Celebrity personal trainer Jeanette Jenkins’ client roster includes “ESSENCE Black Women in Music” honoree Kelly Rowland, “ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood” honoree Paula Patton, “The Game” star Tia Mowry-Hardrict, and Queen Latifah. Proof of her Midas touch can be seen in Patton’s amazing post-baby body, and Rowland’s rock-hard abs. So pleased was Rowland by Jenkins’ work, the two recently paired up on a new workout DVD called “Sexy Abs with Kelly Rowland,” which offers exercises to strengthen core muscle group, an area that once in top shape, can help eliminate lower back pain.
For the California native, having celebrity clients has also taught her a thing or two about having goals and sticking to them. “They want to be successful so they always show up and they get it done,” she says. “That’s something great that anybody can learn from them: If you want to be successful you have to show up and get it done even if you don’t feel like it.”
Here, Jenkins shares her five tips for sisters who are ready to take control of their health.
1. Schedule all of your workouts into your agenda just like any other important meeting. This is the appointment for your health. You must take care of yourself so you are strong enough to take care of everyone and everything else.
2. Create a supportive environment. It’s much easier to stick to your healthy living goals if you have a network of healthy living support. Follow your favorite experts on twitter and Facebook for recipes, tips, exercises and motivation. My Twitter is @JeanetteJenkins and I post healthy tweets all day to motivate people to make the right choices. I am currently doing a #SexyAbsChallenge on Twitter with client Kelly Rowland as a lead-up to the Grammy’s to motivate our followers to make healthy choices and to work out with us all week, Monday to Friday. Hire a trainer, join a group exercise class, buddy up with someone who is already successful with healthy living, join a sports league, train for a 5k or run/walk event, invest in healthy food delivery, hire a nutritionist or join an online fitness club.
3. Tie your hair up, put on a head scarf and dry your damp edges with the head scarf on before you take it off and you will be able to save a fresh hairstyle for at least 7-10 days. Trust me, I’ve been doing it for years. Always remember that your heart is more important than your hair.
4. Eat as though your life depends on it, because it does. All living cells in your body are made of the food that you eat. If you eat junk food, you are going to have a junk body. It’s that simple. Even if you have a small frame — which is called an ectomorph body type, and you can eat anything you want and still fit into a size two — don’t be fooled, your internal organs are slowly dying from all the junk that you are eating. Start by increasing your green vegetables to three times a day. A serving of greens at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Eighty percent of your food should be from organic fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean cuts of meat, and everything else falls into the remaining 20 percent.
5. Look in the mirror and love the person looking back. Healthy living starts with loving yourself. No more putting yourself down or criticizing yourself and others. Healthy Living is not about perfection, it’s about finding balance. A healthy mind, body and spirit.
Click here to find out more about Jeanette Jenkins’ “Sexy Abs with Kelly Rowland.”