Meet Your New Fit Coach: Danielle Dineen! No more excuses to stay fit!
Hi Danielle,
I am so happy we connected! You are, without a doubt, the perfect example of what hustling means! We weren’t able to meet but this will not stop us from empowering other women!
So let’s dig into your interview right away.
I want my readers to really get to know Danielle, from her childhood and how she managed to become today’s successful personal trainer.
MTH: Danielle, you and I connected through Facebook and we follow each other on Instagram for some time and I have been literally checking on your inspiring IG page almost every day. But for those that do not know you: who is Danielle Dineen? Share the untold story of yourself and your life today.
DD: So I am originally from Ireland, and moved to Singapore in April 2019 with my husband and little boy, Michael, who is now almost two.
I left the corporate world behind when I moved to Singapore and started my own business as a personal trainer, coaching women only, and specialising in pre and post natal fitness. I absolutely love my job-it never feels like an actual job to me, but a hobby that I get paid to do! As most people want to train in the mornings or evenings, it also means that I get to spend each afternoon with my little boy. It is the perfect balance for me, and I am so grateful for this opportunity that each of my clients give me.
MTH: I love your inspirational quotes on your IG account @thefitmumcoach.sg! How do YOU keep YOURSELF motivated and how is the life of the Fit Mum Coach of Singapore?
DD: I keep myself motivated by constantly reminding myself of WHY I am working out, or making healthier food choices-it isn’t enough to just want to look fitter, you need to go deeper and more long-term than that. I want to be a motivator for my clients and of course someone that my little boy can look up to as a good example of living a balanced and healthy lifestyle. I often set a couple of reminders on my phone during the day that say “ask yourself why” and that helps me to stay on track.
MTH: You haven’t been a fitness coach for your whole life, you were, as many of us, working in an office. When your passion for fitness started and when did you decide to make it your career?
DD: Before we moved here I was working as a research chemist in the pharmaceutical sector, so my life was very different to how it is now! Fitness and nutrition has been my passion for about the past ten years-prior to this I was very overweight (about 35kg more than I weigh now). Learning how to nourish myself properly and workout to improve my body composition gave me so much more confidence in myself and my abilities, that I decided after our move I wanted to change careers, and help other women to work to achieve the same positive changes in their physiques and mindsets.
MTH: I always ask my Hustlers about their challenges and how they overcame them because I think it is very important to share real women’s stories and how they made it in the good and bad times. So Danielle, what have been your challenges in setting up your business, getting customers and retain them? And of course we want to know how you overcame them!
DD: When I started off my business I really had no idea how I was going to get my initial clients. I had been listening to a coaching business podcast which suggested coaching your initial clients for free in exchange for a testimonial. I found a couple of women on Facebook groups based in Singapore looking for personal trainer recommendations, and reached out to them explaining I was newly qualified and looking for clients to train. The testimonials they gave me online through groups they were members of are still keeping clients coming to me going today!
I have been very lucky so far in that all of my clients who have signed up for an initial coaching package with me (which is either 10 or 20 sessions) have also signed up for a second one! I think as a coach, while there needs to be a boundary between friend and trainer, acting as friend first definitely helps clients to build up their trust in you and in turn makes them more likely to refer you on to their friends or family.
I think anyone who runs a business is always worried at the back of their mind that the day will come where they don’t have enough clients, so I also work with a business and mindset coach to overcome that lack mentality through affirmations and visualisations.
MTH: People seek your help every day because they either want to improve their health, simply lose weight or make sure their body and mind are balanced. If we look into your customers base what are their goals and how can you help them towards their success in achieving them.
DD: My clients goals are all really varied, which is great because it makes my job so interesting, and it is such a pleasure to help them on their journey to achieving them! A common goal of losing weight is tackled by firstly looking at the clients’ nutrition-with my scientific background I have a very pragmatic approach to this and believe it is simply a case of calories in vs. calories out-I don’t do any restrictive dieting with my clients in terms of cutting out certain foods or only eating at certain times of the day. We work together to determine their current calorie intake and slowly cut it back so that they can lose weight gradually without feeling deprived of anything. I also ensure that clients are eating enough protein to support their muscles in recovery and growth following training.
Another common goal is to “tone up”-what this means is to lose fat and gain a little muscle. The nutrition will help with fat loss, while muscle gain will come about from weight lifting. Women are often afraid of lifting heavy weights in case they get bulky-in reality it is actually really difficult for women to build muscle because we don’t have enough testosterone or growth hormones. What weight lifting will do is give you a firmer, more sculpted look, improve your bone density and balance and help improve your posture.
With my clients who are pre natal, muscular balance and strength for correct posture is our main focus. This can alleviate and even prevent common pregnancy complaints such as lower back pain and the “waddle” walk that some women experience towards the end of pregnancy. Post-natal clients generally look to lose any excess pregnancy weight as well as correct problems such as diastasis recti, underactive glutes and back issues.
MTH: Due to the nature of your job, you meet a lot of people and perhaps mainly women. If you were to identify the biggest mistakes women make in judging their bodies, in nutrition and workout, what would be and why?
DD: With regards to body image, I see so many women who think they need to lose weight even though they are already so slim! They can become preoccupied by the scales also. I really believe that once they work on their fitness, they will feel a whole lot better about their figure, and from what I have seen from my clients so far, this is true! Respect for what your body can do leads to appreciation, and then love for it. With regards to the scales, it is so important to remember that muscle weighs a lot more than fat and also our weight can fluctuate by a few pounds due to water retention from the time of the month, a salty meal or travelling. Taking progress photos or using a tape measure is a far more accurate method of tracking physique changes.
The biggest mistake I see women make with their nutrition is thinking that they need to cut back their carbs or stop eating sweet things or drinking alcohol-firstly, carbs are absolutely essential for energy and are the only source of fuel for our brain. The absolute only way to lose fat is to eat less calories than you burn-so if your friend tells you she has lost weight on keto, that is because she was in a calorie deficit (from cutting out multiple food groups!). Keto is one of the most restrictive diets that you can do and right now research shows it is only beneficial to those with certain medical conditions, such as epilepsy. Unless your doctor has put you on a ketogenic or low carb diet, just focus on lowering your calorie intake/increasing your calorie burn through tracking your food, or increasing your daily movement, or do a combination of both, which is probably the easiest and best way.
With regards to exercise, some women believe that they can spot reduce fat from certain body parts, such as their stomach, by doing sit ups every day. However, this will only build up the muscle under the fat that is already there. Unfortunately, it is not possible to spot reduce fat-all we can do is increase our calorie deficit to lose fat. We cannot control where this fat will come from, but normally the last place it went on is the first to come off. Also, women (or men) need to be at a very low body fat percentage to have visible abs, which can be extremely difficult for most people to obtain without a very regimented diet.
MTH: If I were a new customer of yours, what would I expect from your training sessions?
DD: I individualise my training programs for each client based on their fitness level, exercise preferences and any health conditions or joint issues they may have. So we would have a consultation initially to draw up a routine that works for you. 80% of the training I do with clients is resistance training/weight lifting. The benefits of resistance training to women are huge. A lot of women find that when they enter their 30s they find it progressively more difficult to lose weight-the reason for this is that women lose a pound of muscle a year from aged 30 on unless they work to maintain it. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so the more muscle you have, the more you can eat! Resistance training also builds up your bone density. We actually are constantly regenerating our skeletons, and get a new one every 10 years! A combination of resistance training and getting sufficient calcium and vitamin D can protect the structural integrity of your skeleton as you age. The other 20% of training is higher intensity or plyometric (jumping) type training. This is an efficient calorie burner and also great for your cardiovascular health.
MTH: If you were to give the your best piece of advice to other women what would it be?
DD: Lift weights and eat more protein! Short and simple!
MTH: One more last question, what type of training options do you offer and how much do they cost?
All potential clients get a free trial session with me for one hour. I discuss with them their exercise history and goals, general health and current nutrition. We then do a short training session so I can assess their posture, strengths and weaknesses and exercise preferences. Clients who would like to sign up to train regularly with me can purchase 10 sessions for $650, or 20 sessions for $1200. As part of this package, clients will have access to an app where I plan their workouts, complete with instructional videos. I also give clients full nutritional guidelines, and check in with them regularly over text, daily if needed. Most clients choose to train with me two days a week, and by themselves 1-2 other days of the week, but it is completely dependent on the clients’ availability and preference.
You can find out more information about the packages available on Danielle’s website: www.thefitmumcoach.com and don’t forget to follow her on Instagram @thefitmumcoachpt!