5 Minutes with Jillian Michaels
The Cheshire Magazine sits down with the American Personal Trainer, Businesswoman and Creator of the Fitness by Jillian Michaels app
What inspired you to pursue a career in fitness?
To be honest, I fell into it. I was chubby as a kid and my mum got me into martial arts when I was 12. During my teen years I gradually lost weight through my training in karate, but an even bigger transformation happened when I began to appreciate that fitness is a means of empowerment. When you feel strong physically you feel strong in all facets of life.So, at 17 I was training for my black belt - and I was delivering pizza to make a living. People began approaching me in the gym asking if I was a trainer. My mum paid for my first training certification - and the rest is history!
You are a fitness expert, businesswoman, author, television personality and mum. How do you balance it all?
I'm am very Type-A. So much so, I have a formula for work / life balance. I call it the "12 Hour Rule." Making healthy habits part of your routine is critical. Scheduling time for self-care is a must. It works as follows: If you sleep 8 hours a night that leaves you with 112 waking hours in the week. If you spend 50 of those hours with family and running your household and 50 of those hours on work - conservatively that leaves you with 12 hours to carve out and schedule for yourself. This allows for four 30 minute at home workouts. One 2 hour personal care appointments per week, be it the dentist, hair appointment, doctor, etc. A couple hours for a hobby. A couple of hours for a date night with your significant other. A couple of hours to spend with friends at a brunch or drinks. The bottom line is scheduling those 12 hours for just me time never gets overlooked. That’s how I stay sane and how I manage to balance my self-care despite my busy schedule.
Can you share your top workout tips?
When it comes to fitness consistency is the most important rule. Even if I told you the most effective fitness techniques and built a workout for you that incorporates them - if you don’t like the workout and won’t show up for it - it’s irrelevant. The key is to find a few physical activities you love and do them. Often! If it’s dancing, yoga, hiking, kayaking, weight lifting - whatever it is - pick a couple so you have some variety and make sure you move your body at least 4 times a week for 20 - 30 minutes.
In my fantasy world where I could get you to do exactly what I recommend - to get best results - you would incorporate free weight training, body weight training, HIIT intervals, periodised workouts, mobility training - all done in circuits. This might be overwhelming for someone that hasn’t dedicated their life to fitness and that’s ok. This is where I would say to you - pick a fitness expert you love and let them guide you. Whether it’s a personal trainer or an app - at least spend a few months training with an expert you like and trust so they can take care of the fitness science for you.
Make sure that no matter what, you program recovery days into your fitness plan. Harder is not better. Smarter is key. If you think of exercise as the architect, recovery is the construction crew. That’s why I always break my fitness programs into muscle splits based on function and program recovery into every program I create.
One of the toughest parts about fitness can be getting motivated. How has this played a role in your own fitness?
For me, fitness is my career, so not only do I owe it to myself and my family to be the healthiest version of myself, but it is also my livelihood. That is pretty significant accountability and motivation. But for all people, when it comes to motivation, you need to establish your “why”. It has been said by people far more intelligent than me that if you have a “why” to live for, you can tolerate the how.
Even if I didn’t have to stay in shape for my work, I would because of how being healthy and strong it makes me feel. And I want to be healthy for my family. So I can run and play with my kids. Be there to see them graduate from university. These are all examples of very powerful “whys” for me.
With the challenges of the past year, we know it is important to be fit, but it can be hard due to gym closers, social distancing, etc. Can people really get and stay fit with things like apps?
Absolutely! My app not only has every video workout I’ve ever created (DVD, infomercial program, etc.) but also an absurd number of workouts that are customised for each individual user. We’re even adding audio workouts in the next month, as well. So, for example, there are programs for walking/running programs, HIIT, yoga, kickboxing, bodyweight training, prenatal (broken up by trimester) and postnatal, etc. You can even have me customise any workout for you on the spot. You simply input your fitness level, type of workout you want, how long you want to train, what equipment you have available and it’s instantaneous. You can train on any device from your TV, tablet, phone, etc. and there are hundreds of recipes available of all kinds because even your meal plan is custom. Whether you are vegan, gluten free, omnivore or whatever it may be, we have you covered with delicious dishes created by registered dietitians and top chefs to hit the mark every single time. Plus, you can ban ingredients you don’t like, change serving amounts, track your eating and more.
Download the Fitness by Jillian Michaels app on iphone or android, and follow @jillianmichaels
Photography © Don Flood
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