Latest / Tone It Down / Stop Letting the Scale Decide Your Day: TIU Celebrity Trainer Jenna Willis
Transcript
- 0:00Stop trying to love your body and respect it.
- 0:04Love is a feeling, right?
- 0:06And it comes and goes, but respect is a decision.
- 0:09When you show up, you're respecting your body.
- 0:13This is your weekly girlfriend chat,
- 0:15a kind that we all crave, where we can show up
- 0:17exactly as we are, laugh until we cry,
- 0:21get honest about the things we're navigating
- 0:23and all the private girl talk that we need more of.
- 0:26No pressure, no perfection, just real women like us.
- 0:29Sharing real stories with real connections.
- 0:32Over the years of Tonadab,
- 0:33I've learned that the most transformative moments
- 0:36don't always happen in a workout.
- 0:38They happen in those conversations before and after.
- 0:41When we realize we're all going through something,
- 0:44when we feel seen, and that's what Tonad down is built on.
- 0:48My intention is simple to help you tune back into yourself,
- 0:53to quiet the noise and to remind you
- 0:56that you're allowed to evolve.
- 0:58This is Tonadown.
- 1:04It's Tonadown Tuesday on a Tonadub Tuesday.
- 1:06Tonadown Tuesday on a Tonadub Tuesday.
- 1:09It's your friend, Karina Don, welcome to Tonadown.
- 1:13Oh my gosh, I am recording this
- 1:15in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains
- 1:17in Asheville, North Carolina.
- 1:20I am here at the Panchakarma retreat
- 1:24at Soham Healing Resort.
- 1:26You're like, what the heck is this Karina?
- 1:28Where have you been?
- 1:29Why have been there so long?
- 1:30I'm going to do a podcast on Tuesday.
- 1:34When I get back, I'm actually flying back to Austin tomorrow
- 1:37and doing a podcast Tuesday recording in AMA.
- 1:42So this podcast will include information about
- 1:45what the heck a Panchakarma retreat is.
- 1:47Why do I feel so energized and cleansed
- 1:49and vibrant and creative and then AMAs?
- 1:53So you all know you can leave me a voicemail, right?
- 1:55You go to KarinaDon.com slash message.
- 1:59That's KarinaDon.com slash message
- 2:02and you can leave a voicemail.
- 2:04And then we play it live on the podcast
- 2:06where we record it, answer your questions,
- 2:08you can leave a comment, you can say hi,
- 2:10you can, whatever, you can do it in AMAs too if you want.
- 2:15Yeah, so that is the day this comes out.
- 2:17I'm recording that.
- 2:18So make sure if you're listening to this in the morning,
- 2:20I'm recording this afternoon.
- 2:22So get those messages in and still leave a message
- 2:25anytime because I do this often on the podcast
- 2:28and answer all of your questions.
- 2:30And then, oh, the other thing,
- 2:31community conversations on tone it down.
- 2:34I've done a couple already, if you've listened to them,
- 2:37they're so inspiring to hear from tone it up community members,
- 2:41sharing their story of fitness,
- 2:44of their wellness journey, life journeys
- 2:46and their connection to tone it up in the tone it up community.
- 2:50So if you are in the Austin area going to be in the Austin area
- 2:55and you have a story you want to share on tone it down,
- 2:59go to tone it down at tone it up dot com.
- 3:02That's tone it down up tone it up dot com
- 3:05and leave an email share with us
- 3:08and we go through all of them and we'll be in touch.
- 3:12Let's see, today's guest, you know her well
- 3:16from your tone it up app.
- 3:17She is Jenna Willis, your tone it up trainer,
- 3:20Jenna Willis in this conversation, she discusses how we met,
- 3:24but you know you love Jenna and working out with her,
- 3:26she's funny, she's fit, she's knowledgeable,
- 3:30she's really smart and she makes you sweat while having fun,
- 3:35which is what it's all about, right?
- 3:37So in this episode, she answers your fitness questions,
- 3:41she talks about confidence and really,
- 3:43what really, really works for women's bodies.
- 3:47She talks about the two major moments in her life
- 3:50where she had to start from scratch
- 3:53and we all have been there, right?
- 3:55Like how do you pick yourself up off that floor
- 3:58and keep going?
- 3:59Jenna had to do it too.
- 4:00I had to do it.
- 4:02You probably might have had to do it.
- 4:04Jenna is an inspiration telling her story.
- 4:06She also talks about how a situational depression
- 4:09brought her back to the gym
- 4:11and then ultimately led her to being a trainer
- 4:14and led her to us being here.
- 4:16She also talks about why so many women
- 4:19have been taught the wrong thing about their body.
- 4:24Definitely want to listen to this app.
- 4:26So enjoy this conversation, get to know Jenna even better
- 4:30and as Jenna says and TIEU always says and believes too.
- 4:35Remember, the scale is not the boss of your body
- 4:39and strong is always the goal.
- 4:42Make sure you share this conversation
- 4:44with a girlfriend who might need to hear it.
- 4:46Also share on Instagram, tag me,
- 4:49at Carina Don, tone it up in Jenna Willis.
- 4:52Let us know what part of this conversation
- 4:54you really connected with and enjoy.
- 4:58I love you.
- 4:58Have a beautiful day.
- 4:59Hopefully you're listening to this on a walk out in nature
- 5:02or maybe it's a break at work, a lunch break
- 5:05or in the morning while you're prepping for the day
- 5:07but have a beautiful day and know that I love you and I see you.
- 5:13What is up TIEU fan?
- 5:16It's Jenna Willis.
- 5:17I am super excited to do this solo episode.
- 5:20You all are like, wait, it's just you.
- 5:22It's just me today.
- 5:23So I like to say get pumped.
- 5:26I got a ton of awesome questions that I am so excited to answer
- 5:30but I don't we just pop off with some community picks.
- 5:33Thank you so much, even if it was one person
- 5:35who said they love my workouts.
- 5:37It really does mean a lot.
- 5:39When am I coming back to the TIEU team?
- 5:42It's happening.
- 5:44So that's all I can say right now.
- 5:45We're figuring it out.
- 5:48That's a quick answer.
- 5:49And I originally got involved with the TIEU team.
- 5:53Karina and I were introduced by a mutual friend
- 5:57and we just hit it off.
- 6:00We were friends for a while and then one day I got the call
- 6:05where she was like, hey, don't know if you be interested
- 6:07in joining the workout fam and I was like 100%.
- 6:13For those of you guys that don't know,
- 6:14I have a background in acting
- 6:16and then I got certified as a trainer.
- 6:18So doing on camera fitness series is my favorite thing
- 6:22in the world.
- 6:23It is my jam, which someone also asked,
- 6:25what is my workout style?
- 6:27Well, the style comes, if you cannot tell
- 6:29or have not been able to tell,
- 6:31it comes from my background in acting.
- 6:33I was in LA for acting for many, many years
- 6:39and was super fortunate to be in and out
- 6:42of some different reality shows and also different TV shows.
- 6:47So I think my style of training comes from my background
- 6:52of loving film and TV and that performative aspect
- 6:58of just entertaining while I work out
- 7:01because that's what I enjoy.
- 7:04So there's that.
- 7:06I love the question of was I always fit?
- 7:09I grew up doing tiny touch gymnastics.
- 7:13I also grew up with three older brothers.
- 7:15So for me, keeping up was never a choice.
- 7:20I was like severely abused.
- 7:22So I feel like in the classic sense,
- 7:28I have always been somewhat fit.
- 7:31I have two major, major stories
- 7:37which actually ties in a different question
- 7:39which someone asked, you know,
- 7:41if I had to start over from scratch,
- 7:45what would my workouts look like?
- 7:47So I'm gonna sandwich those two together.
- 7:51Fitness has always been a part of my life,
- 7:52but I'd never realized how important it was
- 7:54until I'll never forget the age of 19
- 7:57when I had my first panic attack.
- 7:59So it goes back to, have you always been fit?
- 8:02I do believe, you know,
- 8:03the physical and the mental are very closely connected.
- 8:07Exercise, it always been a part of my life.
- 8:09I was a gymnast growing up
- 8:10and then I played volleyball for college.
- 8:13So fun little, I was the tiniest
- 8:15division one volleyball player in the nation,
- 8:17the year that I played.
- 8:18It was awesome and amazing,
- 8:21but I always had the stream of acting.
- 8:23So I moved out to Los Angeles when I was 18 years old
- 8:28and I was like, I'm done.
- 8:29I'm done exercising forever.
- 8:31It was like it's time.
- 8:33And for the first time in my life,
- 8:37I stopped exercising.
- 8:39I turned my fitness curricular activities
- 8:42into other activities that felt more college fun.
- 8:48And for the first time in my life,
- 8:50I had a panic attack.
- 8:52I was in a sorority meeting in the middle of it
- 8:57and I had to be laid out in front of all these girls
- 9:00because I had no idea what was going on.
- 9:03I've always been type A personality,
- 9:05but this was like a whole other level.
- 9:09And I became a cardio queen after that.
- 9:13And I thought cardio was the answer.
- 9:14A lot of times I practice what I preach
- 9:16because I have been through it.
- 9:18And I did cardio for many, many, many years.
- 9:22And I became what I like to say.
- 9:24I felt like squishy kind of like that skinny fat.
- 9:27And this goes into if I had to start over from scratch.
- 9:32Like I said, I have.
- 9:35And it's been twice.
- 9:39I forgot how to train altogether,
- 9:42even though I was a gymnast,
- 9:44even though I played volleyball for college.
- 9:47Eventually, I realized that that wasn't doing the job,
- 9:53just doing cardio, right?
- 9:55That even though I knew how to play sports, right?
- 10:00And I grew up playing sports my whole life
- 10:03at a super competitive level, I was always told what to do
- 10:06as an athlete, but I never really understood why.
- 10:10And training for a sport is so different
- 10:14than training for your everyday body.
- 10:17And once I realized that, I did what I would recommend
- 10:23anyone doing is I followed a plan.
- 10:27I hired a trainer and it changed my life.
- 10:31For the first time in my life,
- 10:32I really started strength training.
- 10:35So that was my first how I fell off.
- 10:38And if I've always been fit,
- 10:41I'd love to hear your thoughts and feelings
- 10:42if I've always been fit then.
- 10:44And the second time, because the question is,
- 10:46is I'm like, have I ever fallen off
- 10:48or what realms of life are we talking about here?
- 10:52Because there's been twice.
- 10:53The second time was different
- 10:56because and I say this to all of my clients
- 10:59because I had built a better foundation.
- 11:02The second time happened when I was 30 years old.
- 11:06The circumstances felt way harder.
- 11:10I had just gone through a terrible breakup.
- 11:14My fiance and I, we were together for about eight years.
- 11:18I stepped away from reality TV
- 11:24and the TV show that I was on at the time
- 11:26had come to an end.
- 11:27So I had been hit in all three areas in my life.
- 11:30They say you can handle like one or two.
- 11:32I got hit in all three and I was in a really bad place.
- 11:35I went into a situational depression
- 11:39and I stopped exercising again.
- 11:43And I had a moment where I was like,
- 11:48I just need to go.
- 11:51I just need to go to the gym.
- 11:52Let me just show up.
- 11:54And I went and for the first time,
- 11:57it makes me emotional in a really long time,
- 12:01I felt better.
- 12:02I felt present, I felt connected.
- 12:06And I was like, wow,
- 12:08it's all ties full circle.
- 12:10Being fit isn't about how you look.
- 12:15It's about how you feel and your connection
- 12:18to your body and your mind.
- 12:21And it gave me structure when I felt like nothing else was
- 12:26and everything had fallen apart.
- 12:29And that's when I realized that fitness is a lifestyle.
- 12:33And it's so much bigger than just being physically fit.
- 12:38And that's actually for those of you who do not know,
- 12:41that's how I became a trainer.
- 12:43I was going to the gym at that point.
- 12:44And a girl came up to me one day and she's like,
- 12:46oh, my God, she's like, you're really strong.
- 12:48She's like, do you work here?
- 12:50And I looked her, I was like, no, but like, this is what you do.
- 12:54Next day, I kid you not.
- 12:57I went to the gym and a girl came up to me.
- 12:59It was done like the cable machine.
- 13:00She's like, oh, my God, she's like, do you work here?
- 13:02She's like, we're strong.
- 13:04And I was like, no, but this is what you do.
- 13:07Next day, I kid you not.
- 13:08I was doing something for my butt because we all know us women,
- 13:11love the booty exercises.
- 13:13And she's like, oh, my gosh, I've never seen an exercise like that.
- 13:16She's like, do you work here?
- 13:18And I've looked at her and I was like, yes, I do.
- 13:23So for those of you who did not know, that is how I became a trainer at the age of 30.
- 13:27And it changed my life.
- 13:30So have I always been fit?
- 13:32I don't know, hit me up in the DMs.
- 13:34Let me know what you think.
- 13:37Thank you so much for the love on my TikTok and Instagram swaps with, you know,
- 13:42my Starbucks remixes and all that.
- 13:43Honestly, you guys inspire me on those.
- 13:45So if anybody has a starbees drink, dunk and donut drink, whatever it is,
- 13:51a smoothie that you're jamming with that you're like,
- 13:54is there a healthier version of this?
- 13:56Hit me up.
- 13:57I will remix your drinks for you.
- 14:00And I just love doing it.
- 14:03That one's super simple.
- 14:04So please hit me up with your drinks inspired by you all.
- 14:09And what is the best, the best workout split routine?
- 14:14I could give you an easy answer that says anyone that you would stick to.
- 14:18There is validity in that.
- 14:19Like there is, right?
- 14:20If you're enjoying it, you are more open to doing it.
- 14:24But women after the age of 30,
- 14:29we start to lose three to five percent of our muscle mass every decade.
- 14:34Every decade.
- 14:35Y'all, we are fighting our reality.
- 14:39So with that being said,
- 14:42a foundation of strength training,
- 14:44really, really, really challenging our muscles,
- 14:47and building the strength that we are fighting.
- 14:51Three days a week, if you can do four,
- 14:53if you're looking to make change,
- 14:54three is a great maintenance place to be.
- 14:57Four is where change really happens.
- 15:00So 100 percent focus on four days a week,
- 15:03if you can, it will 100 percent take you to that next level.
- 15:09Okay. Body confidence tips.
- 15:12I love this one.
- 15:14What are tips that I give to myself and my clients
- 15:17for confidence and reframing that perspective?
- 15:22This kind of also ties to, I'm just hitting these bangers, y'all.
- 15:25Two and one answers.
- 15:28Stop using the scale as your only measure.
- 15:31Do you guys know what a scale is?
- 15:34No one can answer right now.
- 15:35So I'm going to, it's rhetorical.
- 15:38It's your gravitational pull to the earth.
- 15:41That's it.
- 15:43That is it.
- 15:44And we sit here and we let the scale dictate
- 15:48how we feel for the day.
- 15:50I know someone is stepping on the scale every single morning.
- 15:53Don't lie to me.
- 15:55And you're allowing it to dictate your mood.
- 15:58A scale is one perspective.
- 16:00And I'm not saying to ignore it completely.
- 16:04And I'm going to do a little bit of a deeper dive into that.
- 16:06But for confidence, this is something that really resonates with me.
- 16:11Stop trying to love your body and respect it.
- 16:17Love is a feeling, right?
- 16:19And it comes and goes.
- 16:21Oh my god, I love how my abs look today.
- 16:23Oh my god, my triceps speak.
- 16:25They don't look bad right now.
- 16:26But my triceps be popping.
- 16:28Right?
- 16:29And then tomorrow, I'm going to take some photo.
- 16:31Yes, I still have body image issues as well.
- 16:34I'm also human.
- 16:36And I take a photo.
- 16:37I'm like, oh, my skin.
- 16:38My skin is like rolling over my shorts right now, right?
- 16:42Like, God, this angle is bad.
- 16:45Love can come and go, especially when it's looking at something.
- 16:51But respect is a decision.
- 16:54When you show up for your workouts,
- 16:57when you feed yourself well, when you prioritize your health,
- 17:01you're respecting your body.
- 17:03And whether you feel good about it that day or not,
- 17:08confidence follows action, not the other way around.
- 17:13And that to me is such, such a game changer.
- 17:17And like, please, please stop comparing yourself to others
- 17:21because we are all made beautifully different.
- 17:25Focus on being your best self.
- 17:27Unless, unless you are using it as inspiration,
- 17:30then like, go ahead with your bad self.
- 17:33I want to go back to the scale a little bit,
- 17:37because for me, it's one of those things that like,
- 17:41so many women obsess over the scale and like, I get it.
- 17:45That's what we like innately were taught.
- 17:48Like, how much do I weigh today?
- 17:49I want to lose weight.
- 17:52Okay, so you step on the scale and we already, you know,
- 17:55established that it's all, all it is is your gravitational pull.
- 17:58That's it.
- 18:00Right?
- 18:00So like, what does this scale not do?
- 18:03It has no idea how much of you is fat.
- 18:06It has no idea how much of you is muscle.
- 18:09How much is water?
- 18:10What you ate yesterday?
- 18:11It is one single data point.
- 18:15And most women are letting it decide your entire mood for the day.
- 18:19So stop it.
- 18:21Has anybody seen the SNL sketch?
- 18:23Just stop it.
- 18:24We're like, he goes into the therapist.
- 18:25He's like, I got the best therapist ever.
- 18:28And they go in and they're like,
- 18:29start complaining about something that therapist like, stop it.
- 18:31Just stop it.
- 18:33Literally just stop it.
- 18:36Don't do that to yourself.
- 18:37You're so much better than that.
- 18:40So here's what we'll actually tell your story.
- 18:42If you are looking for more accurate data,
- 18:45if you are on a journey right now, right?
- 18:47Your body fat percentage.
- 18:49Progress photos.
- 18:51How your clothes fit and your strength gains.
- 18:54This is what I tell my clients all the time.
- 18:56I've actually told clients to get rid of the scale.
- 18:59Truly, like you can get rid of your scale
- 19:02and let's focus on other aspects.
- 19:05Track your progress.
- 19:06Are you lifting heavier than you were six weeks ago?
- 19:10Are your genes fitting differently?
- 19:12Because my girl, if those things are happening, you are winning.
- 19:16Do you look different in photos?
- 19:18Even though the scale hasn't moved,
- 19:19I will tell you I have had clients
- 19:22who have maybe lost genuinely two pounds,
- 19:27but have lost 20 inches.
- 19:30If you take anything away from this today,
- 19:32actually I've said a few good nuggets,
- 19:34but like, please let that just sit into your brain
- 19:38and take that with you.
- 19:40The scale is one tool in a much bigger picture.
- 19:45Take photos.
- 19:47Track your lips.
- 19:49Notice how you feel.
- 19:51Okay, I love this.
- 19:53I'm tired of us chasing skinny.
- 19:56Stop chasing skinny.
- 19:57Chase strong.
- 19:59Because here's what most women get wrong.
- 20:02And it's understandable.
- 20:04We think that if we lose fat,
- 20:08our tone body will just appear underneath.
- 20:12Fat loss versus building muscle.
- 20:15That's not how it works.
- 20:17Okay, fat loss and muscle are built
- 20:20through two different processes.
- 20:22Yes, you can work on both simultaneously,
- 20:25but losing fat does not just build muscle.
- 20:29You have to train that separately, right?
- 20:30So fat loss is a calorie game, deficit, protein, consistency.
- 20:36Muscle building is a stimulus game, right?
- 20:40Focusing on challenging your muscles, progressive overload,
- 20:44enough fuel recovery.
- 20:46One will shrink you
- 20:49and the other will shape you.
- 20:51And you need both if your goal is toning.
- 20:55So if your goal is to get toned,
- 20:59strength training is a non-negotiable.
- 21:02I love the question.
- 21:03Like, I get so many women who hit me up and they're like,
- 21:07well, I've, you know, I've been doing Pilates for this long
- 21:12and my body isn't changing.
- 21:15Okay, look, let's talk about Pilates walking,
- 21:18strength training hit.
- 21:20I know there's other forms of exercise and working out.
- 21:26But how do you decide what's right for you, right?
- 21:31For me, hands down, strength training is a non-negotiable.
- 21:34Every single woman period.
- 21:36That's what builds foundation.
- 21:38From there, it really depends on your body and your goals.
- 21:44So, you know, hit is incredible and I absolutely love it.
- 21:51I do hit workouts every week.
- 21:54But then you'll know this.
- 21:55If you guys are on the platform, you're like, I teach hit.
- 21:58That's what I do.
- 21:58And I absolutely, I love hit workouts.
- 22:02They make me feel good.
- 22:03I sweat.
- 22:04I also strength train.
- 22:06But it genuinely isn't for everyone.
- 22:09If you have PCOS and if you have serious injuries,
- 22:13sometimes paramanopausal, menopausal, high intensity workouts can actually spike
- 22:19your cortisol, right?
- 22:20And then work against you.
- 22:22And it's not that you can't do it.
- 22:24It's just that your body needs a different approach.
- 22:27Pushing harder isn't always the answer.
- 22:30You guys and Pilates.
- 22:32Pilates is amazing, but if I'm going to drop the T here,
- 22:37which I am and it's okay, I can handle the heat,
- 22:42it's made as this catch all solution right now and it's not.
- 22:48It's incredible for flexibility, mobility,
- 22:51injury, recovery, body awareness.
- 22:55But if your goal is weight loss and to get toned and to build muscle,
- 23:03Pilates is not your answer unless you are 5, 10 and already skinny.
- 23:08It's a different approach.
- 23:09And that's okay because everything serves a purpose.
- 23:13If anybody's arguing with walking right now,
- 23:16I don't know what train you're on, but you're not on the health train.
- 23:21So it's low impact and manages stress.
- 23:23It burns calories without torching your recovery and almost anyone can do it.
- 23:28So stack it with anything that you are doing.
- 23:31That's what I recommend.
- 23:35You guys, thank you so much for all these questions, all the love.
- 23:40I did get a few, you know, if you fall off track,
- 23:43the most important thing is to show up.
- 23:47Don't allow yourself to get caught up in the all or nothing mentality
- 23:51because something is better than nothing.
- 23:54Something is better than nothing.
- 23:56If you are struggling right now, make it a goal to just go to your mat.
- 24:02Set a timer for five minutes and you will quickly notice that five minutes goes to 10
- 24:07to 15 to 20 and so on and so forth.
- 24:10We psych ourselves out of exercising so much more than the actual doing.
- 24:16So I just want to give your sweet ass permission
- 24:20to show up to the mat and stop actually just psyching yourself out.
- 24:24Because once you're in it, you will win.
- 24:29Thank you guys so much.
- 24:30I loved all of your questions.
- 24:32So happy to be here and slip it is slide into my DMs if you have any other questions for me.