I feel very fortunate to be surrounded by so many incredible and talented women. Everyone I know has this amazing inner strength to push forth and live the life they were meant to. It isn't just enough for me to know how amazing they are, I want to share them with the world! I put together a questionnaire to ask these fabulous women about their careers and some of their favourite things. I hope you enjoy!
For Celebrating this Life's very first {Profile} I give you my personal trainer, Crystal Reia.
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Tell me what you do for a living?
My official title is a
“Personal Trainer”… but I will always consider myself first and foremost a
teacher. I love to teach! It’s my passion! Essentially my job is to educate
clients on how to improve their health and wellness through safe tailored
fitness programs and classes. I also provide nutritional advice and support, as
that ultimately will determine a client’s success. I love working with women of
all ages and walks of life as my primary focus tends to be Women’s Health;
although I do train couples as well.
How did you end up becoming a
personal trainer?
I have worn many hats
so-to-speak in my former career years. I was in the stock trading industry for
16 years as well as taught dance and piano for 10-15 years. Teaching and dance was
always my favorite! I danced ballet, tap, jazz, modern and hiphop for approx.
28 years.
Speaking very honestly, I
ended up getting sick at my trading job with terrible high blood pressure
unbeknownst to me until I found myself in the hospital nearing a stroke.
Sometimes one can get overwhelmed with the day-to-day stresses and pressures of
a high demanding job that they get stuck in the same cycle. It’s so important
to listen to your body! I did not. I felt unhappy, lethargic and not even
wanting to dance anymore; which was my passion. So with my husband’s persuasion
and help, I took a leave of absence to really think about what I wanted for my
future and to get myself healthy again. I got back into the gym daily and
started loving the way it made me feel. So much so, that I studied and signed
up for the Personal Trainer course and other courses. I loved it! For the first
time in a long time, I felt like me again and I was taking care of myself again
the way I should. I didn’t want other women in our community to feel helpless
and stressed the way I did. So I decided to become a personal trainer not only
because of what taking control of my life and fitness did for me, but to help
others do the same. That is why I started Your Health-Your Choice.
What’s a typical day look like?
I love having the
flexibility of choosing my own hours and my own type of classes and
choreography. I do work long hours, but I love what I do! I run a variety of
different classes: Privates, Small Group Training Sessions, Larger Ladies Only
Bootcamps done to music, Yoga Stretch Classes, Mom and baby Classes, Some
mobile training to people’s homes, Happy Feet (which is a tap dancing/fitness
class I teach at a local retirement home for seniors in chairs). My busiest
training times seem to be mornings and late afternoons into evenings, because
of my clients work hours. But this suits me fine, since I need a few extra
hours in the day to make up new workouts, classes and programs and prepare
music for my Bootcamp classes. It’s also nice to have the flexibility of
running errands in that time as well. I have weekends off to spend with my
husband, friends and family.
What advice would you give to
someone looking to get in the field?
Number one? Make sure your
passion is not only health and fitness (You gotta walk the walk) but more
importantly you must love to teach. A good teacher/trainer needs patience, perseverance
and personality! I not only help many clients with their fitness and eating,
but often I end up being a sounding board for them too, to vent and release
their stress. You need to be a good listener and frankly? Just simply to care;
being an unbiased support for them when maybe nobody else is.
You will also be dealing
with a tonne of clients that range in age, ability, injuries etc. so being able
to think quick on your feet to adapt and change and give options in your
programs or classes is huge. Know your client and provide the best experience
from start to finish that you can. Be willing to be flexible and find your own
special niche. What are you best at? Find what makes you as a trainer unique
from others. How do you set yourself apart? And remember WHY you got started in
this career in the first place. Stay humble.
What is your favourite part of
your job?
The simple things actually.
I love working out with my ladies. I loooove music. So to find new and exciting
songs to motivate my ladies in classes makes me excited! Meeting new and
wonderful women in our area. And of course most of all… (here’s just one
example) getting a text or an email from a very excited client telling me that
they just put on a pair of jeans they haven’t worn since high school. It really
puts a smile on my face to share in my client’s successes. Whether they be big
or small?… they are all inspiring me to keep doing what I do each day. I don’t
think they realize how much of an inspiration they are to me! I’m so proud of
each and every one of my clients, when I look back and see where they started
and how far they’ve come!
What is your favourite
quote/motto to live by?
My all time favorite famous quote would
have to be the Mother Theresa quote:
What is your favourite book
Right now health &
fitness wise, I am loving Jonathan Bailor’s “The Calorie Myth.” It’s made me
rethink some things and recommendations that I give to my clients about their
nutrition. If you want to simplify and change your health for the better, I
highly recommend reading this book!
How would you describe your
style (personal and interior design)
I loooove clothes! LOL Well
when I’m not wearing fitness gear, which is pretty much every day! I would say
some of my favorite brands of clothing are definitely Free People, Urban
Outfitters, Forever 21 and Denim & Supply. I love both rocker chic and
gypsy boho style of clothing and hair. I am a true girly girl at heart! I also
just found Susan Harris Design. She is a designer from Toronto. She makes the
coolest shawls, mittens, leg warmers etc. out of old pieced together vintage
wool sweaters. Very unique!
Since we are still
considered winter, you’ll most likely see me wearing a nice loose flowy off the
shoulder top, sweater or T Shirt, skinny jeans or tights, thigh high wooly boot
socks and my Hunters! I’m also in love with accessories! What women doesn’t
love scarves, shoes, jackets, bags and jewelry! LOL I know it’s terrible! I do
like to dress up from time to time too! But really? I’m more of a summer girl…
bring on the summer flowy maxi dresses and sandals!
My home style is more
modern and minimal. Lots of white accents, clean lines with a splash of colour
here and there in each room. I love funky functional modern furniture with a
touch of old live edge woods and textures. More stone and barn board accents
are definitely in my home’s future!
Who is your style icon?
I’m actually at a loss for
words. I follow only a few celebs on Pinterest if I like their style. But
honestly? My bestie, Janet is definitely the most style icon woman influence in
my life. She is always up on the best new trends and hooks me up with the best
clothes and accessories. I’m so lucky to have her as my friend and not just for
fashion advice!
What is your ideal Saturday
night?
That’s easy. Definitely
hanging out with my hubby, family or friends. We are major foodies, so we enjoy
entertaining! All kinds of cooking, wine and music = one happy Crystal!
What is your favourite perfume?
This makes me sad because
MAC discontinued my favorite perfume MV2 years ago. I haven’t been able to
replace it yet with anything similar. Please bring it back MAC! So right now I
have a nice light grapefruit and vanilla body spray I use from Vital Bath. I
don’t wear a lot of heavy perfumes because of training I guess and my hubby is
not crazy about heavy perfumes either.
Favourite drink?
Besides water…. It would
be red wine. LOL All my friends and family can attest to this. Haha!
What is one piece of advice you
would give to your younger self?
I appreciate everything
I’ve learned along the way in my other career path because of the skill set and
experience it has given me to be able to run my own endeavors today. I would
have told myself long ago to follow my passion in dance and fitness teaching
earlier. I honestly do not know why I waited so long to start my own
business!?! Maybe timing? Fear? Maybe settling with what you know? Sometimes we
get used to what we know and to step out of our comfort zone is difficult; but
I guess life change always is difficult for most people. “Nothing worth having
comes easy!”
What is one thing you are
looking to accomplish in 2015?
At the moment, I’m looking
to expand my classes into Waterloo. I already provide service to Kitchener,
Galt and Guelph. I would love to start up a ladies bootcamp class in Waterloo!
Favourite song right now?
Ugh, you would ask that, knowing
how much of a music fanatic I am. LOL
I’ll try and keep this
short! I love too many to count! ASTR’s cover of “Hold On We’re Going Home”,
Alt-J’s “Every Other Freckle”, Phantogram’s “Fall In Love”, Lorde’s “Tennis
Court” (Flume Remix), London Grammer “Hey Now” and any Glass Animals tunes… I
could go on and on! It would be pages!
What is the last thing you bought for yourself?
What is the last thing you bought for yourself?
That would have to be make
up. I bought two new Lip Sugar’s Colours from Sephora. Rose Extreme and Petal.
Perfect hint of lip colour for teaching and training!
Your Health-Your Choice
Crystal Reia PTS, PFS, OAS
Email: yourhealth-yourchoice@live.ca
519-830-8845
I want to thank Crystal for being my very first interviewee! I had a great time reading her responses and learned a few new things about her. Crystal's personal journey on how she ended up becoming a personal trainer is awe-inspiring and it's one I reflect on a lot. It's amazing how the body and mind will tell you something is wrong, if you can just be quiet long enough to listen. No journey is easy, but as Crystal has shown us, any bump in the road can be the catalyst to something wonderful.
