The benefits of regular movement are not limited to improving one’s physical appearance—or even gaining more physical strength and flexibility. Creating a routine wherein you commit to setting aside time to move matters on a mental as well as spiritual level. Get moving, and you may just find yourself reaping the benefits in other areas of your life as well.
Whether you’re recommitting to scheduling time for movement or you’re just getting started, the summer season is a great time. To help you get there, we asked three celebrity fitness experts to share their own journeys towards physical fitness, how they believe exercise affects and improves the mind, body and spirit, and a few tips to help get you going.
Jeanette Jenkins, Creator of TheHollywoodTrainerClub.com
Getting started in fitness…
I have an older brother who was an all-around athlete. He is a year older than me and he was responsible for me most of the time…and if he wanted to go out and play, then he had to take me with him. From the age of five, I started playing on my brother’s soccer team. That’s what initiated my love for sport and just my love for competing.
I was born in ‘74, so there were no Black female role models as far as what a professional athlete looked like. I knew that if I wanted to keep making money in this field and stay in health and wellness, I would have to study. I decided I was going to study human kinetics, and I was considering actually going to med school for sports medicine. I started working as a sideline trainer for my college’s football team. My first working job in fitness was aquatics. I got certified as a lifeguard when I was 16—that’s how I got started in fitness. I knew [this was my calling when] I took on my first client…I would’ve been about 18.
Benefits of movement beyond the physical…
Hormonal regulation. It’s so important for women because when they’re younger, it’s a lot easier for them to maintain a healthy body fat percentage, but then they go through menopause and more stress and life changes. At some point, [for] men too, they really do get to a point where they realize they [need] exercise for their sanity [because] it decreases their stress levels. And exercise is actually the only thing that grows more brain cells—it’s incredible.
And then the one that people always overlook, [that] 660,000 people a year die in the United States from heart disease. Globally, 18.6 million people died of cardiovascular disease in 2019—it’s even greater than that now. We have enormous amounts of research that show that exercise strengthens your heart. It improves your circulation. There’s so many benefits that you gain.
Tips for getting started…
- Accept that everyone has a different body type and love the body type that you have. Learn how to love yourself. Practice it on a daily basis. Look in the mirror and instead of picking yourself apart, actually say, “I look great.”
- I recommend joining a group. I have a club, The Hollywood Trainer Club, and we do 30-day boot camps. Everyone can commit to 30 days. Because it’s a community, you interact with other people and feel a sense of accountability.
Corey Calliet, Actor, Motivational Speaker, and Star of Revenge Body With Khloe Kardashian
Area of life most transformed through personal fitness…
When I first started training in 2003, for six years I was doing everything. And in that process, it was up to me not to give up. I was not giving up on myself. And then in 2008, I did my first bodybuilding show and bodybuilding was the one thing that actually changed my mind and my body, because that’s one of the hardest sports to do—it’s a one-man sport, by yourself. It started to turn into what life was to me. And I started to see that if I could change my body and change my mind, I could change my life. Fitness has always been the foundation and the key to everything that I do.
How fitness has improved life overall…
I’m from New Orleans, Louisiana, and it was hard-core. It was tough. I was resilient, but I was using strength in the wrong ways. I had a kid at 19 years old, so I had to have [the] mental strength to just quit doing what I was doing in the street so I could take care of a child and become a respectful man and father. I found that was my safety. Fitness gave me something to do. It taught me responsibility. It taught me consistency. It taught me sacrifice. It taught me how to dedicate myself to something that was gonna better me. Physical fitness became me. And when physical fitness became me, it gave me something to do every day. Being in fitness literally changed my entire life. I used that exact same blueprint to change everything in my life.
Words of motivation…
- Creating a life of activity, being active, making yourself move is going to give you a much better, enjoyable life.
- YouTube/social media is probably easiest if you wanna really start by yourself. If you want to join a community—join a workout class, a spin class or even just set your clock every day and say, “You know what? I’m gonna work out. I’m gonna walk every day for 30 minutes. I’m gonna start off with that.”
Kacy Duke, Life Coach and Owner of Kacy Duke Fitness
Being transformed by movement…
My fitness journey has been very organic. The elegance of dance and the athleticism of track and field really molded me for designing a technique that really works. It’s like exercising with some sort of grace infused in it. And I think that’s when I first started designing my “Show the Body Love” method—celebrate the body to get the body you want. It’s all about showing your body love. Everyone, I believe, can have beautiful lines to their body. Even a large-sized woman can have pretty lines…and men. I make the body look pretty, and that’s what I like to do.
Inspiration for the work…
I just wanna be that person that helps people to see the importance of movement. Just embrace life. This is your life. And you wanna live it to the fullest. You want to move, you want to pump the most important muscle—the heart. It’s not just about getting skinny to me—it’s never been. It’s mindset, motivation and movement. The last thing is the movement.
Tips for getting inspired…
- It’s sorta like life and sex. You want to mix it up. The body needs constant stimulation. It’s really about mindset, motivation and movement. Moving is a privilege. It’s such an honor and a joy to be able to move, so don’t take it for granted.
- Talk to your body. It’s all about getting on the trajectory of [movement]. Find something or someone that’s going to help you become your own life’s motivation.
