As a fitness entrepreneur, I spent years living on commission. Every day had to produce. If I didn’t make money, I was failing. The longer I did it, the better I got at it. I tracked every dollar in a spreadsheet, took on more clients whenever expenses crept up, and organized vacations around less busy seasons at work.
But eventually, it caught up to me. The goals got bigger, the budgets higher. Every day became Day 1. Bring in more revenue. Sell more. Prove your value again and again.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but this mindset became a trap. And I see the same thing happening in the way women approach their health and fitness.
They tell me, “If I’m not seeing progress every day, I must be doing something wrong.”
But sustainable success (in your body or your business) isn’t linear. It’s strategic. It’s long-term. It’s about building something that actually lasts.
The Zoo vs. The Jungle
Back when I worked in gyms, everything felt like a controlled ecosystem. Leads came to you. You showed up, trained your clients, and the structure supported the flow. That was the zoo. Predictable. Safe. And filled with clients who were already halfway sold just by walking through the door.
But starting your own business? That’s the jungle. You create your own ecosystem. Nothing is guaranteed. You eat what you hunt. You learn to build demand from scratch.
The same is true in fitness.
In the zoo: you follow a 30-day plan, a templated diet, maybe even the same workout you did 10 years ago. It feels familiar. Structured. Like it should work.
But real life? Real bodies? That’s the jungle.
Hormones shift. Stress builds. Recovery needs change. You could be doing everything right and still not see the results you want; because the plan wasn’t built for who you are now.
Research shows that overtraining without adequate recovery can disrupt your hormones, elevate cortisol, and stall progress. This is especially true for women navigating perimenopause or chronic stress.
What Commission Taught Me (and Cost Me)
When you live on commission, you wire your brain to believe that your value is tied to what you produce that day. No sale? No worth. That daily pressure? It sinks in deep.
Research backs this up: chronic performance stress leads to elevated cortisol and can dysregulate metabolism and emotional regulation.
That mindset followed me as I became a fitness entrepreneur. And it also follows so many women into their health routines. We obsess over the scale, track every macro, beat ourselves up when progress stalls.
We’re constantly trying to conform to someone else’s timeline.
The same way I never wanted to take time off work because I thought it meant I was falling behind, women force their bodies to push harder instead of stepping back and redefining the goal. But sometimes, the smarter path forward starts with letting go of the old version of success.
Building Like a Fitness Entrepreneur: Why Strategy Beats Hustle
The biggest shift for me? Realizing that sustainable growth in business (just like in fitness) requires trust, strategy, and alignment. Not constant output.
I started investing in the right tools: Facebook ads, mentorship, content strategy. And I had to trust that the ROI wouldn’t show up in 24 hours.
In fitness, this looks like investing in high-quality coaching, personalized training, fueling your body instead of starving it. It’s uncomfortable because results don’t happen overnight.
But they do happen…with consistency and support.
Fun fact: Yo-yo dieting has been shown to increase cortisol and stress, negatively impacting metabolism and increasing the likelihood of weight gain over time.
And here’s the hard truth: You could be giving 100% effort… but if your strategy is off, you’ll still end up lost. It’s like flying a plane just a few degrees off course. You don’t notice it right away, but by the time you land, you’re in the wrong city.
The Cost of Chasing the Wrong Things
I wasted so much time chasing shiny business tactics: reels that went viral but didn’t convert, freebies that led nowhere, strategies that didn’t match my values.
And I see the same thing in fitness.
Fad diets. Detoxes. 2-a-day workouts. You’re exhausted, but no closer to your goal.
Just because you’re working hard doesn’t mean you’re working smart. And just because something feels extreme doesn’t mean it’s effective.
Research shows that overtraining can stall muscle growth and metabolism, especially when recovery is ignored.
What It Really Means to Be a Fitness Entrepreneur (Or Just Build Something That Lasts)
This journey has taught me I’m not just a coach. I’m a builder.
And whether you’re building a business or building your health, it requires:
- Trust in the long game
- Commitment to the process
- And the courage to let go of the obsession with daily proof
Fitness entrepreneurship isn’t about doing more.
It’s about doing what matters. And doing it well.
**Ask Yourself**
Where are you still chasing daily validation: in your health, your work, your worth?
What would it look like to build something wild, lasting, and fully yours?
If you’re ready to stop burning out and start building a strategy that actually works, let’s map it out together.
👉 Book your free Fitness Roadmap Session: a 1:1 call where we’ll clarify what’s holding you back, what your body actually needs now, and how to move forward with strength, strategy, and sustainability.
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5541747/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2895000/
https://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-diet-yo-yo-diet-effect
https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/no-pain-no-gain-training-too-hard-can-have-serious-health
