
Today we’d like to introduce you to Layli Lederman.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Layli. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was a special educator for many years. I had spent my life building experiences with children, learning their unique needs and implementing educational plans in a variety of settings. I absolutely loved my job but I lacked work/life balance and I felt that I was limited in my options to scale up. I made a commitment to teaching for five years and then started my own business. When I put in my notice, I had no real path of what I was going to do.
My fiancé and I has already started Sharkk Fitness, an MMA strength and conditioning gym now located in Arvada, CO, but my passion was in food and nutrition. I had spent years studying and searching for programs that would transform my love of local, fresh foods into a business. The turning point that sticks out to me was hiking up the Manitou Incline, every step I took, I thought, “I love fighting and I love food”, I repeated that for hours and set the intention that I would go where I was needed, without fear.
I started a meal prep company, Real Good Food in May 2018, selling simple meals out of gyms. However, I had a continuous feeling that I needed to work exclusively with MMA fighters. I was then introduced to George Lockhart, of Lockhart & Leith, a professional weight cut company for the best athletes in the world. In a short time, I was out in LA, learning how to apply my nutrition background to fighters and weight cuts. My business transformed beautifully from there. I found there was a real need for fighters to implement performance nutrition in their camps that allow them to perform at their highest level but also be prepared for a weight cut. I now own, Fuel Your Fight Camp, where I provide fight camp nutrition and weight cut services.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
This journey has been anything but a smooth road, both professionally and personally. The professional side of the business has taken a long time to evolve into what it is today. I love the creativity of owning my own business but I have to hold the vision clear within myself in order to bring my best to others. I had a lot of personal loss and growth, including the passing of my loving father and the birth of my baby in my first year of business. I was challenged to push through my limits and step up when I felt I had nothing left to give. My fiancé and soon to be husband (in three weeks!) is my rock. He believes in me, hypes me up, and helps me with any task at any time. I wouldn’t be where I am today without his unconditional support.
If anyone is going through something similar, I found my biggest growth has come from sticking to my intuition and believing in my purpose. I write down my goals, I meditate on them, and I trust that I am where I am meant to be. When you can align with who you believe you can be at your highest potential, beautiful things start to happen.
Please tell us about Fuel Your Fight Camp.
My job is to develop and implement performance and weight cut plans for MMA fighters. I work with fighters all over the country to implement a detailed plan into their fight camp. This usually involves a meal plan around their training schedule—custom recovery for training session, and weight cut protocols to keep fights performing at their highest level. Every plan is custom and unique to the camp. I work closely with my clients and find that communication is essential to success. I track every measure we implement and it’s effectiveness. We use the data to continue to improve each camp so fighters can reach the level of desired success.
I love working with female fighters. Women work so hard but have hormones that can affect weight and training, which can overshadow the work they put in. We have developed some amazing strategies over the camps. I love supporting women to feel and perform their best. I am also a personal chef for some of my fighters. This is the golden ticket to a successful fight camp. I prepare and deliver all meals and snacks for fight camp here in Denver, CO. This is a very specific process and it’s also the most challenging and rewarding for me. I love that I get to be creative in the kitchen with beautiful results throughout camp. Seeing the success of my fighters is what continues to drive me to refine and expand the current work that I do.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
This is an excellent question and makes me laugh because I would change everything and nothing. Everything I have experienced, the highs, the lows, the stress has brought me to where I am today. I am at the point now, where I am working on delegating tasks. I am outsourcing aspects of my job that I don’t want to or don’t have time to do. Creating my team of trusted people to take care of my accounting, cleaning, and delivering is essential to making sure that I have time to put my focused energy into my athletes while continuing to scale up. I would also give myself a little more love and grace. I am so focused on my work that I easily lose sight of what I have accomplished.
Pricing:
- Amateur Fight Camp $100/week
- Professional Fight Camp $150/week
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fuelyourfightcamp.wixsite.com/nutrition
- Phone: 2482253826
- Email: fuelyourfightcamp@gmail.com
- Instagram: fuelyourfightcamp
Image Credit:
Clients in Pictures
Antonio Jones
Drew Dober
Justin Wetzell
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