‘A small fish in a big pool of fitness’: Baldwinsville business owner featured in Syracuse Woman Magazine

BALDWINSVILLE — One year ago, Jessica Nicholas was preparing to launch a new business in the middle of a pandemic. Eleven months later, Nicholas’ personal training business Strength of Change has amassed more than 500 Instagram followers and led dozens of clients — mostly women — through indoor group classes and outdoor boot camp sessions. Now, Nicholas has been featured on the cover of Syracuse Woman Magazine.

“It’s been an amazing journey so far getting to know people one-on-one with fitness,” said Nicholas, who lives in Memphis.

This article mentions eating disorders. If you are struggling with this issue, seek support from the National Eating Disorders Association’s helpline. For crisis situations, text “NEDA” to 741741 to be connected with a trained volunteer at Crisis Text Line.

In addition to one-on-one personal training sessions, Nicholas offers group fitness classes at 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at Infinity Dance Academy in the village of Baldwinsville. Participants can drop by the studio to take the class in-person or attend via Zoom. She also offers an outdoor boot camp at 9 a.m. Saturday at Gillie Lake in Camillus.

While Nicholas now slings around weights and heavy ropes with ease, her fitness journey had a fraught beginning. After years of struggling with an eating disorder, Nicholas realized she was tired of punishing herself physically and mentally.

Jessica Nicholas, a white woman with tattoos and dark hair, wears an orange sports bra and sneakers with dark blue leggings and a white headwrap. She is kneeling and holding a medicine ball over her head — Jessica Nicholas, of Memphis, founded Strength of Change in 2020. She teaches fitness classes at Infinity Dance Academy in Baldwinsville and runs an outdoor boot camp at Gillie Lake in Camillus.

“I was so hard on myself for every single thing that I did,” she said.

Instead of counting calories and trying to lose weight, Nicholas decided to look at food as fuel for her athletic pursuits. She grew up playing soccer, volleyball and lacrosse, and she rediscovered her love of sports in a healthy way as she recovered from her eating disorder.

“I was like, ‘If I can do this for myself, I wonder how many other people I can help,’” she said.
Nicholas became a certified nutrition consultant through the AFPA (American Fitness Professionals and Associates). She left the restaurant industry to work in a gym and launched Strength of Change in June 2020. The winter months were tough, but her clients’ growing enthusiasm and results bolstered her resolve.

“It’s been hard. I would be lying if I said it was easy. There have been days where I thought, ‘I don’t know why I’m doing this,’ but then I have a class full of women and I remember, ‘Okay, this is why I started doing this,’” she said.

With her business flourishing, Nicholas hopes to have a studio of her own someday. She has joined the Greater Baldwinsville Chamber of Commerce and has been networking with local eateries and other businesses.

“I’ve never really spent that much time in B’ville until I started renting out space in Infinity,” she said. “I started to love the connection everyone has there. I feel like everyone is so close and intertwined. … I want to be more part of the community.”

Right now, Nicholas is focusing on growing her client base and making her mark in the Central New York fitness world.

“I feel like such a small fish in a big pool of fitness,” she said.

Nicholas offered advice for those who want to embark on their own fitness journey.

She suggested carving out a small amount of time — even if it’s just 10 minutes — and trying new activities until you find something you like.

“If you start to hate exercising, then you’re probably choosing the wrong exercise,” she said.

Often, workout beginners find the mental hurdles are harder than the physical ones.

“People think that they can’t do it. You’re your biggest obstacle,” Nicholas said. “If you can get over your thought of ‘I can’t do it’ and instead think ‘I’m going to give it a try’ … Once you get going, usually your endorphins will get going and you’ll feel unstoppable.”

Visit strengthofchange.com or follow @jess.strength on Instagram to learn more about Jessica Nicholas’ fitness classes, one-on-one personal training sessions or nutrition consultations.

The May 2021 issue of Syracuse Woman Magazine is on newsstands across Central New York now, or you can read the story at syracusewomanmag.com.

Cooking with Jessica

Jessica Nicholas shared a few healthy recipes for Messenger readers to try. Her barbecue tuna is a lighter take on pulled pork, and it pairs perfectly with Greek yogurt slaw. If you have room for dessert, you can try whipping up some chocolate avocado pudding.