Welcome to Your Health Journey with Dana Frade
Functional Fitness Trainer
Functional Fitness and Nutrition Coach
I’m Dana, a Functional Fitness and Nutrition Coach who believes that improving your health goes beyond exercise.
My approach combines movement, nutrition, and lifestyle interventions to help you build healthier habits that fit your life.
My goal is to give you the knowledge, tools, and confidence to understand your body, take charge of your health, and create changes you can sustain long term.
Who is Dana?
I’m Dana Frade, also known as Dana the Trainer. With over 9 years of experience in fitness and nutrition coaching, I’ve helped hundreds of people improve their strength, mobility, health, and quality of life.
My background in Clinical Psychology, combined with my certifications in personal training, strength and conditioning, Pilates, Yoga, and Zumba, allows me to bring different disciplines together to create personalized training experiences.
My passion for women’s health comes from personal experience. After facing my own hormonal health challenges, I became determined to better understand the changes women experience throughout their lives. This led me to pursue specialized education and certifications in Women’s Health and Menopause, an area that has become an important part of my work.
Today, I work with people of different ages, abilities, and fitness levels, helping them feel stronger, move better, and build a healthier relationship with their bodies.
Why My Approach is Different
I believe fitness should improve your life, not take it over.
My training methodology combines strength, mobility, balance, coordination, and flexibility to help your body move and function better in everyday life. Every program is adapted to your individual needs, abilities, and goals.
But my work doesn’t stop at exercise. With my background in psychology, I understand the importance of habits, behavior change, and the connection between physical and mental well being.
I want you to understand why we do what we do, learn how your body works, and feel confident making healthier choices beyond our sessions.
For me, fitness is about more than getting stronger. It’s about having the energy, confidence, and physical ability to enjoy your life, now and as you age.
My Journey: From Psychology to Fitness and Wellness
My professional journey began in Mexico City, where I studied Clinical Psychology. My experience working with people in different clinical and institutional settings helped me understand how closely physical health, mental well being, and daily habits are connected.
​
While working in psychology, I realized that improving people’s well being often required more than therapy. Nutrition, movement, and everyday habits played an equally important role. That inspired me to create a healthy food truck offering better meal options to office workers in Mexico City. I ran the business for three years, participating in major events such as Fashion Week, CrossFit Games, and sporting events at Mexico City’s Autódromo, before selling it to begin a new chapter in Canada.
Once in Canada, I decided to take my knowledge in a new direction. I began studying personal training and nutrition, followed by certifications in Pilates, Yoga, Zumba, strength and conditioning, senior fitness, and training for people with injuries or physical limitations.
​
In 2018, I started my fitness career at the YMCA and Buzzfit, where I introduced Pilates and Zumba classes, built a growing community, and continued expanding my professional education.
During the pandemic, I took on a new challenge, developing and leading Buzzfit’s virtual fitness program across its 13 locations for nearly two years. That experience helped me reach a wider audience and eventually gave me the confidence to build my own independent fitness business.
Today, I run my own training programs, private sessions, and group classes across Montreal’s West Island. I work independently, partnering with different gyms and studios while designing and coordinating my own classes, including my signature Zumbalates methodology.
I also work with Seniors Clubs in Pierrefonds and Dollard des Ormeaux, where I bring my functional training methodology to older adults, focusing on strength, mobility, balance, coordination, and maintaining independence.
​
Beyond coaching, I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate on community wellness and women’s health initiatives. I created Taulates, a fitness class developed in collaboration with Marché TAU, which grew into two years of class series and received local newspaper coverage.
In January 2025, I hosted a Women’s Health workshop at Marché TAU, bringing together research and practical education on perimenopause, menopause, nutrition, exercise, hormonal health, and treatment options.
​
I’ve also contributed to university research on women’s health and perimenopause and participated in educational videos alongside a menopause specialist, sharing my personal experience in both English and Spanish to help more women understand this stage of life.
​
Today, I continue to study, teach, and develop programs that bring together fitness, nutrition, psychology, and lifestyle education.
​
My goal has remained the same throughout my career:
to help people understand their bodies, build confidence in what they can do, and make movement and healthier habits a sustainable part of their lives.
