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Emma Paul-Cash Turned a Low Point Into a Strength Career

A Burien coach who never grew up in a gym now helps women build strength and confidence while chasing a national bodybuilding title.

<h6>Seattle Fitness Magazine · 27 Oct 2026</h6><ul><li><strong>5</strong>years training clients</li><li><strong>4th</strong>national placing, 2025</li></ul><h2>Starting From Scratch</h2> <p><b>Emma Paul-Cash never grew up in a gym, and that is the heart of the coaching at EPC Athletics.</b></p><p>Raised in Sammamish, the Burien-based coach dabbled in gymnastics and cheerleading in high school, but nothing really stuck. Then came a stretch of gaining more than 40 pounds and reaching what she calls a pretty low point.</p><p>After moving abroad, she started attending fitness classes and quickly fell in love with training, nutrition and the way fitness felt. A personal goal became a passion. &quot;Fitness completely changed the trajectory of my life,&quot; she says.</p> <h2>A Full-Circle Coach</h2> <p><b>Coaching found her before personal training did.</b></p><p>After six months teaching English in Thailand and a stint as an au pair in Australia, which sparked a love of travel and marked the start of her fitness journey, she came home and worked as a paraeducator at her former high school. Coaching several sports she had never played as an athlete showed Emma how much there was to love about teaching and helping others improve.</p><p>In 2020 she hired her first personal trainer, learned proper lifting technique, and launched EPC Athletics as a way to document her journey. In 2023 she began preparing for her first bodybuilding competition, and she loved the sport from the start. Today she is a nationally qualified bikini bodybuilder.</p> <h2>Every Journey Looks Different</h2> <p><b>The women who train with her span every age, background and ability.</b></p><p>She has helped older adults navigate neuropathy, supported women with severe autoimmune conditions in keeping their strength and muscle, prepared first-time bikini competitors for the stage, and guided women recovering from weight loss surgery as they rebuild strength and confidence. Success, she says, is not always about pounds lost. Sometimes it is doing something a client thought their body could no longer do.</p><p>Her specialties are strength training, corrective exercise and glute development. The goal goes beyond the mirror: sustainable habits, confidence, and stronger versions of themselves in every part of life. Her approach is approachable, realistic and even fun, built on the idea that you can take your goals seriously without taking yourself too seriously.</p> <h2>A Week Between Classroom and Gym</h2> <p><b>This past year, the side hustle became the main career.</b></p><p>For years, personal training fit around her full-time job as a PE teacher.</p><p>Now training comes first, with substitute teaching on the side. Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays are for subbing and evening clients, while Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the busiest training days. On those days she is at 206 Fitness in Burien with six or more clients back-to-back, and a Tuesday evening group class blends strength training and HIIT.</p><p>Many of her clients have become good friends, and sessions include catching up, celebrating wins and working through challenges. Emma also coaches online, with customized workout programs, nutrition guidance and macro coaching. Somewhere in between, she still makes time for her own training, because practicing what you preach matters.</p> <h2>What Comes Next</h2> <p><b>Emma is not finished learning.</b></p><p>A NASM Corrective Exercise Specialization is in progress, aimed at better serving clients dealing with movement limitations, injuries or chronic pain. She also has her first HYROX competition on the calendar, entered in the Pro division alongside the owner of 206 Fitness. &quot;I&#x27;m a bodybuilder, not a cardio girl,&quot; she jokes, but a challenge is always welcome.</p><p>The bigger goal is the national stage. In 2025, she competed at the national level and placed 4th, just two spots away from an IFBB Pro Card. Her third bodybuilding season is coming together, with a return to nationals planned for summer 2027.</p> <h2>Recognition</h2> <p><b>ACE-certified personal trainer with 5 years of experience training clients.</b></p><p>Nationally qualified bikini bodybuilder who placed 4th at the national level in 2025.</p><p>Founder of EPC Athletics, training clients at 206 Fitness in Burien.</p>
Seattle Fitness Magazine · 27 Oct 2026
  • 5years training clients
  • 4thnational placing, 2025

Starting From Scratch

Emma Paul-Cash never grew up in a gym, and that is the heart of the coaching at EPC Athletics.

Raised in Sammamish, the Burien-based coach dabbled in gymnastics and cheerleading in high school, but nothing really stuck. Then came a stretch of gaining more than 40 pounds and reaching what she calls a pretty low point.

After moving abroad, she started attending fitness classes and quickly fell in love with training, nutrition and the way fitness felt. A personal goal became a passion. "Fitness completely changed the trajectory of my life," she says.

A Full-Circle Coach

Coaching found her before personal training did.

After six months teaching English in Thailand and a stint as an au pair in Australia, which sparked a love of travel and marked the start of her fitness journey, she came home and worked as a paraeducator at her former high school. Coaching several sports she had never played as an athlete showed Emma how much there was to love about teaching and helping others improve.

In 2020 she hired her first personal trainer, learned proper lifting technique, and launched EPC Athletics as a way to document her journey. In 2023 she began preparing for her first bodybuilding competition, and she loved the sport from the start. Today she is a nationally qualified bikini bodybuilder.

Every Journey Looks Different

The women who train with her span every age, background and ability.

She has helped older adults navigate neuropathy, supported women with severe autoimmune conditions in keeping their strength and muscle, prepared first-time bikini competitors for the stage, and guided women recovering from weight loss surgery as they rebuild strength and confidence. Success, she says, is not always about pounds lost. Sometimes it is doing something a client thought their body could no longer do.

Her specialties are strength training, corrective exercise and glute development. The goal goes beyond the mirror: sustainable habits, confidence, and stronger versions of themselves in every part of life. Her approach is approachable, realistic and even fun, built on the idea that you can take your goals seriously without taking yourself too seriously.

A Week Between Classroom and Gym

This past year, the side hustle became the main career.

For years, personal training fit around her full-time job as a PE teacher.

Now training comes first, with substitute teaching on the side. Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays are for subbing and evening clients, while Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the busiest training days. On those days she is at 206 Fitness in Burien with six or more clients back-to-back, and a Tuesday evening group class blends strength training and HIIT.

Many of her clients have become good friends, and sessions include catching up, celebrating wins and working through challenges. Emma also coaches online, with customized workout programs, nutrition guidance and macro coaching. Somewhere in between, she still makes time for her own training, because practicing what you preach matters.

What Comes Next

Emma is not finished learning.

A NASM Corrective Exercise Specialization is in progress, aimed at better serving clients dealing with movement limitations, injuries or chronic pain. She also has her first HYROX competition on the calendar, entered in the Pro division alongside the owner of 206 Fitness. "I'm a bodybuilder, not a cardio girl," she jokes, but a challenge is always welcome.

The bigger goal is the national stage. In 2025, she competed at the national level and placed 4th, just two spots away from an IFBB Pro Card. Her third bodybuilding season is coming together, with a return to nationals planned for summer 2027.

Recognition

ACE-certified personal trainer with 5 years of experience training clients.

Nationally qualified bikini bodybuilder who placed 4th at the national level in 2025.

Founder of EPC Athletics, training clients at 206 Fitness in Burien.

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