As a competitive gymnast, I fell in love with moving my body and building strength at a young age. While studying anatomy and physiology as part of my nursing education, I learned to power lift, strength train and do CrossFit-style workouts. I dove deep into learning the mechanics of movement. During COVID, I began practicing yoga regularly and recognized that fitness, in addition to making me look and feel good physically, was also a fantastic mental health tool. As a bedside nurse, I was frustrated that by the time I was able to care for patients, their disease had progressed to life-altering complications. I was inspired to focus on making an impact proactively, with movement as medicine.
I started training clients in Chicago in 2024 and moved out to Downers Grove in July 2025. I am excited to build a community and train out of my garage gym, which has a view into the beautiful Maple Grove woods— coyote sightings have occurred during early morning training sessions!
My training approach follows the same principles I was learned as a nurse:
Client-centric at its core: You set the goals. I provide the tools, motivation, and support to meet them. As part of that journey, I hope to help you fall in love with the process of staying healthy and strong, not just the end results.
Evidence-based: To promote safety and efficacy, programs are grounded in up-to-date exercise science, kinesthesiology, and behavioral psychology.
Positive: Exercise is hard and uncomfortable. I focus on making each session exciting, empowering, appropriately challenging, and sometimes a little silly.
Meet your trainer
Leah Beckmann ACE CPT, RN
