Zimmerman who is the founder and CEO of Motivational Madness. Ariel is a certified ACE personal trainer, a behavioral change specialist, and a licensed massage therapist. She specializes in helping women reclaim power over their body and their life.
Ariel also offers one on one coaching as well as an online program designed for anyone who wants to stay active and get stronger and take control of their health. Her program, which is called Mountain Madness, is focused on the complete integration of the mind, the body, and the spirit, which is very convenient that you can actually do it from the comfort of your own home, which is awesome. So Ariel is also a women’s wellness retreat host for Disconnect To Reconnect, which is going to be hosted in Garden City, Utah later this year. Ariel is super passionate about strength training and holistic health and getting into nature, and living out of Utah was very convenient as well, which is awesome, and those aspects are intrinsically woven into her business.
Lauren Hodge
Ariel, thank you so much for joining us today. We absolutely love that your business focuses on helping women reclaim power over their health. And I’m just curious what led you to this space and fitness and empowering women to get stronger?
Ariel Zimmerman
Yeah, well, first, thank you both so much for having me. It’s truly an honor. And I’m so excited. What kind of got me started was really my own transformation. So for those that don’t know, I used to be a completely different person. I always tell people I used to be a depressed drug-addicted dropout. I had a really rough childhood growing up, my dad left my family on Christmas Eve when I was nine. And that really hurt a lot, and I watched my mom struggle to raise three kids on her own. I mean, had it not been my grandparents we would have been homeless, it was just really rough. And so from that, you know, I had a lot of hurt and feelings of abandonment. I used to be like a straight-A student and then after that just stopped caring and just kind of gave up and got introduced to drugs and alcohol really early. Anything to kind of just numb the pain and escape. And it actually took almost dying in a car accident to finally kind of get my life together. So I showed you guys the car accident.
Lauren Hodge
Yeah, it looks like you could have nearly had your head taken off by that pole that went through your car. That fencing was absolutely crazy. I can’t imagine what the injuries that came out of that, but also what your experience would have been like in that near-death situation.
Kendra Till
Right?
Ariel Zimmerman
Yeah, it’s pretty wild to think that like, this dimple that I have like is leftover trauma from it, and like who comes out of a car accident, it wasn’t cute for a while. It did graze me and I had to get 17 stitches in my head. And my face was swollen. I wore hats for like weeks because it just looked terrible. And you know, I was in massage school at the time. And with the accident, I fully own this, I was drinking and driving. I don’t do that anymore. You know, one accident was enough for me. So I had an accident and it took them over a year to charge me. So for that first year, I was in a lot of denial and just continued to kind of follow that path of self-destruction. But when they eventually charged me that’s when it was like, “Oh man, I really messed up”. And when I was like I mentioned I was in massage school at the time, so I went all the way through massage school, passed the exams, you know, sent off my packet, all this stuff, you have to have like get your license. And they denied me my massage license because my charges hadn’t been charged yet they were pending at the time, right? And so, you know, this is my chosen career path, and I just got told that I wasn’t going to be able to do that. And it was going to be years before I was going to be able to reapply again. And so I had to completely transform my career paths.
I went back to school, I got a second job, I started just working really hard to become a better person, it was really tough. Because I was on top of getting my license, I lost my driver’s license for a year. So I had to ride around on this little scooter to get to work, my two jobs that I was thankful for, they were both in the mall, so that was great. But like somebody stole my scooter, three months before I got my license. And it was tough. When I got my license back, I also had to have a blow and go in my car, which is just extremely embarrassing, expensive, and just very humbling. And so you know, it was kind of that rock bottom, when I realized like, “hey, no one’s coming to save you”. I was like, pissed off at the world, right? But like, the reason that I was in the situation that I was in is because of my own choices, my own actions, and my own negative mindset. I was really negative, like completely different from who I am now, which is Motivational Madness, right? Like, yeah, totally negative. And so, yeah, just like I said, went back to school, got a second job, and started reading self-help books. I think the first one of the first ones I started reading was like the universe has your back. Have you seen the show My Name Is Earl?
Lauren Hodge
Yeah. And he has to go around and tell people he needs to tell people that he is regretful about something, I think.
Ariel Zimmerman
Yeah, well, he discovers karma, and he’s like, oh, okay, if I start being a good person, then maybe good things will happen to me, you know, and he starts trying to, and I was very much like, on that same. I was like, okay, I need to start being a good person, and not doing terrible things, right, and not getting in trouble with the law. And, I mean, this was not my first like, run-in with the law either. And so I was like, really tired of court fees, and being a criminal.
Lauren Hodge
Yeah, it sounds like you had this terrible childhood experience of your father leaving, and then through that, you’re numbing and trying to fill the void with alcohol or drugs or whatever. And then through that experience of being in the accident, but also that series of events for three years, I swear, you know, from the accident to than going through the process of not being able to get licensed as a massage therapist. And then all of that kind of culminated into you saying something has to change. And so then you started reading these books like, how do I do things differently? Wow.
Kendra Till
That’s cool.
Lauren Hodge
And you’re a massage therapist now. So did you get you’re not trying to skip ahead, but I’m just curious, did you eventually get the thing?
Ariel Zimmerman
So that’s an even funnier part. So yes, I eventually did get my license years later. By the time that it was time to reapply that was like, right when I have just gotten a job in the fitness industry, like I took a big leap of faith because I wasn’t happy at my current job and was like, I’ve never run a gym before but I’ve been working out like, let’s give this a shot and took the leap right. And then I was thinking, okay, well, now that I’m back into wellness, let’s try a massage again because I’m so passionate about it. Yeah. I went to apply well, they changed the test that you need to take to pass in order to get licensed. I was like, okay, so I study really hard to pass the test, reapplied well, because I had been denied before. They made me have not one but five letters of recommendation from different massage therapists.
Lauren Hodge
Oh, wow. Like a test.
Ariel Zimmerman
It was a little excessive.
Lauren Hodge
Did you have the connections there? Did you have five?
Ariel Zimmerman
Yeah, so it was kind of funny because I had a breakdown, and then within that same day, I found all five people to give me letters.
Lauren Hodge
And do you feel like those people now support you and your career? Or do y’all know each other? Or like to communicate at all?
Ariel Zimmerman
Yes, actually, I can’t there’s like a couple that I don’t talk to. But one of them actually helps me facilitate my retreats. Now… I forgot to tell you about Al. I met him three days after my accident. He also had a near-death experience at age 19, which was the age that I was when I got in mind. And it completely transformed his life. And when I was in massage school, it was while he was doing the demo, and everyone was like, Ariel’s the guinea pig because she needs the healing. You know, because like they have all messed up. And he really helped kind of open the door to breathwork. And like bringing everything back to breathing and understanding that you can control your own stress and relieve so much stress just by connecting to your breath. Especially the exhale. So now he helps me with my retreats, this is going to be the second one that he’s helping me facilitate, and it’s just like a really full circle.
Lauren Hodge
That’s incredible. It sounds like he’s a true mentor and like a guardian in a way because of how he was there three days after the accident. And you know, it has been a part of your life since then. I think we all need mentors like that, and people in our life who care about us, like family, you know, and here is really the wisdom that these people hold.
Kendra Till
Yeah, what a special bond and just that relatability that you’d have with him and continue to have with him. And the fact that you guys are growing together, especially through these retreats. I just think that is very cool.
Ariel Zimmerman
Yeah, shout out to Al Bailey, he is amazing. And I’m just very grateful that he believed so much in me. And it’s been I mean, he’s helped me multiple times, like with getting the license when I was writing a paper in school that ended up becoming the mission statement of my business later. He helped me let me interview him. So it’s been a really, really great experience overall.
Kendra Till
I’m guessing then you obviously with your personal training background, and obviously the behavioral change specialty that you also focus on just really amalgamated along with your massage therapy, just amalgamated your business or into what you’ve created, which is just so cool.
Ariel Zimmerman
Yeah, and it’s such a funny story. So I got the massage license, then I moved to a different state. And that was right when I started working for Drew Mobile in South Carolina, and my passion had shifted more towards personal training and trying to build my reputation there as a new trainer. So when I moved, there were so many hoops to jump through and get that massage license that I just let it expire. You know, and I didn’t get a chance to really take off on that. And I was like, but I’ve always hoped, like, let me just, I’ll come back to it. I’ll come back to it. So last year, after we moved out to Utah, I was like, you know what? Let’s give this one more go, let’s try this again. Let’s try to get the massage license because I’ve built my reputation as a trainer. That’s what everybody knows me as. And I want to bring massage into it.
So I got all the stuff that I needed. I felt like it’s been eight years since I’ve been licensed. So I was really nervous about them. saying no, I like writing my own letter of recommendation. I know doing this, but I’ve still been working with the body. Please let me have it. You know exactly. They did. I mean, it was so easy. They immediately gave it to me. And here’s the coolest synchronicity. I got it on November 7 2022. On November 7, 2012. It was 13 years ago. So 2011 was the date that I got the notification that I was denied my massage license. Oh, wow. 13 years later to the date. Wow. And I was finally granted something I’ve worked so hard for.
Lauren Hodge
Because yeah, it’s I think that speaks to something around like sometimes the timing is not right. Like maybe if you would have gotten the license back then your route would have changed in a way that’s not conducive to who you are now or something like that. So, I don’t know, I love that you kept trying to and kept going for it afterward because I think that just because something doesn’t work out the first time doesn’t mean it’s not meant for you it just means you need to find a different route in or, you know, fine wait and see what happens down the track. So I think it’s incredible that you did that. Yeah,
Ariel Zimmerman
yeah, definitely divine divine timing. I mean, that’s how it was with my business too. I tried to start my business in 2014 with an app, and I had my website, right, now’s the time I’m going to do this, like this was before COVID. Right? So I was like, virtual coaching is the thing, you know, and, but I’m really scared, but cannot because it was not going to work because it did work pretty much immediately everything lined up and I got like real I was like, Oh, wait, I don’t know. And I got busy with my main job and was like, okay, you know, this will come another time. And then when the pandemic hit. It’s actually when I started my business was like September 2020, like August, September, I made it official in September. And, you know, so just divine timing.
Lauren Hodge
Yeah. And what inspired you to start the business? It was this process of working through these different things. And then you have the massage therapy certificate and the fitness experience, what inspired you to start the business?
Ariel Zimmerman
So what actually inspired me, was working with a business mentor. I mean, I started working with her to start a business. It is more like a money mindset, and in life, and like a kind of life coaching. And so I started working with her and I was telling her one day, you know, her name is Breanna Moser, by the way, she’s amazing. I was like, you know, I’d really love to be like a life coach one day and have my own business, you know? And she was like, okay, well, then why don’t you do that? And I was like why don’t I do it, you know? And so I read together, just like a little mindset kind of coaching program. That was like seven weeks is called Mindful Madness.
Everything is madness to me, from playing roller derby, and yeah, so that’s another thing I didn’t even mention. But yeah, so threw that out there, threw it together, threw it out just to see. And immediately started to make more than what I was making at my current job, where I had moved to Utah and started working for another Anytime Fitness. And that was kind of like the push. I was like, oh, I can do this. I can be successful. I’m just going to do it. And my boss at the current time, thankfully, told me no, when I asked him for a race, and I was like, okay, but you know what, then I’m gonna go by. And like, I discovered that virtual coaching works during COVID, because our gym got shut down, and I immediately started doing Zoom coaching and found out that I can train people just as well. And with the behavior change coaching as well, that was something people really needed when their entire life was getting turned upside down. Right. There was nothing like this new normal that we had to get used to. So helping people create new habits and behavior changes, instead of just sitting around their house.
Kendra Till
Yeah, definitely.
Lauren Hodge
That’s so cool.
Kendra Till
I’m really curious because I’m a pilates instructor. And so what I find when I’m working with people, especially on a one-on-one basis, even if it’s online or in person, um, you know, sometimes it’s hard to even look after our own health and well-being I find I’m actually a little bit in that realm right now, where it’s like, I just need a little kickstart just to make sure that I’m looking after myself. So I’m curious, what are your strategies to look after yourself, especially because you’re running your own business now? And yeah, just working with people? How do you Yeah, how do you look after your own physical and mental health?
Ariel Zimmerman
Yeah, such a great question. I actually have a formula for this, and it’s made up of five different principles. And basically when I say principles, like things that you should do every day to help you manage your stress and anxiety and overwhelm, and just you know, life, right. So the first one is movement, some kind of movement. My favorite is strength training. I believe everybody should do strength training just for the like bone density, especially for women at greater risk of osteoporosis and so, lift weights at the same time, just move your body. It is the most underrated antidepressant in the world, and it is just magic. So whatever movement you love, and do it every day, even if just walking, I don’t care. Right? The second one is meditation.
So I am one of those people who can sit here and say meditation has really changed my life. And I’m not talking about necessarily having to, like, sit down on a meditation mat, close your eyes and try to like, quiet your mind. Right? It doesn’t work for everybody. I bet. It’s sometimes what I do. But I also, one thing that Al has actually created is this walking circle meditation. And so he’s even got this patented map called the Lutron Therapeutic Multipurpose Map. It’s got this circle on it, and it’s eight feet, it’s a whole thing that we do. And I have a class where I combined functional fitness with this meditation. And what it does is, you know, it helps you get out because you don’t think walking in a circle is very hard. But it is when you’re not allowed to look at your feet, you know, and you’re like looking up certain ways to do it. And sometimes they make people walk with their eyes closed. It’s really cool. But you know, meditation is just all about getting you out of your head and gets you into your body. And really cultivating that sense of energy from within.
Instead of like people, I feel like so much trying to attach things to external circles, and external sources, but we all have so much within us. And you know what, so when I say meditation, I’m talking about connecting with your breath. It’s, you know, it’s not that hard actually, to meditate, just focus on your breathing, and boom, you meditate. Yeah, that’s right. And so that’s really helped me and so whatever kind of meditation works for you. The next one is mindfulness practices. So you know, being mindful of the thought patterns going on in your head, what you’re telling yourself on a daily basis is really, really important. Being really mindful of what you’re putting into your body. Because nutrition has such an impact on how you feel, you know, if that’s your body, with nutritious and nutrient-dense foods, you feel better, and it’s great. And so being mindful of all kinds of things like this could even involve going to therapy, right, which is a really big thing that I preach, everybody should just go there.
Lauren Hodge
Like a maintenance check. Is there some kind of thing, even if you’re absolutely experienced in anything major, you can go and like, excavate what’s happened recently and, and make sure that you’re processing it? So I fully agree therapy is always a good option.
Ariel Zimmerman
Yeah, yes, therapy is actually what really helped save my life and mental health last year, because that dad that I told you about locked out on us. Well, I became his primary caretaker last year. And, and his financial power of attorney, which involves moving him into this room, actually, for about six weeks while I got his finances in order because he’d been scammed on all his money, and had 10s of 1000s of dollars in debt. So I had to get all of that together. And what you know, during that time, it just brought up a lot of a lot of childhood trauma that I didn’t realize I had. Yeah.
Lauren Hodge
So you feel like you got to work through things with him as well? Or was he not really in a space to receive that type of conversation for you?
Ariel Zimmerman
Um, we have worked through a lot. You know, it’s still a process every day, there’s a lot like with my dad, he has a personality disorder. He’s bipolar. He has dementia. And he’s 83. So he’s much older than most people my age, I’m only 33. So there’s just a lot of layers. Right? But I can’t sit here and on the other side of it, say we have a much better relationship and healed so much of that relationship over the last year in therapy was a big reason why,
Lauren Hodge
yeah, I’m sure I can relate to that in some way. So you have exercise, meditation, mindfulness therapy, and what was the fifth one?
Ariel Zimmerman
So there’s a well, mindfulness therapy was like, kind of part of mindfulness. Oh, got it. Fourth, fourth one is massage. So obviously, I’m a big advocate for getting you know, therapeutic massage, but also just like, you know, using like a Thera gun doing a foam roller like self-massage, myofascial release, our bodies hold a lot of tension and need. It’s a great way to, you know, relieve some of that shift that energy, shift that energy. Exactly, and then the very last one is mountain views. I just go out.
Lauren Hodge
There’s a difference. I know what you mean, a friend of mine is in Colorado right now and is sending me pictures in Durango. And it’s just so stunning there. I’m like, why did that move from Denver? Are we sure we made the right decision there? Like it is stunning. So I agree with mountain views. You’re right, I like nature, but mountain views are like having this really specific kind of feel to it that makes you feel better. That’s awesome. Okay, so those are your strategies I think anyone can relate to and use those. Now, there’s a lot of research to back up those things as well. So I think, yeah, just doing it daily is a good way to go. Lately, on top of your mental health and that sort of thing. I’m curious, so you work with people on strength training and that sort of thing. And you have the massage piece in it. And it sounds like you know, different stress management strategies as well.
When it comes to people that you’re like, when you have clients and they’re facing, you know, I guess my experience of one like myself picking up different things, I’m thinking specifically about exercise routines and new habits around exercise. I know how important they are, like, I am fully aware of all the evidence on how it’s good to move each day and all of that. But sometimes when I’m trying to get into a routine, it’s like, pulling teeth, just to get me out of bed earlier enough to get to work. So I’m curious, like, what are you? What do you notice with your clients like the fears that they face or? Or the difficulties and in getting them through that threshold of like, okay, I want to do it. I know, it’s important, like, and now like getting to that point of doing it and making it a habit? Is there anything that you noticed that comes up? That’s kind of common. Or? Like, I don’t know, I want to hear all about like, what, what do you do with clients?
Ariel Zimmerman
Yeah, I mean, it’s very, it’s very common that no one ever wants to work out. I don’t want to do it, and that’s definitely why I recommend working with a coach or a trainer, you know, someone to help keep you accountable to show up on those days when you don’t feel like it. Because the reality is you are going to have those days, and you’re gonna have more often than not, so many people wait around for motivation, they’re like, I don’t feel motivated, and it’s like the motivation comes later.
Lauren Hodge
Yeah, we take accountability piece like 100%. The reason I work out is that I sign up I go to The Works, it’s a yoga hot yoga studio here and wherever I go, the thing it has to have is a class that I sign up for that you know, you’re on the mind-body thing app and like I get charged if I don’t show up, and that is my accountability is the reason I wake up in the morning. It’s how I start my day. And because I work from home, it’s not like I have other things that are gonna force me to get out of bed. So anyways, I completely get that without that accountability. I mean, without that accountability, I might go for a walk, but I’m not gonna like working at the gym. It’s just happened so I get that 100% And you have a retreat that’s coming up when your retreat disc is disconnected to reconnect retreat? I saw that on your website. It was so fascinating and amazing, like something we all need to go to. When is the date of your retreat?
Ariel Zimmerman
Yeah, so this one is going to be September 21 through the 24th. So it’s like a Thursday evening. We don’t start until five o’clock on Thursday. So Thursday evening to a Sunday morning. I did extend the stay for my facilitators for this retreat. So like people you know, it’s not like a mad dash to leave in the morning. But you know, so you can hang if you want to if you have a later flight or something but it’s a Thursday to Sunday, and it is in Garden City, Utah. So it’s this beautiful Airbnb that is literally right on Bear Lake. So we have this unobstructed view of this beautiful blue lake because there’s like a certain type of mineral in there that makes the water really really blue. And then you’ve got mountains in the background, magic mountain water. It’s like everything.
Lauren Hodge
That sounds incredible. Yeah, that does. We’ll definitely have to check it out and you pick the perfect time of year I feel like going to Oh, yeah. It’s like the weather’s perfect. It’s gonna be like, you have some beautiful sunsets and sunrises and
Ariel Zimmerman
Oh, yeah. All the fall colors. It’s gonna be so great..
Kendra Till
And Ariel, you mentioned that you’ve done a strongman competition. Is that correct?
Ariel Zimmerman
So not yet, I’m about halfway through the training program right now. And this is my very first one. I’m like, not even at the bare minimum of what you have to lift yet. I’m excited.
Kendra Till
What compelled you to is that just a hobby of yours? Or is it something that you’re passionate about? I mean, I know you’re very passionate about strength training. And, I guess what compelled you to join that competition or to join in the future?
Ariel Zimmerman
Yeah, awesome question. So actually, last year, one of my friends, Rachel Dawn Prairie, and she’s big in this world, helped me with my retreats. She had a competition at this gym and it was here in the gyms called the sweaty pig. It’s awesome. Like a strongman gym, and I went to just go cheer her on and when I was there, I was like, why is this I was like, This is awesome. The community was great. It very much reminded me is like roller derby because it’s like in this warehouse, you know, and it’s kind of like grungy and really raw, and then the people that my favorite thing about Strongman is, these people don’t look like your typical bodybuilder fitness influencer, people, you know, like strongman have, like, really big bellies. And like, they’re all rounded and like, they just don’t, don’t look like your typical fitness person.
But I watched this dude overhead press 480 pounds the other day with the log, and I was like, Whoa, yeah, I love it. Because I’m very much against this idea that you need to look a certain way in order to be healthy, like, fineness does not equal fitness. And, you know, if you can, like, as long as you’re working out, that’s awesome. And so stop, like comparing yourself to people in magazines, who are photoshopped or whatever, you know, like, just, yeah, compete against yourself. Right? Yeah, that’s what Strongman truly is. It’s not like this ego-based competition. You know, everyone is just so friendly, and they have great snacks.
Lauren Hodge
well, I love that’s such a good message too. It’s not about losing weight, or what’s on the scale. It’s about just making sure you’re feeling good and getting in time for exercise. I’m a huge proponent of that.
