Hello, I’m Marie!
This page is about me, but I’m going to start with you anyway.
You are probably here because you care about your health.
You want to feel in shape, and you want to know you are doing the right things in order to achieve that.
You want to feel strong, energized and good about yourself. Possibly even very strong?
And you want to feel like you accomplish what you set out to do. Not just for a short period of time. You want this to become a part of your life. No quickfix, you are done with that rabbit hole, because as you know; it never leads to lasting results.
You also would like to have an uncomplicated relationship with food, enjoy all the savory and sweet tastes out there and feel like you are fueling your body in a way that supports the training you do (or will be doing…). Maybe we can call it balance?
Am I right about this?
In that case, I would dare say you are on the right webpage!
I want to help you find passion for strength training, build confidence in yourself through a resilient body and show you that you are capable of much more than you think. I also want you to eat to thrive. Not having to live life in a way that feels restricted and accompanied by feelings of shame. A lifestyle that supports you in doing the things you want and love for as long as you can – that’s what I want to help you achieve.
I’m Marie
I’m 33 and I live in Oslo, Norway. I have a huge passion for lifting weights and finding out what I am capable of. Strength training taught me a lot about grit and resilience. Over the years lifting weights became a source of empowerment.
This lead me to discover powerlifting: the sport where you get to really become good at picking up heavy things and putting them down again. I am now a competitive powerlifter for Oslo Powerlifting Club. Classic and equipped. There are two different domains within powerlifting, but you don’t have to know this, it’s a super geeky thing. However, if you are here for the powerlifting stuff: WELCOME! I would love to help you on this journey, so please reach out!
Being a trainer, you must have always loved being active, right…?
I never liked gym in school. Maybe not what you expect to read on a personal trainer’s “about page”. But it’s true. I literally hated it. There is especially one episode that comes to mind: Standing in front of the whole class jumping over a stick landing on a mattress (high jump). That’s something that really has etched itself to my memory. The same uncomfortable feelings come up just by thinking about it. Pair this dislike with social anxiety and you have the perfect recipe for avoiding things, and confirming for yourself you are not good at something. “This is just not for me, I can’t possibly be good at that.”
I know now it was not my fault I dreaded gym. I bet I could have been good at a lot of things, had someone showed me in a calm way without spectators laughing if you did something «wrong.» I even could have liked it, I think. Even high jump.
These experiences made me identify as someone who was not good at being active or doing sports.
And I kept feeding that thought for a long time. It takes great courage to do something you think you are not good at, and allow yourself to be a complete newbie. But with a curious and open mindset, that experience can turn out great. I still need to remind myself.
Getting help from a trainer changed this for me: I loved strength training from the moment I picked up a dumbbell. It was kind of like coming home and finding myself for the first time. But also realizing: I have to pursue this and teach others, so they can feel the same!
I am done with holding myself back from doing the things I want. At least that is my intention. I bet you feel the same way!
This has led me to realize that in order to thrive, I need to do things my way. I need a strong sense of freedom, and the possibility to act according to my own values. So in 2019 I dived into the realm of self-employment. Scared as shit, but honestly not more scared than when working for someone else (LOL, there’s not much logic in that).
Today I work as a personal trainer and strength coach at a private gym in Oslo, only shared with my colleague Tor Erik. There are no members training on their own at our gym. It’s only possible to book 1-1 sessions, duo sessions or to train in a group with me or my colleague. This means complete privacy and a very calm environment. I thrive in this setting, as an absolute introvert! The clients love it too, since they get to be so comfy and feel at home without anyone else around. I truly love working this way.
I also do group training for businesses in the center of Oslo: I come to your work place and we do our weekly scheduled training in small groups during work hours. Amazing to have such benefits, right? A lot of workplaces do, or they include one hour training during the week, but so many people don’t know how to use their gym. So I am happy to teach that!
In addition I work online with both training and nutrition coaching. It doesn’t matter where you live in order to do this. Either you prefer to follow a program on your own, or you prefer follow-up on a weekly basis, I offer both. For the nutrition coaching I really enjoy helping people realize how much they can actually eat, as long as their food choices are reasonable. And to help people get rid of the old diet mentality. It takes up so much space. Imagine freeing yourself from that.
You can read more about my services here.
It seems I am one of those never being done in school. I have two bachelor’s: one in Health Psychology and one in Physiology of Nutrition (so that’s six years). I didn’t stop there though. I am currently doing a part time Masters in Interdiciplinary Health Research at the University of Oslo (due to be complete in 2025). In addition I have also taken classes of history of ideas, some philosophy, sociology, social geography, nutrition for kids and probably something else I forgot…
My goal with the master is to “unite” all my previous degrees, and use it to specialize more. Exactly what that ends up being is not yet known, but I am researching how training with a personal trainer is experienced by women with obesity. Qualitative research, if you happen to be familiar with that.
And, of course not to forget: I am a certified personal trainer and strength coach. I specialize in strength training, but I do actually know a thing or two about conditioning too.