Latest / Building the Best You / Making Exercise Easy

Transcript

Making Exercise Easy · Building the Best You

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I like to give my participants a variety, because not all of those are for everyone either.
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Some of my participants just want to do barre and that's fine.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Maybe it works for their bodies, but other people don't enjoy barre at all, so that's another thing.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: With my participants.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: I like to have the background to be able to offer to them what works for their bodies and for their levels.
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: Welcome to the House of Germar podcast where wellness starts within.
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: The House of Germar is a lifestyle brand, empowering women to live all in through interior design and personal wellness.
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: We are a destination for women ready to reimagine what is possible in their homes and lives and then create it.
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: We are honored to have you join us on our mission to empower 1 million women to live all in.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: I am your host, jean Collins, and I invite you to become inspired by this week's guest.
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: Welcome to the House of Jarmar podcast where wellness starts within.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: I'm your host, jean Collins, and today's guest is Cara, and I'm not even going to attempt to pronounce your last name, but I'm going to ask you to explain it in a minute.
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: So, cara, I am so excited to talk about this because you are my first guest to talk about something that I am so passionate about, which is exercise, and you have your own business.
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: You're a personal trainer, you're a group fitness instructor, you are an entrepreneur, and I am so excited to talk about your journey, how you got where you got and what you are offering to people, because I am a firm believer.
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: I exercise every day.
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: I have since I was 15 years old, and I think exercise is so important, yet so many people are afraid to get started.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: So you are going to help get rid of that fear.
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: So welcome to the show.
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much and thank you for having me on here today.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: I'm so excited to chat.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: I am too, and just so everybody knows how I met you.
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: So we both belong to a group called hey Mama and I had Penny Goffman on the show earlier and she's the head of community and head of connection and I met her at an event and then joined hey Mama afterwards.
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: And she's the head of community and head of connection and I met her at an event and then joined hey Mama afterwards and have since been connected with so many incredible female entrepreneurs like yourself that do things in the wellness space that I am excited to be able to share on the podcast.
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: So we are both part of hey Mama and I think you, like me, you will agree.
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: You know you've gotten a lot out of that community and out of that organization and out of those connections.
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: So go hey mama.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: Yes, I love that.
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: I've been a member for three and a half years now.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: Actually, it's going to be my fourth anniversary in like a week.
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: That's amazing.
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: I feel like where was I that I never heard of this?
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: Because I mean, I've only been an entrepreneur for five years, but where was I that I had never heard of this?
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: And I have met quite a few members who are like, oh yeah, five years, four years, three years.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: Where have I been?
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: What rock have I been under?
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: But anyway, I love to first get started with understanding your journey and how did you get to where you are as being an entrepreneur, because one of my purposes of this podcast is to inspire women in particular, to follow their passions and follow their dreams, and I think people's stories are interesting and it also helps people sometimes connect because they can see themselves in the guests and then that helps them get inspired.
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: So if you would be so kind and share a little bit about your story and how did you get to be where you are?
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: Sure.
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: So I started out as a personal trainer back in 2005.
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: So it's been quite a while and a journey and, like it's, a lot of growth that's happened along the way.
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: So I was in college at that point and I was approaching my senior year of college and I was actually going for elementary education at that point.
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: The way they had it set up with the elementary ed, they did not have us do our student teaching until the last and final year, which was a mistake.
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: I think they've revamped their program since then, but I didn't really know until the last and final year when I student taught.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: I don't want to do this.
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: And at that point I was already a senior in college and I said at this point I'm just going to finish.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: I'm going to finish out because there's no point in stopping now when I've got a semester left with the student teaching.
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: So I started that senior year in college, which was 2005.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: I started like really getting into fitness and the manager came up to me at the gym and she said you might as well just go for your personal training certification.
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: I said, well, I don't know.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: I'm working, I'm in college.
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: I had a million and one excuses and then I said you know what, let me do it.
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: And from the first client that they gave me, I knew that was it and I finished up my degree.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: I got my degree, but after that I just kept getting certificate after certificate, certification after certification, different specialties that I went into over the years.
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: So now I've been doing this for just about 20 years, like it started in 2005.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: So we're at 20 years now.
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: I worked at all different types of gyms and then I got into a luxury fitness gym.
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: For 2015 that came about.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: I was teaching about 15 group fitness classes a week.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: I was traveling to about 10 clients.
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: Sometimes I was driving no joke a hundred miles a day and I just was overloaded and burnt out and I kept saying to myself how could I change this?
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: So what could I do differently?
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: Because this is the field.
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: You teach classes and you train clients Like, train clients like, how could I do this?
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: And then COVID came about and it was kind of the excuse to make it different.
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: And then it stuck.
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: I mean, I've evolved it since COVID, but a lot of how I started with it during COVID has stuck In the last four years.
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: I couldn't take everybody into my studio and I didn't even have a studio at the time.
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: We had a living room that we made into a studio, so I trained, I had my classes online and I trained my clients one-on-one online and then, as the years evolved, then people wanted to come back in person.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: So we made our two car garage into a full blown gym and it's a beautiful studio.
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: My husband, of course you know, really helped me with all that.
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: He was the main planner of it.
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: I just kind of oversaw the whole thing and I still teach not big enough to have a full blown group in there, so I still teach my group fitness classes online, but I also have my one on ones.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: They can either train online or come to my studio instead of me driving to everybody else.
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: Will I drive to people?
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: Yes, but it's a select amount of people and now I charge an extra fee to travel, so it's more attractive to come to me or train online.
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: Right, what you're saying is so interesting and we'll get back to the part about the actual exercise and the training in a second.
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: But one of the things that you said that was so interesting as an entrepreneur is we struggle with time and we struggle with the fact that we are one person.
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: And how do you build a business model when you are that one person generating the revenue and there's a finite amount of hours in the day, and are that one person generating the revenue and there's a finite amount of hours in the day?
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: And I think every entrepreneur has struggled with this at some point in growing their business of how do I still have a life when I don't make money if I don't work, and how finding the right mix.
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: And I think it's really interesting when you talk about how your business has evolved and you have put the life part of it first, because you have to have balance and recognizing that is so important as you're building a career.
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: So congratulations to you, because lots of people struggle for a long time to do that.
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: So one of the things about exercise that I want to talk to you about is when you read your bio and I will include it in the show notes you are certified in so many things.
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: How do you decide what to get certified in?
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: Because there's a list here Bar, pilates, trx, keto, it goes on and on and on Length, elongate tone, stretch.
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: It keeps going.
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: How do you decide what it is you want to get certified in and what you want to learn?
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: The scary part is that there's just so many more than that out there now.
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: So I would say it's because I've been doing this 20 years, you know I have.
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: I've had the time to get more.
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: But I would say, get certified.
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: I think I have about five or six specialties.
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: I got to go over them in my head.
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: But I would say, to find the ones that you truly love to do yourself and then get the certification in them.
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: I have Bar, pilates, trx, kettlebell I think we're missing one in there Strength, and then I trademarked my own format, which wasn't a certification, that was more of a trademark.
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: But I would say, find the ones that you love.
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: Not everybody has all of those, but I like to give my participants a variety, because not all of those are for everyone either.
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: Some of my participants just want to do barre and that's fine.
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: Maybe it works for their bodies, but other people don't enjoy barre at all.
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: So that's another thing.
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: With my participants, I like to have the background to be able to offer to them what works for their bodies and for their levels.
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: So when people come to you, are they coming to you because they don't exercise at all?
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: Do they come because they're bored with what they're doing?
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: Like, how do they?
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, what's the main reason?
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: It really depends client to client.
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: I get a lot of people who are already in decent shape and just really want to fine tune and get in better shape.
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: That seems to be the crowd that I attract that wants the really hard workouts Right.
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: But I do have people that come to me as a beginner and I probably wouldn't do bar with a straight out beginner or Pilates for that matter either.
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: I would give them the basics of how to strength train first and then get into more of the specialties.
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: But I have people that haven't picked up a weight in their lives and want to start.
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: Wow, which is hard to imagine.
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: I know how do you decide.
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: So let's talk about your class offerings.
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: Explain to me what you offer from a class offering perspective and what makes it so unique.
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: So that's another thing that I recently just changed.
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: I had been giving the live classes six days a week but with the availability of on-demand now I decided to only teach three live classes a week now.
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: So I alternate the formats because some people I have five different formats that I teach.
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: So with the three lives a week I end up alternating them.
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: So we get to all the formats and everyone has a choice.
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: But I teach a hardcore and more class, which I don't want to say hit because I don't there's hit aspects in it.
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: But I really don't love high impact as much.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: I just think it really, especially if you're in your 40s, 50s, 60s, it does increase the cortisol levels in our bodies.
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: There's been evidence of it that it's not great for the joints if you're really pounding on the joints.
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: So it's more of a low impact cardio with strength training in there.
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: I also teach a button gut, which is pretty self-explanatory, love.
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: I need to try that, that's a good one.
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: There's some low impact cardio in there too.
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: I teach bar, but I alternate that, for I don't give bar every week.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: I do it like every other week, and I alternate it with a format called band camp.
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: The band camp is with the resistance.
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: We alternate between doing cardio, weight training and the resistance bands with the handles on them.
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: Okay, and then every Saturday I teach my trademark format let's Work.
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: It stands for Lengthen, Elongate, Tone and Stretch, and it's a combination of bar Pilates and low impact cardio Very choreographed, though.
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: Is every Saturday different or there's some similarities?
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: So I teach the let's work format every Saturday, but I change the routine pretty much every Saturday.
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: Every Saturday.
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: Yeah, to keep it interesting, to keep it interesting and I get bored myself too.
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: I can't keep doing the same workout and it's not good for everybody else.
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: It really is so important to keep the routines fresh.
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: Maybe we repeat it twice because it is very choreographed, but I wouldn't repeat it more than two times.
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: So a really silly personal question which I've always wondered of people who are personal trainers what do you do when you don't feel well and you have to teach a class Like how do you do that we get sick?
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: How do you do that?
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: It honestly seems so much easier at home.
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: Though now, back when I was at the gym at the luxury one, which I don't name names, but they didn't ever really want us calling in sick, and this was pre-COVID.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: I think they've changed their ways a little bit but you'd have to get a sub.
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: But sometimes if you wake up in the morning feeling ill, it's not always possible to get a sub last minute, and I was also teaching 6am classes.
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: So back then I went in sick and I taught.
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: I've gone.
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: I've never understood how people do that I don't.
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: I think the adrenaline in my body would just take me through and and you just do it, would just do it now at home.
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: It's kind of like, oh, if I can do it sick there, I can do it sick here.
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: You know, I try, if I'm really not feeling well now, I'll take the day off.
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: But it just seems so much easier to do it at home, and I'm not spreading my germs at home, I'm just by myself online.
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: So that makes it a lot better too.
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so what do you personally do?
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: So if you have a class and you're teaching, do you teach at?
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: least a class a day, whether it be in person or online.
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: I do three a week and they all go up on demand.
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: Then I do usually on Wednesdays because I don't teach that day.
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: I will film an on-demand workout.
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: So that's like four week outs a week a week for me, cause when I'm online I actually I feel like I, if I was in person teaching a class, I wouldn't have to do the whole thing online.
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: It's a little different.
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: They want to see you moving and working out with them.
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: So I get my workout in with those three classes the one on demand and then the other two days.
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: I do my own, try to work out five or six days a week.
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: I do my own thing on the other day or two.
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: And what do you do Like?
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: What do you like to do to keep your variety going, since you can do anything and everything?
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: Sometimes I'll do an on-demand from my website.
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: Sometimes it'll kind of critique my teaching, other times I will just do.
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: We have a full-bl blown gym at home, so I'll do a strength training routine or I'll go on the bike there.
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: Now that it's the summer, I love to swim.
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: I'll swim in the summer.
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: I'll take walks outside for my cardio because I love being in nature.
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: It really varies.
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: Sometimes I'll even do a dance in the studio.
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: I don't teach dance, but I'll look at different dances and do them on YouTube and whatnot.
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: I love the variety.
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: I find personally that it is interesting the shift as we get older and I'm older than you but as you get older I feel like when I was younger it was hardcore cardio you have to be dripping in sweat and feeling like you are 100% out of breath, otherwise the workout didn't count.
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: And I feel like as I'm getting older it's changed and I personally put much more of a focus on toning and building up muscle strength, versus I need to go out and run and feel like I'm going to die in order to have it count as exercise.
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: Do you find that your business is growing because of that, that there is more of a focus on really toning and the importance of toning?
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: Definitely A hundred percent, and I find that a lot of people say they don't want to be, not that sweating is bad, but they don't want to feel like they just died after their workout.
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: It's kind of evolved over the years that we don't need to go that hard and, like I said before, it can mess with the cortisol in your body.
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: It increases it, it spikes it up if you're going that intense and it's tough on the joints.
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: So I definitely feel a lot of people appreciate the lower impact cardio over the higher Right, yeah, I do too, and it's hard.
• 16:36
  Speaker 2: I mean, I remember when I was younger man I'd go to class at the gym and it was like full bore.
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: I'd be exhausted, same.
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: I would go home feeling depleted.
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: But it's really not the way anymore and if anything, I feel like I can do more days.
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: I'd rather I tell clients this when they're first starting with me.
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: I don't want you to feel so sore that the next day you can't even sit on the toilet because then they're not going to work out the next day.
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: I'd rather them actually be able to move and go for a walk the next day.
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: That cause then you're.
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: You're kind of defeating the purpose if you can't work out for the next two days because you went so hard in that one day.
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: I'd rather three good workouts that you're not depleting all your energy and your physical strength.
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: Right, yes, yes.
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: Now do clients ask you about nutrition or do you talk to them about the importance of, not as a nutritionist, but more the importance of thinking about?
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: It's not just exercise, it's bigger than that.
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: It's bigger than that.
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: We talk about the importance of fueling.
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: I do give helpful suggestions, but I'm very careful to with the diet plans.
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: I try not to give those because it's really not my realm.
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: That's more of a nutritionist, dietitian realm.
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: Right, and I'm not a nutritionist and dietitian.
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: While I have the background in it and I've taken a lot of courses, it's still not.
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: I feel it's not appropriate for someone who's a group fitness instructor and a personal trainer to be giving out diet plans.
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: The right thing to do is to refer them to a dietician.
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: Now, with that said, some people don't have insurance for that.
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: Some people can't afford both.
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: So will I give them helpful hinders?
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: Yes, will I write up a whole diet plan for them?
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: Probably not.
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: Right, sure, but it's getting people, it's having the dialogue.
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: That it's not just, it's the dialogue.
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: You go do this class and then you go eat Burger King.
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: Why bother?
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: Right, it's like are you really ready to embrace, you know, your inner wellness?
• 18:40
  Speaker 2: And it can't just be I'm checking off the exercise box and not checking off any of the other boxes that are out there.
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I love that.
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: I love that.
• 18:49
  Speaker 2: So let's talk about your wellness routine, because obviously you exercise, but I have found, based on experience, that most people that take really good care of their bodies physically have really good wellness routines.
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: So talk to me about what yours is like.
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: So I try to combine.
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: It's not like you said, it's not just all the physical.
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: I do try to get some kind of physical activity in at least five to six days a week.
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: But also for me these last couple of years have been about grounding, focus, mental clarity.
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: So every day I try for at least 15, maybe 20 minutes to do something for mental work, whether it be meditation, eft, emotional freedom, technique, tapping.
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: I love I've also just discovered this YouTube channel.
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: I have to get her name.
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: I could look at it up really quick, but she does Reiki through YouTube.
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: Really.
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: She has a Reiki for almost everything.
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: Like I've been having some foot problems, some plantar fasciitis, so I did a Reiki this morning, a 10 minute, and you're just supposed to close your eyes and envision the Reiki going through you and receiving it.
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: It's all about receiving the Reiki going through you and receiving it.
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: It's all about receiving the Reiki, and there are practitioners that do this in person too, but not everybody can get every single thing, so I've been doing this online.
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: It has been helping immensely, this Reiki.
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: I am loving it.
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: My foot pain went away after the 10.
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: Her Reikis are short.
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: They're like 10, 11 minutes.
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: I did the 10 minute.
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: I really envisioned it running through my body.
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: My foot felt better.
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: Oh, all right.
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: So when we're done, we're going to pause and I'm going to let you find it and I'm going to put it in the show notes because I would love to know what that is.
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: Wow, Would you ever go?
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: This is a little side change that will come back to your wellness.
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: Would you ever want to become a Reiki master?
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: I don't know if I'd become a Reiki master.
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: I definitely am very intuitive and that's been kind of calling me.
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: I have friends that asked me to read their tarot cards for them.
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: I've been very into that as of late and every time I give a reading it's been on, so I've been studying that.
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: I think I would delve more into that than the Reiki if.
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: I had to choose one or the other, yeah.
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: I love tarot cards.
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: Did you do something?
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: This is now we're going down a whole side tangent, but it's a subject I love.
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: Do you do the moon rituals?
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: I've done a couple of full moon rituals.
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: I did a group that we met outside.
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: We did a cleansing by the full moon, but I don't do them religiously.
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: Right, okay, I asked just because yesterday, while we're recording this, yesterday was a full moon, yesterday was a full moon.
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: I had all intentions of doing one and then I went out to dinner with my girlfriend instead.
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: But I can still do it.
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: I've done them before.
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: I've done the full moon, I've done the new moon, I have definitely done them before, and I do find when I actually really get into it, it's kind of interesting what happens and and what like comes out when I sort of let it come out.
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: So I might still do it tonight, even though I'm a day late.
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah, because they say the power of the full moon lasts for two days before and two days after.
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: So it's still okay, and we're also in Mercury and retrograde right now.
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: I know I have the worst luck around that time Communication problems, issues that happen with appliances in my house.
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: It's not a fun time for me but I feel, because I'm intuitive, I feel it harder.
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: Yeah, right, yeah, but you're aware of it also, which is very interesting.
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah, all right.
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: So let's go back to your personal wellness.
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: Sorry, I took us on a little side tangent, but I love all those subjects, so let's go back to your personal wellness.
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: So, meditation, what else do you do?
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: The EFT, tapping the Reiki, and then I actually go to an acupuncturist that I just started with for a fertility journey and she's been helping me and I think it's a natural way to de-stress and I think there's something to it because I've been going to a clinic for the last six months and they have stressed me beyond belief and we all know that's not a good thing when trying to get pregnant.
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: No, if you're trying to get pregnant, stress does not help.
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: So, I recently started with a fertility acupuncturist and she's actually been helping with my foot too, she kind of.
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: Which is really nice of her she combines both in the same session.
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: So I've been doing that once a week, sometimes twice.
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: I get a medical massage like once a month I tried for.
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: Those are my personal wellness things and of course I do things like getting my nails done with fun stuff Of course.
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: You got to make yourself a priority.
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: How do you eat?
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: How does a personal trainer eat?
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: So everyone has their theories on if they think eating multiple meals a day is good, if they think intermittent fasting is good.
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: I personally do not like intermittent fasting.
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: I feel like it drops my blood sugar down.
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: It makes me crash.
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: For me it isn't good.
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: Others swear by it.
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: I like to have small meals throughout the day.
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: I swear by that.
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: It keeps my energy levels up.
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: I don't feel stuffed and full.
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: So I do like six to seven little meals a day breakfast snack, lunch snack, dinner snack, sometimes another snack in there too.
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: But what you said is so interesting and I've been to a nutritionist before which I think is so important is you're finding what is right for you and your body, and I think that's also something that you're delivering in your classes is giving variety to your clients so that they can find the right workout for themselves, because everybody is different.
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: And so you don't do intermittent fasting, I do.
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: I don't eat breakfast anymore.
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: And that just seems to be what works for me, and I have a really high protein, very vegetable-based smoothie that I make at lunch most of the time, and then I'll have a snack and then I'll have dinner.
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: But for me, that just is what works.
• 25:51
  Speaker 2: I drink a lot of water, I drink tea in the morning, so it's not like I don't do anything.
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: But I used to be like you.
• 25:56
  Speaker 2: I used to have breakfast and then a snack and lunch, and so I just think you make such an important point that it's about learning how to get within you and figure out what is the right thing for you, and getting in tune with your body, not just through your exercise but through your mental health and through your food, to figure out what reacts the best for your body.
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: I'm curious when you don't eat until you said noon, you start normally noon yeah.
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: So you, you feel like you have enough energy the whole morning from when you get up, really Okay.
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: So for me, I would feel like I couldn't even be on this podcast today if I didn't eat before this I would be no energy, but it's different for everybody.
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: It's different for everybody and it's my body's been conditioned.
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: Now I do have green tea in the morning.
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: Um, so you know, it's not that I don't have anything and I drink a lot of water.
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: Um, so I drink a lot of water and I do have.
• 26:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly so, or I'll have a matcha or I'll have a green tea, so I do have something.
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: But also, if I'm hungry, I'll eat.
• 26:56
  Speaker 2: You know, it's not like it's such a strict rule If I'm hungry I'll eat.
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: But sometimes I find I'm just busy and before I know it it's 11 o'clock or 12 o'clock, and okay, you know, I it's just what tends to work for me.
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: And even I noticed, if I'm on vacation, I don't normally eat breakfast.
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: Sometimes I will, just because I love the meal of breakfast.
• 27:16
  Speaker 2: I love the food of breakfast, especially on vacation.
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: But you know, having three meals a day, by the end of the day I feel like I've just eaten more than what I need to eat.
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: Got it, got it.
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: Yeah, my meals are pretty small, like lunch is a salad, like a big salad, yes, but I tend to make them smaller.
• 27:36
  Speaker 2: Is a salad, like a big salad, yes, but I tend to make them smaller.
• 27:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, and it's.
• 27:38
  Speaker 2: I find it's interesting and I also find it changes as our bodies change, especially as women, as our hormones change, you know, at different ages.
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: The way I eat now versus how I ate four years ago, just like how I exercise now versus how I exercise four years ago, is very different and, as a woman especially, acknowledging and recognizing that and embracing the changes that are happening in your body and finding ways to adjust and finding resources, like yours, with different classes, to keep it exciting and interesting is really important.
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: I feel like half the reason why people stop exercising is they get bored.
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: Bored and they really don't like what they're doing.
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: They're feeling forced to do those things.
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: It's a task.
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: Yes, right, you can't feel like you're forced.
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: That's what I always say.
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: If you feel like this is a chore, you're never going to continue with it.
• 28:27
  Speaker 2: No, no, you're right, that's exciting.
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: So what do you want to do with your business?
• 28:33
  Speaker 2: If you could do anything else that you wanted next for your business, what would it be?
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: I don't know if I would really.
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: I have to say I'm pretty happy with where things are.
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: I love that, I really enjoy.
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: Of course, I'm always looking for more people to join the classes.
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: You know, that's something that I did feel during COVID.
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: There were more because the gyms were closed.
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: So that's of course I'm always looking for more people in the actual group fitness classes, but I'm just so happy that I don't have to travel so much and I'm home and people are coming to me.
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: I'm not quite sure if I would change much.
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: I do have to say that I miss and I recently started possibly thinking about getting back into going into another luxury gym, but I would never do 15 classes a week again.
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: I thought maybe one or two classes a week just to get myself even one, just to get myself out out there, like it's just good for mental to get out of the house and go and teach that class.
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: Yes, so I've been putting my feelers out for that.
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: That's probably the change I would make.
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: Next is doing one in-person class somewhere, right, well, and it's about variety for you, it's shaking it up.
• 29:51
  Speaker 2: It's the same thing.
• 29:51
  Speaker 2: It's about variety for you.
• 29:52
  Speaker 2: It's shaking it up, it's the same thing.
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: It's you're creating variety for yourself because you're doing the work and there is a certain energy to an in-person class at a gym that is hard to replicate that energy in your own home.
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yes, and I think I miss the energy.
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: I don't I have to say, I don't really miss having a boss, though I don't miss it at all.
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: I don't miss, necessarily, working with a team, I don't miss that part at all but I do miss the energy and I think just doing one a week would be enough for me to get that little bit of energy, feel it, and then I'm good.
• 30:29
  Speaker 2: Yeah, oh, that's so funny.
• 30:31
  Speaker 2: How do people find you?
• 30:33
  Speaker 2: How are you getting clients?
• 30:34
  Speaker 2: How do people find you?
• 30:35
  Speaker 2: How did they get started?
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: So between I have the networking group hey Mama.
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: I also work with influencers on a it's called Social Cat and you can network with different influencers who apply to work with your brand.
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: So I will.
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: I have about four different influencers right now that post up about me and they write my code in for people to come try a free class.
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: Of course, there's always word of mouth.
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: Also, I do collaborations with different people on hey Mama.
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: For instance, yesterday I had this woman, allison.
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: She owns Blistco.
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: It's a journaling company.
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: She came on to my class.
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: She did a little exercise at the end.
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: She also advertised it to her followers.
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: She did a little exercise at the end of my class like a three-minute journaling, and then she gave away one of her journals at the end.
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: So I do different collaborations like that and I also write for different journals, like I've gotten into Forbes, women's Health.
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: There's other ones too.
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: There's a bunch that I've done, articles for that I've responded to, and they will put me and tag my website in their article so you can just click it and go there.
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: So that's another way, too, is getting into these journals, publications and writing different articles for them.
• 31:54
  Speaker 2: That's so interesting because you mentioned so many different things.
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: There's a lot of different things, no, but you know what You're bringing up?
• 32:00
  Speaker 2: A really good point, because us, as small business entrepreneurs, one of our biggest challenges is reach, yes, and how do people find you?
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: Because once they find you, then it's great and then you can build a relationship with them and then they can be buying your products and services.
• 32:14
  Speaker 2: But getting them to find you amongst the clutter of what is out there is really interesting.
• 32:21
  Speaker 2: So I have a business question for you.
• 32:22
  Speaker 2: How did you decide, okay, I want to partner with influencers and that's what I'm going to do, because I personally feel, as an entrepreneur, there are so many choices of where we spend our money and our time to try to achieve the end result of getting more clients.
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: So how did you decide that that's what you wanted to do?
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: So, budget wise, this social cat, it's actually a barter, so I don't have to pay the influencers that I'm working with.
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: They're bartering with me.
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: So while I cannot give them one-on-one sessions, there is just not enough time to give all these influencers one-on-one.
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: They join my classes, whether they do them live or on demand, and it doesn't really.
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: I just have to send them a gift card, so it really isn't costing me money.
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah, oh, I like that costing me money Right, yeah, oh I like that.
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: Yeah, same thing with the website publications.
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: I don't need to pay for that.
• 33:25
  Speaker 1: I also do a lot of advertising on.
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: Not all moms groups will let you on Facebook, but there are ones that let you advertise your business, yep, so that's another way too.
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: I post up on Facebook moms groups and that's free advertising.
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: So I try to get as many the collaborations are free.
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: I try to get as many free things and save as much money and barters as I can.
• 33:45
  Speaker 2: Good for you.
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: Working with the marketing groups and I'm not saying they're not bad, but I got pricing and it was just way beyond for them to do SEO for you and really advertise on social media for you, because I do my own reels and posts and all that kind of stuff.
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: If you worked with a marketing group, a lot of them were charging.
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: They wanted something like $5,000, $6,000 a month and it's out of my budget range.
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: It's outrageous.
• 34:12
  Speaker 2: No, I know I can't do that and I do think for social.
• 34:15
  Speaker 2: In my personal opinion and this is from a business conversation, right I think for social media.
• 34:20
  Speaker 2: I think people prefer your authentic content.
• 34:23
  Speaker 2: I think at this point, people I know all the people that I follow I prefer their authentic content as opposed to totally edited, filtered and every once in a while it's kind of fun, but on a daily basis, having people post stuff that isn't real to them and isn't genuine to them or authentic to them and their brand and their business, I think is not as interesting.
• 34:47
  Speaker 2: I just think you don't get the appeal.
• 34:49
  Speaker 2: So I don't it doesn't feel real.
• 34:51
  Speaker 2: It doesn't feel real and I know they take the work off your plate, but to me it doesn't feel authentic.
• 34:56
  Speaker 2: And I also think you know people like, how do you find all this time for social media?
• 35:00
  Speaker 2: And I was like, well, because there is a part of me that actually enjoys it, because of the connection you can have with your followers and if you are the person responding versus some you know assistant at some agency responding, you can build that rapport and dialogue with your followers and then that can help you organically grow your business.
• 35:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, but it's work, let's be honest.
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: It's definitely work and I carve out a certain amount of time a day to do social media, yeah, but I think it's worth it in the long run.
• 35:31
  Speaker 2: It is, I agree, I agree, I agree.
• 35:33
  Speaker 2: All right, so, before we run out of time, what I always love to talk about a book that you would like to recommend to someone that has helped you on your personal wellness journey or your career journey, or something that you think is impactful, that you want to share with someone.
• 35:46
  Speaker 2: So what book would you like to recommend?
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: Who Moved my Cheese?
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: It's by an MD, Spencer Johnson.
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: Have you read it?
• 35:54
  Speaker 2: I have Yep, yep.
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: A long time ago.
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: A long time ago, but yes, I've read it.
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: Good one, great.
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: It's all about being able to navigate through changes and being okay with things not going as planned, because I am a huge planner and I do have an issue when things don't go as I plan them to go Like my day set up from morning to night, and I'm pretty good with sticking to my schedule and when something goes off my schedule, I get angry, I get pissed off and annoyed.
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: So this book definitely helped me to view change and things changing last minute as okay.
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: Things are not going to always pan out as expected, it's just life.
• 36:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah, which is true.
• 36:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and learning to deal with change is a really good skill.
• 36:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, it's a really good skill, and just finding the tools that help you do that whether it be exercise, walking, meditating, your 10 minute Reiki, I'm totally looking that up.
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: Oh, it's so good, yeah, and I used to never do this stuff for mental and now I am all about everyday exercising mental and spiritual.
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: It's so important, which I think is so important, it's the holistic 15 to 20 minutes?
• 37:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, the holistic and making time for it, just like you're making time for exercise.
• 37:09
  Speaker 2: That's so great.
• 37:10
  Speaker 2: Is there anything I didn't ask you that you want to share, that we haven't covered, that I might've missed.
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: The only thing is your listeners and viewers.
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: They can definitely come and try a free group class with me.
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: I'm happy to say the code now, or just give it to you and you can list it at the end.
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: What's easier, what do you think?
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: You can say the code now.
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: That's fine.
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: Okay, so they'll go to my website, which is wwwcgmfitcom, and then they can either add a recording, which is like an on-demand, or one of my live classes to their cart when they check out, and it'll say it right in front of my website too, on the homepage, but they can add in all capital letters welcome, cgm.
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: And they'll get the class, or they're on demand for free.
• 37:54
  Speaker 2: I love that and I'm going to try.
• 37:55
  Speaker 2: I want to try the button.
• 37:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, the button gut, the button gut, that sounds that is, I want the button.
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: Gut, I'm absolutely going to try it Every other Monday.
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: I teach the button gut Every other Monday, but of course it's up on demand too.
• 38:08
  Speaker 2: Okay, I am absolutely going to try it.
• 38:10
  Speaker 2: I love the variety.
• 38:11
  Speaker 2: Oh, cara, thank you so much for joining the show.
• 38:17
  Speaker 2: You know I love that you're an entrepreneur, I love talking about exercise and fitness and I think your approach you know when I first met you and went to your website.
• 38:21
  Speaker 2: I just love your approach of variety and offering lots of different things to get women into exercise and I feel like you know what.
• 38:28
  Speaker 2: Just do something.
• 38:29
  Speaker 2: Everybody just do something.
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah, just figure out what works for you.
• 38:32
  Speaker 2: Right, and this might be a really great place to start.
• 38:35
  Speaker 2: So thank you so much for being on the show.
• 38:37
  Speaker 2: I appreciate it.
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: Thank you, I had a great time.
• 38:40
  Speaker 2: Bye, everybody.
• 38:40
  Speaker 2: See you next week.
• 38:43
  Speaker 2: Thank you for joining us for another episode of the House of Germar podcast where wellness starts within.
• 38:49
  Speaker 2: We appreciate you being a part of our community and hope you felt inspired and motivated by our guest.
• 38:55
  Speaker 2: If you enjoyed this episode, please write us a review and share it with friends.
• 39:00
  Speaker 2: Building our reach on YouTube and Apple Podcasts will help us get closer to our mission to empower 1 million women to live all in.
• 39:08
  Speaker 2: You can also follow us on Instagram at House of Jermar and sign up to be a part of our monthly inspiration newsletter through our website, houseofjermarcom.
• 39:18
  Speaker 2: If you or someone you know would be a good guest on the show, please reach out to us at podcast at houseofjermarcom.
• 39:27
  Speaker 2: This has been a House of Jermar production with your host, jean Collins.
• 39:31
  Speaker 2: Thank you for joining our house.