Life
How fitness instructor Courtney Black is revamping the fitness industry with her own personal journey.
What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine?
I wake up super early, some mornings before 5am. I love waking up before anyone else has started their day and making the most of my mornings. I find such calm in knowing I can get my workouts filmed, have a coffee, plan my day ahead and not have any interruptions.
How did you get into personal training?
I first went on my personal training course to learn how to lose more weight. This was at the height of my eating disorder. I struggled in my relationship with food for many years and used fitness as punishment. Under-nourishing my body and constantly seeing fitness as a way to out work any food I had ate. I lost so much of my spark, my personality, and my joy for life. I knew I needed to make a change and when I started to study fitness and nutrition, I realised just how little I knew. I wanted to be the best version of myself and help women become the best version of themselves too.
What makes your programme different to all the ones out there?
I focus on getting fit and feeling your best. Feeling happy and healthy with me by your side every step of the way. I focus on the personal approach to fitness and my app allows me to train in real time with my subscribers and makes one-tone personal training more affordable and easily accessible with my workouts being focused on home workouts making working out easily accessible and sustainable for the busy working woman, the mothers, the people who have gym anxiety and people who simply do not want to pay for a gym membership. I change people’s lives not only by the way they look but also by the way they feel. They love fitness and look forward to their workouts.
What advice would you give to women who struggle to stick to a diet/exercise regime because they are always on the go or because they live such busy lives?
That’s exactly why I created my app. The workouts are quick, effective, and will transform your body, but they also are so easily accessible. We do not need to overcomplicate fitness. Planning your week is super important and so is prioritising time for your workouts. Sometimes things will come up and this will change but having a solid plan is so helpful. Nutrition is simple when you plan ahead of time also, prepping meals or having your favourite healthy deliveries on hands when you haven’t been able to cook. Make food choices that you know are going to help you achieve your fitness goals but also give you energy, make you productive at work and glow from the inside out!
How important do you think diet or exercise is to make a change to your body?
Your workout is such a small percentage of your day. What you do around that workout is what matters most. If you push yourself during your workouts but you are not fuelling around them, you will not recover quickly and be able to perform at your best. If you aren’t eating well and prioritising high protein, high fibre and healthy fats you will not feel and look your best. You need whole foods and soul foods. Having a healthy diet is also having a balanced diet so allowing room for foods that also make you happy is key.
Your fitness app Courtney Black contains everything from homeworkouts to healthy recipies – where do you get inspiration from?
I have always loved creating new workouts that people will enjoy. Making fitness fun has always been a passion of mine so thinking of new workouts and filming for my app is so rewarding for me. Seeing the incredible life changing transformations is a bonus. I listen to my audience, I listen to what they want from their workouts, what they enjoy and how they want to feel and I work from there. I get my inspiration from my subscribers and my followers and build my workouts from there. Food has always been such a huge passion of mine, I love finding ways to make healthy food extremely delicious. This is really easy to do and that’s why I post recipes to my Instagram and my app.
Cardio or strength training – which do you think is more important?
Both are important for different reasons. Cardio keeps us fit, our hearts healthy and gives us those endorphins that make us feel great. Cardio should be done alongside strength training for optimal results. Even if your goal isn’t weight loss, cardio is so beneficial to our health (this could even be going for a walk). Strength training is what gives our bodies shape. Creating a lean body requires having muscle. Women are sometimes scared to lift weights because they are afraid of getting bulky but infact this is what is going to give the toned look. My transformative method of training includes strength and conditioning to build a healthy and strong body, a strong core and transformed physique.
What is your own personal approach to health and fitness?
I love pushing myself out of my comfort zones. What doesn’t challenge you, doesn’t change you. You will never progress in your fitness journey if you aren’t ready to be uncomfortable. Change is always uncomfortable. It’s also so rewarding.
This is The Abundance Issue – how do you focus on an abundance mindset?
You can never have enough health. You can never be too healthy. You can never focus on your health and mindset enough. For me, having an abundance of health and happiness is key to living a good quality life. It will make you more productive, more energised, more open to trying new things. Having the mindset to always feel your best is a winning mentality.
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