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Well, Friends, the time has come to chat a bit about how we got into the industry. So lets dive in…
Q: Gateways into exercise
A: My intro to fitness kicks back to the pre-teen years, working with a personal trainer per the doctors’ recommendation. While it is a young age to be working with a personal trainer, it enabled me to understand the benefits of movement and in that same token though from growing up in diet culture how I precieved my body and understanding what type of body types were “accepted” was a loud influence. The gym was somewhere I felt comfortable in, and it wasn’t a place of punishment. I continued working with trainers throughout high school, especially while playing basketball. Once I got to college, the gym was one of the few places that felt normal. Freshman year, I started working as a fitness staff attendant, which just means I worked the fitness floor and made sure no one hurt themselves on the floor. Spring of Freshman year is when I got my SPIN Certification and taught spin from 2015-2022 (basically till when I moved to Chi). Then, Summer going into my Junior year is when I completed my 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training and Fall of Junior year was when I got my Personal Training cert while working as the Group Fitness Program assistant. During that time, my relationship with exercise changed, and my body dysmorphia got a lot worse. Fast forward and having gone/ still working through Eating Disorder Recovery, my relationship with exercise has improved, and while working in the industry that can be VERY triggering at times, it is so helpful getting to work with indiviudals and help them to their goals.
Q: Trendy Wellness
A: Cycle Syncing, HIIT, LIIT, Pilates Princess, all the things. We’ve all seen the reels and the Instagram posts talking about ALL of these types of “trends”. So, breaking it down… If you are into lifting, Cycle syncing is just a fancy way to say you should do a periodized training program and start during your menstral cycle since you will be starting in the de-load. If you are a group fitness girl, then yes, you can follow the graphs you find on the internet, but also listening to your body and doing workouts that feel good to you is going to be the best way to cycle sync since all females act differently during their menstral cycle.
HIIT vs LIIT: the ongoing debate. Look, HIIT training is good for you. From a cardiovascular perspective its good to get the heart rate up and potentially break a sweat. Doing HIIT every day as your only mode of working out maybe not the best. However, only doing LIIT (Low Intensity Interval Training) is good to integrate in with HIIT, but LIIT alone wont do much for the physical body in terms of longevity. Working in some sort of conditioning that will elevate your HR is positive for you.
Q: Aging and exercise: why its important
A: Exercise throught out the life time is something EVERY PERSON should be doing in whatever form is accessible for them. If you were an athlete your coordination and agility training is going to benefit you in older age, but viewed from a balance perspective. For women in particular, lifting weights that challenge the body is INCREDIBLE for preventing or delaying osteoporosis. Mobility now in life will be the thing that helps you get up and down off the ground when you are playing with future grandkids or g-d forbid, fall. So, continue to do all the things becuase it will help you in the long term.
