About Featherweight Fitness: Functional Fitness Coaching for Women Over 40, Based in Chesapeake, VA
I’m Deb Simpson, a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, and through Featherweight Fitness I provide functional fitness coaching for women over 40. I train clients in person with in-home personal training in Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Suffolk, Virginia. And, if you’re located outside the Hampton Roads area or prefer to work out on your own time, I offer online personal training.
Whether you train with me in person or online, your strength training program is built around your needs and preferences, with a functional fitness focus: exercises designed to help make everyday activities easier and improve your day-to-day endurance.
Meet Deb Simpson, Founder of Featherweight Fitness
In my early 30s, I was nearly 200 pounds on a 5’2″ frame, with a high blood pressure diagnosis. Around 35, something in me shifted, and the person comfortable carrying the extra weight and health risks decided that extra baggage was now…uncomfortable. So, I started walking long distances, which turned into running long distances, which helped me lose 80 pounds, which helped me run faster. At the age of 40, I finally did the one thing I’d set out to do when I started running: qualify for the Boston Marathon.
Then the injuries started stacking up; long-distance running turns out to be adept at finding every structural weakness your body has been quietly ignoring for years. I added strength training to my training plan to fix those weaknesses.
As I got into my late 40s, I found that recovering from running was increasingly difficult, so I dumped it, kept the strength training, and added indoor distance rowing. Those activities have allowed me to continue gaining muscle and endurance through perimenopause, so I can age well. My goal is to spend retirement living on my terms, and only leaving the house for doctor’s appointments is not a part of my plan.
Strength Training for Women Over 40, Through Perimenopause and Beyond
I train women over 40, especially women in perimenopause or postmenopause, who are starting strength training from scratch or coming back to it after a break.
Perimenopause changes what training has to do. As estrogen drops, bone density falls, and after menopause, muscle and bone both keep declining every year. Strength training slows that loss: lifting puts load on muscle and bone, which signals your body to keep both.
My Approach as a Functional Fitness Coach
As a functional fitness coach, I build programs around the challenges we face day to day: carrying laundry upstairs, lifting a set of casserole dishes onto a high shelf, and sprinting through an airport with a carry-on to make a connecting flight.
I spent years in IT and data analysis before leaving the corporate world. The skills I learned in those roles translate to building a comprehensive, structured, and personalized training plan for each client. My data set is my clients’ feedback and progress, my trade publications are studies on the effects of aging and new research on exercise science, and my A/B testing is swapping one exercise for another and keeping the one that gets the better result for the client. What I learn also goes into the free guides I write on Empowering Athena.
In-Home and Online Personal Training With Featherweight Fitness
At Featherweight Fitness, I work with strength training clients in two ways, and either one means you work with me directly: in-home personal training for clients local to Hampton Roads, Virginia, and online personal training for clients who live farther away or would rather train on their own schedule. Nutrition coaching is available with every plan, covering macro guidance and smarter meal choices that support your training. Every client can also text me anytime, and I’ll reply within 24 hours.
In-Home Personal Training
- No commute: I come to you
- Train in your own space, where you’re most comfortable
- I bring all the equipment, so you don’t need to buy any
- One or two 60-minute sessions a week
- Serving the cities of Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Suffolk
Online Personal Training
Train at home or at your gym, on a program built around the equipment you already have.
Live 1:1 Online Training
- Train with me live over video, with a check-in to start every session
- 60-minute sessions, once or twice a week
- Workouts for the days we don’t meet
Online Coaching
- A custom plan from me each week, with video demos
- Train on your own schedule
- A weekly text check-in, plus a 30-minute call every fourth week
Featherweight Fitness in the Media
How to Get Started
Working with Featherweight Fitness starts with a free consult call: a 15- to 30-minute meet and greet where you tell me what you want to work toward and what you’re working around. It’s also our chance to see if we’re a good fit for each other.
Prefer to call? 757-517-0433