Episode 198: Immune Warrior - an interview with Gina Valles

Tick Boot Camp

Gina Valles is a 33-year-old personal trainer, exercise scientist, gym owner, and entrepreneur from South Windsor, Connecticut. Ms. Valles was an elite nationally ranked high school and college athlete who discovered that over training could inhibit her game day performance.

Ms. Valles’ Lyme disease journey began in 2017 after she discovered 3 attached ticks after returning home from a walk with her dog. Shortly thereafter, she began to suffer flu-like symptoms, insomnia, neurological pain, and breathing problems. Despite residing in the shadow of Old Lyme, Connecticut, her classic symptoms went undiagnosed or misdiagnosed by 5 Connecticut based medical doctors.

Her health improved vastly after locating a Lyme literate medical doctor (LLMD) who diagnosed her with Lyme disease and treated her with an aggressive antibiotic protocol.

When Covid mandated gym closures and suspended in-person training, Ms. Valles pivoted to online training. The online model required her to lead several Zoom classes per day, causing her to suffer physical exhaustion and a relapse. She discovered that the physical stress from over training disrupted her immune system causing a Lyme disease relapse.

The relapse experience inspired Ms. Valles to return to her exercise science roots. She studied over training and immune disruption. The research coupled with her second Lyme healing journey inspired her to build “Immune Warrior,” an online information/education business. Immune Warrior offers cutting-edge eBooks, subscriptions, and products to help folks in the community “find [their] inner warrior.”

If you would like to learn more about how too much of a good thing taught a fitness professional the importance of balance and immune health and inspired a new online business, then tune in now!