Danielle Hollenshade

Why did you become interested in fitness?
My beautiful mother has been my inspiration. I was raised eating healthy and exercising. Ever since I can remember I have been going to the gym. My mom used to take me to the gym with her everyday. I refused to go to daycare, so I would sit by the wall of the free weight area and color while she lifted. I have always found woman with muscles to be beautiful. I used to love to watch and workout with Kiana on ESPN and dreamed of one day having a body like that.

When did you first start working out?
I started weight training when I was 14 years old. I went to the gym on and off through college. It was not until my sophomore year that I got serious. My weight went up to 155 pounds and I was disgusted with myself. I cut out the alcohol, cut out the chips and started doing more cardio. I lost 15 pounds but was still not happy with the way I looked. I would starve myself all day and then eat whatever I could get my hands on at night…pretzels, cookies, snack food…not what you want to eat to build muscle and loose fat. I wanted to look like Kiana and the girls on the fitness magazines. I knew my diet was the problem.

At 27% body fat, I decided that I wanted to compete. The only way that was possible was to learn how to eat right I needed to build muscle and loose a lot of fat. I went to a nutritionist who helped me to loose 6% body fat in 3 weeks. I was on my way. I have been seriously training hard for 2 1⁄2 years now and have achieved more than I ever expected.

What other physical activities do you enjoy to stay fit?
I enjoy weight lifting, spininng classes, Kickboxing, and my favorite way to sweat is taking Bikrum (HOT) Yoga classes.

What are your goals within the fitness industry?
I want to earn my IFBB pro card in Figure, be sponsored by a company that I believe in, and become a professional fitness model. My future goal is to open a gym to people of all ages, specializing in children's fitness. I believe it is so important to encourage children to live a healthy lifestyle from the start. I want to help people of all ages live a healthy, happy, fulfilling, energetic life.

Additional Notes
I am available for personal training, specialty group exercise classes, sponsorship and modeling.

I want to thank my mother, Lisa Glennon, for being my inspiration. I am very lucky to have her. She supports me 100%, and truly cares about my dreams & goals. I want to thank all of my friends for standing by me and understanding the sacrifices I have had to make for my competitions. I also want to that Todd Swinney, my nutritionist, for helping me to change my body in ways I never dreamed possible.

I believe that to reach your goals you must have balance in every aspect of life. You must balance good nutrition with exercise, and be happy with who you are and what you have accomplished. I truly believe you can do whatever you put your mind to. No dream or goal is unattainable. With hard work, dedication and patience anything is possible. I will never give up and will continue to promote fitness to all people through my own experiences and training.