Joy Williams, inspired by her personal trainer and brother Alton Williams, took control of her health and fitness in 2022. After losing 60 pounds, starting powerlifting, and becoming a personal trainer herself, Joy is excited to continue sharing her passion with the Memphis community.
Joy grew up in Collierville and did gymnastics and track growing up. Though she retained her love of fitness during college and her career as a teacher, she always had trouble with nutrition and gradually lost focus on her fitness as a young adult. As a 2022 New Year’s resolution, Joy decided it was time to hone in on her health and embarked on a fitness journey. “My focus at first was to implement small changes and habits that didn’t feel like a huge shift, so it was easier to keep going,” Joy remembers. With the guidance of her brother, Joy changed her diet to more whole-food-based choices and implemented strength training four to five times per week. In six months, Joy lost 60 pounds and fell in love with fitness.
As she continued to learn more about fitness and strength training, Joy began considering becoming certified as a personal trainer. In November 2023, after months of studying and shadowing, she became certified through the National Academy of Sports Medicine and now teaches beginner-friendly classes at TRAP Fitness. “Fitness has become such a big part of my life. It helps relieve stress, is an outlet from school and career, and is a way I can inspire and uplift others. I can relate to clients coming from a place of being overweight or obese, and I have empathy. I can provide from my own experience,” she says. Joy has found that TRAP Fitness is the perfect environment for her uplifting and encouraging training style. Joy describes the community at TRAP as close, encouraging, and empowering — inside and outside the gym. “I love the level of excellence the gym has. Every client’s experience is unique, and everyone feels special and welcome,” she says.
Since initially getting involved with weight training, Joy began to develop a passion for powerlifting, which focuses on higher-weight, lower-repetition exercises. After training for three months, Joy competed in the USA Powerlifting Competition in Chattanooga, TN. In this performance-based competition, competitors are given nine attempts total to squat, bench press, and deadlift (three attempts per exercise), and then, the best attempts are summed to give your total weight lifted. As a first-time competitor, Joy won first place in her weight class and overall best female lifter. She says, “I love being able to push my limits and lift as heavy as I can and realizing I can do things I didn’t think my body was able to do.”
Joy plans to continue her personal training career by continuing her education and working towards more advanced certifications while also continuing to train in powerlifting to qualify for a regional or national meet. “I love what I do, so as long as I can keep training myself and my clients and spreading that positivity, I am happy,” she says.
To learn more about TRAP Fitness or to inquire about Joy’s training schedule, visit Trapfitnessmemphis.com.
By Zoe Harrison
Photos by Tindall Stephens
