Conversations with PJ Olsen

Today we’d like to introduce you to PJ Olsen.

Hi PJ, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved physical activity, especially anything that requires a lot of movement.  I played softball, volleyball, and tennis while in junior high and high school. I was even the high school mascot for two years! I fell in love with running when I was in college trying to manage stress and keep off the “freshman 15”, regularly attended aerobics classes in my 20s, and finally added strength training to the mix when I was 31 due to a diagnosis of osteopenia. My diagnosis of osteopenia came following a year of a daily low dosage of Prednisone (a type of corticosteroid) to combat inflammation caused by Crohn’s Disease.

Fast forward to age 50, having been a runner for 30+ years with 20 years of strength training under my belt, injuries started to become a regular occurrence. As a result of years of sitting behind my computer screen and working in a sedentary business environment, my body felt the toll and I no longer could do all the things I wanted to do because my body hurt everywhere! There were a couple of years when I saw so many medical practitioners trying to relieve the pain that I spent more time with them than I did with any of my friends!

In my desperate search to find a way to remain active but keep from reinjuring myself in the gym, I stumbled upon a Master Kettlebell Instructor who taught kettlebell classes here in Nashville. That began my journey and love affair with those round pieces of iron! At the age of 52, I become certified as a Kettlebell Instructor.

While attending classes at the kettlebell gym, I was introduced to the Original Strength™ movement system and realized then how the body can heal itself and remain injury-free when we learn how our bodies are designed to move! (In a nutshell, Original Strength is a movement restoration system that resets and strengthens the nervous system which then unlocks mobility and restores good movement to the body.)

I knew then that I wanted to start my own wellness business and help folks in the 50+ age group restore their mobility and strength so they could reclaim the active lifestyle they had always enjoyed! I felt confident that I could provide others with a shortcut to regaining their former fitness level without them having to spend all their time and money seeing various wellness practitioners and buying health gadgets as I had!

At age 56, after spending 30 years working in the music industry, I followed my heart’s calling, made a huge career shift, and became a movement and physical wellness specialist for the 50+ crowd in order to help Baby Boomers and Seniors regain strength, remove physical limitations, and restore their confidence.

Uncertain of what exactly my business was going to look like at first, I started with what I knew best…teaching kettlebells!! At a park, nonetheless!  Then in 2015, I became an Original Strength Certified Pro and shortly after that, I became a 500-hour Certified Yoga Wellness Specialist. I finally officially launched my business, Restorative Strength, in the Spring of 2016 and have never looked back!

In 2017, I decided to immerse myself in training to work with folks with Parkinson’s Disease in order to help folks battling the disease improve their quality of life and maintain their independence as long as possible. Although there’s no history of PD in my family, my own mother died of complications of Alzheimer’s Disease. The statistics suggest that 40% of folks diagnosed with Parkinson’s eventually develop Alzheimer’s, and I decided that if I can help one family from having to experience the effects of that devastating disease, then I will have made a significant impact in this lifetime.

In 2020, as the pandemic shut down the gyms, I moved my private training into my small studio here in Green Hills where I offer in-person training for Nashville folks as well as Zoom sessions for folks living anywhere in the world. (I even meet over Zoom with a gentleman who lives in Dublin, Ireland!) I also offer a thrice-weekly 25-minute movement class called Total Body Reset. And in 2021, I created a digital course titled Movement For EveryBODY: Jumpstart to Reclaiming Your Mobility At Any Age, which can be found here: https://osi-online.com/movementforeverybody/“. And I teach a weekly chair movement class at a local assisted living facility, which is one of the most rewarding aspects of my work!

I wake up every morning excited to guide others toward a better quality of life…in a manner that’s safe, simple, but highly effective! I love to witness clients quickly reclaim lost mobility and strength, regain their confidence and active lifestyles, and return to a thriving life!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road has been a bumpy one! With Original Strength as the foundation of the training I offer clients, I can help anyone at any age and at any stage of fitness. Narrowing down to a specific niche has been challenging since, as an Enneagram 2, I want to help EVERYONE!!

Finding an appropriate space to rent where I could provide my unique services had been (and continues to be) a challenge, although the studio I have in my home has worked well for private training as well as Zoom sessions since the pandemic.

Speaking of the pandemic, just as I felt like the ideal clients were starting to find me, the gyms shut down and I had to move out of the space where I’d been renting. I was in despair as I couldn’t continue teaching the Parkinson’s group classes in person, and I knew they needed to maintain their exercise program.

As a solo entrepreneur, the challenges of marketing my business on a shoestring budget and being discovered by my community has been the biggest challenge. Fortunately, many of my clients are great about telling their Physical Therapists and Chiropractors about me, and they’ve ended up becoming wonderful referral sources.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a movement specialist and I help the 50+ crowd how to overcome current physical limitations, regain their confidence, and restore and maintain their strength and mobility for the long term. I empower clients by teaching them simple tools and techniques that strengthen their bodies, brain, and nervous system. They are able to quickly reduce stiffness and pain, reclaim lost mobility and strength, and get back to leading their normal active life!

My typical client is an ambitious, active female between the ages of 55-70 who are finding it more challenging these days, due to stiffness and/or pain, to participate in her favorite physical activities (such as golf, tennis, gardening, hiking, etc.), maintain high-performance levels on the job, or keep up with the grandchildren. She is determined to reclaim her active lifestyle, age gracefully, and return to a thriving life!

I specialize in working with Baby Boomers and Seniors, folks recovering from injury or surgery, joint replacement prehab and rehab, and adults living with Parkinson’s Disease.

I’m known for being positive, patient, encouraging, and supportive. Clients feel that I have a lot of awareness of how people carry themselves and how they move and that I often discover/uncover physical issues that their medical practitioners have missed. It’s been commented on how it’s obvious that I care for my clients and want to help them make improvements to their health and well-being.

What I’m most proud of is how I have taken on some clients with really challenging issues and that after 2-3 months of working together, they feel like they’ve gotten their life back and that they can return to doing just about anything they want without fear of getting hurt again!

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I have done and continue to do a lot of personal development! Some of my favorites are Brendon Burchard, Jay Shetty, The Tapping Solution, Darren Hardy, John Assaraf, Mike Dooley, and Andy Dooley.

I also follow the movement and health specialists on IG such as Tim Anderson of Original Strength, Dr. Perry Nickelston of Stop Chasing Pain, Dr. Mark Hyman, and Dr. Steven Lin (to name a few).

I have a ton of books to recommend! That will require additional time to assemble!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://restorativestrength.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pjolsen_rs/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/restorativestrength
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChUkyoCeMhT-fV6lkOiX9aA

Image Credits
Jen Creed Creative