When it comes to ambition, one might refer to Andrea Grant, a 39-year-old mother of two, as a woman on a mission with a clear goal of transforming the lives of women everywhere, one workout, one meal, and one perspective shift at a time. In fact, it was her own physical and mental transformation at the age of 19 that ignited the spark that ultimately led to her career in the health and fitness industry.
“I’ve struggled with mental health from an early age,” Andrea states. “In so many ways, and on so many occasions, I feel that weight training and learning to take care of myself, both mentally and physically, absolutely saved my life. This particular program, though, was really not only the birth of my career but also the shift I needed to pick up the pieces.”
Upon completion of the 12-week body transformation program she participated in, she knew she was hooked. Immediately, she went to work devouring every online fitness and nutrition course she could get her hands on. But ultimately, her entry into the fitness world was more of a slow, steady marathon than a sprint, as her now-husband entered the picture. “I think our energy mirrors the people that are brought into our lives,” she quips. “And I believe having gone through what was, for me, a truly life-changing journey, my energy attracted the person I was ready to spend my life with.”
A hockey player from Vancouver, British Columbia, Andrea’s husband had a career of his own to pursue. Before long, Andrea found herself in constant transition as she and her husband moved across countries, as many do in this particular profession. With a longer stint in Hartford, Connecticut, followed by a year in Boise, Idaho, Andrea recounts the many memories fondly.
“Although you never really knew where you might end up from one day to the next, it was so much fun, and we were lucky to have such wonderful experiences and meet some really amazing people along the way.”
But the adventures didn’t stop there. Andrea and her husband continued to follow the hockey dream with their four-month-old son in tow as they crossed continents to spend a year in Denmark, where she became pregnant with her daughter. “I think at that point, knowing we would have a one-year-old and a newborn, we decided it was time to move back home to British Columbia, where my family could help out as I began my own career.”
Gym photo by Janelle Zacharias
And to say Andrea hit the ground running upon the purchase of their first home back in Quesnel, BC, would be an understatement. In fact, what started out as a home gym in her small garage has evolved into a business beyond her wildest dreams. Having quickly outgrown their first home (and garage), the family of four found themselves in their second home in a matter of years after starting her business, Parallel Health Consulting. PHC, which was named on the basis of fitness and nutrition being akin to parallel lines—you can’t have one without the other—was quickly expanding.
“At first, I offered only one-on-one training and small group classes within my gym,” she shares. But with a nutritional consulting diploma under her belt, it wasn’t long before she herself dove into the world of body transformation programs, similar to the one she participated in years prior that started it all. “I truly believe that overall health is all-encompassing,” says Andrea. “From what we consume to how we move to every thought we think, our body is a direct reflection of our lifestyle.”
Yet just as Andrea’s programs were beginning to take off, COVID threw a wrench in her plans. Forced to temporarily shut down her gym, Andrea saw this as an opportunity to pivot. With ample time on her hands, she decided to dive head first into what she now considered the missing link when it came to women’s transformational journeys: mindset.
“I was finding the same outcome was occurring over and over with my clients on their health and fitness journey,” she explains. “The follow-through wasn’t quite there and I couldn’t figure out what I was missing. This is when it became clear to me that what my programs didn’t include was exactly what women needed the most: to learn how to rewire their belief systems and shift their mindsets.”
Embarking on yet another academic adventure, Andrea enrolled in a health and life coaching program to learn how to further women’s progress in the gym by first training one’s thoughts, beliefs, and habits to align with their health goals. “To this day, I still believe that was the golden ticket. The amount of progress I have seen in my clients since introducing this third discipline to my business has been nothing short of outstanding.”
“I am so passionate about my work and helping women, particularly busy moms, find their inner strength and resiliency.”
Today, Andrea offers over 20 small group weight-training classes per week in her home gym, all while delving heavily into the world of online one-on-one and group programs geared toward women who are committed to not just a short-term quick-fix program, but rather a lifelong, sustainable lifestyle overhaul.
“My aim is to help women everywhere finally see what they are capable of, to help them gain confidence, find their true strength, and build the habits and mindset conducive to living a long, healthy life.” Knowing firsthand the impact mental health can have on one’s physical health, Andrea has made it her objective to help other women overcome what they may have once not believed possible and feel their best inside and out. Through her online program, appropriately titled “Next Level Results by PHC,” Andrea takes women through a 10-week journey, building on a foundation of strength training, nutrition, and of course, mindset work.
“We’ve seen such amazing results with the online program that I know this will continue to be a staple in my offerings.” This includes a brand-new 10-week program that will launch January 2026, in which registration details will be available through her IG account, @andrea_grant_phc. “I am so passionate about my work and helping women, particularly busy moms, find their inner strength and resiliency,” explains Andrea. “I know how easy it can be to lose yourself in the throes of motherhood and that it can feel nearly impossible to dig yourself out of that hole, or any dark hole for that matter, and learn how to make your health a priority again.” Which is exactly why Andrea has made helping women feel their best not just her goal but her purpose. And with the hundreds of women she’s worked with so far seeing the progress they’ve made, she knows there’s no stopping anytime soon. As she says, “Every single woman I get to help is proof that every step of this journey is absolutely worth it.”
