Good Neighbor Podcast: TN-WNC-SWVA

EP# 290: Faith, Fitness, and Purpose through Uplifting Training

• Skip Mauney& Heath Pritchard • Episode 290

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What makes Heath Pritchard with Uplifting Training a good neighbor?

What happens when faith meets fitness? Heath Pritchard, owner of Uplifting Training in Johnson City, has created something remarkable by fusing his expertise in exercise science with his Christian faith. His story is one of unexpected transitions, divine timing, and finding purpose through helping others care for their physical temples.

After graduating from ETSU with an exercise science degree in 2015, Heath faced the common graduate's dilemma of choosing a career path. While physical therapy and athletic training were options, the deeply relational nature of personal training captured his heart. The opportunity to meet with clients multiple times weekly creates space for meaningful connections that extend far beyond sets and reps.

Heath's business journey took a profound turn in 2021 when his employer and mentor, Eric Luelling of E-Fit Training and Nutrition, passed away unexpectedly. This loss became a pivotal moment that tested and ultimately strengthened Heath's faith. Through what he describes as divine orchestration, Heath found himself assuming ownership of the business and transforming it into Uplifting Training – a place where clients aged 15 and older come not just for physical transformation, but spiritual guidance as well.

"We do uplifting training for life-changing results," Heath explains, encapsulating his mission to help people understand proper body stewardship from a biblical perspective. When not training clients, Heath cherishes time with his wife and daughter, along with his church family.

Ready to transform body and spirit? Visit Heath at 600 North State of Franklin, Suite 3 in Johnson City, check out UpliftingTraining.com, or find them on Facebook to start your journey toward holistic health that honors your body as the temple it was meant to be.

To learn more about Uplifting Training go to:

https://upliftingtraining.com/

Uplifting Training

(703) 853-4114



Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Skip Monty.

Speaker 2:

Well, hello everyone and welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast of the Tri-Cities. So I hope everybody's doing well. I'm pretty excited today to have someone in our studio who's never been here before and sort of for the first time, so I'm really excited to learn all about them and what they do. And I'm sure you will be as well, because today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Mr Heath Pritchard, who is the owner operator of Uplifting Heath. Welcome to the show.

Speaker 3:

Hey, skip, thank you for having me. Glad to be here, brother.

Speaker 2:

Well, we're glad to have you and, like I said, super excited to learn all about you and what you do. So if you don't mind, why don't you kick us off by telling us about your business?

Speaker 3:

So my business is called Uplifting, and the whole premise of the business is to use personal training as a platform to tell people about the good news of Jesus Christ and then to also help people understand how to take care of their bodies and the importance of taking care of their bodies from a biblical worldview.

Speaker 2:

Awesome, I love it. I love it. So, heath, how did you get into this business?

Speaker 3:

Well, so I went to ETSU and I graduated in 2015 with an exercise science degree and I just was trying to figure out what I was going to do with the exercise science, whether it was going to be physical therapy, athletic training, personal training. There are so many different avenues to choose from, but it just really came down to just how relational personal training is, the fact that you get to see the same people three, four times a week. It's just so encouraging that you can just pour into their lives and just really get to know them, and that's what just really drew me to this profession.

Speaker 2:

Awesome. Well, who are your target customers? Who are the folks that you try to attract, and how do you attract them?

Speaker 3:

Pretty much anybody that just wants to, you know, learn how to take care of their bodies. I just love really just talking about personal training. I love just talking about exercise science with people just have such a passion for it. But pretty much anybody of the ages of 15 till you know, whatever age. But we don't start earlier than 15 because I just think that it's really hard to have discipline before you're 15 when it comes to something as important as personal training and just understanding what exactly I'm looking for well, I totally get that.

Speaker 2:

A man with five children. I I totally understand what you're talking about, the younger than 15 thing. So outside of work.

Speaker 3:

Heath, what do you like to do for fun? Well, I just love hanging out with my family. Man, skip, let me tell you, I have an absolutely amazing wife and I just have the sweetest, sweetest little girl and they are just such a joy to me and I am just so thankful for everything that they bring to me and to my family and just the excitement that they bring. And I just love hanging out also with my church family, whether it's we're actually just meeting for service or whether we're just hanging out in small groups and just enjoying fellowship, uh, with my church family and just continuing to build those friendships. It's just, uh, such a blessing awesome.

Speaker 2:

I always say, uh, the best answer is time with family, but time with family and church is even better. So, so, uh, uh. So let's switch gears for just a second Heath. If you could think of a hardship or a life challenge that you've overcome and how it made you stronger in the end, does anything come to mind?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, absolutely Skip. So before this place was called Uplifting, it used to be called E-Fit Training and Nutrition and the owner his name was Eric Luelling and he was my boss and I was just working for him as a personal trainer was Eric Llewellyn, and he was my boss and I was just working for him as a personal trainer and unfortunately, in 2021 he passed away and I think that was really hard for me because that was a death that I experienced for the first time. That wasn't expected in my life. So, just having to confront that and also just understand that there's some things in this world that we won't understand and you know, just being a Christian, you know it didn't shake my faith, but it did help me understand that hey, you know, there's some things in this world that I'm not meant to understand and that's OK, absolutely, and so you just sort of took over the business.

Speaker 3:

Well, yeah, I mean just God just really opened some doors, and I mean just the way that he worked. It was only something that the Lord could have orchestrated.

Speaker 2:

Of course, of course. It's amazing when you give it all to him. Yeah, yeah, what. What comes from that?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I mean, there's just no way that I could have done this on my own. Just the way that God just opened all the doors and, um, you know, just putting me in position where I'm uncomfortable as a business owner, but just being able to be fully reliant on him, you know, to get me through each and every day, um, it's just such a blessing.

Speaker 2:

Amen, brother. And how long have you uh has, have you been running uplifting?

Speaker 3:

Amen, brother. And how long have you uh has, have you been running uplifting?

Speaker 2:

I've been running it since April 2021. 2021. So just after, towards the tail end of COVID.

Speaker 3:

Yep, yep.

Speaker 2:

Wow, wow, very cool, very cool, that sounds like.

Speaker 3:

so you're pushing, you're getting ready to looking at five years pretty soon. Yeah, so yeah so far.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's awesome. Nothing to sneeze at, man. It's working. The Lord's working for you. You're working for the Lord.

Speaker 3:

Such a blessing, such a blessing Absolutely Well, heath.

Speaker 2:

If, um, if there was one thing that you would like our listeners to remember about uplifting uh personal training, what would that be?

Speaker 3:

I think uh, it goes without saying, skip that the most important thing is just to glorify Christ and what I'm doing with uplifting, but also, from an exercise science standpoint, to just understand that we need to take care of our bodies. You know, the Lord's given us these bodies and we need to be good stewards to them. And you know I'm just glad that I can educate and make people aware how to take care of their bodies in that perspective, Very good, it is a temple. Yes, Amen brother.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely Well for those of us who need to get in shape, need to get our spiritual life in shape and our physical life in shape. How can we learn more?

Speaker 3:

So you can go to UpliftingTrainingcom, you can go to Uplifting Training on Facebook or you can just swing by the studio at 600 North State of Franklin, suite no 3, johnson City, tennessee, because I'd love to meet you and just get you started on your physical journey. Love to be a part of that.

Speaker 2:

All right, Very good, Very good, you heard it here. Guys, If you're interested, you need to replenish spiritually and physically. Come see Heath at Uplifting. On State of Franklin you said right.

Speaker 3:

That's right. And what I always say, skip is we do uplifting training for life-changing results.

Speaker 2:

Love it, love it. Uplifting. Training for life-changing results.

Speaker 3:

That's right.

Speaker 2:

Amen, love it, brother, all right. Well, heath, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you spending some time with us, taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to me and to our listeners so we can learn all about you and your mission actually, and ministry and your business. So we appreciate it and, moving forward, wish you, your family, your clients, your business all the best.

Speaker 3:

Well, thank you, Skip, it's been an absolute blessing brother.

Speaker 2:

It's been a blessing for us too, and maybe we can have you back sometime when you've got an event or something going on.

Speaker 3:

Absolutely. I would love to.

Speaker 2:

All right, sounds great. We'll see you soon.

Speaker 3:

All righty.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnptry-citiescom. That's gnptry-citiescom, or call 423-719-5873.