Jodelle Fitzwater

It's all in the name : "Fitzwater" Jodelle Fitzwater loves anything that has to do with getting "fit", getting on the "water", and getting involved in anything that allows the body to move and stretch and progress towards a healthier state. Jodelle teaches to inspire and lives for improving the lives of others through health, wellness, stress-relief, and encouragement. More than just a personal trainer, Jodelle considers herself a motivational coach to motivate others to push past the pains of life and reach parts of themselves they didn't know existed.
Jodelle is Certified in personal training through the American College of Sports Medicine, Certifed PaddleFit instructor, BiC SUP Midwest Ambassador and Fitness Professional for SUP TV, as well as a Certified Nutrition Coach & Psychology Coach, and an eRYT-200 with the Yoga Alliance. Jodelle is a self-proclaimed mermaid as she has no fear of depth, but a great fear of shallow living. She has developed her fitness, health, and SUP business called "Get Fit with Jodelle" and regularly blogs and writes for Standup Journal.

INTERVIEW

When and where did you start SUP ?

In 2008 I traveled to Hawaii to do some longboard surfing as I did once a year, only this time I saw a whole different kind of "longboard" sitting on the beach....This one came with a paddle. No sooner than I stood up, that I knew I was going SUP for the rest of my life. The day I got home, I ordered a board online and have been infected with "Standuppaddleitus" ever since. Standuppaddleitus is a disease of the body, mind and soul where once you have had a taste of SUP, you can't get it out of your mind, and the only treatment is to just keeping SUPing. I was the first on my lake to SUP and decided to bring this amazing sport to the Midwest. I got certified to teach SUP in 2010 and have built quite a community of water-lovin' SUP enthusiasts in this area.

Which sports did you practiced before ? And now?

I was never involved in any sport before SUP. I was a fitness junkie, teaching and leading fitness boot camps, running half-marathons, and wake-surfing with my lake buddies. Now, being involved in a professional level with the fastest growing watersport that is stroking it's way across the nation is something I never could have even imagined.

How have the sports you did before help with SUP ?

My background of physical fitness, teaching fitness classes, pilates and yoga helped me develop my SUP fitness classes. Not only that, but practicing all these movements on the water on an unstable surface has shown me what muscles I wasn't using in the gym and where my weaknesses were. My fitness level has improved immensely, and my yoga practice is more powerful and better aligned, allowing me to do poses I never thought possible.

What attracts you to SUP ?

Aside from glassy water, sunny skies, and life lived in board shorts, what I really love about SUP is the way it helps me live out my passions. It's not just a fun thing to do, it's a passion, and it's a purpose. SUP has allowed me an outlet to do outreach and raise money for a local homeless organization, a girl with leukemia, and children with an incurable disease called San Filippo. It's given me a way to "stand up" for issues I am passionate about with a sport I am passionate about.

SUP RACE, SUP SURF or something else ?

Endurance paddles for a good cause is what I'm most into. Give me a board, a paddle, and a purpose to reach out and help someone in need and I'll hit the water and paddle my mermaid tail off.

SUP is booming, do you think this is a fad or a change in attitudes over the long term ?

No fad here in my opinion. SUP is so multi-faceted and can be utilized in many different ways by many different water-lovin' people that there is too much potential for the sport to just be a fad. From surf, to fitness, to yoga, to white water, to long-distance paddles, to eco-tours, races and everything in between, we have only scratched the surface of what's to come for SUP.

Do you participate in competitions ?

Mermaids by nature are not competitive, but rather we live to serve as peaceful beings passionately swimming (or standing) through life with strength and purpose, to serve and help and sing to others with an encouraging song, and to love as deep as the sea. If you can't be an athlete, be an athletic supporter - that's me.

For more information about Jodelle, visit : www.getfitwithjodelle.com or like on Facebook : www.facebook.com/getfitwithjodelle

Results/Accomplishments :
32 Miles on Table Rock Lake for a local homeless ministry in 2012 and 30 miles for Raelyn Beckler, a young girl with leukemia in January 2014.
Developed the first ever SUP Fitness and Yoga TV Series online with BiC SUP and Heliconia Press.
Developed the first ever SUP audio podcast (a guided workout in your earbuds) on iTunes and hipcast.com called Get Fit with Jodelle on the Water.

VIDEO

Check out my fitness and yoga videos online at Stand Up Paddling TV : https://www.youtube.com/user/StandUpPaddlingTV