Hey! My name is Samantha Ulysse and I am the face behind CoachingBySam. Throughout my childhood, I danced recreationally and slowly ramped my way into competitive dance. After having spent only one season as a competitive dancer, I had to quit due to a knee injury which was diagnosed as a bone bruise leading me into about a year of PT and rehab.

After my recovery, I refocused my passion into the gym and fitness. When COVID shut the world down as we know it, I created a makeshift gym in my mom’s basement and persistently worked out until gyms started to open back up. With this new opportunity to explore weights and equipment, I found my love for powerlifting.

Since then, I have put hundreds of hours of work and effort into the sport in hopes of becoming one of the best. Amongst this effort to become an elite-level powerlifter, I have faced devastating injury. 10 days out from my first powerlifting meet, I pulled a muscle in my back and was forced to drop out of the competition and start from square one.

As I navigated my way through another series of rehab and recovery, I reworked my mental approach to the sport to become more mentally resilient and acquired a wealth of knowledge on how to approach injury and work my way back up to the top. I took on the challenge to program and coach myself through my first powerlifting meet prep and committed myself to getting all the insight I could from the experience to best help clients who are working around an injury or have nagging effects of previous injuries.

I can now proudly call myself a squat state record holder as well as a national champion in my weight and age division. This feat did not come easily but I am elated with my success thus far and hope to soon be able to call myself a world champion.

Alongside this dedication to my sport, I have also invested in my craft of coaching by dedicating countless time to perfecting what I do and growing my knowledge base. As an Exercise Science student, I am constantly immersed and soaking in new information on a daily basis.

On top of the conceptual knowledge I am learning, I am able to convert it into applied work as I service clients ranging from young athletes to older populations, alongside coaches and colleagues who elevate me to become the best coach I can. Day in and day out I am advancing through textbook knowledge, applied training, feedback from those more well-versed than I am, and unwavering commitment to providing my clients with the best experience in the realm of online coaching.

My goal as a coach is to help everyone, but specifically to empower women through strength and knowledge to reach new heights and explore undiscovered territories for themselves. I do this not just through my one-on-one coaching, but through my Lift Like a Lady workshops where we create encouraging and welcoming environments for women to learn and grow within the space of heavy lifting. My mission is to be the guide and model for all women to look, feel, and be the strongest & most confident versions of themselves.