She didn’t just bounce back, she powered up and now she’s lifting more than just spirits.

When Pam was laid off from her tech sales job, she didn’t crumble. She picked up a barbell and started building a new life from the ground up. What started as burnout became strength training. What began with spreadsheets ended with squats. And what could’ve been a breakdown? Became the biggest glow-up yet.

In this episode of Clocked In, Checked Out, we dive into what it really looks like to shift from chasing metrics to chasing meaning. Pam’s story is raw, hilarious, vulnerable, and wildly inspiring. From layoffs to lunges, from rejection to reinvention, this is about rewriting your story one rep at a time.

Pam is smart, driven, and magnetic, the kind of go-getter who makes you believe that starting over doesn’t mean you’re behind. It means you’re just getting started.

We talk about what it really feels like to be laid off after 10 years in tech, and how disorienting it is to lose not just a job but the identity that came with it. Pam opens up about the mental toll of chasing quotas, promotions, validation and how fitness became her emotional anchor when everything else felt unstable. She shares what it was like to walk away from toxic hustle culture in favor of real, human impact, and how the gym didn’t just help her heal, it became her therapy and her stage.

We explore the surprising lessons she brought from sales into her fitness career, and why job hunting and deadlifting might be emotional cousins. Pam reflects on how women in fitness are redefining success on their own terms, the difference between tweaking your résumé and reclaiming your self-worth, and why rest, recovery, and reroutes aren’t setbacks, they’re critical to growth.

🍸 Cocktail of the Week: The Level-Up-tini
Frizzy, citrusy and strong enough to carry you through a career pivot and a deadlift PR.

• 1.5 oz vodka

• 0.5 oz Cointreau

• 0.5 oz fresh lime juice

• 0.5–1 oz fresh orange juice (adjust to taste)

• 2 dashes orange bitters

• Top with blood orange seltzer
  

Serve in a coupe or rocks glass. Garnish with an orange slice and sip while mentally rewriting your career goals.

Whether you're navigating job loss, career change, or just figuring out your next chapter — this episode is your reminder that you don’t have to go back to who you were to become who you’re meant to be.

Follow for more chaos, career pivots, and cocktails:

Instagram: @ClockedInCheckedOutPod
TikTok: @ClockedInCheckedOutPod

Got a wild layoff story, gym therapy moment, or quarter-life crisis you need to unload?

Email ClockedInCheckedOutPod@gmail.com or slide into the DMs — and maybe we’ll spiral together on air.