Susan Finley

Susan graduated with a B.S. degree from Auburn University and began her fitness career in 1985, teaching group fitness classes for Executive Fitness at the US Geological Survey in Reston, VA. She was gold certified as a personal trainer by the American Council on Exercise in 1990. In 1998, she received her Level I Resistance Training Specialist certification and became the only certified ChiWalking/ChiRunning instructor in the Southeast in 2007. In 2011, she was awarded the Corrective Exercise Specialist certification from the National Association of Sports Medicine, and corrective exercise has become her specialty.

After 27 years in the fitness industry, including 20 years at the Birmingham Jewish Community Center, as both a personal trainer and ultimately the personal training coordinator, Susan opened TrainSmarter in 2014. She completed multiple TRX qualifications, including the highest TRX certification, TRX TEAM. In an effort to reach more people, she became NCFI Corporate Fitness Specialist certified in 2016, Online Training Specialist certified in 2019, and Flex Diet certified in 2020.

Susan's specialties include corrective exercise, strength training, gait analysis and running technique, online training, corporate wellness, and mentoring fitness professionals.