Questions about working with me

Women who are type B in fitness and type A everywhere else, and done with starting over. Most of my clients are 35 to 60+, many are moms, and nearly all have tried personal trainers, classes, apps or a combination that didn't stick. If you want to get visibly stronger, more consistent and more confident than you've ever been, and you're ready to be coached, you're in the right place.

Most fitness isn't built around women's lives, so I built Fitness by Zoe as the program I wish I'd had. Women are underserved when it comes to feeling confident in the gym, and building that confidence through strength training changes who you become. Our bodies also change through pregnancy, perimenopause and menopause, and strength training is one of the best ways to protect muscle and bone density as we age. Men, teens and older adults are welcome as one-on-one clients. Our monthly in-person strength workshops for locals are women-only, so they stay a safe space.

Yes. Many of my clients are in their 40s, and I'm in my 40s too, so I know firsthand what this decade brings. I also coach many women in their 50s and 60s, from former athletes to women who've never lifted a weight. Muscle responds to training at any age. After about 35, the typical person loses 1 to 2 percent of their muscle a year without strength training, and lifting is how you keep it and build more. (Related post)

Yes! Many of my clients start as complete beginners. Every exercise in your plan has a demo video, and you can send me a short video of your form for feedback. If you want hands-on help at the start, we can add a few in-person sessions if you're near Prospect Heights.

Yes, in person in Prospect Heights and by request. I'm an ACE-certified Youth Fitness Specialist and coach teens from athletes to teens with physical disabilities to teens who hate gym class. Plans for teens focus on good movement, building strength safely and having fun. The goal is a love of training and healthy habits that carry into school, sports if they play them, and the rest of their lives. A parent joins the first call and decides whether to start. After that, I work directly with your teen, and we agree at the start how involved you'd like to be.

No. Many of my clients come back after a long break, often 10 or 20 years. We start with where you are today, not where you used to be, and build up with small wins you can repeat. Consistency comes first. Strength follows. Before long, you're not someone trying to get back into it. You're someone who trains. (Related post)

Yes, because you're not keeping up with anyone. This isn't a class. Your plan is built for your fitness level today, and you train on your own schedule. As you get stronger, the plan gets harder, at a pace that works for your body.

It's rarely your effort. Usually it's one of four things. The first is the plan: doing the same workouts with the same weights keeps your body where it is, so I build programs around progressive overload, where the weight, reps or tempo increase over time. The second is consistency, because what feels consistent often isn't, and a coach who sees your workout logs and stats spots the gaps you can't. The third is fuel, since many women eat too little, especially protein, to build muscle. The fourth is sleep and stress, which affect everything else. We look at all of it, then focus on the one or two changes that will move the needle most for you, step by step. (Related post)

Because most trainers only cover one hour of your day, and it's the other 23 hours that decide whether it sticks: what you eat, how you recover and how your week actually goes. You don't need more willpower. You need a system built for you, by someone who listens. With Fitness by Zoe, you get a plan and a backup plan, weekly check-ins and real accountability, and your plan adapts when life gets messy, so you build habits that last instead of starting over.

You work directly with me, Zoe Schwartz, founder of Fitness by Zoe. I'm a certified personal trainer and behavior change specialist, and I've coached more than 500 women over 10 years. I left my career as a CMO to do this full-time because it's what I care about most, and I'm personally invested in your progress. You won't be handed off to a junior coach. As Fitness by Zoe grows, any coach who joins will use the same method, but right now, you get me, and I'm all in.

You need to be comfortable using an app. It works on iPhone and Android. The Fitness by Zoe app is our hub for your training, your progress and our ongoing communication and support. If you're tracking food, you log your meals there too, and it's simple to use. It shows us the weights you're using, how long your workouts take, how hard they feel and how you're progressing over time. It also connects with Apple Health, Garmin, Fitbit and Oura, so we can see health metrics like steps, heart rate and sleep alongside your training. That's a lot of data, but you never have to sort through it alone. We help you make sense of it, so we look at the full picture of your health and build strength for longevity, not just the next 3 months. Weekly check-ins come by email, and we talk by phone or Google Meet whenever you're stuck on something, like meal prep or a new part of your training plan.

Most clients feel momentum within the first month. Within a few months, consistency starts to feel automatic, even when life gets messy. My goal for your first 3 months is that you're visibly stronger, more consistent and no longer overwhelmed. How far you go depends on where you're starting and what's happening in your life. You get all the tools, and what you do with them is up to you. This isn't a quick fix. Change that lasts through every season takes closer to a year, which is why most clients keep going after their first 3 months.

Most women come to FBZ after years of starting and stopping, sometimes decades. Within their first month, they're strength training two to three times a week. And they stay, not because they have to, but because they want to keep building: some clients have trained with me for nearly 3 years. Strength shows up in your workouts as heavier weights, and in everyday life too. One client now carries her stroller up the stairs with ease, another helped a neighbor move, and another carried wedding supplies into the venue herself. Other wins clients name at the end of the program: exercise becoming part of their daily routine, finally prioritizing themselves, knowing how to get enough protein, and feeling confident walking into the weights section of the gym. The biggest change is how they see themselves. Clients describe feeling "proud of myself for sticking with something" and "strong and sure of my body working for me."

Strategic Strength takes at least 60 minutes a week, usually 2 to 3 strength workouts of 30 to 50 minutes each. You choose the days and session length that fit your life, and if short daily sessions suit you better, 10 minutes a day works too. Your plan is designed around your schedule, with a backup for missed days built in. Building nutrition and sleep habits takes some time and energy too, until they become automatic. Then we move on to your next level. The plan fits your week, not the other way around.

By making them yours and making them easy. We build habits you actually want to keep, not rules you have to follow, and start small enough that they fit your real week. Your plan takes the guesswork out, so you don't spend mental energy deciding what to do or when. We plan for missed days, travel and busy seasons, so a hard week doesn't send you back to the start. Over time, the habits stop feeling like effort and start feeling like part of who you are.

You will, and that's planned for. Missing a workout isn't failure. Quitting is. We move the workout, shorten it, or do half of it, because some is better than none. The goal is to get back on track this week instead of starting over next month. Letting go of all-or-nothing thinking is part of what you learn, and it's what drives better results. One client said her turning point was a month that wasn't perfect, but she kept going anyway.

Yes, and you're in good company. Most of my clients are high achievers at work and stuck in all-or-nothing mode with fitness. We start with a plan that's realistic for you, often two or three workouts, nail it, then build. A smaller plan you actually do beats a perfect plan you abandon. Over time, you stop being all or nothing and become someone who shows up. When a week goes sideways, you get a coach in your corner, not a guilt trip, and that shift in how you treat yourself tends to show up everywhere else too.

You're not alone. It's one of the most common things I hear. Working from home gives you flexibility but takes away your structure: no start time, no end time, and always one more email before you "quickly" work out. Here's what works for my clients:

• Work out first. A morning workout anchors the day, and everything else falls into place around it.
• Don't open the laptop until it's done. Changing into workout clothes isn't enough if you check your email first. One email snowballs into an hour.
• Give yourself a reason to leave the house: a morning class, a co-working day, or a 10-minute walk after your workout.
• Swap rigid targets for simple ones. "Get outside and move every day" beats a 10,000-step checklist you either hit or miss.
• Reset midweek, not next week. A bad Monday doesn't make it a bad week. Get back on track Wednesday.

We figure out your version through your weekly check-ins. Often the breakthrough comes from you noticing the pattern, and my job is to help you see it and build around it.

Yes, it's a big part of my practice. These years can change your energy, sleep, recovery and where your body holds weight, and strength training is one of the best tools you have. Your plan accounts for that: how much you train, how you recover and how you eat. Anything medical, like hormone therapy, is a conversation for your doctor.

Yes, and it matters even more. I coach clients who take GLP-1 medications. I don't prescribe or sell them, so your doctor manages the medication. My part, within my scope as a trainer and coach, is fitness and nutrition: strength training to help you keep the muscle you have while you lose weight, enough protein, and eating well when your appetite is smaller.

For most women, carry on as normal. Your plan doesn't need to change with your cycle. If you have tough symptoms, tell me and we'll adapt that week's training.

Yes. Many of my clients are moms, both working moms and stay-at-home moms. We build around your real week: shorter workouts, workouts at home, and a plan B for the week a kid gets sick. Small, consistent workouts beat a perfect plan you can't keep.

Yes, once your doctor has fully cleared you for exercise. I coach many moms getting back to training after a baby. I'm not a pre- or postnatal specialist, so if you have pelvic floor or abdominal separation concerns, I'll suggest seeing a pelvic floor physical therapist alongside our work.

Yes. Many of my clients have ADHD, and structure is where coaching helps most: workouts on your calendar, a clear plan for each day, reminders, and someone checking in. We keep workouts varied enough to stay interesting and simple enough to start. When a week goes sideways, we adjust instead of starting over.

Often, yes, and many hypermobile people find that getting stronger helps their joints feel more stable. The focus is control: building strength around your joints rather than chasing range of motion. I adapt exercises to how your body responds. Check with your doctor or physical therapist before you start, and we'll keep them in the loop.

Strength training is one of the main ways to support bone health, and I've coached women after an osteopenia diagnosis. Your plan adds load gradually and safely. Bone health is medical, so work with your doctor on it. I coach within my scope and we keep them in the loop.

Often, yes. For many people, the right strength training, built up slowly, helps their back feel better. We start with what feels good, increase gradually, and stop anything that hurts. If your pain is sharp, new or getting worse, see a doctor or physical therapist first.

Yes, I work with people with all kinds of health histories. I adapt your plan to you and stay within my scope as a trainer and coach. If something needs a medical opinion, I'll say so and recommend you see a professional.

Yes, we take a team approach to your care. If you're working with a physical therapist, I can coordinate with them directly. When it makes sense, I add your PT exercises to your plan in the Fitness by Zoe app, so everything lives in one place and you have one plan to follow, not two. Your PT leads on rehab, and I build your strength training around it.

Yes. I'm a strength coach for women, based in Prospect Heights. I train clients one-on-one at Good Reps, a small private studio on Vanderbilt Ave, and coach women everywhere through the Fitness by Zoe app. Clients come from Prospect Heights, Park Slope, Crown Heights, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, and from across New York and beyond.

At Good Reps, 639 Vanderbilt Ave in Prospect Heights. It's a boutique physical therapy practice that rents me space as a personal trainer, with no more than three people training there at a time, so sessions are one-on-one and unhurried. Anyone can book a session, first come, first served, with a 24-hour cancellation policy.

Just yourself. Good Reps is a fully equipped gym with a water fountain, a bathroom and hand towels, so bring a water bottle if you like one. There's no shower. Train in sneakers or barefoot, whatever feels best. You'll often see me barefoot.

Usually not. In-person sessions are at Good Reps in Prospect Heights. If you live within about 10 minutes of there, ask me and we'll see, but it's rare.

I'm not a gym. I'm a strength coach for women. In-person sessions are one-on-one in a small private studio, and the monthly workshop is women-only, with no one else training in the space.

A free 30-minute call with me to get clear on what's not working and what you want instead. We look at your workouts, food, sleep, stress and energy, and find the one bottleneck that would make everything else easier. Then I map out the simple, realistic plan I'd build for you. At the end, we decide together: yes, no, or not yet with a start date. All three are good outcomes, and there's no pressure either way.

Every plan is tailored, so the investment depends on the coaching that fits you. The short application shows the investment up front: you can pay in full or spread it over 3 months, so there are no surprises. On your free Wellness Strategy Session, we work out which option fits your goals. Apply for coaching to see it.

Yes. Fitness by Zoe is built for women, and men are welcome as one-on-one clients. Men get the same personalized coaching. They're welcome in our online community forum too, though our monthly in-person workshops are for women.

Yes. I lead strength and wellness workshops and bespoke experiences for companies and for-profit and non-profit organizations. Current workshops include General Mills, the University of Virginia Alumni Club of New York City and Infosys. To bring one to your team, email me at fitnessbyzoe@gmail.com.

Yes. I partner with businesses that share our values, like MaMassage Brooklyn at our monthly workshops and Square Fare for meals. Email me at fitnessbyzoe@gmail.com with your idea, and I'll add you to my monthly partner update.

Yes. Square Fare, a New York City meal prep company, is our nutrition partner. Their meals are delicious and healthy, and I'm a fan myself. Use the code ZOE for 20% off your first week at getsquarefare.com.

Yes. Kiera Nagle of MaMassage® Brooklyn is our recovery partner, and she has co-led several of our monthly strength workshops, including Move to Restore. Recovery is part of the Fitness by Zoe method, and Kiera is who I send clients to.