
About Single Step Wellness & Recreation
Single Step Wellness & Recreation LLC is the creation of me, Gwen Gates.
I am a Nationally Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, an NASM Certified Personal Trainer and a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist.
In addition to all those titles,
I am a "tom boy" (not afraid to get dirty and mess things up),
I am a "Cheesehead" at heart (from the state of Wisconsin),
a life long learner,
an adventurer,
a wannabe writer,
a dreamer,
I love a good belly laugh
and I am a firm believer in the power of faith, family and fun!
I started Single Step Wellness & Recreation in 2022 as a way to address the need for families to get on the same page with their health/wellness, begin to realize their potential and be their best individually and together.
Having worked in a variety of settings including nursing homes,
long term residential treatment programs (substance abuse & eating disorders),
in-patient mental healthcare programs,
adventure therapy programs,
public school settings,
fitness centers,
and even owning my own restaurant,
I have witnessed the confusion and overwhelm in trying to live a healthy, balanced and consistent lifestyle.
Our society today is focused on quick fixes and treatment vs prevention.
We are raised to believe that faster is better.
We are conditioned to depend on the health care system to "fix" us when things go wrong.
We are not taught how to care for ourselves in a way that is proactive and preventative.
If we have been lucky enough to have been taught it, we procrastinate it thinking, "I'll do it later."
We judge ourselves and one another through a lens of "should"...
I "should" have done that or you "shouldn't" do that.
When we "should" on ourselves and each other we are instilling shame and guilt, not encouragement and resiliency - two things it takes to live a healthy, balanced and consistent life is this crazy fast world.
Our high stress, high demand lifestyles enforce the belief that we don't have the time, the money or the skill to live healthy lifestyles.
By our own example, we are teaching our kids to devalue their health.
To procrastinate themselves.
And to be physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted.
What if you were shown a way to live a healthy, balanced and connected lifestyle?
Without endless scrolling through ever changing and overwhelming health information?
Without a HUGE investment of time or money?
That is why I started Single Step Wellness & Recreation.
An accessible, affordable and reliable place where families can come and get their questions answered, connect with other like minded folks, and build their health/wellness skills.
There is no one right answer for everyone. Even within our own families there are a variety of needs to be met and a variety of ways to get there.
Health & Wellness doesn't have to be as confusing and as overwhelming as it has become.
Yes, family dynamics, busy schedules and individual needs can complicate things.
However, with a Nationally Board Certified Wellness Coach, personal trainer, and recreation therapist by your side along with the Single Step Wellness approach, you and your family can develop a healthy, balanced and consistent lifestyle that will lead to connectivity, joy & peace in your house, your mind and your body.
Let's stop telling each what to do and let's start helping one another find the path that leads them to living their BEST life one SINGLE STEP at a time.