Jacqueline Selesky is a professional dancer and choreographer. She graduated from Montclair State University with a BA in dance education. She was the lead soloist in Martha Graham's Daughters of the Night, performed at the Joyce Theater in New York City. Jacqueline appeared on Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have it Netflix series, as well as a dancer on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Good Morning America, and Live with Kelly and Ryan. And she also appeared in various television commercials. Jacqueline has recently started her own YouTube channel called “Fit for Faith with Jacqueline,” where she streams praise and worship dance cardio classes, and all things fitness, dance and faith. Jacqueline's experiences have allowed her to not only advance her skills as a dancer, but also as a well-rounded performing artist and educator.

Vincent Ferguson:

Well before we talk about your Fit for Faith with Jacqueline YouTube channel, tell my listeners more about you. Where did you grow up, and what was your childhood like?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I grew up in Long Island in a little town called Central Islip. And I actually grew up doing a lot. My mom had me in so many different things. She had me in basketball, Girl Scouts, and I was always doing something after school. And I'm so grateful to my mom for giving me all of these opportunities. Baton twirling too. I'm forgetting things, there's just so much. And then eventually my best friend was doing dance, so my mom allowed me to go with her to dance class. And then from there, dance took over everything. So I stopped basketball, I stopped everything else. And I just fell in love with dancing and performing. And as I grew up in that studio, I was actually afforded the opportunity to perform in Puerto Rico, perform all over the city and in Long Island. So that's my bringing up, is basically dance took over, and it was a blessing.

Vincent Ferguson:

Amazing. So it was the exposure to different activities that led you to dance.

Jacqueline Selesky:

Yeah, it definitely was. I know that everything that I was exposed to was definitely physical and social. And putting all the physical and social together, dance has made the most sense to me.

Vincent Ferguson:

Did you have any role models in the dance world?

Jacqueline Selesky:

Yes. So my dance teacher Jerilyn Diaz, actually. She basically became my sister. She was my role model all throughout my childhood. She basically wanted to be a professional dancer, but she actually ended up being a speech pathologist. So she kind of lived vicariously through me and poured everything into me. And not only did she teach me how to dance, but she taught me how to be confident, how to speak my mind. And yeah, I give a lot to her. Also my mother, she was a single mother. And as I said before, she gave me all the opportunities possible, and just seeing these powerful women in my life just do it, and go for whatever they wanted, and be confident, independent woman, really, really molded me.

Vincent Ferguson:

Wow. Excellent. Excellent. Now has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your work as a dancer in regards to employment opportunities?

Jacqueline Selesky:

Yeah!

Vincent Ferguson:

Really?

Jacqueline Selesky:

Any dancers listening will be like, "Oh yes, please. Open back up." But I mean, I'm grateful that everybody is staying safe. But it's definitely been harder. I have an agent and usually I'm sent on auditions, so I'll be running all over the city auditioning for auditions, being virtual now. Which I don't mind, because living in Long Island, I really don't want to travel to the city. But the energy is different. I'm not able to ... you're not able to connect with a casting director via a video, but it is what it is. And it's actually allowed me to pour more into what I want to do for myself with my YouTube channel. So it's been a blessing in disguise kind of thing.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh, most definitely. And having a YouTube channel really doesn't hurt, because if anything, it increases your exposure, doesn't it?

Jacqueline Selesky:

Oh, yes, by a lot. Reaching people from all over the world, which is amazing, which you can't normally do just from a dance studio. I love the fact that YouTube has been giving me more exposure, especially during COVID, because everybody's on the computer and on their phone right now.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh, exactly. Most definitely. And now you call your YouTube channel Fit for Faith with Jacqueline. Now tell my listeners where the name came from and what can they expect to experience participating in your program?

Jacqueline Selesky:

So Fit for Faith came about, it's funny, I wanted to start a YouTube channel six years ago. It's crazy. It's crazy how long we can put something off for, and just dream it up so much. And then the pandemic hit and it was like, well, this is the perfect time to do this. You know? So let me go ahead and just do this channel. And I knew that I wanted to do something about dance. So taking it back six years ago, hold tight. I want to do a YouTube channel about dance. And then over time I was like, well, what would that look like? That's really general. And then I started going to church. I was born again about three years ago.

Vincent Ferguson:

Nice.

Jacqueline Selesky:

And then every time I would go to church service on Sundays, I was actually in a Spanish church. I was the only English speaking person, but hey, the Word is the Word, right?

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes.

Jacqueline Selesky:

So I go to church and they would always throw me in the center during worship, and everybody would just follow me. And I felt like it was a Zumba class, like a dance cardio class but worship music. And everybody was following me and it felt amazing. And I'm like, wow, what if I did a YouTube channel that had dance cardio classes catered toward praise and worship music? And it's a little dose of church on YouTube. And then I can also speak about the word, Bible verses, little devotional videos. And help grow my faith while maybe other people need to do the same thing. And this went on, so that's where Fit for Faith came in.

Vincent Ferguson:

I love it. I love that. Now how important is faith to you, especially in times like these?

Jacqueline Selesky:

Wow. I didn't realize how much I needed to grow in my faith until this pandemic hit. It's like, I mean, we could probably all agree that it feels like it smacked us in the face. And shook us to the core. And it's still doing that. We're trying to navigate and figure out how to live in all of this. And what I realized is that faith is the only constant throughout a pandemic, throughout a breakup, throughout a divorce. Whatever somebody may be going through, that's the only thing that we can really focus on and won't change for us. And what could only happen is it can grow and become even more beautiful. So faith is important.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yeah. I see. I see. And you're able to express it with your YouTube channel. Now, what type of music do you have on the channel?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I try to have a diverse set of music each time I do a dance cardio video, and I call it praise and worship cardio classes. And we'll have gospel, we'll have Kirk Franklin, and we'll put the Bachata and even Merengue and Salsa. It's crazy how many Latin praise and worship songs there are. I'm like, wow, I didn't even know. So many of them. And also what I've been falling in love with is Soca. Soca music for praise and worship songs, I'm like, whoa. They are serious. They're like stomp up in on me. Go to my channel and you'll see what I'm talking about. They are so much fun.

Vincent Ferguson:

Really? Now how long has the channel been around?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I literally only started in August. So it's very new.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes.

Jacqueline Selesky:

Yeah, I started it on my birthday, I turned... Oh, I'm about to tell my age. I turned 29 on August 27th. And I'm like, you know what? This last year of my 20s I want to hit with a bang, and I want to start this channel and bring more people to the light, to God, to just goodness. You know?

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes, and how long are the classes?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I literally do 20 to 25 minute classes. Because I know a lot of people don't have time to get a big workout in. And you know what? It sometimes only takes 20 minutes to get a nice workout. We don't have to do so much to get what we need and what we want. It's really how much you put into it. And I'm crazy. So on the channel, so as soon as the warmup starts I'm like, it's not really a warm up, let's go crazy. So 20 minutes, that's all we need. And honestly, every day I've been having a 90 day faith and fitness challenge. And in those videos, they're five to 10 minutes long. And I start with the Bible verse and then I give people an action step for your day. Like, open the door for somebody, something just nice to keep you in a good spirit and spread the spirit. And then we always end in a plank while praying.

Vincent Ferguson:

Really? Very cool, very cool. Are these live fitness classes?

Jacqueline Selesky:

So I've done a couple of lives, but most of them are prerecorded and then I post them up throughout the week. But I've been thinking about doing more live videos. So I'm glad that you said that, because I think the connecting with people is what I miss about teaching live classes. So look out for the live classes coming soon.

Vincent Ferguson:

Well once you go live, do you have a certain day and time you'll do that?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I want to do them on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Those are days that might be tough for people. Monday's are always like, ah, Monday, I got to wake up.

Vincent Ferguson:

Right. Right, exactly. Exactly.

Jacqueline Selesky:

You’re dragging your feet Wednesdays, and then Friday is like a celebratory, we may it. So Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Vincent Ferguson:

Exactly. Would they be in the morning, afternoon, or evenings?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I would love to do it in the morning to start people's days off. And then hey, if they can't make the live version, it'll stay on there so they can catch it later.

Vincent Ferguson:

Right. Okay, so that's something that we're going to look forward to with your live classes. But now if I wanted to find your program, can I go to YouTube and just type in Fit for Faith with Jacqueline? That's how I find it?

Jacqueline Selesky:

Yes. That's all you got to do, is Fit for Faith with Jacqueline and you will see me.

Vincent Ferguson:

Perfect. Perfect. Now who would you say your target audience is?

Jacqueline Selesky:

That's an interesting question, because when you start a YouTube channel, all the videos, prep you say, make sure you are targeting your target audience. And to me, everyone is my audience. That's how I feel. I feel that anyone can get something positive from this channel, whether you just tune in for the videos and we do the little planks and we pray, or we do wall sits and we pray. Or you come in for the dance cardio classes. It's for everyone because the bible is for everyone, and that's what I'm talking about on my channel. And in general, just talking about living positively, spreading light and spreading love.

Vincent Ferguson:

Most definitely. Most definitely. Especially today. Do you see this as like a health ministry and a way to honor God with exercise?

Jacqueline Selesky:

Yes, definitely. Definitely a health ministry. And honestly, I'm just grateful to God that he gave me this because it's allowed me to be creative in how I produce content with dance too. You know? So it's definitely a health ministry, but you can go on there for a party too.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes. Yes. Now there is a scripture in the Bible about our bodies being the temple of the Holy Spirit, but yet so many people defile the temple don't they?

Jacqueline Selesky:

Yes, so many. And you know what? I was one of them.

 

Vincent Ferguson:

Okay, yeah. There you go.

Jacqueline Selesky:

And I've always been an emotional eater. And I know I'm not only one, but I hid that for so long. I'm like, oh, oh, it's fine. Because nobody can tell because I have a fast metabolism. Let me tell you, when quarantine hits, fast metabolism went out the door.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh, yeah. Oh, yes.

Jacqueline Selesky:

So it changed. And God giving me this vision to do this channel has helped me be able to stay healthy. Sometimes even though I want to eat crazy and what not, having to show up for him and be on it and do these videos. And it's not just about looking good, but feeling good while I do it, because that shows. People can see, you know? It's definitely helped me to stop defiling my body because you can put in so many ways.

Vincent Ferguson:

How are you promoting your channel?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I've been on Facebook and Instagram a lot. And I also just started a TikTok. I feel very old on TikTok, I'm not going to lie. Like, how do you do this stuff? But I'm learning. So basically on those  social media platforms, and I'm thinking about going on Twitter because I've heard that's a good spot to be. I sound old I know.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yeah. Yes. I mean the key is promoting on every platform that you possibly can to give yourself a nice little boost. And I think Instagram is hands down one of the best, obviously Instagram. The Facebook, the Twitter, the TikTok. Because again, you may feel like that's a younger audience, but trust me, a lot of the people on there and you want to grab as many people as possible. You know? That's great. That's great, and what we'll do, I'll tag you once this comes out and I'll also promote it in Facebook, on Twitter and Instagram. And I'll put it out there as well, because I like what you're doing-

Jacqueline Selesky:

Thank you.

Vincent Ferguson:

... for the people, for everyone. And that's important. Any age can join in with you. Correct?

Jacqueline Selesky:

Any age can join in with me. What's great is that a couple weeks ago my friend wasn't feeling great. Like her back, she's going through something with her back. And she came just to watch the video, because I have a bunch of girls who come and do the dance cardio video with me. And she's like, "Oh, I just came to watch today, my back really hurts." And I was like, hmm, because I'm crazy. "You can sit in the chair and you can do the warmup. And you just do arms." And I said, "I bet there's people out there who can't get up out of their chair and they want to participate, but I'm going all over the place that they feel they can't follow. Now they can follow you in the chair." And what's great is that someone definitely commented and said, "Thank you. This was a blessing that you had the woman in the chair. I followed her along the whole time." So everybody can join in no matter what age.

Vincent Ferguson:

You're right. Just being mindful that everyone, people who are watching you, they may not be as healthy, they may have certain conditions. And like you said, your friend who needed to be in the chair, there are so many other people watching who also are limited in their mobility and needed to see someone like them. That's so important. Awesome.

Jacqueline Selesky:

Exactly.

Vincent Ferguson:

I love it. And you don't have a lot of time on the channel, do you talk about nutrition at all?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I haven't spoken about it so much, I guess because I've been doing 90 days of faith and fitness challenge. So I've been into these little videos that I do every day. But that's something that I'm going to start doing in January, because I'm going to do a 21 day water fast. And I just want to be on the channel with everybody whoever wants to join me in doing that. But also I want to talk about regular nutrition, because that's not a normal thing to keep up every day, right? So just talking about nutrition and how important that is to couple alongside with fitness and then also faith.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh definitely, because nutrition, believe it or not. And I tell a lot of people this, and as a trainer, that 80% of your health depends on nutrition.

Jacqueline Selesky:

So true.

Vincent Ferguson:

So much. Okay? More than some people realize. Exercise is extremely important, but if you don't have that nutrition component, you're wasting your time.

Jacqueline Selesky:

Exactly. That's exactly how I feel.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes. And that's good. And you're leading the way, which is awesome. Now, what would you say if I said to you, try to convince someone who's on the fence who needs to do something, needs a fitness program. They're in the church and they're concerned about their health. What would you say to this person if you wanted to convince them to give it a shot? To join your class, come in and see what you're doing and be a part of the program. What would you say to them?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I would say, because I get not wanting to work out. I get being skeptical if it's something you're new to. Because honestly, though I grew up as a dancer, I didn't workout. You know what I mean? I didn't do anything besides dance. So when quarantine hit I was like, I need to workout. My body is starting to slow down and whatnot. This was a great introduction for me, because it allowed me to have fun and forget that I was working out. Especially for people who already go to church, who already hear the praise and worship songs. It's basically like we are in church at a party.

Vincent Ferguson:

Nice.

Jacqueline Selesky:

And we're able to work out and forget that we're working out, until after when you're drenched in sweat. And it's amazing. And my friend said this really good thing one time. She said, "When we dance, we are praising him twice."

Vincent Ferguson:

Wow.

Jacqueline Selesky:

And that just explains it all, because that's what makes you forget about it too. You're in these songs, shouting out, "Amen. Hallelujah." And have fun. Even if you're alone and you forget you're working out.

Vincent Ferguson:

It's like making joyful noise unto the Lord, huh?

Jacqueline Selesky:

Exactly. And honestly, it's one step at a time. Hey, 20 minutes is too much for you, do the first two songs and call it a day. One step at a time.

Vincent Ferguson:

Nice, one step at a time. Now I know you focus on the cardio, do you do any strength training? I know you mentioned planks, which is great.

Jacqueline Selesky:

So we've been doing the planks and we've been doing the wall sit while we pray, which is such a challenge. That's why we call it plank challenge, and wall sit challenge. To pray while we do those things because we literally do need to pray. I’m praying oh my God, please help me through these planks. But as of right now we're just doing the dance cardio and those planks and the wall sits. But as the channel develops more, I would love to do more strength training. I would love to even incorporate stretching and cool downs, and things of that nature.

Vincent Ferguson:

Excellent. Excellent. As you develop your channel you can offer so much more. Amazing. Tell my listeners how we can find out more about Jacqueline Selesky. Do you have a website? Can we follow you on social media?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I'm @Jay2reality, and then my full name for Facebook Jacquelyn Selesky. And I'm new on TikTok, so be kind to me there. But I am at Fit for Faith on TikTok. So everything is basically my name and Fit for Faith. And I'm going to be having a website soon. And I'm also going to be offering private lessons and classes, group classes for anybody who wants to personally meet me and have class one-on-one with me.

Vincent Ferguson:

Love it. Absolutely love it because you are an entrepreneur.

Jacqueline Selesky:

Thank you.

Vincent Ferguson:

Thank you.

Jacqueline Selesky:

I'm trying out here.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh, you got to. You're doing that. And you're taking the right steps, you're doing the right thing. You're going to build a following, and people are going to be so into what you have to offer them and they will want to work with you. You'll lead the way Jacqueline. This is great. Any final words for my listeners?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I know it's hard right now out there, whatever you may be personally, in your career and your family, but just know God got you. You're going to be okay. And this is the verse I use every day, and you could use this for a man to just switch it to a he. I say, "She is clothed in strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future." Proverbs 31:25. We are going to make it. Let's dance our way through this pandemic, and we'll make it to the other side.

Vincent Ferguson:

Awesome. Love it. I'll take those words to heart myself. Thank you so much. Jacqueline Selesky, on behalf of Body Sculpt of New York and Six Weeks to Fitness, I truly want to thank you for coming on my show today.

Jacqueline Selesky:

Thank you so, so, so much for having me.

Vincent Ferguson:

And to my readers and listeners, I truly hope this program was informative, encouraging, and inspiring, and that you will continue tuning in to our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the show, please leave them on my Six Weeks to Fitness blog at www.sixweekstofitness.com, or email me at Vince@sixweeks.com. And don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes. 

Dominic Kennedy is a personal trainer in Hollywood, Beverly Hills. He has certifications from the National Academy of Sports Medicine for personal training, weight loss specialist, corrective exercise specialist, and in nutrition. He is also the CEO of the Dominic Effect app, a fitness and wellness app that launched in November of 2020. Dominic is also a luxury realtor with the Compass Aaron Kirman Group.

Vincent Ferguson:

Before we talk about the Dominic Effect App, let's dig a little bit into your personal life and talk about you, Dominic. Where did you grow up and what was your childhood like?

Dominic Kennedy:

I grew up outside of Philadelphia, in more of a smaller town so it was about 20 minutes outside of the city. Growing up, I had a great childhood. I wouldn't say it was a cookie cutter, but there were challenges like everyone goes through. But I really enjoyed the area that I grew up in. I enjoyed the city of Philadelphia. Very athletic from a young age. Very involved in sports. Rarely ever would be inside. So very, very active from a very young age.

Vincent Ferguson:

Very nice. Do you come from a big family Dominic?

Dominic Kennedy:

I do. I come from a huge family.

Vincent Ferguson:

Really? How many siblings?

Dominic Kennedy:

On the one side, there's four and on the other side, there's eight. So I was surrounded by a lot of people. A lot of different personalities.

Vincent Ferguson:

When did you know that your career path would take you into owning your very own personal training business?

Dominic Kennedy:

It was at my teenage years. I've had a very independent mindset since I was younger. I was always off on my own. I had jobs when I was 11 or 12 years old delivering newspapers, working at restaurants, whatever I could do. I just had this entrepreneurial mindset. I knew that when I first started working in corporate pharmaceutical, this wasn't for me and I quickly after college realized that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. And here I am.

Vincent Ferguson:

Very interesting. Did you have any role models who were entrepreneurs?

Dominic Kennedy:

I do. I worked at a restaurant when I was younger, his name was Michael. And he started from nothing, grew up very poor. He grew a huge franchise and I really honored, and respected, and looked up to him from a very young age. I was by his side watching his work ethic and it instilled in me because I have a very similar work ethic.

Vincent Ferguson:

So would you say that mentorship is very important for young people?

Dominic Kennedy:

100%, for young people. I'm 35 and I still have mentors. And I will always have a mentor.

Vincent Ferguson:

Excellent. You're not only a personal trainer, but you're also a luxury realtor. How do you mix the two? How does it work out for you?

Dominic Kennedy:

Well, owning a private personal training business, I'm around a ton of different personalities in Los Angeles. Clients have been with me over 10 years in a row. So it's developed a really deep relationship, friendship. It's almost like family. But you get into the luxury real estate, and it is in Beverly Hills, my clients who have... They trust me. I work side by side on their body, mentally, emotionally. So if somebody wants to sell their property or look for a property or start an income property, they know I do this. Not only will they use me, but they'll also refer me to their friends. So I use both interchangeably because in personal training, just like hiring a realtor, you really have to trust the person that you're going to work with.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes, most definitely. But why did you choose to become a personal trainer?

Dominic Kennedy:

I love helping people. Like I said, in the beginning of this, I worked in corporate pharmaceutical for two years behind a computer, on a spreadsheet and it does not reflect my personality at all. I have always been a personal trainer on the side throughout college. So when I moved to Los Angeles and decided to make a career out of it. It's so fulfilling to me to be able to watch somebody grow and also achieve their goals. I look at everyone as an individual and whatever they are coming for, that's how I designed their program. It's not my body. I'm just there with them along the physical and emotional process to help and guide them and be there for them.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes. You mentioned your body and I've visited your Instagram page, and honestly, you have a phenomenal body. So when someone sees you, they can't help but wonder, "Wow, what does this guy do?" What's the most common question you get when people see you, whether on the beach or your Instagram page, they see you in a social setting, what do they ask?

Dominic Kennedy:

What do you eat and how do you attain a body like that? I get this question a lot at the grocery store. When I'm in line, "Oh, can I ask what's in your basket, what kind of food do you eat? I want to look like that." And I love it because it's a great question.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh, most definitely. So what do you tell them when they say, "How can I look like that?" How do you answer that?

Dominic Kennedy:

That's a good question. It really depends on the person who stuck to me because I wasn't always... I'm 220 pounds now. So I know if somebody comes up to me and they're around 150 pounds and they're just into this. I really recommend to anyone, no matter what their goals are, to stay consistent and that it does not happen overnight. So many people expect I'm going to do this for four weeks and expect this amazing transformation. If you're a 160 pounds and you want to be 220 pounds of lean muscle, that takes time. If you want to lose weight, that's different. So if someone's looking at my body and they want that type of lean muscle, there's amazing things you can do in four weeks. But if you want a lean, dense quality muscle, and to really pack that on, I always say to stay consistent and focused and keep going, because it's what's going to get you to your goal.

Vincent Ferguson:

But what brought you out to Hollywood, Beverly Hills?

Dominic Kennedy:

I have wanted to move out to California since I was around 12 years old. I'm a huge beach boy. I love going to the ocean. I meditate at the beach all the time. I love sunsets. The energy out here really corresponds with who I am. I'm highly into meditation. I find it very peaceful out here on the hikes that I go on to really re-center myself. And the second I moved here, which was almost 11 years ago, it felt like home to me.

Vincent Ferguson:

Really? Do you have any celebrity clientele?

Dominic Kennedy:

I do. I have such a wide variety of clientele from famous professors. Actors is something I can't disclose. Just really incredible top scientists and doctors that work at UCLA. I mean, I have a really amazing range of clientele who I learned from as well all the time.

Vincent Ferguson:

The actual name of your business, Dom, is what?

Dominic Kennedy:

The app is The Dominic Effect. And my business has always been called Dominic Anthony Fitness and Wellness.

Vincent Ferguson:

Dominic Anthony Fitness and Wellness.

Dominic Kennedy:

Correct.

Vincent Ferguson:

Okay, excellent. Excellent. And you said you've been in business now for how long? 12 years?

Dominic Kennedy:

Over 12 years, yes.

Vincent Ferguson:

Over 12 years. Now, this current government shutdown, the pandemic, how has that affected your personal training business?

Dominic Kennedy:

To be honest, I'm very proactive in approaching this or anything in life. I've always been like that. And when this happened, I quickly within two weeks converted most of my clientele onto ZOOM. And for me, I have to find a way around this not being able to physically train in a private gym with the restrictions. I'm so thankful for FaceTime and ZOOM and so are my clients, because it's made all the difference.

Vincent Ferguson:

What would you say makes you stand out as a trainer above the rest?

Dominic Kennedy:

I don't just meet a client and bring them on, and train them, and they leave. This is my life. I live and breathe this. And also when I meet somebody, I want them to feel very, very comfortable with me because it's not just about the physical body. There's so much more that goes into this. Why people have blocks with food, or working out, or emotional eating? There's so many things and fears to tackle. So I incorporate not just the physical aspect, but I really encourage affirmation, meditation. And I'm very hands-on so my clients don't just come in for an hour and then leave. The next day I'm going to text them, "How are you feeling? Did you do your cardio?" I'm very, very responsive and very hands-on. And I really like to keep open communication where they can reach out to me anytime, because I'm so passionate about this industry.

Vincent Ferguson:

So you really add that personal effect that people need to motivate them and to keep them going?

Dominic Kennedy:

I add The Dominic Effect, yes.

Vincent Ferguson:

There you go, The Dominic Effect in the house. All right. Now, as a personal trainer, you're limited to the amount of people you can actually personally see and train throughout the course of the day, but you created a fitness and wellness app called The Dominic Effect. Tell my listeners about The Dominic Effect and why it's so special.

Dominic Kennedy:

So the premise behind this is, I want to reach as many people globally as I can. So like you just said, I can only reach a certain amount of people throughout the day that are ongoing or whether it's one-on-one training. However, coming up with this app, it's not just somebody goes on. They create that customized workout plan with video tutorials, there's customized meal plans with shopping lists. All the macro counts, the proteins, the carbs, the fats, how to cook the food. I've made this so user-friendly, which was so important to me because many people who use other apps and it's confusing to them. So this is so user-friendly for anyone of any age group who wants to use it over 17.

Dominic Kennedy:

And I also incorporated a big part of me which is the meditation and wellness. That section is on there. Where we have live meditation. I'm bringing in other people who I really respect, who will lead live guided meditation, yoga workouts. So I really want this to be a community where people feel safe, and where they feel they are benefiting from this app. And not just from the physical standpoint, but from the inside out. So it's really important to me that people feel really center grounded, especially during this pandemic right now.

Vincent Ferguson:

Let's talk about the nutrition because that's very important. So many people, they eat differently. Some are vegans, some are vegetarians. How does your app address those people?

Dominic Kennedy:

It does it for everything. So if a client signs up, they're going to be asked a list of questions. And one of the questions is your preference of eating. So whether you're vegan or vegetarian, you eat meat, paleo, you'll select that. And there's a whole bunch of other questions you're going to answer after that. From there, you'll be generated in 72 hours that much I look at the customized meal plan, where if you eat vegan, then it's just customized to you in that sense. And then it will still come up with all the macros, pictures of the food, how to cook it and a grocery lists.

Vincent Ferguson:

You said how to cook it as well, really?

Dominic Kennedy:

Right. So not only does it come up. It's a beautiful picture of what the food can look like and all of your proteins or carbohydrates, your fats and calories, but then there's a dropdown list and it'll show you the exact ingredients. And then the second list is how to cook step-by-step. So you don't even have to think about it. If you're not a good cook, then you can follow this. And it even has pictures so you know how it should look. You can print or email the grocery list to yourself or just on the app as you go to the store, pull it up and check each item off as you purchase it.

Vincent Ferguson:

That's incredible. This is definitely the type of app you need to explain to people. I don't think most people will get the full gist of it. When you just say The Dominic Effect app, it really encompasses a whole lot more than what the name says, which is great.

Dominic Kennedy:

Correct.

Vincent Ferguson:

Now tell me about the fitness aspect, because sometimes some of these fitness programs can get stale.

Dominic Kennedy:

Right. So it's a personalized workout. So just like the nutrition aspect, where you have a list of questions, the workout portion as well, will come with a list of questions. So you'll answer all of your stats. There's dropdown menus with pictures. So you can pick where your body fat is because no one knows off the top of your head. So I have pictures of 12 different types of bodies with the body fat, and you'll select that. And then what your goals are, how often you work out and injuries. That's very important too. There's an option for that. So that's within the app, it'll pop up. If the exercise... If you have a shoulder injury, that'll let us know for that particular workout. So once that's submitted, then it will generate within 72 hours a workout plan.

Dominic Kennedy:

The workout plan comes with all of your exercises for that day. So you'll just click on it. It's very simple. And then there's eight exercises for that day to complete. You'll click on it. It tells you the muscle group and what it's for. And then you can, if you want to know how to perform the exercise, so it's almost like I'm there with you, you click on the video and it's me performing the exercise. As well as explaining tips and techniques, keep your core tight, watch for this, so that you can follow along with me. And then you just hit complete when you're done.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh, and now you said eight exercises. So that's approximately a 30 minute workout?

Dominic Kennedy:

Right. It depends on what the person's goals are. But eight exercises, if they're four sets and then there's cardio at the end too. So it really depends, you can do a half hour or hour. And that's one of the dropdown box question the user will be asked to set. Do they want a 30 minute workout, an hour workout? And you will also select would you like home only workouts or gym workouts. So if you are only able to work out at home that's okay, you can select that. And the exercises pulled in for your plan, are ones that do not need the gym equipment. So it's very intuitive. And then you can also change it. If you decide to go back to the gym a month later, you can select it so that for gym only. And then the exercises pulled in for your plan will then show exercises that you can perform, like a chest press, in the gym.

Vincent Ferguson:

Excellent. And again, with the current situation taking place today, for instance, if gyms are closed again, you still have an opportunity, a way to work out and exercise. Correct?

Dominic Kennedy:

Correct. Yeah. And that's the beauty of this, you do not physically need to be in a gym. You also don't need a ton of equipment because I created a ton of body exercises as well to do at home, or with bands, or dumbbells, or kettlebells. Things that you can order online at Amazon. Pretty easy to get. But then if you want to switch it to the gym, you just do it on the app and then we will convert the exercises to equipment that you see in the gym.

Vincent Ferguson:

And because it's The Dominic Effect app, are you saying that the user will also have the experience of having you with them, doing the exercise? Are you actually demonstrating the exercise? Did you say that?

Dominic Kennedy:

Correct. So once you look at your plan for the week, you can click on day one. And if they are eight to 10 exercises, each exercise will tell you the muscle group and how to perform it. Then you can click on the video that pops up. So if you're at home or at the gym, and it's me performing say a squat. And also explaining how to do it, giving you techniques and things. To be able to keep your core right, exhale on the way up. Things is like that. It’s almost like I'm there with you during the step, because that can be very intimidating for people in the gym when you don't know what you're doing. So it's very user friendly and very easy to follow.

Vincent Ferguson:

It sounds amazing. It really truly does. Now another reason people hire personal trainers is not only because of the experience and the knowledge, but also for motivation or inspiration, does your app provide that as well?

Dominic Kennedy:

It does because that's a huge part of who I am. So if you go, for instance, to my Instagram page, I post affirmations, motivational quotes, things that inspire me throughout the day, throughout the week are all on there. And that is also being generated in the app as well. For instance, I have a meditation and wellness section. So I have a list, like psychologist, on there with how to live a happy life, how to get through a stressful situation. There'll also be meditation 101, things that you can do to really center yourself and live at a higher vibration, which is always the goal for me. So that type of motivation and inspiration is included in the app.

Vincent Ferguson:

Absolutely amazing. And again, when it comes to motivation and inspiration or even positive energy, where do you get yours, Dom? Where do you get your inspiration, motivation, and positive energy from?

Dominic Kennedy:

A really good question. There's definitely people that inspire me. I follow them on social media or whether... For instance, I'm extremely spiritual. And I go to a spiritual center called Agape.

Vincent Ferguson:                                                                                                      

Yes, I've heard of it.

Dominic Kennedy:

Yeah, with Michael Bernard Beckwith, for instance. He's a huge, huge inspiration to me. Before COVID I used to go every Sunday and it's just such a happy, positive place. It's really just full of love. You can feel the energy when you walk in. And now I just live stream it, since we physically can't go. But people like him and there's so many other, they're just at such a high vibration and I aspire to be like them.

Vincent Ferguson:

I love it. Back to the app. How much does the app cost and where can we download it?

Dominic Kennedy:

So you can go to download it. There's a few different ways, you can go to www.dominiceffect.com. This will bring you to a page that lists all the different programs because there's three different options. You can do a monthly meal plan and workout plan combination, and that's $27.96 a month, or you can do a workout plan only for $19.99 or a nutrition plan only for $19.99. So really it depends on the individual and what they're looking for. For me to have both of the combination is important because the nutrition, along with the workout, it's going to give you the best results. It's also available on the App Store for the iPhone.

Dominic Kennedy:

So you can go and put in The Dominic Effect and it'll come up there. And it's also available on Android, Google Play as well. But the best option is to go to dominiceffect.com. Look at the different options to become familiar with it, or to my Instagram, or any social media pages, and then pick it and then download it from the app.

Vincent Ferguson:

Perfect. Now, where do you see yourself, Dominic, in the next five years?

Dominic Kennedy:

In the next five years... I'm so confident in this app because I have put so much energy and love into it. And I'm really including a lot of other people because I want everyone to benefit from this. So within the next year, we need to grow this app. But I also see myself become a motivational speaker, where I can help others really live a life to their full potential, and realize whatever obstacles that's going on or challenges, your path is already there. It's already carved for you, so just keeping walking your path and trust in yourself. So this is really important for me to be able to reach as many people globally as I can. So I'm hosting seminars, motivational speaking, and continuing to grow the app, as well as of course working in luxury real estate as well.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh yeah, exactly. I almost forgot about that part of your life.

Dominic Kennedy:

Yeah. There's a few things going on in my life.

Vincent Ferguson:

Exactly. So now where can my listeners find out more about Dominic Kennedy?

Dominic Kennedy:

So you can go directly to the website, the dominiceffect.com. And then if they want to find more inspiration, or who I am, or how I live my life, you can go to Dominick Anthony Fitness on Instagram or Facebook. I also have a Dominic Effect App Instagram as well. It shows more of what the inside of the app and everything looks like. So I post everything on my social media is very authentic. If you look at my stories, this is who I am. So it's broadcasted to show how my day to day life is.

Vincent Ferguson:

I've been to your Instagram page, I'm definitely going to recommend it to my listeners. It's full of life, vibrancy, and health, and happiness, and really shows you having a good time living man, which is wonderful.

Dominic Kennedy:

I am. Thank you for saying that.

Vincent Ferguson:

Most definitely. So Dominic Kennedy on behalf of Body Sculpt Of New York And Six Weeks to Fitness, I truly want to thank you for coming on my show today.

Dominic Kennedy:

It's been an honor and I really, really appreciate talking to you.

Vincent Ferguson:

It's my pleasure. And to my listeners, I truly hope this program was informative, encouraging, and inspiring, and that you will continue tuning in to our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the show, please leave them on my Six Weeks to Fitness blog at www.6weekstofitness.com or email me at vince@sixweeks.com.

Caitlin Jones is a certified personal trainer, fitness coach, health and mindset coach and entrepreneur. She helps busy professionals create lean, toned physiques without cardio or crunches. With nearly a decade in the fitness industry, she has helped hundreds of clients achieve their specific goals. Her online course, Ditch Crunches Forever, helps people to lose weight, tone up and reveal the sexy abs they have always wanted.  Caitlin is also a professional dancer who has expanded her teaching specialties to function and strength, boxing and cycling classes. Whatever the methodology, Caitlin delivers to each class, her highest energy, excellent musicality, and a true love for helping others feel their best.

Vincent Ferguson:

But before we talk about your online course, Ditch Crunches Forever and how you help clients to build lean physiques without doing cardio and crunches... I really want to hear about that... But let's talk about your journey into health and fitness. Where did it all begin for you, Caitlin?

Caitlin Jones:

Almost on accident. I was in college. A bunch of girlfriends of mine, loved Zumba, and there was a group of instructors in the Pittsburgh area who did a class at a bar. But during the day, it was this party atmosphere, this party vibe. It was four different instructors throwing a 90 minute dance party up on stage. Huge dance floor, the lights, the music was so loud, it was awesome.

Caitlin Jones:

And some folks would go on to happy hour or dinner afterward. And it just made the most fun Wednesday night. So I started going to that with some friends. It was contagious. It was seriously a movement. Like the group of us that started loyally going to this class every single week grew to about 10 or 20 women from my sorority, going every week. Like no lie, we'd bring 20 people. It was crazy.

Caitlin Jones:

So it was just a lot of fun and I had grown up dancing. So it wasn't that much longer until the instructors sort of noticed I was doing a good job picking up the choreography. We built a relationship before and after class just chatting. They knew I was a big fan and they were like, "You're not too bad at this yourself. Have you ever thought about getting Zumba certified?

Caitlin Jones:

So I did. I was pretty quickly and easily able to get a job teaching a few classes each week on my college campus. So, it was very organic. I have this dance background. And then my first foray into the fitness world was teaching dance cardio, happened very naturally. From there, I went to New York City and I did start working as a professional dancer. And that's when the teaching dance cardio thing started to become more of a problem.

Caitlin Jones:

It was actually way too much on my feet and way too much on my joints. To be performing all night, Taking dance classes and going to auditions all day and then be jumping around and shaking my hips some more in between, at these dance cardio classes. It was just way too much on my body.

Caitlin Jones:

So, I started to get more interested in weightlifting, being that's lower impact on the joints. Started teaching in a few different studios, more along those lines. And that's when I really felt some incredible changes in my body. Was from lifting weights. So that's really where we focus a lot nowadays.

Vincent Ferguson:

Very interesting. Did you have any weight issues growing up?

Caitlin Jones:

I did not. I know I didn't have any issues managing my weight. Coming from the dance world, it's a little bit the opposite problem. It's more like struggling with body image and feeling like you need to lose weight or be thinner. I definitely had my hardship there when I was 14, 15. I had an eating disorder for pretty much the full year. For reference, I'm about five foot seven now and 145 pounds. And at my lightest, I was 99 pounds, at my sickest.

Caitlin Jones:

So with the help of a therapist and just a more positive outlook on food and exercise, I was luckily able to get out of that really dark place and in a way I'm so grateful that I had that experience when I did, because eight years later in the professional dance world, that's really, when I was getting a lot of feedback about my body.

Caitlin Jones:

I had a lot of other people telling me how I should look. And I had already sort of done a lot of this work of like, I had already gone to that really dark place. I was like, "You know what? No one's ever going to make me feel like that again. Like I am enough! I am worthy! I'm not going to starve myself to reach any insane aesthetic outcome." And so in a way I'm really glad I had that resilience with me in the professional dance world already.

Vincent Ferguson:

And I understand you actually moved to New York in 2014, correct?

Caitlin Jones:

Correct.

Vincent Ferguson:

So where are you originally from?

Caitlin Jones:

I'm from the Pittsburgh area. Born and raised. Went to high school here. Went to college here. Really the only places I've ever lived is Pittsburgh and New York. Even as we speak, this is December, 2020. We're about nine months into this coronavirus journey. And even for the last nine months, it's been bouncing back and forth between my New York apartment and different places in Pittsburgh, to spend more time with family.

Caitlin Jones:

So now that I'm building an online business, it's sort of the first... The light bulb is going off in my head where I'm like, "Oh, I can actually live somewhere other than Pittsburgh and New York City if I would like to." And so I'm starting to look at those options.

Vincent Ferguson:

Wow. Really? Awesome. And before we talk about the online business, I want to step back for a second because I run a nonprofit organization for kids called Body Sculpt of New York. And one of my community partners are the Brooklyn Nets organization.

Caitlin Jones:

Phenomenal.

Vincent Ferguson:

And I understand that you worked with the Brooklyn Nets.

Caitlin Jones:

Yes. Yes, I did.

Vincent Ferguson:

Tell me about that experience.

Caitlin Jones:

It was phenomenal. I really enjoyed dancing there. I danced as a Brooklyn Net dancer for one year. After my time there, I transitioned to coaching for the Nets kids dance team. They have a very, very talented kids dance team. So for three years I was part of the assistant coaching staff.

Caitlin Jones:

I think the best part of being associated with the Net franchise is dancing for them in particular. Really any New York or L.A. team, when it comes to the NBA or the NFL, obviously these teams are all over the country. But when you're in either New York or L.A. the dance scene there really converges with the professional sports scene.

Caitlin Jones:

So, we are working with famous choreographers to put our routines together for these 90 second halftime routines, t-shirt tosses, whatever it may be. That was really the value in being with a team like the Nets.

Caitlin Jones:

And I mean, the Brooklyn Nets have such a unique style. When I was on the team, it was their second year being in Brooklyn versus New Jersey. So, with their new rebrand and everything, we were on the forefront of some really cool trends in the space. Doing different styles, doing Latin dancing and Caribbean dancing.

Caitlin Jones:

And we would do like a traditional Chinese dance and bring in a traditional Chinese choreographer to do that. Every dance has a theme, a prop, a costume. The production value was just so high in a way that only New York City can do it. In a way that only Brooklyn can do it.

Caitlin Jones:

And it was phenomenal to really be seen as these trendsetters in the space. And to this day, I'm the biggest fan of the Brooklyn Nets. They still put on a show every single time, and it's amazing to watch.

Vincent Ferguson:

I'm glad to hear that. I too am a fan. How did you go from cheerleader to personal trainer?

Caitlin Jones:

Yeah. It really came with the... Going back to dancing, dancing, dancing all the time my first two years in New York. It's just a lot on the joints and I have a history of stress fracturing the ball of my right foot, which has been an ongoing struggle. And also, I'm grateful for it, because it taught me that you can get an incredible full body workout without your feet ever leaving the floor.

Caitlin Jones:

And that, you mentioned in the introduction Vince, about how I sort of promise my clients, "You can get lean and toned without cardio and without crunches." So I really come from this place of when I was in the professional dance world and I'm getting all this feedback, whether it was from my coaches on the Brooklyn Nets or from various casting directors or agents, everyone's kind of saying the same thing, which is like lean is in right now. Abs are a trend right now. We sort of need more abs.

Caitlin Jones:

And it's kind of funny because trends change with time, but it has nothing to do with true health and wellness, right? This is purely an aesthetic. Nowadays, it's sort of like for women, it's all about like the booty and everyone wants to grow the glutes. Right? And we've sort of seen that shift from more of a small waist and defined abs to really your butt being like the thing that everyone wants.

Caitlin Jones:

And yes, strong glutes are important for a healthy, strong body. A strong core is important for a healthy, strong body. But these aesthetic focuses, it's totally based on people's opinion, then it changes with the time. So I really want abs, right. Because everyone's telling me I need them. And I'm thinking, "Okay, well, I'm going to do crunches and sit ups and twists." That's going to help tone the midsection.

Caitlin Jones:

And I'm going to do a ton of cardio to burn a ton of calories, to hopefully shed fat so that you can see all of the definition that I'm creating in my abs. What that did was it caused undue amounts of stress in my body. It was way too much cardio. I think when you count up all of the dance practices, I was going to, all of the dance classes I was taking. The auditions I was going to plus the classes I was teaching. Plus, walking around New York City is a cardio workout in and of itself. I was doing moderate or higher intensity cardio for like 20 hours a week and I wanted to die.

Caitlin Jones:

Something had to give. So sort of, because I was just exhausted and burnt out and I couldn't keep running and I couldn't keep dancing and biking and all the things I was doing. And my foot was acting up. I was starting to have some concerns raised about having another stress fracture in my foot.

Caitlin Jones:

I was like, "Okay, feet need to stay on the ground. What can I do?" And I started getting more into weights and it was just radical, the change I saw in my body after three to six months of three times a week, strength training, full body, functional fitness.

Caitlin Jones:

I wanted to just shout from the rooftops like, "Hello! This is probably the thing a lot of you are neglecting because the cardio and crunches approach seems logical." It would make sense, but now I understand more why the weights work. I got my personal training certification so that I can teach others this methodology.

Vincent Ferguson:

Very interesting. So you created an online program called Ditch Crunches Forever. All right. So now this is what you're talking about. So you don't do as much cardio now. You don't even do crunches.

Caitlin Jones:

Correct. I never do crunches. I never do sit-ups. I never do Russian twists. And my abs are easily the most defined and visible they've ever been in my life. Cardio is an interesting definition. So I teach my clients that cardio is anything which elevates your heart rate above resting, super intensity. So we can focus on doing full body strength training exercises. Think squats, pushups, dead lifts, bent over rows, or pull ups. Something pulling, right?

Caitlin Jones:

We might throw in a few burpees for a few sets of 30 seconds. And by actually just minimizing rest in between these exercises, the client or the person in question performing the exercises is going to experience an elevated heart rate. So it's not that I'm saying there is nothing worthwhile about elevating your heart rate. It's more that I think someone who wants to lose weight is likely, potentially overvaluing cardio, in their entire approach.

Caitlin Jones:

If they're spending a lot of time doing cardio and then not really enough time doing strength training, which I would argue for minimum, minimum, two sessions per week, full body. Then it's going to be really hard to gain any momentum. We need muscle on the body. It looks nice.

Caitlin Jones:

When people say they want to look lean and they want to look toned, they want to build muscle. They want visible muscles. And also, it helps us move through life pain free. It makes everyday activities much easier, such as just simple things. Walking up and down hills, moving your groceries around, picking up your kids or your nieces, or your nephews or whatever it may be.

Caitlin Jones:

And having muscle increases your metabolism. So it's actually going to help you burn more calories at rest. And I think that's what really hits home for most of my clients is, you can research different types of workouts. What's the most effective, what burns the most calories until you're blue in the face. But we're at rest most of the time. We are a sitting society, unfortunately. We're a mostly sedentary society.

Caitlin Jones:

So I'm not really trying... I don't want a client to come to me... I'm not going to tell them, "Hey, you're going to burn more calories with me than you are with the other guy or the other girl or the other trainer. What I'm going to do is I'm going to help you put some really healthy, nice looking, good to have for all sorts of health reasons, muscle on your body. And what that's going to do is it's going to help you burn calories when you're not in the gym. So that you don't get stuck in this endless cycle, this endless loop of more and more and more cardio to lose weight and then even more cardio to sustain it." Because the second I stop running seven days a week, the weight just comes back on. We really want to break that cycle. And I know that strength training is the way to do it.

Vincent Ferguson:

Would you say your training is also partially high-intensity interval training, as well?

Caitlin Jones:

So high intensity interval training has been... How do I put this? There's several different types of workouts out there, that claim to be high intensity interval training. Some of which are Tabata approach. Some of which are just the bootcamp. That's very difficult, very challenging. What is an interval? It's some amount of work interspersed with some amount of rest. So, don't get me wrong. The programs that I write for my clients absolutely do incorporate intervals of various types.

Caitlin Jones:

I would say with regards to intensity, I take a holistic approach at my client's entire life, right? There are all sorts of stressors that goes on in a person's life, of which fitness is one. And also, sleep, and how well someone is sleeping is another. Their work, their relationships, their financial situation. COVID was a huge stressor for a lot of people.

Caitlin Jones:

All of these things affect our cortisol levels. Now, if someone is sleeping eight hours a night, pretty set in their career, in very happy, fulfilling relationships, eating enough and their cortisol is generally low or low to moderate, then they're someone who can handle high intensity movement. Whether we're dubbing it high intensity interval training or not. They can handle a higher intensity, longer bouts of training. And that will work just fine for them. And that will accelerate their results.

Caitlin Jones:

Some folks come into the gym and they hear that high intensity interval training is the best workout, burns the most calories. And it's how they should be spending their time. But if this person is sleeping, six hours a night, on their computer answering emails late into the night. Maybe they're under eating, right? Because they really want to lose weight. And they're really committed. But the lack of sleep is increasing their cortisol. Their boss is increasing their cortisol. Under eating is actually potentially increasing their cortisol.

Caitlin Jones:

And now I haven't even gotten into daily hormonal fluctuations of cortisol. Monthly hormonal fluctuations if this is a woman or a woman identifying person, whose hormones follow 28 day cycle, which also affects cortisol. High intensity is not for everyone. That's another myth I'd really like to bust, because it could be counterproductive if we're not taking a holistic approach to wellness and therefore cortisol. And we're feeling like, "Oh, high intensity every day. More is more." More is not always more. Sometimes less is more. And sometimes less intensity is going to bring you closer to your goals faster, by managing your cortisol.

Vincent Ferguson:

Nice. Now, do you work out of a gym?

Caitlin Jones:

Currently, oh my gosh. I would love to. Right now what with local guidelines and what not, I work totally digitally. It's really incredible space. It's been a learning experience, an overall positive one, learning how to build and maintain relationships with my clients without the in-person component.

Caitlin Jones:

I miss it, of course. I miss training face-to-face. I miss teaching to a packed room of people. It's just not exactly potentially a safe option right now. So, I think in the future, I'd love to settle on some hybrid of online and in-person, because they both have their advantages.

Vincent Ferguson:

Definitely. Now, in regards again, to your program, Ditch Crunches Forever, how much of it relies upon diet?

Caitlin Jones:

Hmm. So I actually have two sort of signature programs here. Ditch Crunches Forever is a free mini course. Anyone who's listening to this show right now, if you're interested in any of the methodologies, I just discussed, Why strength training over cardio? Where does cortisol sort of play a part into all of this? I highly recommend taking Ditch Crunches Forever. Like I said, totally free. Can usually be found at the link in my Instagram bio @Caitlin Jones.

Caitlin Jones:

So, Ditch Crunches Forever is just a three part mini series. In the first-video, we go over metabolism, how building muscle affects metabolism. Why don't you need crunches if you want abs and what do we sort of replace them with? So there's a 20 minute instructional video answering all those questions. There's two follow along workouts to pick from. One is entirely body weight. One is with dumbbells.

Caitlin Jones:

So whether you have equipment or not, you can participate. And then the third sort of the last video is really, "How do we take what we learned and how do we apply it to our training in all sorts of environments using these concepts." There's also a downloadable PDF. It's about 30 different exercises that will strengthen your core without doing a single sit up, cardio or crunch. These are effective exercises proven by science and approved by me to work for building a lean toned stomach.

Caitlin Jones:

Now, the more in-depth program that I offer, Fitness Fluency, that's a 12 week total life transformation. And of course, Vince, we do talk about nutrition in Fitness Fluency. I take a very... What's the best way to explain this? For me, nutrition is all about abundance. It's all about the steps that we do take, the foods that we do eat, the foods that we do include.

Caitlin Jones:

And I don't really like to cut out entire food groups or ban any foods for my clients. Because the second I tell someone I'm working with, "Hey, by the way, those cookies... I know you love chocolate chip cookies, but for eight weeks, we're going no cookies." All that client can think of when she walks out of a conversation with me is, "Cookies, cookies, cookies. Darn it, Caitlin said, no cookies for me. I can't do this."

Caitlin Jones:

We sort of start to take this all or nothing mindset. So I really prescribe habits for my clients. We'll do a three-day photo journal. For three days they just take pictures of whatever they eat. They upload it to a shared photo journal that I have access to.

Caitlin Jones:

At the end of three days, we sort of work our way up the health pyramid. I personally believe and prescribe that the foundation of any healthy diet is an abundance of colorful plants. Is someone's diet colorful? Because it's not just macronutrients, fats, proteins and carbohydrates that matter. It's also vitamins minerals, antioxidants, fiber. All of these wonderful micronutrients that keep us young, that prevents us from getting sick. That give us energy. That make our skin and our hair appear healthy. So we start there.

Caitlin Jones:

Now we sort of then move on to protein. The first macronutrients I really check for is, is a client getting enough protein? So usually just with those two sort of big check marks alone will create habits. I might say to a client, "Hey, all I need you to do... The only thing you're going to change for us this week is at your lunch every day, I don't want you to change a thing, except I want you to add two cups of leafy greens."

Caitlin Jones:

This could be on the side of a sandwich. This could be you're having a rice dish or a noodle dish. Whatever it is, it's small enough that you can commit to it. Maybe it's a handful of baby carrots in the afternoon. Maybe it's a few cups of berries with your oatmeal in the morning. If you're having plain oatmeal, I might say, "Hey, I want a cup of berries on there, or maybe an apple, if it's the fall and berries aren't in season. But let's get some fruit going in there."

Caitlin Jones:

So we sort of just layer on these really small changes. Small, but consistent. I need something that my client is confident they can maintain 80 to 90% of the time. Because we are what we repeatedly do. And if we try to change too much all at once, we're in this all or nothing mindset, the second someone slips up, they go, "Oh, I can't do it. I'm a failure. I'm just going to go back to my old way of eating." And then that's really the cycle again, that we're trying to break here.

Vincent Ferguson:

Nice. Now this is part of the 12 week program, correct?

Caitlin Jones:

Correct. Yeah. So Fitness Fluency, we absolutely dive into nutrition because... I'm so glad you asked that, Vince. Fitness isn't really necessarily the place to start, if you're looking to make a radical change to your health and wellness. I actually teach that sleep is where most folks should be starting. If you're not getting at least seven hours a night, we really need to start there. Sleep is just nature's medicine. It's an incredible thing.

Vincent Ferguson:

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your fitness business?

Caitlin Jones:

It's a totally different landscape. Completely different. Prior to COVID, I was spending a lot more time in a group fitness environment. So I worked for someone else. I taught for a cycling company, but in terms of clients, my reach was, no exaggeration, in the thousands.

Caitlin Jones:

Over a month's time, I would have taught to thousands of unique riders just through those classes alone. My personal training business, that wasn't a major focus of mine. I did have a handful of clients on the side, who were just friends or residual from earlier days where personal training was a larger focus of mine. But when COVID hit, everything entirely shut down. Pretty much anyone who was interested in cycling, got on the Peloton platform or on a more equally established platform such as that.

Caitlin Jones:

And my employer didn't really have that same setup. So to be honest, I tried a lot of different things just to see what stuck. I did some bootcamps on Zoom. I did some dance cardio classes on Zoom. At one point, I was sort of teaching cycling class.

Caitlin Jones:

I had bootlegged a cycling methodology together, and you could do it on any bike. You could do it on a recumbent bike. That went on for about a month or two. And it was sort of the same thing. I wasn't necessarily offering personal training at the start. I definitely wasn't offering Ditch Crunches Forever, Fitness Fluency, but it was more people approaching me and really asking for what they wanted and what they needed.

Caitlin Jones:

And when enough people came to me and were like, "I'm looking for personal training." I said, "Okay, I have this package." We sort of arrive at something that they're willing to pay and I'm willing to work with. And we go from there. After about my fifth client approaching me for training, I was like, "Okay, this is it." This was all really effortless up until this point. So I think that this is probably the thing that works for me right now. And that's where I started pouring my focus into.

Vincent Ferguson:

Nice. Nice. And as you said, this is something that you can do.... You don't have to be in New York. You can be anywhere and conduct these online programs, right?

Caitlin Jones:

Yeah. It's so cool. It's honestly really cool. Because in this last year, I have spent more time with family than I've ever been able to do. And I can go to Mom's house for like a week or two and then spend half a week over at my sister's, helping babysit her kids.

Caitlin Jones:

And as long as I just take my computer with me, if I have a space that I can move in... I drive places now. I haven't been flying anywhere. It's all places within driving distance. I can bring a few kettlebells. As long as I have that pretty simple setup, it's like, "I'm the business. I show up. I give the sessions. I program." But so much of it is online. People would be surprised to see how much time I spend at my computer nowadays.

Caitlin Jones:

We're educating on social media. That's a big one. I'm keeping my online community engaged. I send out email blasts and I'm building out my website and I'm working on the backend and even accounting and insurance. There's a lot more that goes into it than people realize. And it's absolutely changed from the days of just show up, keep the class on the bike to a room of 70 people. Go home. That feels like archaic. It's crazy. Crazy to think just nine months ago that that's what I was doing.

Vincent Ferguson:

Where can my listeners find out more about Caitlin Jones and give us your social media handles. Everything we need to know about your programs and how we can reach out to you.

Caitlin Jones:

Absolutely. So my Instagram is just my name, no spaces, no underscores, no nothing. It's Caitlin C-A-I-T-L-I-N Jones, as in keeping up with the Jones's. It's an amazing way to stay in touch. Really, everything that I have to say, everything that I have to share, Instagram gets it first.

Caitlin Jones:

Generally the link in my Instagram bio will lead you to Ditch Crunches Forever, my free mini video series. Oh, please, please message me if you're trying to get access to Ditch Crunches Forever and you can't find it, or you just want to say hi, or you have a specific question about your own nutrition, fitness, whatever it may be. I love expanding my online community and I will voice memo you back and forth until the day is done. Listening to where you're at in your fitness journey and just purely asking how I can help. I would love to know. So please, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Vincent Ferguson:

Wow. Sounds really good. I'm sure you will hear from somebody. Caitlin Jones, on behalf of Body Sculpt of New York and Six Weeks to Fitness, I want to thank you for coming on my show today.

Caitlin Jones:

Of course, Vince. Thank you for having me. It was really an enjoyable conversation.

Vincent Ferguson:

To my listeners and readers, I truly hope this program was informative, encouraging, and inspiring, and that you will continue tuning in to our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the show, please leave them on my Six Weeks to Fitness blog at www.sixweekstofitness.com or email me at Vince@sixweeks.com. Take care. Bye, bye.