Very few people represent living the fitness lifestyle as well as April Van Hoose. The Kentucky native has embraced a life filled with family, faith, and fitness for over two decades now. As the mother of three beautiful daughters, grandmother of one (hard to believe!), trainer, coach, competitive athlete, gym owner, model, and mentor to many, she has experienced enough things in fitness and in life to learn and offer valuable guidance to the rest of us. Despite all of her knowledge and experience, April isn’t the type of person to stop moving forward. She understands that everything she’s gotten has come from everything she’s been through. She knows that it is her journey through fitness and through life that keeps pushing out her perceived limits. She understands that there is no exact blueprint to living a fitness lifestyle, just as there is no exact blueprint to being a great mom or spouse. You simply get better and more knowledgeable as you go. Her’s is a journey of self-discovery where the things you do “wrong” can often teach you as much or more than the things you do “right”.
The beauty of people like April is in their willingness to share what they’ve learned in an effort to help others. If her path in life can make yours easier, she understands that her efforts, both struggles, and triumphs, have even more value. It is a very selfless approach to life and fitness, something that is all too rare these days. As we look to find people to idolize, people we often try to make out to be better and more perfect than they ever were, we would be better served to find people with real lives, real challenges, and real experiences who have the insight and the passion to recognize that even the simplest lesson they’ve learned on their journey might help open a challenging door for someone else. April Van Hoose’s continuing journey through life and fitness is real, refreshing, and potentially filled with nearly as much value for others as it has held for her.
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Fit Club: How did you first become involved in fitness?
April: I was involved in a bit of every sport as a child, but I was so shy and weak that I didn’t perform well at anything. I also was a crowd follower choosing whatever sport my friends were involved in. I always loved gymnastics but didn’t excel at it, as many tall lanky girls can relate to. I had very low self-esteem not believing in myself so I really didn’t try.
I first got into fitness after my 3rd child was born. She had major food allergies and even while breastfeeding I could not have the foods she was allergic to, so I got down to 117lbs at almost 5’8 and was what most people would refer to as “skinny fat”. I was so self-conscious of my frail, jiggly body and ready to add shape and firmness.
As a teen, I lifted weights a little and enjoyed it, but as an adult, I was a cardio queen fearing to “bulk up”. My husband Josh encouraged me to start lifting, showing me photos of girls who lifted. I soon listened and started to see some pretty amazing differences quickly.
Around 2005 or 2006 I picked up Oxygen magazine. On the cover was Julie Lohre an IFBB Fitness Pro. I was amazed that she was a mom! She was also from Kentucky and instantly I felt a connection and was so inspired. I contacted her and she encouraged me to compete in a figure competition and I said no way could I do that!!! I told her I just wanted to train and look like I competed. She said you won’t stick to the program unless you have a goal so I decided to listen and signed up for my first competition. After that, I became hooked to the transformation of competing.
Fit Club: You have some very interesting and even famous roots in Kentucky, can you tell us about them?
April: Yes I am one of the “Real McCoy’s”! I grew up in Eastern Kentucky and always knew being a McCoy was being part of a famous family feud against the Hatfield’s. I have always been proud of my rough and tough roots! I discovered when I was in college doing a genealogy report that I had ties to the Hatfields also. It really didn’t hit me just how unbelievable my family heritage was until watching the Hatfield and McCoy mini-series that Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton starred in a few years ago. I was watching it just like everyone else when I discovered a very interesting fact. I knew my great-great-grandfather Asa Harmon McCoy (the brother of Randolph McCoy, head of the McCoy clan) was the first McCoy killed during the feud. The amazement came when Ellison Hatfield (brother of Devil Anse Hatfield, the leader of the Hatfield clan) was the first Hatfield killed. I was in shock! I knew that name……. it was the name of my great-great-grandfather also on my genealogy report! How strange that both of my great-great-grandfathers were brothers to the clan leaders and the first killed on both sides of such a huge family feud? Crazy but true! I tell my husband it truly isn’t my fault that I am an adrenaline junky when I come from such wild bloodlines. Lol
Fit Club: You’ve traveled enough to get a feel for fitness across the US. What’s “fitness” like in your area as opposed to how others might view it?
April: When I started training for figure and fitness I was one of the rare women who lifted weights in our area. In the past few years, a lot more women are giving weights a chance, but the majority of women stick to steady-state running or cardio type classes. Many have the mindset that less food and more cardio is what gets results. Women in our area don’t understand how bad starving your body is or know the stress that overdoing steady-state cardio has on your metabolism, hormones, and body.
I have been taught by some of the top science-based Trainers like Kevin Myles, Sports Psychologist such as David Sandler, and Sports Nutrition expert Jose Antonio. I have certifications in nutrition, training, speed and power, and Physique, and been to several of the top seminars around the country.
We teach a more science-based healthy lifestyle approach with my clients. We don’t use drugs or fat burners. We encourage the client to put their health first focusing on nutritious food, weight training, mainly high-intensity cardio, and healthy supplements. We also encourage things such as meditation, yoga, nature, and rest to reduce stress levels to live a more balanced life. I never follow new fads, but always stick with the tried and true approach unless there is great science backing the new training concepts. Our process is to make you healthy. By making you healthy you will feel better, move better, and perform better. Looking better and losing fat is a by-product of what we do.
Fit Club: Did you enjoy your experiences as a competitor? What did it teach you about fitness and about yourself?
April: Honestly I was always seeking something to achieve outside of myself. As if I needed to acquire more to feel worthy in some way. I was never satisfied. I started with figure competitions and modeling and enjoyed the new me I had created. I also learned so much about the world of bodybuilding and that style of training. I met many amazing people, but I also had a superficial love for myself. One that I only liked when I was reaching my goals and achieving what I set out to do. Soon just standing on a stage or in front of a camera wasn’t enough. I needed more of my drug of choice ……. I needed a goal that seemed unachievable to most especially for a mom of 3.
I decided to do fitness. I started taking gymnastics classes again after over a 15 yr break. I hired a choreographer and after my first lesson, my husband thought I bit off more than I could chew. I couldn’t even dance, how was I suppose to pull off a routine with dance, gymnastics, strength holds, and flexibility?!? Well after almost a year, I amazed everyone including myself and felt truly alive! I learned that I could do anything I set my mind to.
After a year of fitness, I decided I needed more so I sign up for Tri-fitness. In my mind, I was never an athlete so this was my ultimate goal. You not only have to look good and compete in a Physique round, but you have to do very athletic events like box jumps, shuttle runs, and an obstacle course. It was truly the hardest I have ever trained my body, but one of the best experiences of my life. It was truly a family-oriented sport and my girls and husband Josh enjoyed watching me compete. If I ever decide to compete again it would definitely be for Tri-fitness!
After Tri-fitness I was having a lot of trouble getting lean enough because of a thyroid issue. Not only was it very hard on my self-esteem, but also I didn’t want people to not want me to train them because I didn’t walk around with a 6 pack. I decided to try a new sport where it is acceptable to have a little more fluff on your frame, powerlifting. Now this sport was a different beast altogether. It was the most mentally challenging I have encountered yet! As a natural athlete who just wasn’t built for the sport, this made my goal even more difficult. If I couldn’t get the numbers my powerlifting coach had on my paper I felt like a failure because that is how you progress, you lift heavier. The amount of food I had to eat and no cardio for fear of losing muscle and strength just didn’t feel healthy to me. I learned so much about strength and I am very grateful for all the knowledge. Powerlifting has helped me so much as a coach myself, but truly just not a sport I enjoyed, I needed more balance.
Fit Club: You’ve had a pretty diverse background as a fitness trainer and coach; competing, modeling, working with mainstream clients, beauty pageant contestants, and competitive athletes. Is there a favorite thing you do or do you find that having variety is more ideal?
April: I think I enjoy so many aspects of my job and each client who truly wants to be there is a joy for me. That being said the ones who I feel have given me the most joy watching them transform is those with spinal cord and brain injuries. Like a proud mama, these clients I have had the pleasure of training always amaze me and themselves. They are more determined, more dedicated, and no other clients over the past 10 yrs have made bigger transformations than they have. To watch how much they progress with just small tweaks and repetition is almost miraculous. The excitement we both feel when a goal is accomplished is nothing less than pure joy! This is what makes my job one of the most rewarding of any on the earth.
Fit Club: Tell us about your former home gym and why it was the best option for your training business for many years.
April: We had a home gym in our 1500 sq ft basement for almost 10 yrs. As a mother of 3 girls, this was a perfect home business so I could work no matter if my kids were sick or not and always knew I was just a step away if they needed me. I could make my own hours and they could easily come down to see us whenever they wanted to hang out. My youngest Alex enjoyed helping me train. The clients who have been with me the longest have enjoyed watching her grow up from a 2 yr old climbing on our backs as we stretched, into a 15 yr old. She amazes them every time they step into our 7,800 sq foot facility which we opened not even 3 yrs ago and they see her flipping on our rod floor or trampoline.
Fit Club: I’m sure many trainers have imagined having a gym, what are some of the pros and cons of operating your training business in-house and now that you’re in a larger facility, what advice could you give to potential gym owners?
April: There are pros and cons of both in-home and a larger facility. In-home, we didn’t have the parking nor the space needed as we grew, especially when my husband started training our daughter’s high school soccer team. We had to split them up in groups and have the later group warm-up in our living room and kitchen as the early group finished in the basement gym. It was nice not having much overhead though and all the money we made was “extra”.
Now we have the most amazing facility with tons of free weights, some machines, turf, stairs compete with a slide, full kitchen, power tumbling equipment, 3 squat racks, cardio equipment, a kids play area, not to mention endless amounts of outdoor space we plan to develop for hiking trails, soccer field, and a track. The downside is we do work a lot more and so far we aren’t making the big bucks, but with all new ventures, it will take time to develop and eventually we will get more coaches to help us as we grow.
Fit Club: We’ve talked recently about fitness beyond just the external changes and visible goals. What have you learned over the past few years that you now want to help others with?
April: Gosh my life the past couple of years has turned upside down and inside out. I have gone through a lot of pain which many have no idea of since I am a private person. I have not shared my story and right now have no plans to, just the story of what has helped me to get to my place of peace I am in at the current moment.
We all have a story and we are all on a journey of discovery. Most of us walk around with blinders on unaware of why we feel so unhappy. A lot of us are focused on past regret or fear of the future. We keep thinking if we just acquire more or just do something to like ourselves more like a physical achievement, or if we are successful by worldly standards that we will be “happy”.
I was that person. I was never satisfied. I was always running from a past that never seemed to go away no matter how hard I ran and striving for a perfect image that wasn’t attainable. My main purpose is to share my journey to my peaceful present state. I want to show others that strength is within each one of us. We just have to get to know ourselves in a deeper way and accept ourselves fully which is very hard for most of us who have lived under a mask most of our lives.
To find peace, we have to believe in a higher power who loves us completely just the way we are. To find true peace and joy on this earth we have to be brave enough to seek God and our true authentic selves. This isn’t a journey for the weak, but if I can do it and come out on the other side in one piece anyone can!
Fit Club: I would imagine your daughters look up to you quite a bit. How has your life and involvement with fitness impacted their lives as far as you can tell?
April: This may be more of a question for them to answer, but all I can hope is that I am a good example to follow. I have always done my very best as a mother, which at times I know I have failed greatly, but in those mistakes, I have learned to do better and I hope that when they make their own mistakes that they will know it is part of the journey. None of us are perfect!
I am so proud of all of my girls and although they don’t always take my training or nutrition advice they know I love them and support them in anything they decide to dream up. They all have such a strong faith in God and believe that we all have a purpose within us if we just will listen and be brave enough to follow. That is more important to me than following in my fitness footsteps.
Fit Club: What’s the best advice you can give to anyone who is still struggling to meet their goals?
April: Until you know who you truly are and know she/he is enough just as you are, you will self sabotage your goals or just never feel like where you are is enough. Goals are great and I love setting and achieving them, but now instead of being on mission impossible I am enjoying every minute that passes by where I am and looking to my future as endless possibilities to share my love and light with others. I see joy in the simple things and truly believe nothing is impossible so DREAM BIG!!!!
Fit Club: Your fitness journey is about as family-based as any I have seen. At the end of the day, what’s the key to keeping the right balance of family, fitness, business, life, faith, etc?
April: Well as crazy as this is going to sound, we are still learning and seeking balance. We haven’t reached where we want to be in the balance department, but we have dreams and goals to get there one day soon. We have had many ups and downs, but one thing we have always had is our faith in God.
Josh and I are very laid back people and we can be fearful of communicating at times. We have had to put a lot of work into ourselves individually and also as a family to get to where we are now. Recently we decided to go our separate ways and divorced, which is hard after 24 years, especially when I have never given up with anything in my life! It was time and I feel we are both happier. We are still sharing the gym and I am working mornings and his clients are in the evening. We are trying our best to have a peaceful transition for our girls also.
The main thing that people need to focus on to destress and feel more balanced in life is their mindset. Perspective is so important and a positive attitude can lead you to a happier more fulfilled life much quicker than changing all of your circumstances. To change your mindset requires more than just positivity, you have to go within to the root of why you think the way you do and look at your own limiting beliefs. When you surrender and let go of fear and take steps towards a love of yourself and others, this is what will bring you the freedom and that my friend is better than balance! Freedom to be your highest self is what true joy and peace are even in the chaos of life.
Photographer – Josh Van Hoose
Photo’s courtesy of April Van Hoose and Josh Van Hoose Photography, All Rights Reserved!
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