How does someone who is creative, artistic and energetic carve out a rewarding career?  Ask Abington resident Sheila D’Elia.

D’Elia successfully transformed her passion for music, food and healthy lifestyles into a career as personal fitness trainer, landscape gardener and a moonlighting rock musician.  Staying on course with her personal compass, Sheila has mapped out a successful work life capitalizing on her unique talents and skills.

You can find Sheila most days at the Aquatic Fitness Club (AFC) in her newest role as personal trainer where she guides clients at all athletic levels.  She also trains private clients through her own business, 50/50 Fitness. D’Elia’s enthusiasm for fitness started out in the confines of her own basement when she began lifting weights and achieving superior results.

“I couldn’t believe the dramatic changes in my physiology from resistance training,” D’Elia said. “I have been working out ever since.”

D’Elia recently completed a six month training program at the National Personal Training Institute (NPTI) and is now certified personal training.  

The celebrity fitness shows on TV would have you believe that the best trainer is the one who yells and harasses the trainee into shape.  D’Elia’s approach is quietly more effective and knowledge-based, enlisting the client as an ally in his or her own progress.

“The way I work is to calmly explain the proper way to move, carefully watch how you move and correct you when you make a mistake,” she said.

Learning to play the flute at age 11, Sheila aspired to become a musician.  She followed this dream at Temple, majoring in music and hoping, in the end, for a coveted spot, playing flute in a major orchestra. The young and idealistic Sheila quickly discovered that the competitive world of classical music was not her real calling.  

A summer at Cape May, breathing in all the epicurean aromas wafting from the fine restaurants, stimulated an interest in cooking which further stimulated a desire to learn how to prepare food using natural and organic ingredients.  To test out her mettle, she did a stint catering for the famous Frog Commissary in Center City and also worked as pastry chef.  Once D’Elia married and had kids the hospitality industry proved to be too demanding.

 So she went back to the drawing board with “organic” as the main theme and discovered yet another artistic direction that she could pursue while caring for her young family.  Designing gardens offered D’Elia an opportunity to blend her creative verve with her nurturing personality.  After taking classes at the Morris Arboretum, D’Elia launched her own landscaping business, Earth Mother Gardens (www.earthmothergardens.net) where she designs natural gardens in the local area void of any chemicals.  

Now that D’Elia’s sons have left the nest, she has more time to devote to her career. The organic threads weaving her interests continue to pull her toward healthy lifestyles and her work as trainer.  This spring, D’Elia is offering a mini clinic at AFC, Flat Belly, a formula for losing fat and strengthening the core and through 50/50 Fitness; she will lead an outdoor circuit training class at a local park.

 Not entirely letting go of her musician dreams, Shelia and her husband recently formed a band, the Sonic Lounge and may be in your neighborhood someday soon performing their classic rock sound.  

So what advice does this multi talented and energetic woman have on finding a satisfying work life?

“Do what you love,” she said. “How else would you want to spend the day?”