Latest / The Unsexy Businessmen / What If You Just Haven’t Found Your Favorite Workout Yet? With Kristen Staker
Transcript
- Alex: Welcome to another edition of the Unsexy Podcast, where we talk about the unsexy side of everything. We are incredibly blessed today to have another amazing guest on. We have Kristen Staker. and thank you so much for for joining us today. Kristen is a homeschooling mom of five, an avid lover of music, reading, delicious food, and cool shoes. I'll have more questions about that. She's been teaching Kristen Staker: Thank Alex: in the fitness industry for 10 years. And she currently teaches Refit and Rev and Flow. She has loved learning how to live a healthy lifestyle through teaching fitness, strength training, making good food healthy. And this is my favorite part. In her words, I am just a girl who loves things fitness, fitness apparel, and fitness pizza in my mouth. I love to look good, feel Aaron: Yeah Alex: good, and eat- I should have had you say it. Her goal is to help people be the best version of themselves while loving themselves along the way. Welcome, Kristen. It is so great to have Kristen Staker: Thank you. Alex: you. I looked it up because we talk about pizza a ton on this podcast, and I thought it was just perfect that in your bio you have the fitness pizza in my mouth. Just an FY, pizza Kristen Staker: Yeah, yeah. Alex: is one of the most popular dishes in the United States. 13% of families today are going to eat pizza. And that is every single day. 13% of the United States is eating pizza. Kristen Staker: I mean... down. Yeah. Yeah. Aaron: It's gotta be like sixty percent on Fridays, right? Kristen Staker: Exactly, Aaron: Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Alex: Fair. touche, touche. But at a minimum thirteen percent today, Kristen Staker: exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Alex: we'll be consuming pizza. But Kristen, thanks for joining us. I wanna open it up to you really fast. obviously doing a lot of cool things in the fitness industry these last ten years. What got you there? Kristen Staker: So fitness has been a long journey for me. And I know for a lot of people, I didn't start out that way, right? I was that teenager that was overweight, know, didn't feel, you know, good in my body. But I did like look around, especially as a young person, you know, in the 90s. There are a lot of... people in the older generation that didn't seem happy with their bodies and who they were physically. And so I decided to not do the things they were doing and kind of started trying to figure out what was sustainable because it seems like my parents' generation, was a lot of the fad things. the low fat and then the Atkins and I mean, it's not that much different today. It's what's the next thing. But my thing Alex: Ha ha ha. Kristen Staker: was consistency. Like what can I maintain forever? This isn't just a 90 day thing. This is like lifestyle choices. So, you know, I started paying attention to what I eat. I started moving more. And it's kind of in a gradual process because then I got married and I had kids and you kind of take a step back from having more time to do stuff like that. It's been like a slow simmer, I think, for most of my life. But in the recent last 10 years, when I became a fitness instructor, it really is just brought to the forefront. The fact that fitness is a lifestyle. It's not just a weekend fling. It's not just a 90 day fix. is what can you consistently maintain for long periods of time? So like the moment that fitness came into my consciousness, probably as a teenager, when I looked at a lot of the people I look up to and I was like, mmm, that's not working for them. That's not working for them. So it's like there's gotta be something different. So just kind of trying to, I call myself a hack. That it's like, I look at what's not working and then I'm like, what do I want and how do I make that happen? And that's kind of what I've done. Little by little you learn about little things. You learn about trans fats. You learn about high fructose corn syrup. And it just builds, builds and builds until you get to a point where you're like, this is where I feel good, this is sustainable for me, this is where I'm going to be for the rest of my life because that's the goal, right? To be able to stay healthy, not just get healthy and then, you know, the yo-yo back and forth. Alex: And how what does that look like for you? So it's a lifestyle. We Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: love that. We agree wholeheartedly with that. What Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: does and we preach on this podcast that everyone has what you said. It has to be whatever is sustainable for you. So what has Kristen Staker: Exactly. Alex: sustainability look like for you so that we can have another story, an example that people can pull from if they want to. Kristen Staker: Yeah, so sustainability for me, like my husband asked me the other day, he's like, if you had to tell somebody like what to eat in a day, he's like, where would you start? I said, start where you are. Like what things do you like and make those a little healthier and a little healthier. Like those one, two degree shifts make a huge difference in the long run. sustainable. for me that was taking the things that I already enjoyed and started trying to make them healthier options. Again, the trans fats was probably what, 20 some odd years ago I was like, my gosh, what is that? And I go research it and I figure out if that's something that is something that I want to pay attention to. And then you have the high fructose corn syrup and then you have all the different things. And now there's even more things coming. coming to light with the dyes and the preservatives and things like that. So I would say for me, it's mostly eating as simply as I can and moving as much as I can. And that doesn't mean hit or high, like I walk. And it's incredibly boring, but I Aaron: Yeah. Kristen Staker: a lot. I park in the farthest parking spot at the grocery store and I walk. I'm like, it's going to be on the treadmill or, you know, Aaron: Yep. Kristen Staker: parking lot. So I might as well. So I eat really good food, but it is it's pretty clean that the 90, 10, 80, 20, whatever you choose. I read ingredients. I eat a lot. and I move a lot and that to me is like, can I do this forever? Yeah, I can. I focus on protein but not, know, protein isn't king. There's a lot of balance that people get too far into one genre. or another and I think I'm a middle of the road kind of person. Like there's not any food groups that I'm like that's a no. Like there's no good or bad food. There's just food and what works for your body and what works for your calorie intake and it's just understanding and choosing what works for you. And that's what I've done. That's what I do. I eat clean. I move. I lift heavy weights and I try to make it fun because it's not funny. You're not going to stick with it. Aaron: So we both have kids. Well, I guess we all have kids. Kristen Staker: Yeah. Aaron: one of the tough things can be with when you're trying to eat healthy, or just whatever, have those good habits set up for them. How do Kristen Staker: Yeah. Aaron: you approach that with your kids? It's is it just the same thing, like find out what they like and then get a healthier version of it essentially? Is that what you're doing? Or how do you how do you approach that? Kristen Staker: Yeah, in large part for sure. Like trying to make all those fun treats that, you know, are pre-packaged that they want to eat. Like if we can make it, we do. My kids loved when they were younger making tootsie rolls and it's actually surprisingly easy and they really loved it. like cookies and cupcakes and it and it's part teaching them principles and then letting them make their choices. So, you know, they go to birthday parties and do they eat pizza? Sure. Like pizza at a birthday party again with the pizza. It's not gonna be the end of the world, but what they eat here with me, that's gonna be good stuff. That's gonna be stuff that's nutrition, that fuels their body, that helps them feel good. And then in contrast, when they do eat things like that, they're a little more aware of like, wow, I didn't feel great after eating that. But not to be too restrictive, but like you said, Erin, just taking what they love and trying to make it a healthier version and show them that you can still live, you can live a good and happy and fulfilled life and Aaron: Yes. Kristen Staker: still maintain health. Aaron: Yeah. Yeah, that's what we talk about a lot too on this. Is like a lot of people think that just because you're healthy, it just means you're eating kale every day, all day, and that you're you you're like just always in this calorie restriction and it's miserable. But they I'm just Kristen Staker: No, no, no. Right, yeah. Aaron: glad we have somebody else on here that's also talking about like you could still eat delicious food. You don't Kristen Staker: Sure. Aaron: need to be miser i it's not sustainable if you're miserable. It's gotta let you what you said from the beginning. Like you Kristen Staker: No, no. Yeah. Aaron: have to find what you like, make it work into your your kind of macros or your diet plan. I actually never like diet, it's like your lifestyle and Kristen Staker: Yep. Yep. Yep. Aaron: then go from there. So yeah, I like I really like that you said that. Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: No. And I like also there's no bad food. I would say there's bad ingredients. Like I love, Kristen Staker: Right. Alex: I love that. And I feel like you were inferring that there are bad ingredients and things. So you're Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: reading ingredients. Are you still reading ingredients to this day? Because I think sometimes people hear that and they go, that sounds exhausting. What I want to do, how much does this cost? Pull it off the shelf, put it in my cart, move about my day. Are you still Kristen Staker: Yeah. Yeah. Alex: reading ingredients? Are you do I or do you have like it's almost like you have like the Google glasses? on where you can Kristen Staker: Yeah, yeah. Alex: just be like, I know that that's gonna be high in fat. I know that that's gonna be Kristen Staker: Yep. Alex: high in this or whatever. Kristen Staker: Yeah, well, the longer you do it, the more familiar you get, right, with anything. And I think for the most part, there are certain things that I look for. Like for some people, they may, you know, be gluten sensitive. OK, they're going to be looking for gluten free options. I love that for them. But for me, it's like there are certain things that. I won't allow in my food. And then there are certain things that are kind of a gray area. then there are certain things that, so for example, dyes, yellow dyes, red dye, no. Like I don't care what the label says that it's, you know, non-GMO. No, like I'm not. And even you go to Sprouts, you go to any of these, you know, health food stores, you cannot just pick anything up off the shelf and assume that it's healthy, even at the health food stores, which is so hard for me because you have people that are trying and they go into to a store and they're like, yes, I'm in the health food store and they're just picking stuff off the shelf. But even still, you've got to look at ingredients because you've got white sugars and you've got white flours and you've got high sugar content and it's just, it feels like a minefield to understand. what these labels are that people put on them and what they mean, but really it's that list of ingredients that it's like what is in it and does that work for me because... There are a lot of people that will allow certain things in their food that I'm not comfortable with and maybe vice versa, but looking for those keywords like the whole grains, the minimal, like the list should be small. You get those things that are like, even cottage cheese. I love cottage cheese, but if you just look at a label of just any random cottage cheese, why is that stuff in there? Aaron: Yeah. Kristen Staker: Why are we needing all this stuff? If it's not two, three ingredients, it seems unnecessary. So I will choose the options that have the less ingredients and try my best to keep it as close to the original state as possible. But even some of the things that I'm super familiar with, I still will read the label because sometimes they switch things when you're not paying attention. For example, there's a healthy choice fudge bar. My kids have loved forever. And then one day I picked it up and they changed from using like a cane sugar to just sugar. And I'm like, hmm, okay. That's awesome. And it's happened with a few different things that you kind of do, you glance at it, you make sure you're still in that space where you're comfortable because yeah, like whatever those things are on the front. Often you turn around and you look at the ingredients and that's where the real story is. So yeah, I Aaron: Mm-hmm. Kristen Staker: still do. I still will check things, but yeah. Alex: Well, that's a fascinating the fudge bar story's fascinating. I I haven't Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: even thought of that, but I I've seen it so not that I eat butterfingers a ton, it's just the other example that I can see of this. Essentially a company purchases or that might not have happened with the the fudge Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: bar company, but another company purchases it like Hey, we need to have better margins. We're gonna start using white sugar because cane sugar is more expensive. Boom, Kristen Staker: Exactly. Alex: they do that. Your macro or your essentially your macros are probably gonna remain the same, but it's a little Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: less healthy of a of an option. It's fascinating. Kristen Staker: You know, just a little more refined. Like you said, cutting costs, that's usually where comes Aaron: Yeah. Kristen Staker: from. Yeah. Alex: S so this is just like a yes or no question. So like you're s you're still almost every every time you're going shopping, turning the box around every now and then? Kristen Staker: Yeah, mostly. Yeah. Sometimes it comes as a surprise. I'm sitting at my dinner table and I, you know, turn that bottle over and I'm like, that's nice. You know, so it's not like I'm not picking everything up as I'm putting in the cart. Yeah. I don't want it. Alex: Killing myself. Right. Okay. Aaron: Everybody stop eating! Throw your food away. Kristen Staker: Yeah, no, it does come as a surprise sometimes where you're like, okay, Aaron: Yeah. Yeah. Kristen Staker: now that's going to be a pivot for us because they don't tell you. Aaron: Thanks, private equity. Kristen Staker: Exactly, exactly. What point is the threshold of cutting costs? Like how many costs can you cut before it starts compromising quality? yeah, they'll find it, whatever it is. Aaron: Don't challenge him, don't challenge Yeah, exactly. Alex: just they're just betting on that there aren't that many Christians out there so that so that they don't even have to worry about it. Because I'm sure there aren't people who are as hyper-vigilant as you and maybe eventually Kristen Staker: Right. Alex: they figure it out like later on, but they're just like there's not that many Christians out there. So if we lose one Christian we'll be fine with with all these other people who never paid attention. So Kristen Staker: Yeah, unless we can get everybody on board with healthy lifestyles and then they would have to force some changes because people would stop buying it. until. Exactly. Yeah. Fix it. Fix it or else we're done. We're done. Aaron: Not after this podcast. Once this goes live, you're in trouble, private equity. Alex: Dork, work. Yeah, yeah, we're coming fudge bars. You get there's no way yeah, there's no way you can survive. that's Aaron: I had a so we got your nutrition down. So you did mention you do like resistance training. I guess maybe explain what refit is or kind of what what you're doing as far as like exercise goes. Kristen Staker: Okay, so yeah, when I first started, it was kind of the cardio phase. It was the hit and the high and the high intensity. and Zumba, Zumba was huge when I first started. But it was essentially stepping back into just movement. And I found Refit because... I do love to dance and that word scares people so don't be intimidated. Like if you can walk you can dance and the one thing I always tell my participants especially new people the calories don't care what foot you're on and neither do we. So we're moving our bodies, we are happy to be here and we're celebrating just movement whatever that looks like. So it is a cardio format. You can use the word dance if you're comfortable with that if not it's movement and music because that's really what it is. and on the music and you move your body. And so that's where I started. And I think that's a key point because it was fun. And for me, just prior to that, I was doing running and no shade on people who run. But I did it for, you know, probably a year or two. And I dreaded the days that I knew that I was going to run. And so when I found Refit, it was essentially accomplishing the same thing. But the hour went by like that, right? Like a minute on the treadmill is not the same as a minute of scrolling. Right. Like those are long minutes. So when I found a form. that was fun. I was like there's something here. There's something here. I look forward to it. I wake up like yes I get to do this. So then naturally I decided to become an instructor. So that was again in the cardio phase and then they came out just a few years ago, six years ago now, with Rev and Flow which is a sister program to refit. They're under the same umbrella of refit but Rev and Flow is a strength mobility and Toning program that partners really well with refit because refit is get your heart going have some fun It's it's it's a dance party. I have party lights like disco lights The lights are low makes everybody a little more comfortable with moving their bodies when you know, it's a little bit darker in there And so then I started teaching rev and flow which utilizes mats and weights for some of the songs And it started that, you know strength training toning format that really kind of sparked a fire in me about, you know, that really just... the feeling of just lifting heavy things and feeling successful or even getting to that point where you're like, I cannot lift one more ounce or one more rep or anything like that. Aaron: Yeah. Kristen Staker: So it's kind of been a gradual process because people are intimidated by the gym and lifting weights and doing all that stuff. So I love that I teach formats that's kind of a gateway into introducing themselves to a version of them that is capable of amazing things. and it was the same for me. I stepped into it just looking for something that was fun and I found that and then you step into that, well let's pick up some weights and let's challenge your body a little bit and then after that you kind of get into that, well what else can I do? What else am I capable of? And that's when I really started the heavier strength training and the stuff that... that really to me is my favorite right now is just, you know, me and some dumbbells and some barbells and some music and you just, you lift heavy weights. And I would say that's been, gosh, I think it was 2020 when everything shut down and you're like, what do we do with ourselves? That's when I started lifting weights and really focusing. on that aspect of it in conjunction. Cause I think you need all things, right? You need cardio, you need flexibility and mobility and you strength training. All three of them together is really the key to staying mobile and staying active throughout your life. Not, not just to get jacked for your summer, but to get off the toilet when you're 80. Like that's important. And you got to start that now. That's not something you Aaron: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yes. Yep. Kristen Staker: start putting deposits in when you're, you know, 75. It's like that, that starts. That's your instruments. Aaron: Or you could stop yourself from falling over and breaking your hip. Like Yeah. Kristen Staker: Exactly. So many things that I've heard before. Muscle is your insurance policy. That it's like if you have muscle, you're hedging your bets of being mobile in the later years, which to me is very important. Like very important. Yeah. Alex: What I this might be a stupid question, but I'm gonna ask it anyways. What dip changes did you see f twenty twenty and on? 'Cause you said that's when you started to introduce more of the weightlifting. You found that you fell in love with it. Like Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: did you also start noticing what else? Kristen Staker: Well, 2020 was insane. Like the fact that you think about what we went through and you're like, that's a little wild. But you don't. OK, I'm like, sir. Alex: I don't even remember it. I just put it all back here. Don't rem Aaron: Ha ha ha. Kristen Staker: That's like one of those moments you're like, I feel like we are on a different planet. No, but everything shut down. Alex: Seriously. Kristen Staker: we went from, because I was teaching well before that, we had to figure out. how to have classes when you couldn't be in a building. And so we did virtual and we did parking lots and we did working out with masks at the beginning and then you take them off because if you're working out, it's a different game. when you're chatting, you have to have your mask on. So there was some crazy things that we did, but I think it changed a lot of the industry of being with people. And I think community is another huge key to staying consistent and being able to sustain the lifestyle that you choose is having people around you that also support that. And I think it was a huge light shed on the fact that we need community and we need people around us because we all of sudden were alone. And as an introvert, there was beauty in that. I definitely resonated with canceled plans and not having to go anywhere. But in the fitness industry, it was really hard because doing it by yourself is sometimes a lot harder than showing up and just having some fun with friends. So I think it spotlighted the need for community and the need for being together. But I think it also was a catalyst for a lot of people. Like you came out of COVID different. Like, I don't know if y'all know Brian Regan. He came out of there with white hair and I was like, Aaron: Ha ha ha. Kristen Staker: what happened was you know some people came out of it having gained Alex: Ha ha Kristen Staker: 20 pounds because they didn't do anything and some people came out of it like ripped because they're like, I don't have anything else to do. Right. Like it just almost emphasized where people were at in their lives, that it just put an exclamation point on it. And I think for me, I was at that point where I was ready to just take the next step and it just provided a whole lot of time to do that. Because what else were you going to do? Right. Like we just, just had so much. Aaron: Right. Make sourdough bread. Kristen Staker: Exactly. If you get to that point Alex: You had a few options. Kristen Staker: where you're in one of those camps, either you play pickleball, you make sour Aaron: Yeah. Kristen Staker: bread, Alex: Yeah. Kristen Staker: or you start strength training, right? Like Aaron: Yes. Kristen Staker: there's a few options there and I just happened to pick strength training one. Yeah. Yeah. Aaron: Smart, smart. So Alex: That's really cool. Aaron: then how often are you doing so so I guess give us kind of your the setup. So you do like the the dance and then you go like immediately after in the same day to strength training or are you breaking these up depending on the day? Kristen Staker: So on Mondays, I will do my strength training because I teach my refit class at night. Aaron: Mm-hmm. Kristen Staker: But then on Tuesdays, I do my rev and flow. And I try to... balance out, like you don't want to overtax the muscles, they need time to recover. Aaron: Sure. Yeah. Kristen Staker: And so when I do a cardio format, I will usually do some sort of strength training at some point during the day, unless it's my rest day, and then it's just basically like walking. So Mondays I will do strength training and then cardio, Tuesdays I do rev and flow, which is... a strength training format and then Wednesdays I do refit and then strength training because I teach in the morning on Wednesdays and then Thursdays I will do the rev and flow again and then Fridays my rest day and then Saturday I do strength training. So I strength train three times a week with you know heavy weights and then I do my mobility toning twice a week and then cardio twice a week. So kind of the balance I try to I try to pair them up so that it's not too much on any particular muscle group. it's the rest days are actually surprisingly hard where you're like, could, I could just, yeah, yeah, I could just, just a 30 minute, just a 30 minute. But yeah, Aaron: I know, I know, like am I being lazy? Am I being lazy? Should I I could go. I could do it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. yeah. Alex: Yeah. Kristen Staker: I think I think that moderation of just being like, Almost giving yourself permission to be like, no, like just your brain needs a break too. And to allow yourself permission to just have that flexibility, I think keeps it in that, that moderation because I probably would be a little bit overzealous if, if I wasn't deliberately being like, no, like you gotta, you gotta take that break. Aaron: Take a break. Kristen Staker: You gotta take that break. Like it is important. Rest is also productive. So Aaron: Yes. Kristen Staker: yeah. Alex: And I I don't wanna s throw shade at any other type of of workout, but I was watching I don't know if it was Refit or Rev and Flow. There weren't weights involved, so I assume that it was Refit, Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: but you're moving like crazy. Like Once again, I I there's another one that the type of thing that you already mentioned in today's podcast. Kristen Staker: Thank you. Alex: I'm not gonna call it out by name, that also is in the dance side Kristen Staker: Mm-hmm. Alex: of things. You're moving so fast in what you're doing, so fast. And Kristen Staker: Yeah. Yeah. Alex: it's it's another one of those things like I didn't even know that this ex existed. And to Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: for all of our listeners, like go check it out, but also it's exactly how she's describing it. It's I was gonna say rave-ish, but it's not like it's not a rave, because you're not just going like you're not just like this the entire time. Like you're doing like very special. Kristen Staker: Yeah, yeah, it is. Yeah. Aaron: Dude. But there are there are glow there are glow sticks. Yeah. Alex: Yeah. Kristen Staker: There are times glow sticks. In fact, in October I bring black lights to. Aaron: you do nice. Kristen Staker: So you can, you know, get a little crazy and then quarterly we do like a full on like blacklight party that Aaron: Ecstasy. black light. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Alex: Ha ha. Kristen Staker: it does. People will do, you know, face paint and we Aaron: That's cool. Kristen Staker: get get we get we get crazy, but the things is fun. It's fun. Alex: Yeah. Kristen Staker: And there's so many Alex: It looks like a blast. Kristen Staker: times we get to the end of that playlist and I'm like, really? Like, it been an hour already? And some people are like, let's go again. it's like, Aaron: Encore Yeah. Kristen Staker: you know, like what fitness format are you like? Yes, let's like, this is fun. In fact, I had a young, a young participant just knew he came that first day and you know, you never know with young kids. I would say he's probably maybe 11. came with his mom and he loved it so much that the next day I told him, was like, you know, we have these glow lights. I'm like, get yourself a bright shirt. Look in your closet. He came the next week with a neon shirt. And then there's a particular song that I do that's kind of like you said, Alex, it moves fast and it's kind of a kickboxing vibe. And that's one thing I love about Refit is they don't just wear one jacket, right? Like they have country songs and they have oldies and they have 80s and they have some even Christian based music and they wear a lot of jackets. so where I like to hang out is I like the kickboxing vibe, I like the hip hop vibe, I like just a funky, like give me a good beat. So this particular song was a kickboxing vibe. And this kid, I was watching him out of the corner of my eye, he was killing it. He was killing it. He was coming in there and I was like, my heart, I was like, this is the moment for that. that kid where he realized he likes fitness. He likes this. This is fun. And that's really, gosh, like it gives me goosey's. you see that moment where someone goes, fitness is fun. I say job done. My job here is done. No, you're good. Aaron: Yeah. Yep. Are you are you sorry to cut you off. Sorry to cut you off. Is is this in a commercial gym that you're doing this? Or is it specific Kristen Staker: not a commercial- Aaron: to like the refit brand? Kristen Staker: So I am certified in Refit and that is worldwide. They're home-based, Aaron: Okay. Kristen Staker: not a Waco, but they're all over. We've got people in the UK, we've got people all over. But where I teach, I teach in two different locations. I teach at a church gym just down here by where I live. And like Aaron: Mm-hmm. Kristen Staker: we talked about earlier, I do that because those are the people like me that started out that they don't have a gym membership. They don't really know what to do. They just wanna be with people and move their bodies. And so I will probably always at some point, or some... place or another, teach for free to open the door to people to be able to love moving their body. But I also do teach at a small studio in Lehigh. So commercially, I have taught at several different places. Right now, I'm split between at the church building by my house and then at the gym in Lehigh. But it is taught. I'm trying to think, why MCAs? There are a lot of gyms, but I think, like you said before, there's other formats that are more familiar and Refit has been around since 2012, or yeah, 2012. Y'all, I'm a 90s kid and everything in my brain is like 1990 is like where we are still. So the fact that like the 2020, I know, yeah, 1990. Aaron: I mean nineteen ninety you mean ten years ago? Alex: Yeah. Kristen Staker: Like it's like that time warp, I'm missing 20 years. Aaron: Yes. Yes, exactly. Kristen Staker: Yeah, so they've been around since 2012. But they're, we're kind of a little bit under the radar still at this point. And that's why I love that, you know, we're talking about it because I want people to just love their bodies and to love themselves and to love fitness. And I feel like that's, that's why I picked Refit is because it's just fun. It's fun. Aaron: That's awesome. Well, it does I I was only wondering because I go to Gold's gym, which is obviously a Kristen Staker: But you. Aaron: commercial gym, and they do something that sounds extremely what like ex the exact same thing you're explaining. And like you were saying, Alex, I don't know you've seen it at your gym or not, but like I know one of the instructors you're saying, Aaron, you should come. We're gonna be doing DMX and it's gonna be awesome. DMX the rapper. it's not a not a drug. we're gonna be listening Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: DMT. Aaron: to DMX. I probably should have said it like that. Kristen Staker: Yeah. Aaron: and I was like, I don't think so. I've seen you guys you guys are insane with like how much you're moving. Like I couldn't keep up with the cardio. but it looks it looks awesome and the people in there look like they're having a really good time. Kristen Staker: Yeah, yeah, there's there's lots of formats that fit different needs, right? There's I saw one on the bungees. Those ones look fun. Have you seen them? You're basically yeah, they're just on the Aaron: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. You're like suspended. Alex: the bungees like bungee jumping bungees Kristen Staker: what? Alex: like like bungee jumping like jump like Kristen Staker: Like they're, it's like a cardio format. They're kind of in a low key dance type of energy, but they're on bungees and they're kind of like jumping this way and that. Aaron: Like glide it around. Kristen Staker: Yeah. Yeah. So there, there's a myriad of, Alex: Like Cirque des Soleil style stuff? Kristen Staker: yeah. Yeah. you see the ones that are, Alex: There's something for everyone. Kristen Staker: yeah, there is. And that's, think that there's something for everyone. Aaron: Exactly. Yeah. Kristen Staker: And it's funny when you watch, because you have those really curated ones that you're like, they're good. And then if you're if you're lucky enough to happen upon the videos of the real people doing it, Aaron: Yeah. Kristen Staker: where it gets that would be me. I'm like, you know, your feet miss and you're like face to end. I'm like, Alex: Look like Pinocchio. Aaron: Yeah. Kristen Staker: that's probably what I would look like doing it. Let's be honest. But they've got things, you know, on trampolines and those bungee shoes, those moon shoes. And I'm just like, there's literally go out and find what it is you love to do, I bet you there's something that will help your energy. Aaron: yeah. Yep. A hundred Alex: I think that's been like the most Aaron: percent. Alex: fun thing about doing this podcast, like just in general is I had no idea that this existed. And I would say Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: there's probably been like three or four different people and like I should try that thing out. I've never considered we had someone on talking about yoga. I know yoga exists, right? But the like being able to talk to someone who's passionate about it, as opposed to like, I've heard of yoga, but have zero context except for my Kristen Staker: Bye. Alex: personal view on it, which is I don't think I'm that flexible and I don't think I can do those poses. And it seems like it takes Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: a really long time. And then you talk to someone who explains it more to you. I I think Kristen Staker: Right. Alex: I'm probably in the errand camp where I don't know if my body could move that fast, but That doesn't mean I wouldn't want to try it to find out if I couldn't do it. because if it is something Kristen Staker: Yeah. Yeah. Aaron: Yeah, the good challenge. Alex: and to everybody who's listening, like similar thing where if you're struggling to find whatever that thing is you most enjoy, I just so Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: happen to love basketball and lifting weights. Like I enjoy doing those things. And to the people who like know the things that they enjoy, still try other things out because you have no idea until you start doing them. Kristen Staker: Yeah, you never know. You never know. And when someone walks into my class, again, the first thing I say is the calories don't care and neither do we. And I always offer different options for where different people are at, because I have, again, an 11 year old young kid, and I also have, you know, people who are of the grandparent age. And I'm not going to throw shade on that because I'm almost in that phase. I'm, you know, it's there's a wide variety of people, but fitness is for everybody and every body. So I'm going to give options. for the beginner and I'm also going to give options for the people who have been around for 5, 6, 7, know 10 years if they've been around for the whole of it with me. But like you guys said, it's like I walk in there intimidated, I don't know all the steps, you don't have to. You don't have to. That's what I'm here for and I'm going to give you options to where you feel successful no matter what level you're at. And you know, if they love it, they come back and if they don't, I hope they find something that fits what they're looking for because that's the goal is for people just to enjoy. Aaron: That's awesome. That Alex: also a little bit Aaron: is really cool. Alex: passionate about it 'cause I'm in this Not spoiler alert, warning for anyone who's annoyed of Alex bringing this up on every single podcast. I'm in this Kristen Staker: Thank Aaron: Yeah. Alex: Facebook group called Locked In that I now like just I use it to fuel my anger or like my Kristen Staker: Mm-hmm. Alex: motivation for everything that I do. And I Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: just see all of these people who are just like, what do I do? what do I do? And there's and just learning all of these other options that are available. I'm just like, Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: there's literally like just go do something. Go Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: start doing something and find like stop asking people for advice and things to do, Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: like just what are some what are some healthy fun activities? And it's gonna Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: give you a bunch of things. Go try hiking, go try basketball, go try Kristen Staker: Yes. Alex: refit, go try yoga, go try Zumba. Like the list goes on and on. And so Kristen Staker: Yep. Yep. Alex: that's why I I love that we're he learning all of these different things that exist. It's it it's never been easier to be healthy in any time in human history. And we're somehow the most unhealthy we've ever been, it seems. Kristen Staker: I think sometimes input overload though, right? Like even being a strength trainer, right? Like I've done my certification as a personal trainer and I understand, you know, how... to make the muscles grow. And I will see videos of it's like the best four exercises for your glutes and the best this. And these are the only four exercises you need for your whole life. And I even get overwhelmed with like, wait, do I need to like, do I need to incorporate that into my? And it's like, no, keep it simple. Go back to the basics. Like it's really unsexy. Just it's the same. Alex: Yeah. Kristen Staker: It's the same movements. And it's the progressive overload that really is key and doing all these crazy things. It just sometimes I'm like we need less. Less is more. It overwhelms Aaron: Yes, yes. Kristen Staker: people with there's so much information and you're like how many days do I need to do glutes and how many days do I need to do this and how many steps do I need to get and how many? It's like just start. Just start. I heard someone the other day. Aaron: Yes. Kristen Staker: It's like make your steps stupid. Alex: Amen. Amen. Kristen Staker: Take your socks and put them away one at a time. Right? Like one sock and then like we're all about maximizing and we're all about like the most efficient. And there was a point where I used to take the steps two at a time, right? You just get up faster. And I was like, hold on. You take them one at a time. You get twice as many steps. And so it's like, it was almost like the reverse of being more efficient to being like, I'm going to park the furthest away because Aaron: Yeah. Yep. Kristen Staker: that's an extra 200 steps just into the store and back. And it's like, we, took my maximum efficiency mindset and I was like, let's dial that back. Let's see how many steps. Like going down to get something from my basement is like, hey, I'm going to get another extra 50 steps in it. How many steps can I take? Put your socks Alex: Yeah. Aaron: Yes. Yep. Kristen Staker: away one at a time. Park far away in the parking lot. Go take that cart back to the cart return because that's an extra 30 steps. And why not? Why not? Take the stairs. Take the stairs. Yes. So. Aaron: And take the stairs, take the stairs. Alex: Because d but I I Kristen Staker: The information overload sometimes I think is discouraging to people where it's like, like Aaron: Great. Kristen Staker: you said, start somewhere. Yeah. Yeah. Aaron: 'Cause they make it way too complicated. Like it's like it doesn't need to be that complicated. Yeah, I totally agree. Like just the the amount of the I hate those. I hate absolutes. I Kristen Staker: Yeah. Aaron: hate it when people say, if you aren't doing your bicep curls this way, you leave it gains on the table. Like I hate that. I hate it. But you see it all Alex: You're leaving gains on the table. Kristen Staker: Yeah. Aaron: the time. Kristen Staker: Yeah. Aaron: and you're right, like people that are are trying to learn as much as they can about, you know, like growing muscle or going to the gym or whatever it is, are just like this this is too much, it's overwhelming. I'm Gonna go back to not doing anything. It's mi way easier. Just but like you said, just do do something. Do something. Kristen Staker: Right. Start with something. And people like, have to have a gym membership. No, you don't. Like buy yourself some dumbbells. Do some bicep curls. Start there. Like even if Aaron: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Kristen Staker: that's all you do, do some pushups, do some sit ups. Like you don't even need equipment. Like you Aaron: Push ups. Exactly. Yep. Kristen Staker: just use your body weight. There's, there's so many options that it's just, if you get overwhelmed, turn off the phone, turn off the computer, just go down to your basement and do some jumping jacks. Like, fantastic. Your body will thank you for that. Any movement is good movement. Yeah. Aaron: Yep. Exactly. Yep. Agreed. Alex: Maximize efficiency thing really resonated. I've been I've had this thing in my head recently, because essentially someone who is parking as close as they can to the grocery store is trying to get to a specific place as quickly as possible. Like I'm trying to get there, get in, get out, get back to my home, get whatever like the next thing is. And I've been this my my I found I haven't even told Aaron this. I I now have a mantra. It's the destination is dangerous. Like Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: you don't actually want a destination. We know this. Aerosmith has sang about this, many people. Poets have talked about life Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: is a journey, not a destination. And like it's finally clicking with me as I'm doing all of these things now. Whereas, no, you don't have to go fast. You don't have to, you don't have to like. Everything doesn't have to be the most effective thing possible. Like, it really just has to. be like just just Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: go and be and do and and that's that's more than enough so I really appreciate you you you you bringing up the grocery store activity because I find myself doing that all the all the time where it's just all right how fast can I move through this entire life and you get angry because like w now when someone gets Aaron: People are in the way. Alex: in your way because you're trying to move as quickly as possible when you're in tr stuck in traffic whatever it may be we're not even talking about getting healthy physically right now like just in all things in life Aaron: Just mentally. Yeah. Kristen Staker: Okay. Alex: You start to get really, really angry at those people who are literally just going about their day and have no Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: idea that they are in your way. Sorry, I I I usually have at least one rant per podcast, Kristen, and that was that was it. Kristen Staker: Yeah, yeah, it's so true. It's true though, like even with driving, Aaron: Ha ha ha. Kristen Staker: like people are I feel like we're in Mario Kart sometimes where you've got those people that are like weeping and it's like, why are you in a hurry to get to your destination to sit and scroll on your phone for 10 minutes before you go in? Like let's slow down, let's look Alex: Exactly. Aaron: Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Kristen Staker: around, let's take our time and like you said Alex, enjoy the journey because that's the whole point of it all. We spend 90 % of our time in the journey and the destination. If you didn't enjoy the journey, then what was the point? Aaron: Right. Kristen Staker: destination that it's like you got that you're not changed, you're not different. Aaron: Yes. Mm-hmm. Alex: Seriously. Kristen Staker: Like the change happens along the way. And then when you get to that destination, then you feel all of that growth that happened. And not just that moment, because that moment is a little anticlimactic if you didn't enjoy the whole process of getting there. Alex: Fleeting. Aaron: Yes, it is. Exactly. Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: Yeah. well I I I was gonna ask you one more question and that's w what advice do you have for our our listeners, like the one thing that the hill you would die on, so to speak. Kristen Staker: Okay? Keep it simple. Start where you are and keep it simple. That is literally what I tell every single person that asks me, where do I start? It's like where you are right now. That's where you start. You make one change. You pick one thing and you get that. Lockdown like into your lifestyle like this is part of who you are and then pick one more thing And you like an overhaul of life is going to be too overwhelming to your nervous system You're not going to able to sustain it, but you can change one thing You can park out in the parking lot further you can Be more mindful about what's in your ingredients right and even that can be overwhelming start with one thing start with you know, I'm gonna eat one vegetable at this meal and heard somebody say, leave with the vegetable. So everybody comes into their kitchen and they start, you know, making food and we get a little munchy. So I will cut a vegetable and I just have it on a plate. And while I'm eating, I munch on it. So before I Aaron: Mm-hmm. Kristen Staker: start my meal, I've already eaten a cucumber or a pepper or a tomato or what have you, because we have that tendency to be munchy. And when you have something there, you will take advantage of it. So it's that that one thing sets me up for success. for that whole meal. That it's like, Aaron: Yes. Kristen Staker: I'm already satiated because I'm already munching on something. I already have a vegetable. And it was one thing. It was one step. I'm not sitting there being like, I have to eat 14 vegetables in this meal or I have to have this whole bowl of salad. It's like one, one. Leave with a vegetable or park out in the parking lot or take the stairs or do some jumping jacks. Or while you're sitting there watching TV, you know, on, I say commercial breaks, a 90s kid. Aaron: Yeah. Kristen Staker: There's not commercial breaks anymore, but maybe in between episodes like go take a lap around your kitchen Or you know what I mean like there's just always there's always one Aaron: Yes. yeah. Kristen Staker: thing there's always one thing you can do and Even with your food you're like. I don't know how to take what you love and hack it How do you make this healthy? Right? Just one step. How do you make this healthy? Can you make the Haley Bieber pizza crust instead of going to Papa Murphy's? Or make it at home? You can still have pizza. You can still have brownies. You can still have cookies. Enjoy your life, but take one step towards that version of you that you want. And that I think makes the biggest difference because you're like, can do this. I can do that. Okay, do it. Yeah. Yeah. Aaron: Amen. Amen. Yes. Alex: Well, thank you so much, Kristen. Kristen Staker: That's my mantra in life. Keep it simple. Do one thing. One thing. Aaron: Yep. A hundred percent agree. A hundred percent. Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: And everyone, you can find Kristen at Blisshaven Collective. We'll have the address in the description of the episode. She's at Refit or she does Refit Mondays at 7 p.m. Rev and Flow, Thursdays at 9 30 a.m. And then if you are looking to be in contact with Kristen, she has a Facebook page. It's called Refit Where We Fit. so you can stay up to date on any schedule changes that may be happening. And we'll also have that in a link in the description as well. Kristen, though thank you so much for Aaron: Yeah, thank you. It's great. Kristen Staker: Thank you for having me. It was great. Aaron: We we could have talked a lot longer. We could have talked a lot longer. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Kristen Staker: Absolutely. A podcast on each one of those topics, I'm sure. Alex: Yeah. Kristen Staker: Yeah. Alex: and every everyone that's listening, have a great week. Go be unsexy, and we'll chat with you all next week. Kristen Staker: Alright, thanks guys, appreciate it.