My Journey to Personal Training

Hi, my name is Asher Freeman (they/them), and Nonnormative Body Club is my baby. When I first came out as trans, I began weightlifting with hopes that I could change the shape of my body to better fit societal expectations of masculinity. While I was only ever marginally successful with that goal, lifting weights gave me a far better gift. For one hour every day, I was in tune with my movements and physical sensations. For the first time since childhood, I began experiencing what it meant to be embodied.

As I spent more time at the gym, I began talking with friends and realizing that it wasn't just trans people who can struggle to find a home in our bodies - it is people who have experienced trauma, fat people, people with disabilities, People of Color, cis women, and everyone else whose body is devalued by our society. My work as an anti-oppressive personal trainer is to remind people that our bodies belong to us, and we have every right to inhabit, nourish, and celebrate them as they are.

I am an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer with a Personal Training Certificate from Portland Community College. I live and train in Philadelphia.