Meet Nichole Thames | Personal Trainer (Online & In-Person Sessions)

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nichole Thames and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nichole, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I am a proud native of good ol’ Waco, Texas, where my fitness journey began as a Track & Field athlete and winning the UIL State Track & Field title with my team in high school team in 2009. During this accomplishment, I was recovering from a massive knee injury where I partially tore my ACL, MCL, meniscus and completely tore my PCL that I no longer have. Also, I played volleyball as a middle blocker and participated in competitive cheerleading as I was an all-around athlete.

Once I graduated from high school, I went up the road and attended the University of Texas at Arlington. During my time at UT Arlington, I had the amazing opportunity to not only be a collegiate Track & Field athlete, but also a collegiate cheerleader. After obtaining my Bachelor’s degree, I obtained my Master’s in Higher Education with an emphasis in Leadership for Student Success from Walden University.

Currently, I work in higher education by day and as a certified personal trainer and online coach by night. Having such a diverse background where I have various transferable skills has made me become so excited to train! I am here to encourage, guide and motivate my clients!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The world of physical fitness has actually been apart of my life since I was 8 years old because of my involvement in competitive cheer and AAU volleyball and track and field. As I got older, I realized the importance in having a heathier lifestyle. Since I always worked out on my own, I always had others pick my brain on the exercises that I do. For instance, the joke that I have always received is that I have “spartan abs,” and people are always interested in knowing additional exercises that they can implement to have a nice core. With this in mind, I decided to pursue a certification in personal training.

Was it easy? Absolutely not! During the day, I am a higher educator where a lot of my time is devoted to working one-on-one with my college students. Similar to my graduate program, I had to find ways to implement additional time to enhance my knowledge base in personal training. With the recent pandemic, I found myself looking for other avenues to help me stay grounded physically and mentally. This pushed me to finish my certification in personal training.

One of the key takeaways about the lessons that I’ve learned during this process is that one you start, you HAVE to get it!

In the physical fitness world, there seems to be more of a promotion of male personal trainers, but there is an emergence of women personal trainers who are out there willing to put in the work and help others reach their personal fitness goals.

What I want the world to know about me is that being a petite woman does not hinder my ability to provide fitness expertise. With the amount of years that I have being a physically fit former athlete, I have the capability to train individuals to enhance their fitness journey.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My God-fearing family. I have a strong support system that has pushed me to where I am today. Without them, I would not be able to do the things that I do today. My family is an example of laying a foundation for a goal, working towards the goal and successfully achieving the goal all in the name of walking into our purpose.

Website: www.Nikkitfitness.com

Instagram: Nikkitfitness

Image Credits
Photography – http://www.ceronelaceyphotography.com/ IG: ceronelaceyphotography Hairstylist IG – Keis_krafts Makeup Artist IG – Klynnettemua