ABOUT ME
Hey y'all, I'm Chelse O'Neill. I am Christian, wife, and mother of 4 sons. I have been living an active lifestyle for as long as I can remember.
I grew up a 3-sport athlete and was introduced to weight lifting at 14. Between playing highschool sports and club sports, I was incredibly active. At 18, I played collegiate softball for one year. I didn't like having to focus on one sport and opted to work in a gym and focus on my overall health. Being an athlete required long, rigorous hours of training, lifting, and practice. I was looking forward to having some freedom with my exercise habits.
It wasn't long before I fell in love with lifting. It went from a "requirement" to a desire. It was no longer "I HAVE to" but "I GET to." It's a privilege to move our bodies and not something we can or should take for granted.
I earned my B.S. in Exercise Science in 2013 and my M.A in Teaching in 2017. I began personal training in 2012 and eventually met my husband, a fellow personal trainer a few years later. I held multiple certifications from ACSM, NESTA, and others as a functional training specialist.
In my prime, I was an intense trainer, often training for vanity and pride instead of health and wellness. It wasn't until I got married in 2018 and soon gave birth to my first son in 2019 that God revealed how fitness became an idol. God has a way of using marriage and children to sanctify us, conforming our hearts and desires to align with His will. I now have 4 sons aged 9 months up to 6. I have continued my active lifestyle throughout each pregnancy and postpartum period.
God has been gracious to reveal to me that I was using exercise as a form of self-worship. He is good and has aligned my desires for health with his desires for my health. Our bodies are not our own, they belong to the Creator God. Because my body isn't my own, I don't have the right to treat it however I please. I am to steward my body for the glory of God because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Grace & Grit Fitness was laid on my heart by God a few years ago when I became a stay at home mom. I had skills and gifts with helping people get healthy and would write a program here and there for friends. Over time, I was led to help Christian women exercise their faith through fitness.
Prioritizing health can be difficult when you're homeschooling children (or not), keeping your home (or working outside the home), and all the responsibilities that come with adulthood. I noticed many women put their health on the back burner. However, we need to be healthy to do all that God has called us to do. If we're held back by health limitations, we can't do or go where God calls us because of our own choices. My prayer is that I can encourage women to honor their bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit. When we center our health on Christ, with the Holy Spirit and discipline, we can glorify Him in our bodies.
Sample of Calendar and Program
