Prenatal Workout: How to Stay Fit During Pregnancy With Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney
Doug Lotz 00:03
Hey everyone! This is Doug Lotz, active lifestyle enthusiastic armchair futurist and founder of CardioCast an audio guided fitness app where we help people get fit and stay fit by making studio quality fitness classes more accessible and affordable than ever, in delivering the best music and coaching possible. Anytime, anywhere. You’re listening to the CardioCast CoolDown Podcast, where we explore topics, the intersection of health, fitness and personal wellness, you’re ready? Let’s go. Welcome to the CardioCast CoolDown podcast where we explore topics of the intersection between health, fitness and personal wellness. Welcome to the cardio cast cooldowns podcast where we explore topics at the intersection between health fitness and personal wellness. I’m Doug lots and today we’ll be talking with Claire yenta. O’Mahony, a certified fitness trainer, and nutritionist. She holds a Master’s of Science in psychology, and is founder of flirt Elise fitness. Thank you for joining us, Claire, it’s great to have you on the show. Welcome. Thank you for having me, Douglas, very honored and excited to be here. So um, so I always like to kind of kick these conversations off by starting with why, why you do what you do, usually at least a little bit into what you’re doing how you got there. But yet, so I’m curious to know what drives you? What’s your WHY?
Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney 01:12
Yeah, my Y is I’ve seen firsthand how more alive people become when they focus on their wellness. And it’s, it’s become evident to me through some different family members. I’ve seen them in different chapters of life where my mom in particular, actually, I’ve used her as the subject of a couple of different talks, as she’s This is no surprise, she listens this, she’ll be like, why is Claire talking about me, she absolutely knows she’s actually been to some of the talks. And she’s one of my biggest advocates, and I consider her my best friend. So pretty lucky lady. But anyway, growing up, I saw that she was giving so much to my brother and my sister, and to me and to my dad, and to our beloved, beloved golden retriever. And she placed herself on the bottom of the totem pole. And she gave so much to us. She was a nursing professor, she gave so much to her students, her career. And she thought at the time that she took, you know, away from her family, from kids from career to fill up her own cup by moving her body going to the gym, taking the time to eat mindfully was selfish. And so she just continued on this way. And this was also you know, the 80s 90s, things were different, obviously, than they are now. They’re, you know, and women didn’t want to build muscle, it was like, we have to just tone we can’t build muscle, it’s like we have clearly changed the game a lot. And for and for better. And there was a focus on you know, so much about weight. And we realize like, that’s not the end all be all of who you are, and what your worth is. But anyway, she continued along this trajectory, and would be you know, feeding us good meals. And here, she was, like, you know, drinking soda and just eating chips, like because that was like the only energy she had was to do very little for herself. And we could didn’t really notice this because she was doing such a great job of taking care of us and my dad, and he was a busy healthcare professional, and then got to the Crossroads actually, when my husband and I were engaged, and my mom was searching for her mother, the bride dress, this was the first time she was really going to be like, on display in a way, you know. And she realized, whoa, I have totally just been kind of ignoring myself, she was a candidate for some joint replacements and was feeling just really not so confident her body. And realizing that if she were to make some lifestyle changes, it would lead to her feeling better than more competent, having more successful joint replacements. And so she decided to no hire a team. She worked with a personal trainer she worked with her doctor work with with nutritionist, and she said like we’re gonna make some changes here. And that was both about eight, nine years ago. And since then I’ve seen a new spark of joy and life in my mom. She is now so much more active, she’s more alive, she feels better in her body, she was able to have some successful joint replacement surgeries and they were better than it had she’d been carrying around extra mass. And, you know, they would have been a tougher recovery. So as a result I’ve seen firsthand, that’s just how it’s affected her physically, but how it’s affected. You know who she is. I think she speaks up a little bit more. She’s more honest with herself and authentic and genuine and feels just more I think, more fulfilled. And that has been such an inspiration for me. And it’s also an inspiration to everyone out there who might think, oh, x, y, z A Do you know, who cares? You know, it’s never too late. Really. I’ve worked with clients in their 80s so was a very long answer to your short question. But really what got me here is, is seeing that when we can take care of ourselves and the inside, and that also affects the outside, they’re so intertwined. And it can really help us be more of who we really are inside. I think it allows that inner self to shine. Very cool.
Doug Lotz 05:21
Yeah. Now, my sort of fitness journey, I was kind of an overweight kid growing up, and just, you know, what you were saying about sort of being more yourself and work, you know, that it takes some time. But like, over time, I think just the act of improving yourself gives you that confidence gives you more confidence, and you can kind of see the results and you can kind of feel better, you know, physically, mentally. So, you know, I definitely resonate with that. So So I’m curious. So how did you get into to fitness like as a business and you know, how did Florida lease fitness start and tell me a little bit about that, and your own personal journey to that?
05:59
Yeah, that’s another story in itself. wellness was something that despite, you know, my mom’s journey, I found very early, I started dancing at age three, I loved it. I dabbled in soccer, hated it. That was not the sport for me. And I The reason I bring that up is that even as a kid, it was clear, like, there were certain activities that I gravitated towards. And so throughout the chapters of life, and whether or not you have kids, anyone who’s listening or whatever, you as an adult, or whatever age, you are listening, it’s important to find the activity that really lights you up, if you love to run, like go with that. If you don’t love to run, don’t do it. There’s so many other things to do. So it was clear for me, soccer wasn’t my thing. Dance, loved it. So I always been active in dance, and continued that. throughout college, I was on a Semi Pro dance team. After graduate school, when I was in graduate school, I was kind of wondering, okay, what do I, what do I do? I got a Masters of Science psychology, as you had mentioned in my, in my bio, and I was considering, do I go for my doctorate at this point, I realized I don’t love it enough to commit all the years that it takes to get that. And then I was wondering, okay, what would be a career that people would respect if I don’t become a PhD in psychology? What What’s another career that people would say, Hmm, okay, she’s, this girl is she’s successful. So I thought, okay, maybe I’ll go to law school. So I took an L SAT prep class, took the L SAT, all the while realizing I was doing it for the respect of others, not because I loved the field of it, or really lit me up, or it was something that really captivated me. So took the outset, and I was getting to the point where I was applying to schools, and I realized there is such like, this negative sense around this, like, I’m not doing this for the right reasons. So I decided, Hey, I’m going to take some time off and not apply. It was like 1000 pounds being, you know, lifted off my shoulders. And I realized, okay, yeah, it felt so much better. I realized, okay, I’m doing it for the wrong reason. And so there’s a theme here, and that you’ve got to do what feels right for you, whether it’s activity, whether it’s, whether it’s a job, the movement, whatever it is. And then I was thinking, Okay, what do we do? So I worked in corporate for a while and although, many, many years prior to this, family and friends had come to me when they had questions about fitness, or nutrition or healthy lifestyles, I was kind of like the one that would go to because they knew it had been something that I was drawn to throughout my life have moved a lot and my husband was in the military. And we both did different graduate school programs. So we’ve had a lot of different chapters, and a lot of different places lived in almost actually lived in all the time zones, sometimes multiple times, we’ve moved a lot, but the consistent things that actually I’ve kept up with moving my body, even if it’s like, hey, moving days tomorrow, moving up the house, like I’m not gonna like go crazy, but if I can fit in a workout, like it makes me feel good. So it’s been lose this consistent thread. And I then realized, you know, I think I think I might become certified in this and my friends and family were like, go for it, do it. So I did inside when I was working full time in corporate and I devoured the material and loved it. It felt so good to be learning more about you know, the body I come from a family of medical professionals. So there’ll be times I would be discussing some of the content with them diving deeper learning about things about a question so it really kind of piqued my interest. And so I decided that after becoming certified and working on doing trading on the side, this is always going to be a side hustle unless I kind of pull the rug out from under myself. And really went for it. And I had the support, fortunately, of my husband, of my family and friends, and they said, Go for it, you know, life is short. So that’s kind of been my mentality is that you never know, unless you try. There are a few things in this life that are really permanent.
10:21
Other than that, we can kind of choose to try things. And it won’t be we may feel in a moment like this is like, so permanent, but it’s actually really not written in stone. So that gave me some of the freedom to decide to start the business and to turn the passion into a full time career. And it really has married my interest in connecting with people, helping them feel more alive. My interest in the body, my interest in psychology, fitness, nutrition. I’m currently pregnant now, in my third trimester. And so I’ve become certified also in prenatal postnatal movement. That’s been fascinating. And then also something that I think that really satisfies me, as I love to get to know more about people. And when you’re working with them in a small group, or even in a group setting, but definitely one on one, you get to know them well and ask questions. And it’s it really satisfies that curious side of me that if it were socially acceptable, I would ask everyone, all these deep questions, it would be like this girls are weird. This allows me to do it under the guise of it’s you know, it’s it’s my profession, so to understand their lifestyles, what is their day, like how they feel about themselves and getting deep into that, so I can have the context understanding to best serve them. So it’s how it all came to be.
Doug Lotz 11:47
Yeah. So when was all that? When did all that start? When did Florida lease start up? And I’m kind of curious also to hear like, you know, how things changed in the last, you know, year. So with COVID, and everything, obviously, things kind of went upside down for a lot of fitness. So curious to get that story two?
12:07
Yeah, they, this was about, I think, 2014 I think, like December 2014, was when I had the meeting with the attorney to draw up the Articles of Organization and create the LLC and do all that. So I think it was late.
Doug Lotz 12:24
That’s literally when cardiac cast was founded. December 4. Yeah. 2014. Got all the LLC stuff together. We’re a C Corp now. But yeah, cycle cast back then. But it’s so funny. Yeah. So exact same timeline. I’ve kind of made that same plunge.
12:42
Yeah. Oh, that’s so cool. Well, I’ll be thinking of you in December. And they can Happy birthday to you guys. When we share a business birthday. That’s super cool. We’re the same age. Yeah. In that respect. So yeah, it was Yeah, late 2014. And then transition into 2015 started. And then I think that was later on that year, I started to become more full time with the business. And to answer your question about how the transition has gone. Given the pandemic and how that’s changed the scene. It’s actually been one, it’s been very positive. For me, I was very fortunate in how this has played out, it doesn’t mean that every moment has been great. It’s been a lot of transitions, a lot of ups and downs, definitely. I’m probably not alone in this. I do suffer from a lot of self doubt. Sometimes feeling like, Okay, this is going so well sometimes be like, Oh, is this worth it? I don’t know. But I think what’s one of the unique aspects of my business is I started to work virtually with clients back when the only video platform available with Skype, and this was probably about 2015. And the reason I started to connect with clients over Skype was because at the time, my husband was active duty military, and one of my clients were at work, spouses, partners of someone in the military, when they were active, retired, whatever, separated. And so there was a lot of moving happening for myself and my clients. Sometimes people would, you know, be stationed after three years, two years, one year, a few months. And the traditional relationship of connecting in a brick and mortar location, physically in one place. That gets disrupted when someone obviously has to move when one party moves. And I’m sure you Douglas and everyone else, myself included. We all have certain types of instructors or classes or people that really resonate with us and that’s what keeps us coming back for more. And so if you’ve made it connection with someone whether that be your trainer or or good nutritionist or your group fitness instructor, if that situation changes, and you don’t have access to that person anymore, that can really change things and might really change your level of motivation. Maybe how your body feels it can really be, it can be disruptive to use that word again. So I quickly realized that in order to maintain this relationship with clients connecting over Skype, which is what it was, that was really the only thing at the time, way before zoom. At least to my knowledge, that’s what I was using to connect with clients. So I had clients and other countries and yeah, and
Doug Lotz 15:44
yeah, cool. So you were already doing the whole video thing and learning the challenges of that. You know, it can be Yeah, challenging to say the least, I’m sure. Especially back in the Skype days, I’m sure you had a few few glitches and things to have to deal with there. But yeah, pretty, pretty cool. You got on the on the boat early for that. probably helped a lot and just transitioning this last year. But yeah, so I mean, things are opening up a little bit, hopefully soon here. We actually, you know, with cardiac Astley, a lot of folks use our app at the gym. So we’re very excited to get people back in sort of working out in their normal spaces again. So that’s, that’s exciting. Looking forward to that, as we move on in the year here, you know, vaccines are getting distributed. So, so yeah, so I’m kind of, I want to dive a little bit into sort of your, you know, your, your practice around fitness and your philosophy and everything. So, so let’s start there. Actually, let’s start at the high level. So how would you describe your last few around health and fitness? Like what? You know, what is fitness mean? For you?
16:54
I begin to put it really kind of, bluntly, I consider it a moving meditation. Hmm.
Doug Lotz 17:01
Nice. Yeah. Now, there’s definitely a mental and a physical component that goes on, like this morning. I mean, you know, this is I obviously have a fitness app where, you know, I love listening to your trainer, and I love you know, coach, and I love getting all that awesome music and everything getting pumped up. And sometimes, I was just literally on the rower this morning. Just that meditative movement of like, you know, sort of the physical and mental focus involved. There is pretty cool. But yeah, so I agree with that. That’s a nice one to get kind of like, well, with people I say, with yoga, if I was more flexible, I think yoga would be more of a moving meditation. It’s a little bit of a struggle. But something that’s Yeah, this is this is guy problem.
17:44
It could happen to anybody really, I mean, women, men, anybody on spectrum, wherever you are, you’re not alone. In that feeling. I was gonna say, I think mood meditation comes to mind, because it’s an opportunity to kind of push distractions aside, and you’re connecting with your body. And maybe you’re really focusing on mentally activating muscles thinking about, okay, what is it I need to do, I want to think about my breathing, or think about using these muscles, maybe it’s a combination of that maybe you’re like, so into the music, and that is just what’s like, getting you going and you’re feeling so connected and alive, maybe you’re able to, you know, get into a place where you’re processing things mentally. And it’s like, there was a problem or an exciting thing there you’re kind of it can be this, this method of just spending time that can allow, you know, connect the body, the music, your mind, whatever kind of combination based on the class, the structure, how you’re feeling that day, what you need. And it’s also really cool when some of the more complex parts of the movement and new you’re having to think about Okay, like want to get this combination down or something and it’s building these new neural connections in your brain and that is wonderful for all ages. And that is another beautiful component of what moving can be. Yeah,
Doug Lotz 19:17
yeah, especially So you mentioned that whole you know, while dance you’re saying is like you know, passion right and that whole I did musical theater a little bit growing up and just that was always you know, a little bit of a Yeah, it’s it’s that whole mind body connection of trying to like figure out you know, your rhythm The music of your own movement through space. Definitely a meditative practice in its own right but so what’s your What is your that what what kind of exercises do you like to do on a weekly basis obviously, things may be a little different now that you’re vegan but you’re interested to hear the differences there too. And your weekly routine and, and what you like to do, you know, stay fit.
19:57
I’m a big fan of bringing in different elements of different modalities that I really love. So, big fan of plyometrics I was jumping today doing some tuck jumps, almost 3131 weeks pregnant. Hope that’s all right. So far, so good. I’m feeling okay. I don’t know, I’m having to modify my push ups.
Doug Lotz 20:21
I’m not an expert. But it’s out. I’m not, but it sounds kind of like, scary,
20:26
but I’m feeling good. So I love I love plyo I love strength. I love balanced movements. I really love using resistance bands weights. And there’s also like a kind of playful monkey side to me that like, you know, love some pull ups, some of that like kind of Monkey Bar stuff like kind of gymnast esque liberal elements of Pilates of bar of yoga. But I would say that a lot of my workouts are very much a mixture. I love when there’s their hit elements where maybe we’re doing, you know, some strength movements. And then we’re going to go into a cardio burst, we’re doing some more strength going into cardio so that it’s efficient. I’m very aware of the finite amount of time that a lot of my clients or people who come to my classes have. And so I want to figure out, Okay, how can I deliver the most bang for their buck, so that they’re able to make 30 minutes, which I will totally admit, I used to be someone who thought 30 minute workout like that even worth it Come on. And then I’ve come to realize, whoa, if you do it right, 30 minutes can be crazy. I mean, I still maintain and I think the hardest workout I ever did that a personal training institute a couple years ago. And it was a tr x class, which I’m also a huge trs fan, love what that has done in our tr X’s going around the world to us, if it had its own passport, it had if it had some nice would have some nice stamps in it, because it’s such a great thing to throw into the bag and take around. But it was a to x class, it was a 12 minute class. And I think it also another reason I was like ratcheting up like so many levels was because I had a good trainer friend who was at the Institute with me, and we partnered up and he was like my trainer for this 12 minute round. And oh my gosh, I think I just had to like, lie on the ground afterwards. And I had never pushed myself like that in 12 minutes. So come to learn. Yeah, the short classes can be super effective. When done properly, I’m very much mindful form and breathing, the other components of my classes that people can expect. And also the addition of the music really big. being someone who has a dance background love incorporating the beat to the music, the chorus, like all of that, or the words being some new musical theater, like you probably love that too. You know, you you understand that?
Doug Lotz 22:55
Totally agree with you there. Yeah, I mean, looking back at, you know, inspirations for starting cardio cast, this will be based workout, right. So it was cycle cast back in the day, and we wanted to do indoor cycling classes. You know, I was lucky enough to find some folks, Noel, and Jonathan’s are on our app still today who really pushed this whole beat base ride. And I’m like, yeah, that’s that’s what it’s all about. For me. Like, I love music. And that’s why I got into this. And that, that was the only reason I that’s what kept me going in my workout. So yeah, that’s the huge part of it for us, particularly for me, but it sounds like your workouts are really creative. That’s like a lot of mixture of different, different things going on, and must take some sort of effort to plan that stuff and put everything together and combining cardio and strength. That’s, that’s good for like, you’ve got this compact experience that gets you kind of everything you need to get in one place. That’s kind of cool.
23:51
Yeah, I like for my clients to feel like in a way, this is like a one stop shop like they can find, you know, if there’s someone who’s like, like I said, loving, like the strength side of things, the boot camp side, the Pilates, the bar, the hit like the plyo, the cardio, like, they’re going to get a lot of that in different parts of classes. So I want to keep it fresh, keep it interesting. So you’re not quite sure what to expect, you know, it’s going to be a challenge, but you’ll be able to get through it. And then I’ve also learned the offering modifications is also really important because I don’t want people to feel like a failure or like not want to come back. I want them to feel welcomed. If there’s a way for me to make this work like
Doug Lotz 24:39
awesome. So do you do a lot of one on one or is it you have group classes as well? I think I’ve seen a little bit of both and sort of your your bio there.
24:47
Exactly. Yeah, I’m doing I do both. So I have a membership club. And there are four live classes that people can drop into that a week and then they also get the on demand recordings. Have those live classes. So there are some people who never attend live, they follow all of the classes on demand whenever it fits their schedule. But there’s a community aspect of that, like we had a happy hour last night. So members come and do that. Yeah, we do monthly workshops. We have one next week. So I do the group stuff. And then I also love the one on one, I think that there’s beauty to both. And something I’ve done in the past that I’ll be launching again, after baby boy comes is getting back into the small group kind of environment so that I’m able to look more closely at the form of clients, and then also have a group community feeling. So I think there’s a there’s a beautiful sweet spot that can be achieved when you’re working in that environment.
Doug Lotz 25:48
Yeah, so obviously, we do sort of, you know, broadcast delivery content on cardio casts, but we’re looking at ways to make that more personalized. So I’m curious to get your take from, you know, somebody who’s trains, groups and trains, you know, people one on one, like, you know, how much of a difference and what what benefits are you bringing to the table when you’re in that sort of one on one environment with somebody?
26:10
Yeah, I think the one on one environment is a chance to really make it an incredibly safe space, where people are very honest about, you know, what’s going on, like, maybe one reason why they’re feeling a little tired or unmotivated might be that there’s something happening, like in a relationship, or something with work, I get to really understand and have a deeper context. Maybe, you know, they had a family member or someone in their life who was really hard on them, or maybe was critical of them, like their eating habits. And that’s kind of affected how, you know, they’ve made different choices today. So I think also, I’ve always found that people open up to me, and I really love to go deep, like I can dabble on the surface for a while. But I also really loved like, get into like, the nitty gritty, the why, like, let’s get vulnerable, I’d love to be an open book and share my experience. So I think that the one on ones really allow me to do that. And I can also say that, you know, from more like an emotional perspective, but
Doug Lotz 27:10
from a physical sense that pasture psychology didn’t put the work.
27:16
Yeah, exactly. That hat starts to kind of, you know, get placed on the head. And so then from like, the physical perspective, I’m able to really see look at their forms or to understand the movement patterns really work on trying to correct some of movement patterns, sometimes may be ingrained. You know, from just years of, however, they did something, maybe prior sports or something like and really start to understand like, what they like how to best challenge them, and to be very mindful if they have any limitations if they’ve had any surgeries, whatever their life circumstances. So I think those are some of the things that
Doug Lotz 27:55
Yeah, I’m really personalizing it to them. Exactly. Yeah. So I try to Well, not quite switch gears kind of stays in the same vein, but I’m curious to, to hear. You know, you’re you’re in the business of giving health advice to people. What is the best piece of health and fitness advice that you personally have ever received?
28:16
Oh, good question. Ah, man, this is really, really good. Oh, wow. Yeah, I think I think this may not be what you would expect? Well, maybe it’s got some unexpected, but I think it’s, it has to do with, with this, listening to your body. With really listening to your body, your body really knows a lot. And that can come in the form of and I think that this is something that a lot of people might think like, what I can’t imagine being in the situation, but for some people, they really might, there are some people where it really takes a lot for them to make the workout happen to show up, whether it’s a group one on one, whatever it is, it’s a challenge. There’s also a growing number of people who they are, they’ve been in a committed place, like they show up and make it happen, whether it’s you know, group one, or one small group, whatever. And taking that rest can be really challenging. And realizing, you know, what, taking a rest day, maybe two rest days a week, can I do that? What will happen? Well, I lose all of my all of my progress. And I think I used to come from a place where thinking I got the time I got the energy and like let’s go for it, and was kind of looking at it as like, let’s let’s bang it out. And I started to realize that the rest day is as an important part of your training regimen as the other days. So as I’ve worked with different kinds of clients and athletes and also with my Myself, I think when I started to incorporate more rest, I think that I started to value and the other days I was training, even more than my body was grateful for it. My mind was grateful for it, or my mind was grateful for it. It made a lot of changes, I think. And then also look, look at what a day could hold. Not every single day has to hold a workout. But some people, they think, you know, and then even though it can be overwhelming to think, Oh, I gotta do this every day. Like,
Doug Lotz 30:26
yeah, I mean, mentally and physically. Like, the other thing is injury. Right? You kind of, yeah, I mean, we’re in the business of helping people to get a lot of people need help to get their right to get to the point where they’re working out regularly. But you know, once you get going, I think there’s a tendency, like you’re saying, if it depends on your personality, I guess it depends on what you what you like to do your lifestyle as well, like, it’s easy enough to be determined, so determined, and something to maybe overdo it. I did that with running, like, multiple times, I started running, you know, just trying to be good, you know, building up my own room, I’ll have to, like just building it up slowly. And then just like for what, uh, you know, my knee hurts a little bit, I it’ll be alright, I just got to keep going. Or else I’m never gonna do it. Now. I get it, you know, it vend issues and like, I’m out for like, you know, six months, you know, a kid just can’t run more than like two miles for like, the next six months. So that ended that attempted running. And I think that probably happened like two or three times before I finally started, like, you know, Okay, I gotta, like, I gotta chill if I’m like, I don’t know what it is about my, you know, physiology. But, you know, I just was really hard to add miles. So, you know, anyway, we ended up, I ended up finally being able to run more by using stuff like, you know, what we built in cardio cast, like interval runs where you’re, you know, you’re running, but then you’re, you’re stopping and you’re taking a break, and you’re jogging, and then you’re running and you’re stopping to your brain, that sort of progressive sort of intervals like that. But But yeah, no, definitely interesting. And a good point, especially, you know, coming from people who are all about, like, adding fitness to your life, that sometimes adding workouts to your life, sometimes you got to take those workouts away, or just like, give yourself some breathing room or, you know, your your muscles and your ligaments, some breathing room.
32:17
Absolutely, yeah, they need time to be able to repair like, you know, they’re little tears you’re making in your body with the muscles, that’s how they grow. And then the other part of that, which I touched on the beginning of this conversation was I realized the soccer was not for me, I dabbled in it, I had some friends, like stayed on. And I was like, I just can tell even as a little kid like, this, I’m not enjoying. But like, dance, I’m loved. And I still love today. So it might be that all your friends are going to some type of class or it’s trendy in your work group, office, friend, group, whatever you’re hearing all about this workout running, like, physiologically, I’ve realized that running is not something that’s good for my joints, it’s for my body, the way that my body was built from my mom’s side of my dad’s side, if there’s going to be running, it needs to be minimal bits of it, because it’s just not suited for my, for my body. But there are other things that my body is well suited for that really like, fill me up, and I enjoy that activity that I won’t dread. So if you’re dreading something, it might be that you know, your body’s telling you something your mind your heart, listen up to it. You know, that’s the other part of this whole like listening. You’re dreading
Doug Lotz 33:29
something, try something else.
33:33
Yeah, and there’s so many so many workouts under the sun. Oh, my gosh, all kinds of instructors. And what’s incredible now is like, what you do with cardio cast, like you can reach so many different people like thanks to technology, like I can reach so many people, thanks to technology. So no longer is like, Oh, well, I live in XYZ city. And that sounds super cool. But that’s, you know, across the country, it’s like, there’s probably a way now that you’re able to do that virtually. And like, that’s awesome. Or if you want to go into the studio, if you live close to it, that’s great. There’s so many options. So don’t feel that you have to stick with one particular thing, like, and also different chapters of life. You might be like, Hey, I’m super into tennis right now. And then I’d be like, wow, that was awesome. I loved it. I’m gonna hang up the racket. Now let’s get into like capoeira. I don’t know. Like, there’s so many things you can do. So it’s up to you just listen to yourself.
Doug Lotz 34:26
Yeah, definitely rotate. I mean, one week I’ll be we were launching elliptical workouts, like, little ways back and I was like, I was so into it. That’s all I was doing. And then we’re like, oh, we want to do rowing. I’m like, hey, okay, then I got into that. I’m like, oh, now I’m like, doing wrong all the time. Before it was running. And I just do I kind of, I mean, this is like, maybe just, it keeps it interesting for me. You know, I just go from different things a different thing. And once I’m kind of not feeling it anymore, I move on. And it’s not like, you know, sure, like everybody can say like, Oh, this workout. It’s X percent of these muscles and it’s like the most efficient thing ever. It’s like, okay, that’s fine. But you know, I’m kind of bored, you know, and I don’t do it, then it’s not really doing me any good. Now it’s,
35:09
yeah, check out all the benefits of it. But like, if we’re not doing it, we’re not enjoying it. And it feels like a dreadful experience. Like, don’t waste your time, life is short,
Doug Lotz 35:19
better to do something you do enjoy. So, the other thing I would say, you know, from my perspective, I’m just thinking like, workouts and, you know, burning calories is important, but what calories and what you know, nutritional content you choose to put into your body is such a huge piece of the whole fitness puzzle. You know, we really haven’t cardio cast crossed that you know, the Rubicon into nutritional advice or anything yet, but I, you know, I will say is like, my sort of off, you know, maybe unconventional for a guy who focuses on fitness piece of advice is that nutrition is actually more important, if you’re looking at weight loss, like, if you’re looking at, you know, just body composition, and, you know, fat to muscle and everything, like, what you’re eating is gonna be, like, literally more impactful than then, you know, being active and moving. And everything is very important. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great for your mind as much as it’s for your body. But like, you kind of have to, you know, you have to think about what you’re putting into yourself. So, yeah, so I’m actually curious, what’s your weekly diet? Is it all like, you know, cod and like, sweet potatoes? Or is it something where
36:28
it’s, it’s actually, people might be kind of surprised that I’m more balanced, and, you know, varied than you may expect. I think people used to have this idea of, like, Oh, she probably never eats anything, you know, sweet. And it’s like, super regimented. Like, why rice and chicken and like steamed spinach, broccoli. And, and maybe this actually, is very much similar to us, for them, the best piece of nutrition advice I’d received, or a fitness advice, and which was to listen to your body. So that is something actually that I applied to the way that I eat. So I’m a big fan of intuitive eating, listening to your body, and trying to you know, to check in read the signals, especially women, we have such hormonal changes throughout the day. Like, if you look at the hormonal, you know, ups and downs of what a woman experiences one day, and one day versus a man like, it’s so vastly different. So a woman’s needs are going to be changing her energy levels from you know, regardless of mood, like how she’s just feeling throughout that day. And men have these changes, too. But it’s also about, but listening and realizing that you may, you know, have a day where you have more physical output, like today is a very physical day for me. So I’m going to be naturally feeling more hungry, because I am doing more. And so I’m going to honor myself and listen to myself by fueling myself more, that’s what I’m going to be needing. On days when I’m maybe not as active, I may not feel as hungry. I still want to make sure I’m fueling myself enough, but it doesn’t need to be it’s doesn’t even need to be this like set like caloric intake or macronutrient intake. I personally have never been someone who has followed any particular diet. don’t weigh myself and actually heard about this as a side note, a really cool thing called no way May. So not using your scale in the in the month of May. Isn’t that awesome? Like just to free yourself of that. Oh my gosh, one of my clients told me about that last night and she was saying that she is feeling really good. And her coworker is noticing that she’s doing things that she didn’t even tell them that she joined my membership club, but she’s been doing the workouts and so she’s feeling really confident about that. But she had weighed herself and she’s like, oh, gosh, these last x y z pounds, like five pounds, and she heard about no way and they she was like, yep, I’m throwing it out to the side. I’m not really looking at it because that can affect how you feel. So I’m a fan of just that intuitive eating listening to yourself. I kind of joke I’m like the the trainer nutritionist who always loves something sweet. Like we’re just wrapping up the kind of spring season. So I’ve been loving my Cadbury cream eggs. Even if I were not pregnant, I would still be enjoying the Cadbury cream bags. I think that life is too short, which I’ve mentioned a couple times now to restrict yourself from the things you really enjoy. It’s about being mindful eating, if you’re going to enjoy something like I don’t know, some sweet treat grandma’s cookies, whatever the things are, like, be present, enjoy it. Remember that you have control the food is not alive. I mean fermented foods, whatever they like, probiotics, whatever, live cultures, but they don’t have like, the higher you know, brain power and intelligence that you have the kids you know, say like, eat me, I’m here. I’m a cookie. So, by being more balanced in that way, I think that’s always important. I’d love to have a veggie forward diet, but to me, nothing is off limits. For going to, I don’t know, my husband and I were doing some errands over the weekend and there was a Broadway stand and we actually were in a hurry. So we didn’t have a chance to get up. I was like, oh man, like, we could share a Broadway it’s like, and that’s something again, that I’m not making excuses for just because I’m pregnant. And also, that’s not a time to be like, let’s just throw in the towel and go crazy, because you want to think about how you’re feeling yourself. But I think it’s about listening to yourself and vegetables, heart healthy fats, complex carbohydrates, fiber, lots of water, loving sweet potatoes.
Doug Lotz 40:34
I was going to say, you know, like, the sort of gym, gym rat diet of like, you know, just like, yeah, I’m gonna do like, all you know, this fish. Yeah. Wait, like, what was it? I think it was the rock or somebody, you know, Dwayne Johnson was like, eating just like all this. Like, if you looked at his diet, it was like all this Cod. I think it was Cod. And I was chuckling about that. But yeah, no, I am an everything kind of person in my diet to just thought, you know, yeah, it’s like, you know, hey, you already know how to eat healthy, going to McDonald’s and getting you know, all the, you know, Big Mac, you know, three times a week, that’s probably not healthy. Like, you know, just think about a little bit. You know, eating fried food every day, probably not healthy, like you, you have a cookie, or an apple, like, Sure, you can have the cookie every once in a while. But if you have, like, you know, I’m not a big apple guy, myself, to be honest. But if it was, like, replace it with like, you know, mango or something, there are two ways there’s, you know, multiple ways to get sweet as well. And if you’re, you know, but anyway, so what I’m getting at is, like, some of the obvious choices are obvious. You know, I think when you’re splitting hairs, like I mentioned earlier, like a back in the 90s, like, all fat was bad, you know, like in your diet, I think the you can get carried away with sort of purging certain items, or like thinking that going on a one track mind that something isn’t good for you, or all carbs are bad, like, Yeah, all carbs are bad, whatever, you know, whatever it is, you know, don’t go that extreme direction, but make the basic choices of knowing like, that’s something that is, you know, like highly processed, right, or packaged and reconstituted in a million ways, probably not quite as good as you know, something that’s, you know, God’s a few basic ingredients and an obvious, you know, set of foods that you can recognize, so, yeah, so just to sort of, you know, wrap things up here, because we’re getting close to time. You know, what’s next for you? Obviously, have a baby on the way. So that’s kind of the obvious, immediate next, but any new projects, you know, any future goals or anything you can share about what’s what’s coming up?
42:35
Yes, I have got a lot of cool things on the way. So in addition to little guy coming this summer, I am putting out very soon an on demand prenatal workout video series. And so I’ve been filming myself doing three workouts a week since I was 13 weeks pregnant, and I’ll be 31 Weeks Pregnant this week. So I’m building up a ton of content, all those workouts are about 20 minutes. And I’m, I’ve utilized all of my education and certification to how to work safely with a prenatal crew. And I think as I mentioned, like, I’m feeling so strong in my core, and my muscles, I’m able to do practicing different movement patterns that you know, mom is doing real life. Like, it’s, I’ve learned that there’s a lot of misinformation in the nutrition world in the fitness world, you know, it’s like, got to do this thing, there’s got to eat these things. Or don’t do this or don’t do that. There’s been a lot of misinformation in what the pregnant crew has been told, it’s like, you know, have an active pregnancy But beyond that, there’s nothing specific and what’s safe, like, Oh, don’t do any core work, but actually know your core is so essential, your core your pelvic floor,
Doug Lotz 43:49
I mean, my immediate reaction earlier to like jumping, I’m like, I don’t know, I don’t know if that’s okay. Like, you know, this is this is where I think that what you’re developing there can be really helpful, you know, I think there’s probably, you know, just from being around the fitness world hurdle a little bit more, you know, about just maintaining, you know, an active lifestyle when you’re pregnant. And that that’s, you know, perfectly natural thing to do, you shouldn’t be just like, you know, putting yourself on this, like pedestal of you know, inactivity or it really is actually going to be counter you know, to you know, keeping your body healthy during that time. So that’s really interesting. And I think that’s, it’s exciting people go check it out. So So how do how do people find out more about you and staying in touch in search for what you got coming next?
44:35
Yeah, so I’ve got a new website coming actually gonna be rebranding but for now, the best place to reach me is to go to my Instagram, which is @fleurdelisfitness. And that’s fleurdelisfitness so you can follow that. You can also go to chatwithclaire.com and book a time and let’s chat 20 minutes totally free. I would just love to learn, you know more about you connect, what are some of your goals and you know how it can be a resource to you in some way. And at the very least, just kind of get to know you. So, as I mentioned before, I really love to get to know people meet them, putting faces to names. And even if let’s say you’re listening to this podcast episode, like months, years down the road, it’s never too late to get started with a healthy lifestyle. It’s never too late to reach out. So you can say, Hey, I heard you on this podcast like a year ago, some people might think it’s too random or too, too much time has passed to get in touch, but I always welcome it. So let’s get in touch. Yeah, absolutely.
Doug Lotz 45:43
Well, thanks for joining me today. It’s great talking to you.
45:46
Likewise, this is so cool to connect, love to speak more. You know, people who are like in the same industry and like I believe firmly that what we do is complimentary. It’s collaborative, there’s room in the sandbox for everyone to play, it’s not competitive. What you offer is different than what I offer. I should probably try some of the different classes because it’s it’s great to get exposure to different instructors and ways of doing things I think we can always learn from each other. So coming at it from this collaborative rather than competitive space, which I definitely feel like the openness is awesome. Much appreciated.
Doug Lotz 46:29
Yeah, no, for sure. I mean, we’re we always consider you know, with like a $10. Or even if you get an annual like $7.50 cent subscription, right or even less, because we do this burnin earn thing where you can earn your subscription fee back. I mean, we’re a very, we’re just one piece of a fitness puzzle for people. You know, if you just want to get a good treadmill workout, and you know, we got that for you, but you can still go to your Pilates class, you can still, you know, go on with Claire and do a session like you know, so it’s all just, it’s kind of a piece of the puzzle. So it’s, as I said, very excited for people to get back in gyms and to explore other things like you know, like what you’re offering So, so yeah, so thanks, everybody for listening. And thanks again, Claire. And remember, you can follow us on Instagram at CardioCast app. And of course, please remember to Like, Subscribe or otherwise follow this podcast on your podcast service of choice. So thanks a lot, everybody for tuning in and have a great day. Hey, everyone, if you like the CardioCast CoolDown, please don’t forget to leave us a review wherever you’re listening. You can also connect with us on Instagram at CardioCast App, and check out our website, CardioCast.app and check out our app on the App Store or Play Store. See you next week.
