Never forget you will go as far as you believe you can so make your goals big! – Brandi

Brandi understands the challenge of overcoming bad habits and finding balance. A few years ago Brandi decided to make a healthy lifestyle change and is now a personal trainer training people out of her home.  She lives in Colorado with her husband and two kids, border collie (her running buddy!), and two scaredy cat kitties. She enjoys spending time with family and they have started spending more time traveling. They are looking forward to seeing more of the country. You can find her on Facebook at Iron Logic Fitness.

Read on to find out about how lifting weights changed Brandi’s life and set her on the course to become who she is today!

1. Was there an event that sparked your lifestyle change?

As a kid growing up I was not athletic at all! I was drinking sodas all day long I didn’t play sports. After high school and a very short lived college experience, I went to work in jobs which were very active and my weight took care of itself. I was able to get away with eating fast food lunches and hamburger helper dinners. While I wasn’t skinny or heavy and I was pretty comfortable with my body. I was a smoker and was definitely not the picture of health.

2. Tell us a little about the process?

In my early 20s I went to work in a very sedentary job as a 911 dispatcher. Between stress and ordering in food and not working in a physical setting I put on 15 pounds my first year. At 25 I had my first kiddo and luckily the weight came off fairly quickly. I was not so lucky with the second child at age 28. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes during my pregnancy and after my daughter was born the weight did not come off nearly as quickly. I went back to work at the end of my maternity leave at 185 pounds which is far too much for my 5’5 1/2″ inch frame. After trying weight watchers I realized I was not getting the results I wanted. I started exercising and began lifting weights along with utilizing the Body For Life Program which I learned about from a coworker. My love of weight lifting was born and the weight started falling off at a rapid rate with the changes in my nutrition and workouts.

3. When did you decide you wanted to pursue a career in fitness? Are you glad you made that decision?

After doing 4 figure competitions my drive to learn grew and I read everything I could get my hands on to learn about nutrition and fitness. I had learned if I really wanted my body to change it couldn’t happen with a gimmick or a get skinny quick temporary diet. I learned how hard I had to push and what good nutrition meant. I went from believing I couldn’t change where I was to KNOWING I could change and I wanted to share that knowledge with others. There were a lot of steps in between my first certification and where I am today in fitness and my fitness drive and beliefs. I am always glad I have had the experience of getting to help others to not make the same mistakes I have made and there is nothing better than watching someone push through a stall to succeed.

4. What’s the most rewarding part of your job?

Many people come to me to lose weight. I want to ensure everyone can see their progress in more than just the scale. It is easy to see the scale get stuck and to become demotivated. I constantly track and evaluate workouts to ensure my personal training clients and measurements in my nutrition clients to ensure we are getting forward progress. We complete testing routinely to ensure the workouts we do are creating the results in strength and endurance that each personal training client wants. I love to see someone killing a skill they once couldn’t do and I love to see bodies changing before my eyes when someone is nailing their diet.

5. How do you find balance with family/work, nourishing/splurging, etc? Is that hard for you?

I am working on finding balance and it can definitely be hard. Let’s face it.. working and raising a family can be a great challenge. I work 40 hours a week in my 911 dispatcher job and another 20-30 personal training and creating nutrition plans for clients. I also teach group fitness classes 1-2 hours a week at a local recreation center in addition to the full time job of being a wife and parent. I am guilty of taking on “just one more client” when I should say no which then puts the needs of my client’s schedules ahead of my own. I love it so much it is hard to hold back when I feel like I can help someone to get where they want to go. As far as nourishing/splurging I am constantly checking myself and most of the time I eat very well. I definitely have my moments where old habits want to sneak back in and I eat more than I should or I have a sweet treat when I shouldn’t. Old habits die hard and I am far from perfect. I think that is also one of the things that makes me approachable to my clients. I truly get it when they “go off the rails”. I have lived it and may live it again. The difference between the me of 10 years ago and the current version of me is I know have a really clear understanding of nutrition and what it means to eat well and how truly important it is for your long term health to surround yourself with nourishing foods. You are unquestionably a product of your dietary habits.

6. You competed in figure completions? What was that experience like? Did you enjoy it? Regrets?

I completed 4 competitions and while I didn’t win I certainly learned a lot about myself. I learned I am no happier at 125 pounds than 140 and I am a heck of a lot stronger and more resilient at 140. Competing can be a rush and it can be a huge blow to your self esteem. It is hard to see yourself as lean enough after you have pushed to your body to levels it hasn’t seen before. I am happy to have a more balanced and healthy focused approach now in my fitness instead of being focused on a look or a number on a scale.

7. Any goals you are working towards now?

I am running a 200 mile team relay race in August and I am working on sharpening my skills in Olympic Lifts. Personally I am trying to create more work and life balance so I can spend some quality time chasing around my tween and teen as they are growing.

8. Any advice for people just beginning their fitness/health journey?

Surround yourself with people who believe in you and lean on them when you feel weak. I have had a lot of great support friends over the years in helping me to reach new goals. Never forget you will go as far as you believe you can so make your goals big!

Don’t do things that suck! If you don’t like to run, find another way to work out. Don’t be afraid of trying new things until you find your niche.

Finally, please let your focus be on eating well and moving more and creating long term health. In 30 years will you care that you were the skinniest or the fastest? Will you be in your own home because you practiced balance or in a nursing home with multiple health issues and injuries because you refused to change your bad habits today. The only person who can protect your future is you.

Thank you Brandi for sharing your story, you are a Girl Hero!

If you want to find Brandi check out her page Iron Logic Fitness.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Check out our family’s adventures at Newschool Nomads as we travel in our RV through the United States!

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Learning about how other women find balance and achieve their health goals inspires and motivates me and I can’t think of a better Girl Hero than Danny-J to relaunch the Girl Hero features!It’s always fun to connect with people who share common interests so when I learned that Danny from the Sweaty Betties was soon to be living on the road I had to know more.

Currently, Danny lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband of seven years and they are “still wild about each other”. They have two pups Peanut the Lab and Baloo “The Most Interesting Dog in the World”. Her favorite past time is just “doing whatever” and “create adventures” with her husband. Danny’s work does’t feel like work because she loves everything she does. She has created multiple streams of income through business coaching for other bloggers and trainers, online personal training, affiliate marketing and network marketing with Nerium.

Get to know Danny as she shares her lifestyle tips,what she learned as a figure competitor, and even what she would say to her daughter who she lovingly placed for adoption when she was 15. Her honesty and energy is contagious and you won’t finish this interview without feeling like you too can tackle life with a smile!

What inspired you to start your site, The Sweatie Betties? And what is your mission for the site?

​I was in the fitness industry; doing bikini and figure competitions. I really wanted to be an inspiration to others, to show what someone can do, but at some point it became all consuming and I realized that the picture of ‘health’ a lot of these fitness pros put on wasn’t the whole truth. I wanted women to know that they could be fit without having to spend 7 days a week 2 hours a day at the gym. They could have a life, maybe some stretch marks and not perfect bodies and still BE fit and feel amazing and have fun and not take life so seriously!​ My mission for the site is to provide non-BS information, ideas, motivation and education on fitness, lifestyle, leadership and self-esteem.

Do you have a favorite exercise? What does a typical week of workouts look like for you?

​Hmmm I LOVE Crossfit but I haven’t done it in so long. My favorite exercise, not to do, but my favorite for RESULTS are walking lunges. Such a great booty lifter!!  A typical week, sad to say, lately has been no workouts at all. I have been very open with my struggles with adrenal fatigue and metabolic damage after competition. I started working out 4 days a week at the beginning of the year but recently had a major relapse in symptoms. As I start to feel better, I always go back to my 12 week lifting program though, its solid and keeps me sore. You can download it HERE. 

What motivates you to take care of your body?

​I have a family history of obesity. My grandmother and uncle both had gastric bypass surgery. My parents have always struggled with their weight, my aunts and uncles have weight problems. I just don’t want to have my life always dictated by diets. I’ve been witness to it my whole life. It takes up space in my brain that I should be using to help others. ​

You used to compete in fitness, figure, and bikini competitions. What was that like for you and what did you learn from those four years?

I have great memories and not so great.

I learned that I have amazing discipline and I can do anything I set my mind to and focus on. I loved having a goal to train for and an “excuse” for going to the gym. I also learned that I have more to offer in life than just a hot body and that I really wanted to focus on more experiences. Competing can put you in a very eating disordered mindset (especially after already struggling with that for years). I learned how to manipulate food and exercise very well, I learned a lot of science, but I also learned that life has so many more things to offer. While I don’t regret competing, I do wish that I hadn’t done it for so long.​

You mention in your about page that you were a suicidal teen and experienced an unplanned pregnancy at 15 years old. What would you say now to your teenage self?

​Wow. I do think about this often as my daughter now is past the age that I had her. I know the way I look at her pictures and love her so much without ever having met her. I am always out here silently cheering her on.. and I think now.. there must have been people out there cheering me on when I was that age, wishing that I could see my own potential, wishing that I wasn’t hurting. I think that the only thing I would tell myself back then would be… “this too shall pass and you’re going to be amazing and fine”. I think that angels and divine intervention come in many forms and there were circumstances and people who did say the right things to me at the right time and for those reasons, I am still here.

The Sweaty Betties site oozes positivity! How do you stay so positive and how do you deal with life’s downfalls?

​I have my moments. I have to work hard on not being a pessimist and I’ve gotten a lot more open minded. I don’t believe the internet or social media is the place to complain and I really believe that what you think about/focus on, grows. So even if I’m in a funk, I try and look for the good in the situation because I literally have no control over anything else but my own thoughts. Sometimes I worry too much, I hate letting people down and I sometimes put other people’s feelings over my own. Luckily my husband is a great sounding board and will tell me when I need to stick up for myself or value myself more.Surrounding yourself with good people who want you to be better is key.

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Resolutions, goals, intention, a new day…

Whatever you want to call them, it’s the New Year and for many, including myself, it’s a time to use the extra excitement to catapult yourself toward the changes you want to see in your life. Who cares if you didn’t meet your goals last year. Who cares if that energy fizzled out around March. Last year’s failures and disappointments don’t need to define your path this year and more than likely you are a few steps closer to your goals than you think.

Of course, you don’t need the New Year to begin making changes. Nor does it need to be a “Monday”. It can be any day of the year or the week but since today’s January 1st, 2014 why not take a few moments to reflect on the past year and think about things you’d like to see happen in the future.

Looking back on 2013

Last year, I chose a word for the year, movement.  While in a hazy half sleep the last day of 2012 I realized, “I trust so I can move” and decided I wanted more movement in body, mind, and spirit.

Looking back…

I didn’t pick up my guitar like I had planned. Bummer.

Nor did, I get all my 3,000,000 steps. I got 2,629,591 steps in 2013. Considering my few months of morning sickness and losing my Fitbit, I’m okay with that. I did learn to snowboard better than I ever imagined and, aside from my weeks of morning sickness, kept up my strength training. Last year, ended on a strong note setting the foundation for another great year of building and maintaining strength.

My prayer/meditation life didn’t grow as intentionally as I planned but my trust in God has deepened. Despite the changes and surprises this year has brought, I feel a very deep sense of peace that I can’t quite explain.

Writing was a bit all over the place but I wrote. I worked on some personal projects and continued blogging, one of my favorite hobbies. The end of 2013 ended on a high note when I was offered a part time gig writing (starting this year) for a company that aligns with one of my passions. I also contributed to a book called Chicks without Bricks.

It’s a compilation of travel stories and inspirations from other unconventional women. You can order it here.

All in all my movement was slow but steady.

Looking forward to 2014

I’ve gone back and forth on choosing a word for this year. Right now as we are still without a “home” (RV) and with a baby on the way and the new writing commitment, I’m inclined to choose “survive”.

But I have more faith than that so I’m going with FOCUS.

Rather than adding an entire new list of goals, I want to focus on the movement that started in 2013 to keep (and build) the momentum. I’ve learned when I spread myself too thin, I get overwhelmed.

1. Focus on maintaining my exercise routine and nourishing my body especially as I prepare for birth. = Continue walking everyday and strength training 2-3x a week. (I really do want to get those 3,000,000 steps this year.) Continue to eat real food and cut back on junk. (Yeah, things got a little out of control around Christmas.)

2. Focus on my older boys and helping them to continue to grow in their strengths. = There is so much to say since they fill the majority of my life but here is a summary. A large part of getting a new RV is about improving their learning environment by setting up creative personal spaces for each boy where Brent and I can help guide them. Thing 1 continues to play his piano and is interested in learning web design or starting a business. Thing 2 just bought himself a new SLR camera and wants to learn about photography. He has expressed interest in drawing as well. Of course, we’ll continue with our road schooling (math, history, grammar, Latin, etc.), learning from life, traveling, and exploring nature.

3. Focus on writing. = Write every day even if it’s just for 10 minutes. And read. And read some more.

4. Focus on others. = Remembering life isn’t about me and look for opportunities to connect with and care for others.

5. Focus on the one thing everything else rests on, my faith. = Peace

Do you choose a word for the year? I’d love to hear about your reflections on 2013 and your thoughts on 2014. If you wrote a post about it please link to in the comments and I’ll check it out.

Here’s to an amazing 2014 for all of us!!! Happy New Year!!!!

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States.

The post Looking back and looking forward with FOCUS appeared first on Girl Heroes.

Mary is a newlywed and a personal trainer who, through hard work, transformed her body. She has kept the weight off for over 6 years and has developed quite the physique!  Mary loves, “REALLY! I LOVE IT!” , lifting weights and training for life and competition in figure shows. Mary lives in the city of Minneapolis right by miles of city lakes, so she love to run those also.

In addition,  Mary also enjoys knitting and reading and COOKING! She has been with her husband about 16 months, married about 8 of those months, and has an adorable 6 year old stepson with whom she enjoys reading and drawing mazes. “He is fantastically creative!!” she exclaims! Last but not least, she has 2 cats who never pitch in and help with the dishes.

Mary writes a faith and fitness blog, Fit this, girl! and is a co-leader of the womens ministry at her church, The Exchange Church Minneapolis!  

Girl Hero Mary

Ma

You lost 40 pounds! How does your lifestyle now compare to then?  In other words how is your before weight loss story different than your after story?

I was really in the throws of depression and quite simply low self esteem and it was a spiral that took my weight and health down. I was up and down, very uneven. My lifestyle changed with my emotions and there was no consistency at all! Sticking to a healthy lifestyle took a bit to adapt to and to create habits around, but I simply kept doing the same things over and over, but this time, they were HEALTHY things. I joined a gym and made sure that I used it three days a week a the least, I had joined weight watchers and counted points day in and day out, I took advantage of those lakes and ran those when I could. But, even when I over ate or missed the gym, I STILL got back up and did it over and over again. I saw change because I didn’t give up and was consistent in what I did! 

 I used food before, to an extent we all do, but I used it and let it control me! I would eat when sad, when lonely, to celebrate. I found solace in sugar, in the foods that got me high and opted for more to stay that way when I crashed! I ate way more than I should have at every sitting and ate whatever junk I wanted to. Now, I don’t let food control me, sure I mess up, but it doesn’t dictate what I do, how I feel or to keep me happy. I use food for fuel and to keep my body running as well as I can. I would never have eaten salads or healthy foods, now I eat clean most of the time. I have the occasional treat, but I plan it and plan to enjoy it.

You say the biggest obstacle you faced was yourself. Can you expand on that?

I didn’t want to succeed. I wanted to stay at my pity party, population me.  It was scary to think that I could lose weight. If I lost weight then I was succeeding and that meant that I would have to step up and LIVE up to that. I became my biggest obstacle because I was afraid of the responsibility of success, It was easier to stay a failure than to try and succeed and then be accountable to that new level. Then I would have to examine the reasons WHY I overate and over drank, I would have to examine the reasons why I had low self esteem and fear. I would have to have an accountability, even to self that I hadn’t had before.  That is not within my comfort zone.

Do you find losing or maintaining harder?

I think losing and maintaining have many of the same elements. There is a level of sacrifice, there always is. You have to workout and eat right to lose weight. Developing new habits is essential to success. Those often take sacrifice. It’s not easy, but once you reach your goal, it feels amazing. Many times when we reach the goal, we think that the journey is over. But this road is one that once we start down, we are always on. Nike says there is no finish line, I believe that, we are not through. If you are not moving forward you are moving backwards. John Wayne says that you can be on the right track, but if all you do is sit there, you will get run over. Not that we have to keep losing, but we always strive to move forward to NEW things. Getting better and better, faster, cleaner, stronger and move on to helping others. We don’t want to stop and stay where we are and  we certainly don’t want our weight or our suceses to go backwards. To Maintain doesn’t use the same tactics, but its the same mentality in that we are not “done”, there is always more to do.

What does a typical day of food look like for you when you are off season?

You know, this is only my second season of competing in figure and prior to that I was marathon running. I don’t really want to have an “off” season, I want this to be a lifestyle of eating healthy and working out. Here is what this past 18 months did look like for me. I started eating clean, because as a trainer, I wouldn’t want my clients eating the junk processed stuff I was. I actually had a co-worker trainer call me out on eating free junk food from the kitchen at the gym (go figure, right!). A close friend had told me about Tosca Reno’s Eat Clean Diet and I looked into it. I started eating clean and lifting using a split routine and my physique changed!! I ate greek yogurt with fruit for snacks, spinach salads with chicken, quinoa, fish tacos, eggs, veggies and ALL kinds of goodness. When I met my husband and we were married, I was just 2 months out from my second show and didn’t know how to jump back into normalcy of clean eating. Contest prep diets eliminate much of the healthy fruit sugars and carbohydrates that a regular clean eating diet has in it. After the wedding and honeymoon, I slipped on even regular clean eating. Add a new step son in the mix and I was licking the tuna helper off my fingers more than once a week. What it took was willpower and God power to bring back my natural gifting for discipline. I picked another show and am now working towards being on stage in June for the third time. Some trainers and competitors will gain a lot on an “off” season and then lean out for show time. I lost my 40 pounds once and I don’t aim to do it again! I don’t see anything wrong with eating full fat, healthy fats in moderation and that is usually what I do when I am not in prep mode. 

You’re a personal trainer and you also teach group fitness classes? Can you tell us a little bit about all that!!!!

In the past I have really enjoyed teaching bootcamps, kettlebells and TRX classes, currently I teach Spin!! I enjoy small group or one on one training best, because I can focus my attention on the needs or one client making sure their form and technique is proper, it makes ALL the difference to see results and gains in strength! I have worked as a personal trainer for 3 years now and it is a dream I saw come to be after a long hard road to my own health and wellbeing. 

Has getting physically stronger impacted you mentally or spiritually?

A spiritual leader in my life once told me that I had an anointing for discipline. I believe I do. Body building and weight lifting is my gifting so it helps that I excel at this. I haven’t had anything that I have felt I did as well as this or enjoyed as much. In gaining physical strength I had to dig into my will and my spirit. As a Christian and someone who walks by faith, my emotions don’t really get to play a part in this, which is a 180 from my days of emotional eating and drinking. I bring my thoughts and emotions before God and give them over to him in all their weakness and imperfection and He replaces them, He becomes my strength. I believe also that in order to train the way I want, I rely on God for strength to get through, he provides the gifting and the strength to bring me all the way.   I have gotten stronger by going to Him in my weakness and time of need: When I don’t want to go to the gym (it happens, sometimes), when I am eeking out those last few reps and sets, I do it because He has called me and equipped me. 

How do you stay motivated?

I try new exercises and even work with trainers, this way I stay excited about my plan and my muscles enjoy a new program periodically too. Same with eating, new recipes are always popping up on my pinterest and on the table. Seeing results is a big motivator and I chose performance based results often: can I lift heavier, can I run faster. When you see strength and growth that way, it really propels you forward. As a trainer I am inspired by my clients everyday and they motivate me. They work incredibly hard and I would be foolish to think that they are the only ones benefiting from the relationship, I learn so much from them and am challenged to be better.

What does a typical week of workouts look like for you?

I lift split body routines which is back/biceps, chest/triceps, shoulders and legs. Mostly because they are primary and secondary muscle splits and they will get full rest if you do it this way. So 4-5 days of lifting and 4-5 days of cardio as well. I do change it up sometimes and do push/pull days or all upper body to just spice it up. To fatigue a single muscle group and the secondary muscles with a hard and fast 40-45 min weight routine creates the perfect burn for me.  

What is your favorite exercise?

I could work shoulders ALL day. I love it. Presses, overhead or arnold presses are great and a single arm push press is a  great challenge.

Any advice for people looking to lose weight or just beginning an exercise program?

Start where you are: join a program that is easy to follow, like Weight Watchers. They teach you how to eat differently and make better choices overall. Too many drastic changes at once can leave people open to failure early on and often. Programs like Weight Watchers meets you where you are and moves you forward from there, no guilt. Join a gym and get a buddy and then stick with it! 8-12 weeks will pass before you will see true results in the direction you want, but in 6 months or a year, you can create a new person with new healthy habits and lifestyle! 

 You’re a personal trainer. How do you respond to the question, “How do I get abs?”

Diet! Build them in the gym, grow them when you rest and eat clean so they show up! Having “abs” you can see means you are eating and living lean and mean. Go after it!

Just for fun…if you could have any super power what would it be?

Maybe when I snapped my fingers, I had a Starbucks Coffee in hand? Or the ability to just beam anywhere, here in MN, it’s cold. Flying is out of the question, so beaming up, for sure. 

Thank you Mary for sharing your story with us!!!

You can connect with Mary on Facebook, Twitter, and her blog, Fit this, girl!

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States!

The post Girl Hero Mary appeared first on Girl Heroes.

For as long as she could remember Katie struggled with her weight but in 2009 she made the choice to “get healthy once and for all”.  Almost a year and a half later ,Katie had lost 125 pounds! What I appreciate most about Katie’s story is her honesty and down to earth attitude. She openly shares about everything from her “ever constant battle with binging eating” to worrying about her kids being overweight to buying clothes at thrift stores on her blog Runs for Cookies.

Not only is Katie an inspiration to her blog readers but she is a wife and stay at home mom to two boys and four cats.

Girl Hero Katie

In 2009 you “decided to lose the weight and to get healthy once and for all”. Was there a catalyst for this decision? How long did it take to lose 125 pounds?

My elder son, Noah, wanted to take the training wheels off of his bicycle, and he wanted me to run alongside his bike while he learned to ride the two-wheeler. I barely made it down the street before I was gasping for breath; I physically couldn’t do it! I felt like a terrible mom, and I vowed that when it was my younger son’s turn to learn, I would be ready. I started calorie counting, and eventually, exercising. It took 16 months to lose 125 pounds.

You counted calories right? Do you still count? I hear a lot of people talking about counting calories as if it’s this horrible thing. (I don’t think that.) Do you feel that way?

I switched back and forth from counting calories to counting Weight Watchers’ Points (which is essentially the same thing). I think calorie counting is a great way to lose weight! I didn’t have to eliminate ANY foods from my diet; I could eat anything I wanted, as long as I planned for it and counted it. In the past, I’d tried all the fad diets, but they were impossible to keep up with for the long term. Counting calories/Points is something I can do forever without feeling deprived.

How did you family and friends respond to your decision to change your lifestyle?

At first, I think my family and friends thought it was “just another attempt” that I was making, so nobody took it too seriously. It wasn’t the first time I’d tried to lose weight! Once my results became visible, and they saw that I was sticking to it for the long haul, they were very happy and encouraging for me. My sister called me every week to ask how it was going, and when I reached 100 pounds lost, she treated me to a makeover. When I reached my goal weight, my parents gave me $5 for every pound I’d lost, and I used the money to fly to Minnesota to run a race with my brother. I have a pretty awesome family!

Do you find losing or maintaining weight more challenging?

Honestly, it’s pretty much the same. Losing weight was slightly more challenging because I was eating a little less than I am now, but the only thing that changed from weight loss to maintenance was the amount of calories/Points I was eating. Right after I lost the weight, my weight bounced up and down with about 15 pounds, because I had a very hard time adjusting to maintenance–I kept trying to eat “intuitively”, where I didn’t measure my food or count calories. But that just didn’t work for me. I need more structure than that. Now, I finally feel like I have the hang of it!

Can you tell us a little bit about how you took up running and why you love it?

I never imagined that I would one day call myself a runner. I was making a bucket list near the beginning of my weight loss, and I put a very ambitious goal (at the time) to enter a 5K race and RUN it. I’d never even run a mile before, so a 5K seemed nearly impossible. My friend Renee helped me get started, and she signed up for a race with me. She kept me encouraged to keep going, and somewhere amidst the training, I became hooked on running. I loved the way it made my body feel! I ran a 10K after that, then a half-marathon, and now, I’ve run two full marathons. Every time I get done running, I feel like I did something amazing for my body. And it allows me to eat more!

Getting fit clearly changed you on the outside. Has there been internal changes as well?

I always thought that if I ever got thin, I’d be very fun, loud, and outgoing; in reality, I’m still the same shy, introverted woman that I was before–but setting and reaching goals has made me see a whole new side of myself. I have much more confidence in what I can accomplish now, and I step out of my comfort zone all the time to do things I never would have before. I’ve even been on national television twice (The Dr. Oz Show in 2011 and the Today Show in 2013), which is something I never would have had the courage to do before I lost the weight! I also used to be terrified of flying, and after I’d lost 100 pounds, I faced my fear on a tiny little, two-seater, open-toppped, airplane. I almost threw up before getting on, because I was terrified, but I was SO excited afterward when I did it!

You have struggled with binge eating. I particularly enjoyed this post. Is binging still a struggle for you? Can you share a little bit of your experience in overcoming binge eating?

Binge eating is something I’m probably going to have to deal with forever, unfortunately. I’ve had long stretches of time without a single binge, but I’m always fighting the urge. Binge eating is something that relaxes me when I feel anxious or stressed, so I’ve had to find other ways to deal with that. I’m a much happier person when I’m staying binge-free, so I’m always trying to find ways to replace the binge eating. Right now, I’m six months binge-free, which I’ve written about here!

What motivates to continue of this health journey?

My blog readers! My blog readers continue to inspire me every single day. I recently started a series on my blog called “Motivational Monday“, where my readers share what they’ve done in the previous week that made them feel proud. People have shared everything from walking their first mile to running marathons, to reaching weight loss milestones… and reading all the things they are doing makes me want to set and reach more goals for myself.

Any advice for others who are starting their own journey to improve their health?

My best advice is to only make changes that you’re willing to live with forever. Don’t give up your favorite foods to lose weight, because you know that you can’t do that forever; likewise, don’t vow to work out six days a week for two hours a day–that’s unrealistic to maintain forever. I made changes that were do-able, and I just kept at it every single day! The persistence is the most important thing.

Thank you Katie for your honesty and sharing your story!!!!

You can connect with Katie on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and her blog, Runs for Cookies.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States!

The post Girl Hero Katie appeared first on Girl Heroes.

Last week, Brent and I met an older couple while riding the lift. We came down the mountain and ended up on the same lift with the couple again. Our third run down the man said, “We’ll just ride up with you guys.”

We learned they spent half the year in the Outer Banks where he works in the trades.

We learned they had two kids.

We learned about new runs we should try.

We learned they had started snowboarding together 15 years ago at the age of 50.

Rad!

That, my friends, is why I workout consistently. 

Sure a flat stomach is nice and strong shoulders look great in halter tops.

But the older I get the less those things really matter.

The people who inspire and motivate me the most are the people advancing in age who are hiking trails, snowboarding down mountains, running races, lifting some iron, and living life.

Once I read about a woman who died from getting thrown off a horse…

at 102.

For over 10 years that article of the elderly cowgirl has stuck with me.

God willing, that’s how I want to go. I don’t want to break a hip falling down the stairs.

I want to be thrown off the back of an Arabian (That’s my favorite breed and what I rode when I was younger.) while riding through the mountains.

Not to go all Bible on you but I’ve said before I’m a little Jesus flavored.

2 Timothy 4:7 – “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

I want to age gracefully but not passively.

I want to keep running figuratively and literally.

The only chance I have of being able to be literally finish running or be gloriously thrown off a horse at 102 is to eat real nutrient dense food and maintain my strength.

Eat real food.

and

Lift.

Lift your body. Lift iron. Lift big bags of dog food.

Just lift.

Lift heavy. Lift consistently.

Snowboarding, hiking, running, dancing, tennis, golf, or whatever activities you enjoy…they are all wonderful but they are all second to strength.

Strength is the foundation of every healthy body.

With that here are my workouts of last week. There was fresh powder a few days so my schedule was off. I’m also doing an upper lower body splits  after months and months of full body workouts. I still love (and prefer) full body workouts but I needed a change and my legs need a bit more rest since I’m snowboarding so much.

Monday – Rest
Tuesday – Strength Training – Upper Body Focus
Wednesday – Strength Training – Lower Body Focus
Thursday – Snowboard
Friday – Strength Training – Upper Body Focus
Saturday – Snowboard
Sunday – Snowboard (This was probably my best day so far. There was powder and I hit more black runs that day than any other day!)

I also walked every day. My lowest step day was 4,478 and my highest was 13,914 so I’m still on track for meeting my 3,000,000 step goal for 2013.

So how was your week? Why do you workout? Who motivates you?

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States!

The post Lift Heavy. Lift Consistently. Age Gracefully not Passively appeared first on Girl Heroes.

After 5 years of shuffling papers and sitting at a desk answering phone calls, Suzi decided to follow her heart and make a career change. She left here job as an insurance agent to pursue her passion as a fitness instructor and hasn’t looked back!

But perhaps what makes Suzi’s story especially inspiring and unique is her determination to not let Fibromyalgia define her life. That’s right, Suzi is a fitness professional who battles chronic pain but still comes manages to see the bright side of life!

Suzi is married to her best friend and they have two furbabies. Suzi describes herself as “an avid movie watcher, an obsessive reader, a Downton Abbey addict, a cheese loving fool and unfortunately for me probably the biggest klutz and the person with the worst “unfortunate” luck you will ever meet!” She chronicles her adventures (and misadventures) on her blog, Confessions of a Fitness Instructor.

Meet Girl Hero Suzi

1. Your blog is called “Confessions of a Fitness Instructor” with the tagline “because being fit isn’t about being perfect”. Love it! Can you share a little more about the name…why you chose it and what it means to you?

I chose the name of my blog for two reasons, the first being a nod to one of my favorite authors (Sophie Kinsella – the author of “Confessions of a Shopaholic”), and the second because I felt my fitness class participants had a distorted view of my life.  I would hear them talking about french fries or something, and as I got closer they would say, “not that I eat french fries,” as though I would disapprove.  I started my blog as a way to show people that while I live a life as a fitness professional, I still enjoy “bad” foods and I don’t always want to work out.  At the time most of the healthy living blogs I knew about showed a very unrealistic version of a “healthy life” and I wanted to bring some realism back to the virtual table.

2. You were diagnosed with Fibromyalgia over 10 years ago. Can you tell us a little bit about Fibromyalgia? How does Fibromyalgia affect your life on a daily basis?

In a nutshell, Fibromyalgia is a disorder that causes widespread body and joint pain.  Many patients (myself included) also suffer from sometimes debilitating fatigue, insomnia and unfitful sleep.  There are many other conditions and symptoms that one with Fibromyaliga can experience, but those are the two big ones.

I am fortunate that I have been able to manage the worst of my pain through fitness.  Staying active really helps to diminish the symptoms considerably, but it never goes away completely.  Because of my disorder, I require more hours of sleep than the average person (9-10 hours/night) in order to function well, and because of my job I sometimes need more sleep than that in order to have enough energy to carry out my classes.  If I have a bad night’s sleep, or am having a bad day/week due to joint pain it is hard to focus in my classes and I will make a lot of mistakes in choreography I’ve done hundreds of times before.  Fortunately, I generally only suffer from a bad flair-up 2-3 times/year.

3. Did you diagnosis affect your lifestyle choices regarding food and fitness? 

Shortly after being diagnosed I started seeing a Naturopath whom I credit with saving my life.  I walked into her office a zombie, for well over two years I visited her at least once/month.  Near the end of my treatment with her I was seeing her only once or twice/year.  It was a miraculous change.  Anyway, during those years I moved from eating a diet of largely processed and packaged foods to one that consists of mainly whole, unprocessed foods.  I discovered that my body doesn’t function well on a diet heavy in animal proteins (though I’m not vegetarian, I generally eat meat only 1-2 times/week).  I also discovered I have a serious intolerance for MSG and that I cannot handle eating spicy foods.

As far as fitness goes, she was the one who encouraged me to start exercising.  I started off walking and doing workout videos at home, then moved into a “learn to run” program.

4. Have you always loved fitness? If not how did you discover your passion for fitness?

No.  Not in the slightest.  In fact I hated gym class.  The only exercise I enjoyed was swimming and tennis (and unfortunately I’m a terrible tennis player).

Aside from Fibromyalgia, I also have a lung condition.  I’ve experienced a number of partial pneumothoraces (collapsed lungs) due to a soft spot on my left lung.  My doctor told me it was unsafe for me to fly and I didn’t want to live my life forced to only travel to places I could drive.  As I mentioned, I started exercising at the encouragement of my Naturopath, and I started running to try and strengthen my lung so that I would be able to fly.  Somewhere along the lines I discovered that when I exercised regularily I didn’t need my medications for Fibromyalgia, and I started going longer and longer periods between problems with my lung.  It was after that realization that I knew I needed to make fitness a total priority.

5. You used to work a traditional 9-5 job. What made you want to switch to a career in the fitness industry?

I worked as an insurance agent.  The first problem was – I’ve always hated the phone.  And here I was talking on the phone all day long.  The second problem was I wanted to help people with my life, and being an insurance agent didn’t make me feel like I was helping anyone.  The people I worked hardest to help were the people who were the most angry, and the people who deserved to be angry about something that happened were always the nicest.  There came a point when I simply couldn’t handle it anymore.  Being stuck in an office all day on the phone listening to people complain about things that weren’t even a problem was driving me mad.

It was one of those small windows in life where you have the opportunity to make a complete change.  I could stay in the room I knew or I could jump out the window into an unknown world.  I chose to jump.

6. What is your favorite part of being a fitness instructor?

There are two things that really stick out for me, one is seeing and hearing the difference I’ve made in someone’s life.  When they tell me that after coming to my classes for 6 or 8 months that they are off their blood pressure medication, or they’ve lost 40 pounds it really validates that what I do is important.  And then there are the changes that only I see.  Standing in front of everyone I get to observe how everyone acts during class and can see the inward changes that have happened – people who are more outgoing, more self assured, more positive, and happier.  It really makes my heart smile.

The second thing I love is pretty superficial.  As a Zumba instructor I create a lot of my own choreography and there is something so magical about seeing an entire room full of people busting out choreography to a song that I made up one day while driving in my car, it’s really pretty awesome.

7. What does a typical week of workouts look like for you?

Well, I teach on average 12 classes/week.  My class schedule looks something like this:

Mondays: 2 Zumba Classes, 1 Strength Training Class
Tuesdays: 1 Seniors Fitness Class, 2 Zumba Classes
Wednesdays: 1 Zumba Class
Thursdays: 2 Zumba Classes, 1 Stretching Class
Fridays: 1 Zumba and 1 Zumba Gold Class
Saturdays: 1 Zumba Toning Class

On top of those, I try to fit in a few strength workouts of my own (generally Physique 57 DVD’s), yoga and the occasional run.  Honestly though, this past week or so I’ve done nothing outside of my own classes.

8. What does a typical day of eats look like for you? Have you found any particular foods help with your fibromyalgia

Because my day it sort of upside down (I usually don’t teach in the mornings, will have a class in the afternoon and then 1 or 2 classes in the evening) I normally sleep late (remember that 9-10 hours of sleep thing…) get up and have breakfast which is usually cereal or greek yogurt topped with sunflower, pumpkin and chia seeds.  I eat lunch around 1, and it often consists of homemade soup or pasta.  Then depending on the day I will either eat a snack late afternoon or have an early supper.  If it’s one of my more busy nights, I will often not get home and be able to eat supper until 8 or 10 pm, at which time it’s a free for all.  Basically anything I can find goes into my mouth at that point.

I find that a diet high in fiber and whole unprocessed foods help with my Fibromyalgia.  If there is a day or week where I find myself eating a lot of processed foods I can certainly feel the difference.

9. Are you working towards andy goals right now?

I have a few goals, one of them is to rebuild the strength I’ve lost these past couple years teaching so many cardio based classes.  It’s really difficult to make myself to more exercise on top of my already crazy class schedule, but it’s something I need to do.  Another it to rebuild my yoga practice.  That goes hand in hand with building strength, but I know I also need it from a health perspective.  Yoga is a magical thing, and anyone who does it regularly knows what I mean.  I miss that magic, I need it back – plus my hamstrings need the flexibility.

With both of those goals in mind, my current physical goal is to be able to do an unassisted handstand.

10. Just for fun…if your life was a book what would be the title?

Misadventures in Unfortunate Luck.

I don’t believe I have truly bad luck, but I instead “unfortunate luck”.  If you were to divide the world into people who always have good luck, and those who always have bad luck I would fall into the bad luck category. However, if you were to then look at everyone in the bad luck category I would have the best of the bad luck. My lung collapses a number of times – but only 5% so they don’t need to do anything scary to me.My car blows up on the highway – but just as I am slowing down for an off-ramp so it was very uneventful

I’ve got a million and one examples of my “unfortunate luck,”  but I think this post, Remember That Time I Went to Newark Airport, I wrote about when I went to BlogHer last year really sums up how my life generally goes!

One of my friends is always eager for me to go on trips because I always come home with crazy stories.  I’ve tried to tell her I would LOVE to come back sometime without any crazy stories, but that never seems to happen!

Suzi, thank you so much for sharing your inspiring story with us!

You can connect with Suzi on Facebook,  Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, and on her blog, Confessions of a Fitness Instructor.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States!

The post Girl Hero Suzi appeared first on Girl Heroes.

Melissa is a contract administrator for an oil company in Alberta, Canada. She wakes at 4:30 AM nine days in a row to work eleven hour shifts yet still finds time to workout. She has been married to her soulmate and best friend for a year. She loves to  love to travel, to read, clean healthy cooking, lifting heavy, and recently developed a love for writing her blog, Fit Girls Rock.

Girl Hero Melissa

Have you always exercised or did you discover your love for fitness later in life?

I played team sports in high school, starting running in university but I got more serious with the lifestyle about 2 years ago.

Why do you train?

I train because I love it, because I like to challenge and push myself outside my comfort zone. I like to see what my body can do.

What does a typical week worth of workouts look like for you?

A typical week usually involves an hour (sometimes and hour and a half) training session everyday except Sunday’s (and even then I sometimes do cardio). I have a trainer that I train with a couple times a week and I do the rest on my own. Lately most of my workouts are full body/cross fit type workouts and I am loving it.

What are your favorite exercises and why?

I love deadlifts, pull-ups and squats because doing them makes me feel powerful and like nothing can stop me plus they are great exercises for strength.

What sort of meals do you eat on a typical day?

I am following the Paleo diet, however right now during the week I eliminate carbs other than from veggies and then on Sundays’  I have a carb re-feed day (oatmeal, rice cakes, rice, quinoa, fruit). I also have experimented with Intermittent fasting and have found it to be beneficial for me so I include one fast day per week.

Do you have cravings? How do you deal with them?

Of course I have cravings who doesn’t? There are a number of ways I deal with them; I don’t buy food that can tempt me, I talk myself out of it by telling myself how crappy I will feel after I eat what I want in that moment, I drink lots of water, if I am in a position to; I do something active and there are also times that I just allow myself a treat. This is a lifestyle for me not a diet so therefore I do give into treats now and again just in moderation.

Has working out changed you on the inside in any way?

Yes for sure. It has made me more confident in myself and in my abilities, it has given me a more positive outlook and it has taught me to never give up because I can do anything that I set my mind to.

How do you stay motivated?

There are a few things that I do for motivation: I have a vision board which keeps me focused, I have a great support group who keep me going as well and I think about how good I feel on the inside and outside by eating clean and working out.

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

I am most proud of taking my fitness to the next level in the first place, inspiring and motivating others to do the same and of my 7 pull-ups in a row.

Are you working toward any goals right now?

I am always working towards goals. Some may only be small like adding an extra 10lbs to a lift or an extra pull-up, etc and some may be bigger like a fitness competition. Currently my main goals are aiming to compete again in May, getting 10 pull-ups in a row, completing a mile run in 6 minutes and getting certified as a personal trainer.

If you could go anywhere tomorrow where would it be and why?

There are 2 places. One would be my home in Newfoundland Canada, all my family are there except my husband, of course. The other would be Paris. I have always wanted to go there but have not lived that dream yet.

Thank you Melissa for sharing part of your story with us! I’m motivated to work on my pull ups now!!!

You can connect with Melissa on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and on her blog, Fit Girls Rock!

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States!

The post Girl Hero Melissa appeared first on Girl Heroes.

Although Lori lives and breathes fitness she says, “it isn’t my whole life. I have a wonderful man in my life that enjoys fitness as much as I do.” They enjoy traveling whenever they can, and when they can’t, Lori enjoys reading, hiking the local parks, and painting. By day, Lori is  a Residential Appraiser and by night she is a student currently studying to get her degree in Nutrition, a stepping stone to becoming a Registered Dietitian. In addition, Lori also writes her blog Get-Fit-Naturally.

Girl Hero Lori

Can you share with us a brief history of your fitness/health journey?

My journey is one that stretches over many years. I began working out in my teens, strictly for vanity reasons, LOL. But as I got older, working out became my stress relief. As I became more knowledgeable about how the body works, I feel working out is a key component in being truly healthy.

 I  love the title of your blog “Get-Fit-Naturally”? I’m assuming it reflects on your personal fitness philosophy. Can you share that with us?

A few years ago I wanted to try and do a figure competition. I didn’t get to compete, but I did learn a lot about nutrition. To be at its best, your body must get the proper nutrition, from real food. While I was training, I had to eat 7 meals a day – none were from fast food or processed foods. I soon realized I had never felt better! There is a huge misconception that you must restrict calories or buy supplements in order to lose weight, which usually comes from companies trying to sell your products. A friend of mine asked me to help her lose weight. I taught her how to choose her foods more wisely and plan her meals. Along with this knowledge and an exercise plan, she lost 40 pounds. She is the one who kept encouraging me to start my blog.

 You say on your blog, “exercise does not have to be a chore”. Can you expand on that statement? What do you mean and how would you encourage someone to find a different mindset? 

Many people think that exercise has to be a structured routine or that you have to spend an hour in the gym or hours on a treadmill. Exercise can be any physical activity that allows you to use your muscles and works your lungs. Find something that you enjoy doing and do it as often as you can. Play sports, hula hoop, turn the radio and dance, jump on a trampoline, play with your kids on the playground equipment, hike, bike – fly a kite – anything that makes you move!

I happen to enjoy pushing weight around in the gym – I enjoy it – so it works for me.

What is your favorite way to exercise and why?

My favorite form of exercise is resistance training – weights specifically. I like pushing myself to become stronger – to see what my body can do. However, I do like to be challenged with different forms of resistance training because it keeps me from getting bored. Once a week or so I will try a new routine or piece of equipment. Right now I’m enjoying kettlebells, but I also like using the TRX system and the new punching bag they put in the gym.

How do you stay motivated?

Sometimes, that can be a tough one! When I’m able to be consistent with my routine, it’s easier. When I’m thrown off by travel or work, it can be a challenge. Some days I have to remind myself how much better I’ll feel if I can get to the gym. Other days, I have to be tough on myself and pull out an old “before” photo – LOL – that usually gets my butt to the gym! I also keep motivational photos on my wall in my office.

Your goal is to become an RD. Very cool! How is that coming? What caused you to move in that direction?

I am just so fascinated by how food can affect the body in so many ways. Our food sources have become more complicated over the years. When manufacturers began using so many preservatives and additives to lengthen shelf life of packaged foods, there wasn’t enough long term data to know how they would affect people’s health. Now the data is being collected and the results are downright scary. Our bodies depend on wholesome food to function properly. The more I researched, the more I discovered, the more I talked all my friends to death about it, the more I thought about making it a career. So I jumped in with both feet and went back to school. It’s a little slow because I work full time, but that’s ok. It’s what I love.

Who have been some of your fitness (or any other kind) role models?

Oh my, there are many! Tosca Reno, because she lost so much weight and became her fittest in her 40’s (she’s 52 now), as well as my coach Christy Allen. But mostly, the people that have lost 50+ pounds and made amazing transformations. When I read their stories, it always humbles me and inspires me to do my best.

Both your mother and aunt have beaten breast cancer. Has that had any effect on your lifestyle choices?

Both developed breast cancer after menopause, and both are survivors (Yay!). It has definitely had an effect on my lifestyle choices. I try to eat a well-balanced diet that includes variety of fruits, vegetables, lean protein and whole grains. I tend to stay away from soy because the research is so “undecided” – one day it’s ok, the next it’s not. Research shows that exercise lowers your risk – so I get some form of exercise daily. I try to stress less about the little things and get plenty of sleep. Last year I got a “call back” after a mammogram screening. Although it turned out to be nothing, it was scary and made me even more determined to be as healthy as I can.

What is one of your favorite quotes and why do you like it?

“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

It takes away the words “I CAN’T”.

Thank you so much Lori for sharing your story. Your balanced approach to fitness and desire for knowledge is inspiring….you are a Girl Hero!!

You can connect with Lori on Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and, of course, her blog, Get-Fit-Naturally.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States!

The post Girl Hero Lori appeared first on Girl Heroes.

If you think you can’t do something Jen Bricker will challenge you to think again.

Jen Bricker has quite an athletic resume. She grew competing in softball, basketball, volleyball, power tumbling, and even competed in the Jr. Olympics, an impressive list of accomplishments for an average individual. However, Jen is far from average. Jen was born without legs due to a nonhereditary birth defect.

Jen Bricker was raised by adoptive parents in rural Illinois. Her mainstream upbringing allowed to her to grow up  and excel like any other kid. She never realized she was any different.  Like many small town girls (ahem), she grew up knowing nothing about nutrition and fitness programming. She grew up in the “world” of fried food and vegetables from a can.

In 2008, Jen decided to pursue a career in entertainment and moved to Orlando, Florida.  There she started to learn about working out and nutrition. She also began performing as an acrobrat/aerilist which eventually landed her a spot as a cast member on Britney Spears The Circus Tour.

Two years ago, Jen took yet another leap of courage and moved to Los Angeles to further her career. Quickly, she learned that in Los Angeles image is part of the game and she took her nutrition and fitness to an even new level and completely transformed her body.

You had an amazing transformation! What triggered your lifestyle change and can you share what your lifestyle, food and fitness wise, was like before and after?

My transformation came in steps, first entering the entertainment industry, I initially dropped 15lbs.  Then the biggest transformation came when I moved to L.A.  I knew that if I wanted to be the best at my field and achieve all my goals, I had to take care of everything I could control, to give myself the best advantage that I could.  In Hollywood, the better you look, the more you work.  I knew that was the cold hard truth for anyone out here.  Thankfully, I was blessed with an AMAZING trainer who changed my life completely, Eric The Trainer!!!  Everything about my lifestyle, diet, sleep, & exercise transformed, which is why I transformed!

What does your current fitness regime look like? What are your favorite exercises and why?

I currently workout 5 to 6 days a week for about 30-45 min.  I do a mixture of floor exercises all with my own body weight NO weights or machines.  The exercises are as if you are on your hands and knees doing variations of kicking your legs behind and beside you, as well as holding your body weight up during each exercise.  My trainer is very specific about his methods for females to maintain the lean, feminine look.  For me especially one of my biggest problem areas were my arms.  People always think I work them out and lift to get my big muscles, when actually it is quite the opposite.  I always hated having muscular arms, I wanted thin, feminine arms.  So I actively worked with Eric to shrink and tone them.

How or where do you find motivation when it starts to run low?

I mainly workout in groups with people whom I now have formed great friendships with through working out.  That is a great motivation to look beside you and see your friend working just as hard and uplifting you.  Also my trainer is always such a motivation and a happy face!

What made you want to learn acrobatics and how did you get involved? 

Ever since I can remember I was magnetically drawn to gymnastics.  In fact when I was about 7, I wanted to be an Olympic gymnast!  I knew the balance beam would be hard, but I didn’t care.

Did people ever doubt you? If so how did you respond?

If people ever doubted me, I never knew about it.  When I was younger I really had no clue I was THAT different.  No one at home, at school, or at the gym, ever treated me any different.

How has living with a disability made you stronger?

For me living with a “disability” is all I’ve ever known.  I’ve always been able to do everything I’ve ever wanted to do, so I don’t really see myself as disabled.  I don’t really think my life is drastically different than others?

Is there something about living with a disability you would like others to know about?

I think in some ways living with a “disability” has made me mature faster and see the world in a different way.  Looking different or standing out definitely draws attention and I think I get to see a person’s true self a lot quicker than maybe someone else.  I think it has allowed me to have a great perspective of reading others quickly and really seeing someone’s true self.  It is a gift I’m actually really thankful for.

I think most women struggle with body image. You work in the entertainment industry and live in Los Angeles, a city that know for image! I’d love to hear your perspective. What does healthy body image mean to you?

Living in Los Angeles can absolutely throw your mind for a total head spin!!  It can be very hard to maintain a healthy perspective on your body, when your surrounded by image,image,image.  Honestly, I have struggled just like anyone else feeling that I am not small enough, pretty enough, etc…  But I always try to remember my true purpose in life and why I was born this way and that was to help inspire and motivate others through the gifts and talents I was given.  That always puts things in perspective & gives me a reality check.  Also I go and volunteer with the homeless on Skid row, being around people who are out of the entertainment industry is a great way to un-plug and gain perspective.

What goals are you working towards right now?

My main goals are to write a book in the next 5 years, be on the cover of a women’s fitness magazine, get more involved in voice-over work and my ultimate goal is to be a TV personality/talk show host!

You performed in The Circus staring Britney Spears. What was that like? Did you even imagine you would perform in front of thousands of people growing up?!?

I honestly can’t believe that was part of my life, being on the Britney tour was one of the most surreal highs of my life.  Sometimes we would perform in front of 20,000 people LIVE!!  We were CENTER stage, ALL eyes on us!  It was the most adrenaline racing, heart pumping, ALIVE moments over and over again.  I am so thankful and blessed to have that be a part of my life!

Who inspires (or has inspired) you?

I would say my family inspires me the most, just seeing how constant and steady they are.  How they truly value and cherish the things that really matter in life, how selfless they are. They would always put us kids before themselves and they would give you the shirt off their back.  I am SO ridiculously blessed that I was able to have such amazing people raise me.

Just for fun…if your life was a song what would the title be?

“This One’s for the Girl’s”  by: Martina McBride.  SUCH a great song of empowerment for any girl/woman!!

Thank you Jen for sharing your story with us. You are an inspiration in the truest sense of the word!

You can connect with Jen Bricker on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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Journey with our family on the road at New School Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States!

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