September 2016 → September 2026. A decade of learning, teaching, training and growing.
This September marks ten years since I earned my first trainer certification. Looking back, I see much more than a collection of certificates. I see a journey that began with a love of movement and gradually grew into the work I do today through Training with Luciana.
Pole sport, aerial arts, functional fitness, personal training and nutrition coaching have each added something to the way I teach. Together, they have shaped my focus on helping women feel strong, confident and capable at every stage of life.
Here is the timeline behind those ten years.
Before 2016: A love of movement came first
My relationship with movement started long before my first trainer license. Rhythmic gymnastics and dance, including jazz and flamenco, were part of that foundation. I began practicing pole in 2010, discovering another way to combine strength, coordination and creative expression.
At that point, movement was something I loved doing for myself. Over time, I wanted to share it with others. That desire led to the first professional milestone in this story.
September 2016: My first trainer certification
In September 2016, I became an internationally certified Pole Sport Trainer through the World Air Power Athletics Association, WAAPA.
This was the beginning of my professional education as a trainer. Pole had already shown me how rewarding it could be to learn a skill that once felt out of reach. Becoming a trainer gave that experience a new purpose: helping other people discover their own strength and confidence.
Teaching also changed how I looked at movement. Being able to perform something yourself is one thing. Helping someone else understand it, build toward it and find their own way through the learning process is another.
That distinction has stayed with me throughout my career.
2016–2020: Building experience and exploring aerial movement
Alongside pole, I began exploring aerial arts in 2016. Hoop, sling, silks and trapeze expanded my movement practice and introduced new ways of working with strength, balance and body awareness.
The years between my first certification and my later aerial qualifications were part of the learning process, too. Training and teaching gave me opportunities to keep developing my own practice and the way I communicated movement to others.
There was no single certificate for every lesson learned during those years. Progress also happened through repetition, practice and learning to approach a challenge differently.
2021: Becoming a certified aerial hoop trainer
In 2021, I became a Certified Aerial Hoop Trainer through XPERT Fitness.
Aerial hoop brought together many things I loved: strength, control, creativity and the freedom to explore movement in the air. Continuing my education in this discipline was another step in turning personal practice into teaching knowledge.
It also reinforced something I still value in training today: the foundations matter. The work that supports a skill deserves as much attention as the finished movement.
2022: Expanding into sling, silks and trapeze
In 2022, I continued that education and became a Certified Aerial Teacher in aerial sling, silks and trapeze through Active IQ in the UK.
Each apparatus offered different challenges and possibilities. Moving between them broadened my experience and gave me more ways to think about strength, coordination and progression.
Aerials opened a whole new world of creativity, strength and freedom. They remain an important part of my movement background and of the perspective I bring to coaching.
2023: Building a stronger foundation in functional fitness
In 2023, I completed my A-license and B-license as a Fitness Trainer with the Deutsche Sportakademie, adding functional fitness training to my qualifications.
This step broadened my work beyond pole and aerial skills. I wanted a stronger foundation for supporting people both inside and outside the studio, including those whose goals were centered on everyday fitness.
My focus was expanding toward the strength and movement capacity that support the rest of life. Training could help someone pursue an aerial skill, but it could also be about feeling more capable in their daily routine and building confidence with exercise.
2024: Personal training and nutrition coaching with NASM
In 2024, I became a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, NASM-CPT, and a NASM Certified Nutrition Coach, NASM-CNC.
These qualifications deepened my education in personal training and nutrition coaching, adding to the practical experience I had built through years of movement and teaching.
They also supported a broader approach to coaching: connecting structured exercise with sustainable everyday habits. A workout is part of the picture. So are the routines that make it possible to keep showing up over time.
For me, continuing education has never meant leaving everything I learned before behind. Each new step adds to that foundation.
Late 2024–2025: A new chapter in the United States
At the end of 2024, I moved from Germany to USA. A new country brought a new chapter in both life and work.
As I continued developing my work as a self-employed personal trainer, the question became how to bring my different areas of experience together in a way that felt clear and useful to the people I wanted to reach.
The answer kept coming back to strength, mobility and a sustainable relationship with movement. Those ideas would become central to Training with Luciana.
2026: Bringing it together through Training with Luciana
Today, those years of experience, education and practice come together through Training with Luciana: my fitness and wellness platform focused on strength, mobility and longevity, especially for women over 40.
My website and training app allow me to share workouts, structured programs, practical guidance and the experience behind my approach. My programs include strength and mobility training, dumbbell workouts and options using bands and bodyweight.
The goal is to help you build a routine that fits your life and supports the activities you want to keep doing. That might mean becoming more confident with strength training, returning to a consistent routine or making room for movement in a busy week.
The three ideas behind my brand reflect what I want to help people work toward:
- Strength: Building the capacity and confidence to take on physical challenges.
- Mobility: Developing control and freedom in the way you move.
- Longevity: Making movement a lasting part of a life you enjoy.
What ten years have taught me
Looking back, the thread connecting these milestones is curiosity. I kept learning because there was always more to understand, another skill to explore and another way to support the people I taught.
I have also learned that progress changes shape. Sometimes it means learning something new. Sometimes it means returning to the basics, adjusting your approach or finding a routine you can sustain through a different season of life.
That is part of the message I want to share with women over 40. Your training can evolve with you. There is room to build strength, discover new interests and set goals that matter to you now.
The next chapter starts here
To everyone who has trained with me, learned with me or supported this journey: thank you. You are part of what these ten years mean.
September 2016 was the first professional milestone. September 2026 is a chance to celebrate how far that first step has taken me and to look ahead to what comes next.
A decade of learning, teaching, training and growing. And this is just the beginning.
Ready to begin your own next chapter? Explore my training programs, workouts and articles at www.trainingwithluciana.com, and find a starting point that fits your life.