When you start chasing your dreams, you end up building a business. That’s how it all got started for Fitmark Ambassador Randi Kennedy. She told us, “What I love most about being a fitness professional is that I have made a career out of something I love!” Now she’s an online fitness coach, personal trainer, and fitness competitor.
A photo posted by www.RandiKennedy.com (@randikennedy_)
The Fitness Journey
For Randi, it all started about four years ago somewhere in Calgary, Canada. She told us:
It started with Beach Body DVDs that I would do in my bedroom, that is how I fell in love with this lifestyle. I did Insanity and P90x. Once I finished those, I decided to start taking my fitness more seriously and got my first gym membership.
Randi is very passionate about fitness and this passion spills over into her business and her attitude.
5 Things Randi Loves About Fitness
- I love how I’ve made a career out of this! Out of something I love!
- I love working out!
- I love how it makes me feel – strong, capable and powerful
- I love knowing how the human body works. I find it extremely fascinating!
- I love learning about the best things for health and longevity.
The Life of the Fitness Entrepreneur
Randi brings a lot of passion to her work and for the past couple of years, she’s been focused on building her business – Randi Kennedy Fitness. It’s a tough job, but she loves every minute of it. She told us:
It’s so rewarding and motivating knowing that I work for myself and that I’m building something and investing my time in what I love, something that is my own. But as an entrepreneur, my work hours are much different than the regular 9-5. I work for myself, I’m building MY own dreams, and it’s a one woman show.
As soon as Randi gets out of bed in the morning, it’s game on! She says, “I’m always brainstorming and thinking of new ways to be productive, successful and improve.” To keep her on track and make sure she gets that much-needed work-life balance, she sticks to her daily routine, which looks something like this:
Every morning, I don’t check my emails or texts until I’ve woken up, drank my tea and written in my journal. Also during my 1.5-hour workout, I won’t respond to any work-related emails or texts. At 10 p.m., I shut everything down until the next morning.
Randi’s Secret To Work-Life Balance
One hot tip for sticking to your fitness regime is to schedule time for it in your calendar. This is one way Randi stays on track. It allows her some ‘me’ time to exercise and refresh the brain. She told us:
Working out only takes 1.5 hours of my day. It makes me feel good, think clearly and makes me an all-round happier person. Technically, it’s a part of my job to work out, but no matter how busy I am, I still make sure to get in at least an hour workout, because that is ME time.
Meal Prep And Staying On Track
Meal prep has to be the secret to staying on track with your diet and nutritional needs. And it takes an understanding family and friends to not make you feel weird when you show up with your meals in hand all prepped and packed in your meal prep bag! Here’s Randi’s advice:
When going out to eat with friends or family, I simply count my macros or bring my own food so that I don’t have to miss out on any memories. Fitness is a lifestyle, you should not seclude yourself from the world to live this way.
Successful Meal Prep Begins With The Bag
What kind of meal prep and gym bag does a busy fitness entrepreneur carry? Randi owns two Fitmark Bags:
For meal prep, Randi loves the Fitmark Shield and has relied on it for years to keep her food fresh wherever she goes. Just recently, she added a sporty tote bag to her collection that also has a compartment for storing meals. Check it out:
The Shield has helped me tremendously, because it carries ALL my food with me everywhere I go. From doing errands around the city, to flying to different countries, it’s the PERFECT size. It can carry as MUCH and as little as I need it too. It’s durable, I’ve had it for years and it’s still in perfect condition! It keeps my food hot or cold. It’s amazing!!
Favorite Go-To Recipes
As a Sports Nutritionist, Randi has a few tricks she’s learned along to the way about eating clean and healthy – and that includes what to do when you’re in a bind or stuck for time.
Protein Pancakes
“One of my favourite go-to quick recipes is NLA for Her protein powder mixed with water until a batter consistency, made into a pancake or waffle. TWO ingredients! That’s it! Topped with Walden Farms pancake syrup. Waffles and pancakes are always a good idea!!”
Oats for Breakfast
“ZOATS are an all-time favourite at breakfast.”
- 1 cup shredded zucchini
- 1/3 cup oatmeal
- Cinnamon
- Stevia
- Tiny bit of almond milk
“Microwave for 60 seconds. Its heavenly! I also add WF Pancake Syrup to that!”
Sweet Tooth Cravings
That’s easy! Randi likes to slice some cucumber and sprinkle with cinnamon and stevia. She says, “It’s also a fave to cure a sweet tooth.”
Latest Food Obsession
For a little pick-me-up, Randi recommends a “ricecake, peanut butter and banana with a sprinkle of cinnamon.” She says it’s her “latest obsession any time of day.”
A photo posted by www.RandiKennedy.com (@randikennedy_) M
No Quick Fixes Or Fad Diets
Randi’s approach to fitness and nutrition is based on changing your lifestyle and adopting a healthier way of living that you can put into practice every day. She says:
Lifestyle changes yield long-lasting results. They are maintainable, realistic and healthy. I believe in taking care of your body to the best of your ability. After all, you only have ONE for your entire life! I also truly believe the food we eat is one of the biggest contributing factors to health risks and diseases these days. My approach is to eat whole, clean, nutritious, nutrient dense foods. Exercise depending on your ability (4-5x a week for 60-90 minutes a day (sometimes less, depending on your condition and age), and to also eat that piece of chocolate when you’re really craving it! Life is about balance: 80% clean “good-for-you” foods, 20% treats “good for-the-soul” goodies.
Top 4 Favorite Exercises
- DB lateral raises for the shoulders
- BB sumo deadlifts for the quads/hamstrings/glutes
- BB hip thrusts for the glutes
- DB shoulder press
Top 3 Fit Tips
- Believe in yourself.
- Take the time to foam roll and do mobility work, BEFORE you’re injured to PREVENT injury.
- Wear PROPER footwear! I see SO many injuries from wearing the wrong running shoes.
Building a fitness business takes time and “patience,” but Randi says it’s important to “stay true to yourself” and “do what you love.” Randi offers a variety of training and nutrition programs, including competition prep @randikennedy.com. You can also find her on Instagram @randikennedy_
