Jo Beale Personal Trainer
Jo lost a considerable amount of weight on her own fitness journey before becoming a personal trainer. She talks to Sundried about training and motivation.
Please tell us about sporting events you have taken part in or have coming up.
Back in 2011, I coordinated the Guinness World Record breaking Largest Zumba Class -- the record has since been broken, but we held it for nearly a year.
I have personally lost 170lbs on my own personal fitness quest.
Tell us about your journey to fitness? Where did it all start?
I was the fat kid at school; I came last in everything and never got picked for teams. I couldn't wait to finish school so I never had to do PE again! However, things changed after I had my first child and I ended up working in the fitness industry managing a clothing website. One thing led to another and I changed career to become a fitness instructor.
What are your training goals now?
I train for overall health now. I enjoy walking and do a lot of it. It keeps me balanced and gives me thinking time. I love strength training because it puts me in the frame of mind to overcome obstacles. I think it's so important to work on your fitness in a way that you enjoy.
Tell us one unusual fact we wouldn’t know about you:
My favourite place on earth is Hawaii.
What advice do you wish you'd been given when you first started out?
You'll never know everything, but it's important to keep learning as much as you can.
Do you follow a specific nutrition plan? If so, what/when do you eat?
If I'm working on maintenance, I try to stick to a calorie and a protein goal most of the time. I'm a tracker! If I'm working on fat loss, I use the same strategy but with different numbers.
What do you do to keep your clients motivated? Do you have any top tips to keep motivated?
Try to keep it lighthearted and human. People need to talk about the things in their heads before they can get the most out of their bodies.
Talk us through your training regime.
4 weights sessions a week.
1 or 2 short body weight sessions a week depending on how I feel.
100-130k steps a week.
How do you keep your fitness knowledge up to date?
Talking, reading, listening.
What are your top 3 trainer tips?
- Look after yourself first to better look after the client.
- It's not about you, it's about the client.
- Listen hard, because the client's first answer is always what they think they should say, not necessarily the truth.
If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Ice cream.
What do you like about Sundried and what's your favourite bit of our kit?
I really love the idea of recycled clothing so I'm a massive fan of the whole Eco range, especially the 2-in-1 shorts. Anyone who knows me knows how much wear my leggings get... so ultimately I'd have to choose the Ruinette 2.0 leggings. They're awesome!
Favourite fitness quote:
"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." - Arthur Ashe
