Debbie Rocker

Author Bio

Athletic all my life, with the normal teenage diversions, I was a competitive swimmer, tennis player and basketball player in junior high and high school. Suffice it to say, I was competitive – period. I also grew up with, what I have come to believe is a common characteristic of my generation, low self-esteem, body image issues, and the need to be the best in order to feel ok.

I graduated college (UCLA) with honors and went on to graduate school at the University of Hawaii where I graduated with a degree in telecommunications.

At 27 years of age (living in Hawaii) I became a professional cyclist (a little late to be starting a career as an athlete, but oh how romantic an idea). I rode a tandem bike (with a riding partner) across the country, setting a Women’s Transcontinental Tandem Cycling World Record. We trained hard for a year and a half, gathered a support team of 12 people who followed and navigated us, cared for us, and our equipment, and recorded the event for the Ultra-marathoners Association. That was the beginning (and end) of my professional career as a competitive athlete. I realized that, that was not my dream; there was something else I craved.

I met up with another long distance cyclist, the man who created Spinning, and together we built Spinning bikes and a company. I developed Spinning programming, sold Spinning packages, taught Spinning to students, coached Spinning instructors, and ran our new Spinning Company. That was what I wanted; to be in a position in which I could use exercise and that heightened physical state, which promotes an open and receptive emotional state, to change people’s lives – for the better.

Coaching immerged as my true gift, I was able to help people realize their goals (not just physical ones), and become happier through fitness. I could motivate and mentor instructors too, who would pass along the gifts of motivation, compassion, and efficiency in fitness conditioning. I began coaching people in life by way of fitness because, as I often say, life is the longest most important event we will ever participate in, and we need to train for it to make the most of it.

I decided that creating fitness products that were supported by great coaching would be the way to go. So I started my own fitness company, opened fitness studios, began developing fitness products and programming, and developing my own brand (www.debbierocker.com). First, I created The WALKVEST® Training System by Debbie Rocker, my pride and joy. Walkvest is a weighted vest designed to safely help walkers get more out of their exercise, without doing more. When you weight the body, the body responds by burning more calories and building lean muscle mass, strengthening and shaping faster that if you were to try to do so with your natural body weight alone. Most important though, is that Walkvest comes with personal coaching on CD and DVD. The music driven programs guide and inspire people through safe and effective workouts. The Walkvest is a tool, useful yes, but only if it’s being used. Like any other products or programs, I believe that coaching is the key to consistency, longevity and ultimate success. I now have a variety of Debbie Rocker products and programming.

Then I wrote Training for Life, my new book, which is of course, the penultimate gift for a girl who has so much to say. In fact, the book became another great opportunity for me to express not only my very powerful beliefs about why we are the way we are (physically and mentally), but also how we can change it all - for the better, and for good.