Health and Wellness Business Spotlight with Wasidah

Be Exceptional Fitness is obsessed with improving global health with proven techniques and the latest in science in order to best serve our clients . We have decided to launch ‘Be Exceptional Business Boost,’ highlighting. Health and Wellness. businesses and their founders. Be Exceptional provides health and wellness consulting services for consumers as well as professionals.

​Our CEO and founder, Robert L. Palmer, got the chance to virtually sit with doula, fashion expert, and fitness coach, Wasidah. She shared her experience and journey in becoming more health-conscious and helping others to achieve health. 

Meet Wasidah: A Doula, Fashion Expert, and Fitness Coach
Wasidah is a full-spectrum doula who focuses on postpartum and fertility. She is a native of Philadelphia. She is certified with credible organizations such as Mama Glow, the National Black Doula Association, and The NAFSA Project School (TNPS). Wasidah is also a certified personal trainer and has a professional background in fashion, including a B.A. in Fashion Design and working as a stylist with Barneys, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Bloomingdale’s. She enjoys helping women and encouraging them to get healthy and stay healthy during pregnancy. 

Wasidah started training when she was 20. Her initial desire was simply to have abs and a smaller waist. On her way to achieving this goal, she fell in love with fitness. Her commitment to wellness further strengthened when she started to think about how many of her relatives had diabetes. She later got involved with training others because she loved fitness and wanted a more flexible life with a decent salary. She started out her journey as a cycling instructor.

Wasidah’s First Year as a Trainer
Many people believe that being a personal trainer is a bed of roses. Wasidah shared that when she just started, she did not consider that clients go on vacation. This was a challenge for her as she needed money to cover her expenses. The gym she was working required her to be exclusive and prohibited her from working for any other gym or Health and Wellness club. She felt boxed in. “I wound up renting out my apartment with Airbnb to cover the rent, which was awesome, just for that summer. I also decided to become more independent and do teaching” shared Wasidah. This experience led her to see the value of being an independent trainer. One of the main benefits of going independent was that Wasidah is had the freedom to select clients that perfectly match her skillset and offerings. 

Wasidah’s Experience with Bodybuilding
Wasidah was once an award-winning bodybuilder. After tons of people suggested that she get involved with bodybuilding, Wasidah finally gave in. Meanwhile, she found that she did not really like how she looked and the lifestyle that came with it. She was on the verge of quitting when she attended her first show. She thought it was a waste of time and that she would lose. Ironically, she ended up winning the competition. 

After a while, Wasidah decided to leave bodybuilding because she did not find it to be compatible with the life she wanted. She was about to get married and wanted to have children. She also shared that she wanted to look more natural and show people what a woman actually looks like in her 30s. She also shared that the supplements that she had to take were not very pleasant. 

How Wasidah Has Been Navigating COVID-19 Challenges 
The current pandemic affects all industries. The fact that children are staying home during this time makes it challenging for some clients to make sessions. This is even true of virtual sessions. Wasidah had to get creative to ensure that her client’s stayed on track. She decided to create personal training videos for her clients so that they can workout at their convenience. Her clients have really been enjoying this and have shared that they feel special because of her extra extended effort. 
Wasidah prefers a boot camp style of training, and this is even present in her virtual training sessions and her personal training videos. She likes to use resistance bands and tubing for several reasons. According to Wasidah, they prevent injury, which is a major concern since she is not there with her client to ensure that they do not misuse equipment. 

Ironically, Wasidah shared that her business has been much better since the pandemic and the social unrest. While some clients must attend to their children, most have more time on their hands due to the pandemic. 

Initially, Wasidah was reluctant to go virtual with her clients. When the pandemic became a major issue, she decided to train her clients in the park. She later decided to give virtual workouts a try and found that it was much better. She made the complete switch to virtual after realizing that she could achieve a lot more. Virtual has also proven to be much more convenient for Wasidah as she no longer needs to drag equipment to the park.

COVID-19 Opened the Way for Wasidah to Train Outside of America
As previously mentioned, the pandemic drove Wasidah to get involved in virtual training. Going virtual has also made it possible for Wasidah to train clients outside of America. She shared that it started with one client that she had always had great respect for. When this person asked to be one of her clients, Wasidah couldn’t say no. After training this individual for some time, she started to introduce Wasidah to her friends. These friends eventually became clients and continue to refer Wasidah to others. Wasidah is now developing an online program where her clients can benefit from her expertise without communicating directly with them.

Wasidah’s journey and her work are very inspiring. If you’d like to get in touch with her, you can visit her website, www.wasidah.com. You can also find her on Instagram with the handle @wasidah or email her at [email protected]. 

If you’d like to be featured on ‘Be Exceptional Business Boost’, please visit our website.
You are also invited to become a member of our community. Joining the Be Exceptional Fitness family will give you access to resources that will help increase your business's efficiency and build more brand awareness. 
If you are a Health And Wellness Business visit our website today, and let’s take your business to the next level. 
-Be exceptional!