Today we’d like to introduce you to Melitta Szymanski.
Hi Melitta, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Sports have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and they shaped a lot of who I became.
I competed in Division I track and field at Robert Morris University and later had the opportunity to compete at the 2008 Canadian Olympic Trials. After my own competitive career, I spent about 12 years coaching collegiate track and field at both the Division I and Division III levels. In 2018, I was inducted into the Robert Morris University Athletic Hall of Fame, which was an incredibly meaningful full-circle moment for me.
For many years, being an athlete and a coach was a huge part of my identity. I loved competition, structure, setting goals, pushing myself, and helping other people discover what they were capable of.
But life changes, and so do we.
I became a wife and a mom, and today I am raising four kids. Motherhood has been one of the most rewarding parts of my life, but it also changed my relationship with myself. Like so many women, there were seasons when my own goals, routines, and interests naturally moved further down the priority list because there were so many other people and responsibilities that needed my attention.
Over time, I started realizing that I missed the part of myself that felt strong, competitive, and challenged. I did not necessarily want to become the same athlete I had been years earlier. I wanted to figure out who I was now and what strength looked like in this stage of my life.
That has probably been one of the biggest lessons of my adult life: you do not have to choose between who you were and who you are becoming.
I am still an athlete, just in a different season. I am still competitive. I still love setting goals. I am still learning, changing, and pushing myself. I am also a mom of four with a very full life, and I have learned that progress rarely happens under perfect circumstances.
That mindset has carried into almost everything I do. I believe in showing up consistently, giving yourself room to evolve, and understanding that small steps still matter. Life does not have to be perfectly organized before you decide to do something for yourself.
Eventually, that journey also led me back into fitness professionally. I became a certified personal trainer and started MelittaFIT, which gave me an opportunity to combine so many pieces of my life: my background as an athlete, my years of coaching, my experience as a mother, and my belief that women are capable of becoming stronger at every stage of life.
But at the center of all of it, I am still someone who is figuring things out, setting new goals, raising a family, and continuing to challenge myself.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I would not necessarily say it has been a difficult road, but it has definitely been challenging at times.
A lot of the challenge has come from balancing the different parts of my life. I am a wife, a mom of four, a coach, a trainer, and someone who still has personal goals of my own. There are only so many hours in a day, and learning how to give each area the attention it deserves without feeling like I have to do everything perfectly has been an ongoing process.
Another challenge has been learning to evolve with each season of life. The way I trained, worked, and measured success in my twenties does not look the same now. I have had to learn that progress can still be meaningful even when it looks different than it used to.
There have also been moments of doubt that come with building something of your own. You are constantly learning, adjusting, and figuring out what works.
What has helped me is staying grounded in consistency. I have learned not to wait for the perfect time, the perfect schedule, or the perfect circumstances. Most of the time, those do not exist. You just keep moving forward, make adjustments when you need to, and trust that small steps add up.
So no, I would not describe the road as especially difficult, but it has required patience, flexibility, and a willingness to keep growing.
As you know, we’re big fans of MelittaFIT. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
MelittaFIT is a personal training and fitness brand focused on helping women become stronger, more confident, and more connected to what their bodies are capable of.
My approach is rooted in strength training, conditioning, movement quality, and sustainable habits. I work with women in different stages of life, including busy moms, former athletes, women returning to fitness, and women who simply want to feel stronger and healthier without feeling like fitness has to take over their entire lives.
What sets MelittaFIT apart is that I bring several different perspectives to coaching. I have been a Division I athlete, a collegiate coach, a personal trainer, and a mom of four. I understand high-level training and performance, but I also understand what it is like to fit training into a very full life.
Because of that, I do not believe fitness has to be all or nothing.
I am not interested in creating programs built around punishment, extremes, or unrealistic expectations. I want women to learn how to train with purpose, build strength, challenge themselves, and create habits they can actually maintain.
A big part of MelittaFIT is also helping women reconnect with the athlete in themselves. That does not mean someone had to compete in sports or train at an elite level. To me, being an athlete is about mindset. It is about setting goals, showing up, challenging yourself, and discovering that you are capable of more than you thought.
That idea has become especially meaningful to me as I have gotten older. Women are often told, directly or indirectly, that certain parts of themselves should start getting smaller with age. I want MelittaFIT to communicate the opposite. You can become stronger, more confident, and more capable in every season of life.
One phrase that really represents MelittaFIT is, “Train for the life you live.”
To me, fitness should support your life, not compete with it. Training should help you feel stronger, more capable, and more confident in the things you do every day. Whether that means keeping up with your kids, returning to something athletic you once loved, building strength as you get older, or simply feeling better in your own body, the goal is to create strength that carries beyond the gym.
I am proud that MelittaFIT feels real. It is not built around perfection or pretending that everyone has unlimited time and energy. It is built around showing up where you are, doing what you can, and continuing to move forward.
Currently, I offer one-on-one in-person personal training, online coaching, and online fitness programs designed for women who want structure, guidance, and effective workouts they can complete on their own schedule.
My goal is always to meet women where they are and create an approach that fits their goals, experience level, lifestyle, and season of life.
More than anything, I want women to know that strength is for them. You do not have to wait until life slows down, until you lose weight, until you feel more confident, or until everything is perfectly in place.
You can start where you are and become stronger from there.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My husband, Mark, absolutely deserves a lot of credit. He motivates me, encourages me, and supports me every day.
Building something of your own while raising a family takes a lot of teamwork, and I am very fortunate to have a partner who believes in me and in what I am trying to build. He encourages me to keep going, challenges me when I need it, and supports the time and energy I put into MelittaFIT and my own goals.
Having someone beside you who genuinely wants to see you succeed makes a huge difference. I am incredibly grateful for the way he supports me, our family, and this journey
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.melittaFIT.com
- Instagram: @melitta.fit
