104: Ashlee Whitmoyer

Personal Trainer

Ashlee Whitmoyer is a personal trainer who works with clients individually and also runs small group trainings and exercises classes. At the beginning of the pandemic, the gym she usually works out of shut down completely, so Ashlee moved into doing outdoor and online classes instead of her usual indoor, in person ones.  She also would record some of her group classes so that people could follow along with the videos at home. Ashlee will never forget the outpouring of gratitude and kindness from her clients, who would send her messages and cards all through the pandemic to thank her for continuing her work in a covid safe capacity. For so many people, being able to keep exercising made such a positive difference for their mental health, which was under such incredible strain. She is so grateful that she was able to continue her work and make a difference for people.

Ashlee lives with her boyfriend, who also worked through the pandemic. She has about thirty to forty friends and clients who contracted covid. One very difficult experience for Ashlee was when her grandmother was hospitalized for a reason unrelated to covid. But none-the-less, because of the necessary covid precautions in place, she was still unable to visit her. It was incredibly stressful to have to wait on updates and to be unable to check on her in person. She hopes that people can learn to be mindful and respectful of others, because that is something that she has run into difficulties within groups. She hopes to see a world with more respect and less arguments.