MY HERO’S JOURNEY: OPTIMIZING HUMAN PERFORMANCE
I began my personal diet and exercise journey in the early 1990’s at the age of 12. I had two overweight family members and saw how much they struggled and how they were treated by others. I did what society and the media told me and ate a low-fat diet and exercised like crazy.
I started going to adult aerobic classes and step classes because I was not old enough for sports and our little town did not have a gym. I started reading nutritional labels and as long as it was fat free, I thought that I didn’t have to worry about sugar making me fat because fat made people fat. Not knowing any better, I consumed as much sugar as I wanted. Following what society and the media tell you is not always right.
I later became addicted to exercise to maintain my weight. I would play a high school softball game, then return home to speed walk my dog 3 miles before digging into my homework. I really enjoyed organized, school sports and played volleyball, basketball, and softball beginning in the 8th grade. I really loved the ‘team’ aspect of organized sports and I went on to play club travel volleyball that coincided with basketball beginning in the 9th grade. I realize now that I was addicted to exercise at a young age because of body image. This is when my journey of human/body exercise/activity performance began.
It was through high school sports that I had the opportunity to play softball for Coach Mary Ann Bump. She was an amazing human, facing everything in life with a positive attitude and a smile. She led her teams to multiple state finals in both field hockey and softball and won the local divisional title of Coach of the Year multiple times. She was the first person who taught me about the importance of an athlete being emotionally regulated—that the mindset of athletes impacts their performance. She taught her players the concepts of focusing on positive outcomes and visualization. She was successful because of her life coaching skills to help athletes remain positive. She always cared about what was going on at home, with our grades, and even our teenage boyfriend situations.
My interests in the human body lead me to pursue Physical Therapy
Because of my deep interest in sports and health, my sister, who I looked up to, made an off handed comment one day that stuck. She said I should consider becoming a Physical Therapist, not only for job security, but because of my interest in sports and being in the health care field. It was after this conversation that I applied for a 5-year master’s degree program and was accepted early admission my senior year of high school. In all honesty, until I began my internship during the 2nd semester of my senior year, I had no clue what I was getting myself into.
Working with others on performance began as a personal trainer
In 2000, I received my bachelor’s degree in Health Science and my master’s degree in Physical Therapy in 2001 from Nazareth College of Rochester. While pursuing my degree, I worked as a personal trainer at the local YMCA. I really enjoyed helping people improve their body image and strength performance through exercise.
After college, I began working in an outpatient orthopedic sports clinic as a Physical Therapist. I wanted to continue to help people improve their performance after their medical rehabilitation was complete, so I went on to obtain my Certified Professional Training certificate (CProT), which is a personal trainer with a medical license.
I began working one on one with people in the gym to take their health and wellness to the next level. I specialized in working with people who had medical difficulties and required a more specialized personal trainer. During this time, I was also an assistant coach for a teenage girls travel Volleyball club. I learned how teenage emotions, lack of sleep from the excitement of being away from home, a poor diet full of fast food and junk food and dehydration impact athletic performance.
Opening my mind to the whole body
After practicing as an orthopedic physical therapist for 4 years, I decided to pursue my doctorate in P.T. through Simmons College in Boston. This opened my mind beyond the musculoskeletal system to the whole body. I learned how nutrition impacts muscle growth and collagen repair, I learned the importance of rest for recovery and tissue repair and I learned the impact of the autonomic nervous system on recovery and performance.
For several years, I practiced as a contract, travel Physical Therapist. Working in over 10 therapy practices and clinics across the U.S. I had the opportunity to be exposed to a variety of medical conditions from poisonous snake and spider bites, to athletic injuries, to effects of homelessness, resistant infections causing sepsis and loss of limbs. I witnessed a beautiful miracle of a 50 something year old woman with a double-sided brain injury wake from a coma after 45 days, she began to walk and talk again. I was also exposed to a wide variety of treatment options, such as aquatic therapy, many techniques of manual therapy, specialized light therapies, wound healing care, McKenzie manual therapy, The Feldenkrais Method® and what would eventually be my most valuable treatment method, John Barnes myofascial release.
Applying my professional human performance knowledge to industrial athletes
A conversation with my brother in 2006, would focus my orthopedic mindset on tree climbers as industrial athletes. My brother was an arborist and climber, and we grew up in a logging family. I began to realize that industrial athletes utilized their bodies to make money, but unlike professional athletes, they worked more hours, did not support optimal function of their body and often did not allow for adequate rest for recovery.
I went on to become certified as an Ergonomic Assessment Specialist (CEAS) in 2007, applying ergonomics to industrial athletes and working with companies to reduce work related musculoskeletal injuries alongside my brother Ed through C.O.R.Ergonomic Solutions. Together with Buckingham Manufacturing we designed a series of climbing saddles for arborists, lineman and tower workers and other gear that provided support to the spine. The Ergovation® family of products debuted in 2008.
My own illness and recovery journey
In 2010, I began my own illness journey, personally experiencing the impact of infection on performance. I initially felt that I could diet and exercise my way back to health, but instead I learned the importance of rest and other foundational pillars of health to optimize performance. My recovery led me to work with a functional genomic consultant to restore my foundational health balance; personalized wellness is what ultimately restored my health and performance.
Using what I learned on my own illness journey and my desire to help people address their wholistic health at the foundational level of diet and lifestyle factors caused me to pursue my certification in Health Coaching and I later went on to receive a certification in functional genomic consulting after my father’s life-threatening health challenge was solved by Bob Miller, Traditional Naturopath and Functional Genomic Consultant. This taught me the delicate balance of the biochemistry of our internal terrain on human performance.
Helping others improve their health and feel better than ever
In 2016 my husband Jason Hupe and I created COR Health Solutions with the mission of helping people reach their own health goals and optimized human performance. Together we share with our clients the one important key to health—addressing the non-negotiable factors of every-day life: sleep, stress, diet, movement, and mindset. With this in mind, we created an Online Vitality Program—a wellness course designed to rebuild and restore the COR foundation of your health. Our goal is to help others gain life-long knowledge to improve their health and feel better than ever.
I became a certified HeartMath® Coach/Mentor in 2019 and am now licensed to share the HeartMath techniques and technology to help my clients reduce stress, anxiety and to help them build resilience. I work with clients both one-on-one and in small group coaching sessions over time, as well as a trainer at the corporate level. I’m working toward a new certification, Activating the Heart of Teams, which I will complete in August 2020.
In 2019, I rejoined my brother Ed at North American Training Solutions as the Health and Wellness Director, and in 2020 was promoted to the Vice President. NATS believes in empowering individuals with the resources needed to safely perform their jobs so that everyone returns home safely to their friends and family. Internationally recognized lecturers for the Arboriculture Industry and as well as injury prevention, we teach ergonomics, safety, and wellness education to industrial athletes. We also have a strong focus on empowering trainers and educators and developing leaders; teaching people how to live and lead from their hearts.
This is one of my favorite quotes because it describes my hero’s journey perfectly. I am not the same person I was 5 years ago and as I re-read my hero’s journey, even 5 months ago. Since writing this blog last August I am excited to share that I completed the HeartMath certification, Activating the Heart of Teams. And in March 2021 successfully met the standards established in the HeartMath Clinical Certification for Stress, Anxiety, and Self-Regulation. In doing so, I have earned recognition as a HeartMath Certified Practitioner.
I’m truly grateful for these certifications because self-regulation is the foundation of all the work that I do. Effective self-regulation improves our foundational health, deepens our relationships, and allows us to be fulfilled by the work we do in the world.
With a grateful heart, in February 2021 I stepped down from my role as Vice President and Health and Wellness Director at North American Training Solutions. I am incredibly grateful to the entire NATS family and for the time spent with my brother Ed. Together we brought new programs into the industries we serve with an innovative health-based and scientific approach towards safety.
My journey with HeartMath has brought new opportunities in the health and wellness space at COR Health Solutions. As well as in the conscious business and leadership space via our new leadership and heart-based living programs (through Amanda A. Carpenter). I will always have a special place in my heart for industrial athletes and will continue to support and offer programs to help Industrial Athletes and their families; to ensure longer and safer careers and a better quality of life outside their job.
I have dedicated my career to helping people take control of their health. I strive to inspire and empower people to address their health in order to live the life they desire to improve happiness in the world. I share my soul's mission through my work in the fields of health care, injury prevention, and wellness.
Who I was yesterday, does not have to be who I am today. I am grateful for my human journey because it has allowed me to be able to share what I’ve learned from my own experiences. Our life experiences are guiding lights to who we are.
I believe there will always be a call to adventure. We can choose to step forward and answer the call or stay where we are, either way, there is a lesson to learn. In all that I do, I will continue to inspire others to live to their highest potential, striving for vitality, and the continuation of a meaningful and purposeful life. I invite you to follow my journey on my new Mighty Networks community HERE.