Jill Fratianne 0:02

Welcome to the Unscripted Symphony, the podcast where courage takes the lead and life's greatest opportunities happen between the notes. I'm Jill Frattianne, and with Each Week, we'll explore the stories, lessons, and bold decisions that remind us to do it scared, trust the process, and create a life that's uniquely your own. Okay, today we have Jen. She is a fitness and health coach, former national level fitness competitor, and a proud mom of two with 30 years of experience and 10 plus certifications. She's driven by an authentic mission to help clients get strong inside and out, feel empowered, and build their most sustainable fit and healthy lifestyle. All fueled by strong coffee, community, endorphins, love, and laughter. Welcome, Jen. And from those listening, Jen is a tool in my toolbox. And I thought it was only fair that I share you with the rest of the world, Jen. Welcome.

Jen Tedford 1:11

Ah, Jill, you're so sweet. Thank you for that welcome. Daryl. So let's get into it.

Jill Fratianne 1:17

Happy to be happy to have you. Let's get into it. So, what's the biggest reason you see keeping your client stuck? What is it? You train how I I can't even for those, you know, meeting you for the first time, you train so many people. But really, what is the biggest thing that you keep you see keeping your client stuck?

Jen Tedford 1:42

Yeah, that's such a great question because I feel like that is why people are, you know, have a hard time creating a lifestyle that's sustainable for them. I mean, in this day and age, first of all, we are bombarded with information, right? We're on a, you know, very fast-moving lifestyle of just taking information in, right? Short bits of information. So it leaves so many people confused, right? And growing up in the 80s and the 90s, all the commercials that are completely driven to be marketed towards you, but also confuse you about the whole fitness world in the health worlds. Um, so that's number one. I find that a lot of people are bombarded by so much information and they're just under analysis paralysis. Right. But also I find that people wait for motivation. Like, you know, I've been doing this for 30 years. There's not, there's rarely a day I wake up and want to train, right? Mating, waiting for motivation is like waiting for something that's never going to happen because typically it doesn't. We have to develop systems and habits that keep us grounded in that fitness lifestyle that make, you know, our workouts and eating well almost like a uh almost like brushing your teeth, right? It's non-negotiable, it's just something you do because you know that doing it is going to expand your energy for the day and help you show up better for your career, your family, your kids. Um, so I think those are the two biggest pieces of um information as far as why people just, you know, have such a struggle.

Jill Fratianne 3:27

Information right, information overload and waiting for motivation.

Jen Tedford 3:35

Yes, 100%. Yeah.

Jill Fratianne 3:38

So in watching your career from afar, too. So from going from a fitness competitor to a beautiful woman, mom, personal trainer, how have your workouts changed from those days? Um, are they different from when you were competing?

Jen Tedford 3:58

Yeah, that's such a loaded question with so many directions I can go in, to be honest.

Jill Fratianne 4:03

Yeah.

Jen Tedford 4:03

Like fit, I mean, people look at fitness competitors and like, wow, they're so in shape, right? But what goes into that may not be like the healthiest, the healthiest habits or the healthiest ways to get super fit, right? Like it's a very demanding way of training and not something I would ever repeat with any of my clients. And especially now being 49 and just wanting to stay sane and stay fit and stay mobile. Um having said all of that, it was amazing to train for shows and competitions because it gave me mental and emotional grit. But that was a very specific way to train that, you know, just to create a look, but also it was super depleting and demanding on the body. These days, for myself and for my clients, I want to train them to be better, to feel better, right? Feel better in their everyday life, have tons of energy, tons of vitality, move better, be able to do the things that they love with their kids and their grandkids, and always goes back to that.

Jill Fratianne 5:08

You're a big walking pusher too, Jen. You love the walks. I know. Yes. Tell me about that though, because it's such a counteractive thing to push. Then we learned in the 90s or you know, even the early 2000s. Walking wasn't promoted, but tell us a little bit about what you've learned about walking, both for yourself and how you've seen it with clients.

Jen Tedford 5:39

I'm laughing because I used to be that a-hole 20-year-old fitness fanatic that would make fun of the 40-year-old power walkers, and I'd be like, Why can't you just pick it up? Why can't you run? Now I get it. It's like right walking.

unknown 5:54

Right.

Jen Tedford 5:54

It's not even about being unable to push it. It's again, it comes back to that information. Like people are so brainwashed that it's calories in, calories out. But that is an oversimplified equation, right? Yes, when everything is paid attention to and everything is healthy, maybe calories in, calories out. But you have to understand the harder you push, the more your demand your body demands back from you. So when you stay in a space where you're not pushing so hard that you're not throwing your body off balance all the time because you're not recovering well, you're able to get super fit and stay super fit. And I found walking to be a huge asset in that. And it's not because it's a huge calorie burner, it's because it grounds you, right? We're all stressed out, whether it's from our kids again, our parents' aging, our careers, we're all so friggin' stressed out. Ten minutes into a walk, you feel it all wash away. And that feeling is connection to your sorry, it's a connection to your body, right? That though those endorphins, the dopamine, the serotonin sends chemicals to your body to tell it to relax when you're walking. It's a central nervous system response. And when you're relaxed, the systems in your body work well. Again, I'm gonna go back and repeat, you're gonna make good decisions, you're not gonna overeat because you've pounded on your body so much. It's you know, just a great way to add activity to your day, add clarity to your day, add, you know, a healing connection with yourself to a day that's not gonna beat your body into submission and to overeating and depleting your energy. Sunday, huge walking pin.

Jill Fratianne 7:44

Yeah, it's one of your it's one of your non-negotiables. You talk about it a lot to all. I do. You do.

Jen Tedford 7:51

Right. And if you live on the seacoast, you'll see me with my phone doing my uh little Instagram stories as I'm walking off my problems. Yeah, it's definitely become a tool that instead of uh you know, drinking or instead of you know crying or like staying in anxiety, you just go for a walk. You let it out, you let your body recalibrate, right? So powerful. So powerful walking fan. It is, yeah.

Jill Fratianne 8:20

One thing if you can touch on too, the power of strength training. Now there's always the need to want to look good in our skin. We talk about this a lot in our training sessions, too. What are the other benefits of strength training besides just how we look?

Jen Tedford 8:43

Right. Okay, so strength training is what you have to do if you want to age well, period. Number one, it creates metabolic tissue in your body, right? It supports and keeps up with your muscle tissue. Your muscle muscle tissue is is active if your body as a in your body as opposed to adipose tissue fat or anything else that's in your body. So there's a hormonal response with strength training that will help kind of balance out all the other hormonal changes that happen as we age. So if we're not strength training, we're not using our greatest resource to get through perimenopause or whatever other hormonal issues happen or changes that happen as we age. Men, women, whatever. You gotta strength train if you want to have the best hormone profile because it helps everything. Number two, bone density. The stronger our muscles are, the stronger the support of those muscles need to be. You know, there's you know, there's an issue with women as we age. If we fall and break a hip, I'm not saying at 49, but maybe at 60, 70, that can be catastrophic for women because you just can't come back from it. Your system and your body can't support your recovery. You want strong, durable, dense bones to be able to take the impact of life as we age. Um yeah, it keeps your shape, right? Like unfortunately, as time passes, things start to drop, and that's okay, that can be beautiful, but why not fight back a little bit against it and keep the shape of your body? And it's not just a vanity issue, it's also a utilizate utilization issue. You're able to move better, right? Keep up with your grandkids, keep up with yourself, keep going for the hikes that you love to do, keep playing pickleball, like keep whatever you want to do going because your body is able to support your activities, right? So it's, you know, and there's so many more attributes of strength training from your cognitive issues to um, you know, your emotional well-being to gut health. It's just so expansive. If you are missing the boat on strength training, you know, you gotta do it. You gotta do it if you want to live live well. If you're not, you're making a choice to um start your physical demise, which starts your lifespan demise. So yeah, big proponent of that, obviously. Huge.

Jill Fratianne 11:19

And I know for for those listening, something Jen did for me. I had recently gone through knee surgery. And Jen is my little health angel that will text me all hours of the day, whether I want to hear it or not, in the best loving way that it's time to move, right? Right, and I remember I was sitting there in pain, I didn't know what to do. And something that Jen did for me, you created all of these workouts for me remotely to keep up my upper body strength, right? I couldn't use the knee at the time. Right. Um, but then having lived through surgery and come came coming out of it, I would say I was just so grateful. And it's another story of not going on this journey alone, Jen, right? Like we need people in our life. Oh my gosh, we hire professionals. Right. You outsource. We outsource, we hire professionals. But I remember after coming out of surgery and having to live off of crutches and a walker and trying to avoid blood clots and that having to get up every day. I felt the I think for the one one of the most grounding things, I felt for the really the first time the other benefits of strength training versus trying to look better. I needed to be able to balance on a walker with just my triceps, right? To have no load bearing or crutches. And I remember thinking, like, oh my gosh, if Jen hadn't been on my case, which I welcome in my life to make sure that I'm doing three days a week of upper body strength training, it didn't even occur to me pre-surgery that that would have been something that was so important to my recovery.

Jen Tedford 13:11

Right. And Jill, I was so impressed with how you managed that whole process. And I think it's just a testament to your whole work ethic and your adaptability, like knowing that being as fit as you could in the given circumstance to be able to manage that circumstance and the busy professional and personal life that you keep was a non-negotiable for yourself. That all started with your mindset and your adaptability. And yeah, I was so impressed the way you managed that and kept your head above water and controlled what you could. You weren't a victim. Yeah, we all have our moments, we all let it out, and yes, we need community for that. But you persevered and you just switched directions, managed it, still showed up at all your work functions, right? Still showed up for your family, yourself, most importantly. So yeah, I think you personified adaptability and flexibility in a challenging time like that with fitness.

Jill Fratianne 14:09

But it takes a village gen. I can tell you right now, if I didn't have my gen to be accountable to, I don't know if actually I could, I can, I could say I would not have the strength on my own, right? I would not. Right. Um for anyone listening who feels that way, again, this is why it's important to reach out to a trainer like a gen when you're going through something, because sometimes you have to rely on the courage of others keeping you accountable, but also who care for you, right? Keeping those those who truly appreciate and love you will also keep you accountable to whatever your goals are. And I think even at the beginning of this this talk, you had talked about the importance of keeping people around you that really want the best for you, right? And want and give you energy. And I think it's it's important for people to know that if they're in those vulnerable spots, that sometimes it's the best thing to reach out to a professional to help get you, to help keep you accountable. Because there were many days, Jen, I would have just sat there and cried in that bed in pain, going, I don't want to move today. It hurts too much, right? Um, but it's hard, it's hard. You have to you have to rely on the strength of others, right? Community is so very important. Absolutely.

Jen Tedford 15:44

And it's so synergistic too.

Jill Fratianne 15:46

It is. It is. So, what would you say to someone who is right now waking up to a body they don't remember? Okay. In their skin, they don't feel comfortable. They know it's time to take their health seriously, but they also know they're adults, right, how long that's gonna take. And it seems it seems impossible. They know enough to know they're educated, people know you gotta be healthy, you gotta do these things, which seems so hard. What would you say to someone in that spot?

Jen Tedford 16:25

Right. I think first of all, get outside of your brain. Like we in human nature, it's so natural to perseverate on our issues, right? We're all we all encounter encounter challenges in life, and being a victim and letting those challenges take over you is, you know, sometimes default. And it's okay to go a day, a week, you know, feeling sad for yourself, but then take control of what you can, right? Take control of what you can. And that starts number one with your mindset, and that starts with counting your blessings. Look around you, right? Look at the love in your life, right? Look at the Jills in your life, look at the family in your life, look at where you live and get yourself into a positive frame of mindset so that you're better equipped to make good decisions for yourself. And then stop waiting for the emotion to be right to start making good decisions. It's never gonna be right, right? You have to be logical. Make a list of the things that are gonna help you get out of your situation and just forge forward with that list. Keep a community around you that helps you stay accountable, or somebody around you that helps you stay accountable so that when you slide back into that emotional state, you don't stay there, right? You're able to again recalibrate, get back to your non-negotiables, get back to those things that you can control because there's always something you could control. And more often than not, your efforts start to compound. And the compounding of those efforts and that momentum naturally gives you that motivation that's fleeting. So it kind of begins to work on itself if you start to make good decisions for yourself. Just start, get a community around you, get somebody around you that has your best interest at heart. You know, look at everything around you that you're blessed with, change your mindset, and just wake up and make the choice day in, day out of those non-negotiables that are gonna push you further towards your goals.

Jill Fratianne 18:33

I love it. I love it. Thank you for joining all of us today. And if people want to find you, where do they find you?

Jen Tedford 18:42

Uh sumlikeitfit.com or my email is jen with one n at sumlikefit.com on Instagram, Sumlike Fit.

Jill Fratianne 18:50

I love it.

Jen Tedford 18:50

Or you can just ask Jill.

Jill Fratianne 18:53

Or yeah, you can just ask Jill. Amazing, Jen. Thank you for joining us, and we were we will absolutely have you back. Part one of part 75. Thanks for listening to the unscripted symphony. If today's conversation inspired you to take one courageous step forward, share this episode with someone who needs it. Remember, life isn't about playing every note perfectly, it's about having the courage to keep playing. Until next time, go create your own masterpiece.