I met trainer Beth Redmond this past summer and was really inspired by her energy, athleticism and physique. She has an enthusiasm for health and fitness that is infectious and incredibly motivating. I caught up with her to learn what motivates her, how she stays fit, her tips for raising confident teen girls, and a sample Boot Camp-Challenge® workout that you can try anywhere.
RC: Hi Beth! Thanks for taking the time to share your energy and health tips with FitnessRx for Women. Why don’t you start by telling us a little about yourself?
Beth: I am a busy 47-year-old wife, mother of four (all in college now), so I just became an empty nester (woot woot). I own my own business, nShape Training, LLC, and I am a personal trainer and run Boot Camp Challenge® boot camps. I knew I would never be a sit-behind-a-desk kind of person, so in my mid-30s, when my kids were older and in private school, I took my passion of health and fitness and turned it into a business. There’s no greater feeling of accomplishment when I have a client who really wants to better their health and I have the privilege of working alongside them to reach all their body fat and weight-loss goals!
RC: That’s awesome! How do you keep your health a priority with such a busy schedule?
Beth: I believe I am important and I make myself and my health a priority in my schedule. Running my boot camps and training clients are the first things on my calendar, then my workout times are second. I set everything else around my own training. It’s so common to hear from people who are not happy with their current health say, “I just don’t have time to exercise!” Well, they can either find time now to get healthy or they will have to make time when they are older and their bodies are riddled with numerous health issues and diseases! I know that if I am healthy, then I’m a better wife, mother and trainer to my clients. Healthy bodies = healthy minds!
My constant state of motion is one of the ways I’ve stayed fit my entire life. I LOVE working out and challenging my muscles to change. I love starting the day with pushing my body at the gym. Training is the perfect way to start my day!
Exercise is also my stress reducer! Even when I was younger, if I had a stressful day as a mom of four, I would go out for a long run to clear my mind. When I got back from the run I could deal with whatever was going on better!
RC: I like to work out early as well. What type of workout plan do you follow?
Beth: I used to design my own workouts. I would lift four times a week with a split training plan, complete six sessions of cardio and one yoga session per week. As my business grew, unfortunately my personal time diminished. I no longer had time to design my workouts, so I joined Team Bombshell and let them do all the work for me! We are told that in our mid-40s we have to accept the downside of age and gravity and what it does to our bodies! I refused to buy into that attitude and decided to push my body even more to see just what it could do! I went from competing in road races and triathlons to heavier lifting and lighter cardio. The proof that it works is how I look in a bathing suit! At 47, I am stronger and more defined than I was at any other time of my life.
RC: Amazing! Yes, I can see it is working for you. With regards to nutrition, do you follow any type of food plan or guidelines? What have you found works best long term?
Beth: I do not believe in diets. To me, that is a four-letter curse word! If you properly fuel the body, then you don’t have to diet, which by the way— DIETS DO NOT WORK! I believe in low-glycemic eating, which is what the American Dietetic Association and the American Heart Association preach! If we put the right fuels in our body, then our body will perform at an optimal level! I tell my clients to shop the perimeter of the grocery store and for the most part they will be making wise choices. I also tell them if the food comes in a bag that makes a crunchy noise, most likely it’s processed and to stay away from it.
Personally, I eat six to seven times a day. Most of my meals are calorically equal. I no longer think of meals as breakfast, lunch and dinner, but as meal one, meal two, etc. One of my biggest desires and challenges for my clients is for them to change their perception of food. So many people have emotional ties to their food. If they can begin to think of food as fuel for the body, then bad habits like mindless eating, emotional eating, dessert/sugar loading become less likely and they reach their health goals faster! You can give 150 percent during your workouts, but if you continue to put unhealthy foods in your body, you will never reach optimum health.
RC: I love it! Great advice. How do you stay motivated to work out and eat healthy all year?
Beth: My favorite way to stay motivated is by setting goals! If I don’t have a goal to strive for then, I’m just in the gym working out and I find I don’t push myself as hard during my workouts. In 2015, I’ve had three goals that I reached. One was looking as healthy as possible for my 25th vow renewal ceremony in May. The second was for a contest with Team Bombshell in August. The third was looking great for my boudoir shots two days before my 47th birthday. On the days when I just didn’t “feel like working out,” I would remind myself of my goals, and that was all it took to get me back in focus. I also want to stay ahead of the “age clock.” Fifty is not that far away, and I want to be fabulously fit at 50! Not just for me personally, but to encourage others that you don’t have to give up on your health as you age!
RC: You have four fit and healthy kids. How have you raised them to be active? Do you have any advice for parents interested in raising healthy children?
Beth: For the moms, my advice to them is to get their daughters involved in some type of physical activity. My oldest hated sports when she was young, but she loved to dance. So her form of exercise was dancing four days of week for a couple hours each day. In college, she took her love of dance and taught Zumba to make money! I love it! My youngest loved sports from a very early age, so she was involved in track and cross country. Having kids in some type of activity or sport not only keeps them active, which keeps them in better shape, but it also keeps them less focused on their body shape and more focused on how their doing in their activity. If you have a child who has no interest in anything physical, then choose an activity that you can do together.
Another suggestion is to take away social media and phones for part of the day. I know that sounds crazy in this day and age, but how many hours do our kids sit on their butts staring at a screen instead of being outdoors doing something that allows them to move? If their daughters are old enough, get them involved in lifting weights! My girls like to spend time in the gym and will ask me to design workouts for them to do. I have a lot of mothers whose daughters join them at my Boot Camp Challenge® camps. It’s a win/win for the mother-daughter relationship and for both of them getting healthier!
In terms of food, I encourage all of my clients who have extremely small children to only feed them clean foods and NO sugars. If they can become addicted to the sweetness of fruits versus candy and desserts, they will have a less chance of being overweight as a teenager. Plus, the kids know what true good food tastes like and that’s what their tastes buds are drawn to!
Basically, if the parents live a healthy lifestyle, then the kids will emulate it. It may not be right when they leave the house for college, but they do come back to a healthy lifestyle. If they see mom and dad make health a priority by eating clean and exercising, then they will as well!
RC: I really like the mother-daughter Boot Camp idea! Do you have a sample Boot Camp-Challenge® workout that we could try at home?
Beth: This is 15 minutes of a workout I designed for my clients to complete this weekend. The workout is 45 minutes (plus 10 minute warm-up and a short ab workout), so you can do this circuit three times to get the full effect of the challenge. It’s followed by a six-minute ab workout that you can do anytime.
Go somewhere there’s room to mark out a course that’s around 40-50 yards. Place a marker at the start and finish. You will use this as your “Suicide Course.” There will be no cones in the middle.
| BootCamp Circuit | Time |
| Begin the workout with a 10-minute easy jog or power walk to warm up | |
| Jumping Jacks | 2 minutes |
| Burpees | 15 reps |
| Squat with Alternating Kick | 1 minute |
| Suicides – sprint down, easy jog back | 2 minutes |
| March in Place | 1 minute |
| Plank Hold – Optional Plank Jack** |
1 minute |
| Jump Lunges |
15 sets |
| Mountain Climbers |
1 minute |
| Squat Hold |
1 minute |
| Power Walk or Easy Jog– Keep HR% around 75% | 2 minutes |
| Repeat Circuit up to 2 times (3 rounds total) | |
| **Plank Jack: Jump feet wide then back together | |
| 6-Minute Ab Workout | |
| Ab Crunch – 30 reps Flutter Kicks – 30 sets Plank Hold – 60 seconds Repeat |
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RC: Thank you for taking the time to share with us, Beth!
Beth: You’re welcome! Happy New Year!