Today we’d like to introduce you to Christiana Elmer.
Hi Christiana, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Growing up I was not the athletic one in the family. At times I struggled with being overweight and I had exercise induced asthma. Running or intense activity could feel difficult for me.
My brother played football and seemed naturally athletic. I remember seeing him with an eight pack and thinking athleticism was something people were simply born with. I assumed I just was not built that way.
For a long time I believed that.
Later in life I went through years of health struggles. I lived with chronic pain from a bladder disease and spent a long time in and out of doctors’ offices and medical testing trying to find answers. Those seasons forced me to pay close attention to the body and how complex human health really is. When you spend that long searching for answers, you learn how important it is to truly listen to people and understand what they are experiencing.
After my first child was born I decided I wanted to change how I felt in my body. Late at night, after everyone in the house went to sleep, I would put on workout DVDs in my living room and try to follow along. I struggled with almost everything at first. Balance, coordination, strength. I paused the videos constantly just to keep up, but I kept showing up.
Over time curiosity took over. Exercise became a way to understand how the body actually works. Movement, strength, recovery, and nutrition.
That curiosity deepened when my father became very sick with cancer. I wanted to understand the body better so I could support him and care for him through what we were facing.
Around that same time I experienced a serious training injury during a high intensity group fitness camp where everyone was pushed through the same workout regardless of background or biomechanics. I tore pelvic muscles during one of the sessions. The response was an offer for another free camp later, which did not address what had happened.
That moment changed the way I saw training. Human bodies are not identical machines. People deserve to be understood as individuals.
That realization pushed me to pursue deeper education.
I enrolled at PFTA in Austin, where the program was half classroom and half gym floor. We studied the science of the body and immediately applied it through real training. The owner and instructor was Justin. At first glance someone might assume he was just another big gym meat head. In reality he was an incredibly thoughtful teacher who cared deeply about helping people understand their bodies and train responsibly.
That experience shaped the foundation of how I work with people today.
I founded Resurrection Fitness in Kyle, Texas and later moved the business to Wimberley. From the beginning the heart of the work has been simple.
We rise by lifting others.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not been a smooth road. Many of the experiences that shaped my work came through times that required more than I felt prepared to carry at the time.
Some of those experiences stripped things down in ways I could not ignore. They required me to take responsibility, to rebuild, and to decide what I would carry forward.
Living through uncertainty over time changes how you pay attention. You learn to listen differently, to stay present, and to move forward without always having clear answers.
Caring for my father through the end of his life deepened that understanding even more. Walking beside someone you love in that kind of reality requires a different kind of strength. Not physical strength. Presence. The ability to remain steady and to stay with someone in something that does not resolve quickly.
The injuries I experienced, both in training and more recently during a Spartan race, reinforced that in a different way. The injury happened early. The course was still there.
I made a decision and carried it through.
Recovery afterward required patience, attention, and responsibility. I followed the guidance I was given, and I also paid close attention to what my body was showing me. I learned to read it, adjust, and take ownership of the process in a deeper way.
I returned to running within a few months, not because it was simple, but because I stayed engaged and continued building beyond what was outlined for me.
Those experiences are what shaped the way I approach training now. Not from theory, but from what holds up when things get difficult.
We do not train to add struggle to life. Life already guarantees struggle.
Training is where we practice meeting it.
As you know, we’re big fans of Resurrection Fitness. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Resurrection Fitness is a personal training practice based in Wimberley, Texas focused on helping people rebuild strength, resilience, and connection with their bodies.
My work is built around understanding the body as a whole system. Strength, movement, and nutrition are a central part of that, but I also use hands on work to support how the body recovers, adapts, and organizes itself. That may include soft tissue work and acupressure to help reduce tension and improve how someone moves.
I approach the body as something that has to be understood, not forced. Patterns build over time, and many people do not realize how connected those patterns are until something starts to break down. The way someone moves, how they load their joints, how they recover, even how they respond to stress, all of it works together. My role is to see those connections and help people address them in a way that actually lasts.
This kind of training supports deeper adaptations in the body, including bone density, joint integrity, and overall resilience. These are often overlooked, but they are essential to how the body holds up over time.
A core part of my work is the understanding that the mind and body are deeply connected. The nervous system plays a central role in how the body moves, responds, and heals. Stress, injury, illness, and life experiences all influence that process. Many people come to training feeling disconnected from their bodies or unsure of what they are capable of. Through movement, hands on work, and targeted guidance, my goal is to help people rebuild trust in their bodies and develop both physical and mental resilience.
I work with a wide range of people, from individuals who simply want to move and feel better in their daily lives to athletes preparing for demanding goals such as Spartan obstacle races, endurance events, and trail running. I am also actively training and competing in those environments myself, which allows me to bring both perspective and real world application into the work.
My goal is not just to make people stronger, but to help them feel capable, steady, and confident in both their bodies and their lives.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Many people deserve credit for the growth of Resurrection Fitness. The truth is, it has never been something I built alone. It has been shaped by people who believed in me and believed in the vision.
Jill deserves special recognition. She is the one who reached out and submitted my name for this interview. She has always seen the deeper reason behind what I do and has encouraged me in a way that has stayed with me. She is very dear to me.
My husband has supported this in countless ways, and my children, Titus and Avery, remind me every day why living with strength and purpose matters.
My father shaped my life deeply. I had the privilege of caring for him in the final season of his life while he battled cancer and diabetes. That experience changed how I understand resilience, compassion, and what it means to truly show up for someone when it matters most.
This space was also built by hands, not just ideas.
Junior and his wife Jamie have been part of that from early on. Junior helped bring key parts of the gym to life, including installing the sign, and Jamie being my first client is something I have always carried with me.
Kelly, who was once a client, stepped in and helped install the AC in the gym, which changed what this space could be for people.
Dani has been part of this in a way that goes far beyond training. She has stood with me through seasons in and out of the gym, shown up for my family, and been someone I have been able to rely on in ways that are hard to fully put into words.
Katie has supported me with a level of encouragement and care that has meant a great deal, and has trusted me not only with her own training but also with her son Toby, which is something I do not take lightly.
People like Jenny, Janelle, Monica, Amy, Mary and Adam have also been part of this in their own ways. They have supported me and the gym in ways that go far beyond sessions. Over time, they helped this place grow piece by piece and stood with me through injuries, races, and difficult seasons.
Tricia has been part of that from the beginning, by trusting me with Dani and continuing to be there over time, especially at races, cheering and encouraging in a way that has meant a great deal.
My brother has been a strong encouragement in my Spartan journey and the vision around it, and my mom has always seen something in me and encouraged me to step into it. Through that foundation, I was able to connect with Joe De Sena and Dan McDonald at Spartan. Their support meant a great deal. It helped open the door for hundreds of people to experience racing and supported my return after my injury.
My friend Taylor stood beside me during one of the hardest seasons of my life while facing her own battle with cancer. Now she is building a Spartan training group where she lives, and watching that grow has meant more than I can put into words.
My in laws have supported this as well, even helping build part of the gym by gifting the cable setup I had been hoping to add.
Resurrection Fitness may carry my name, but it exists because people chose to believe in something and help it take shape.
We rise by lifting others.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Resurrectionfitnesstx.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/resurrectionfitnesstx
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/res.fit.2025
