Ellie Perry grew up an athlete, never having to think twice about fitness. Then college ended, and life hit her hard. Heavy events left her spinning, searching for something she couldn’t quite name. “I googled ‘how to change your life,’ not knowing what I was looking for and what I would find,” she says.
That search led her to a company specializing in transformations, and a twelve-week program that changed the course of her life. “I fell in love with the process, the human body, and the mental and emotional changes that came with it,” she says. What started as her own healing became a calling to help others find themselves too.
Training That Evolves With the Woman
Years of coaching have taught Ellie that fitness is never static, especially for women. Bodies change, hormones shift, and stress lands differently at every age. “No one’s journey is the same,” she says.
“As we age, things change.” Her training philosophy is built around adapting to each season of life rather than forcing the same approach year after year, a lesson she applies to her clients and to herself.
Putting the Oxygen Mask on First
As a mom of two, trainer, and online coach, Ellie’s biggest obstacle to consistency has never been motivation. It’s time, and the boundaries required to protect it. “We schedule workouts, but the baby gets sick, or the baby skips the nap for the day,” she says.
The habit she leans on comes from airline safety instructions. “Put the oxygen mask on yourself before helping others,” she says. “Training and taking care of my body allows me to be a better mother, a better wife, and allows my cup to be filled daily.”
A Story Told in Every Decade
Ellie describes the female body as something beautiful precisely because of how much it changes. In her twenties, she chased leanness through fitness competitions. In her thirties, her body carried two children. Now in her forties, she is learning strength alongside shifting hormones. “All stages have told a story,” she says.
Today she strength trains three to four days a week and gives herself grace to recover. Her advice to other women in their forties is simple and direct: strength train. “It’s a beautiful feeling to feel strong and know you can still hang with those twenty year olds,” she says, “if you want to.”
The Cloud That Lifted
Perhaps the most defining chapter of Ellie’s journey came after the birth of her first child, when she quietly struggled with postpartum depression without fully realizing it until she had already come out the other side. “I felt lost, even in my fitness life,” she remembers.
Some nights she would go into the garage alone and simply go through the motions of a workout. But she kept showing up, day after day, until the cloud finally lifted and she started feeling like herself again. That period reshaped how she trains herself and how she coaches others. “There is so much more to fitness than just working out and eating right,” she says. “It’s mental and emotional as well.”
Keeping It Honest, Keeping It Funny
Ellie is quick to point out that the polished version of fitness seen on social media rarely matches real life. Sometimes there are abs, and sometimes hormones say otherwise, and she believes it’s worth showing both sides. One of her favorite stories from her twenties involves a treadmill, a new boyfriend, and an attempt to flirt that sent her flying off the side rail entirely, back before camera phones could immortalize the moment. “I laughed so hard at myself that I didn’t even notice if others were laughing,” she says. “I jumped back on the treadmill and said, ‘so, anyway,’ and just kept going.”
Finding Her Way Back
After her last baby, Ellie stepped away from training and coaching for a while, wanting to soak up every moment of what she knew would be her final pregnancy. She has since returned, and instantly remembered how much she loves the work.
Her advice for other women, at any phase, remains grounded in the same philosophy she has carried through every decade. “Half the things they see on social media are not real,” she says. “There is no right or wrong path to take when it comes to health and fitness. Take your time and find your own road, and love your body through each and every phase.”
