Personal trainer, Boca Raton
Owner of the production company, Happy Healthy Stronger TV
Website: happyhealthystronger.com / Instagram: @happyhealthystrongerbylinzi
Why is fitness so important in your life?
I am 50 years old, and I’ve never felt better. Fitness makes me feel alive, and it’s the key to my positivity and my crazy energy. I fully believe that taking care of yourself goes to the root of self-respect—and when you love yourself, you love your life. From the production of the Happy Healthy Stronger Boca/Delray Makeover TV series (which debuts globally this fall) to training tennis personalities like Chris Evert and Madison Keys to working with the mom who wants to cross the finish line of a half-marathon for the first time at age 45, fitness has allowed me to motivate and inspire people to be their very best.
What distinguishes your workout routine?
My goal in training is never to take a client from a size 2 to a 0. Instead, it’s about providing the client with the tools they need to regain control of their lives, increase their energy, and be physically, mentally and spiritually healthy. Aesthetic gains often become the secondary benefit of my training. My wide range of clients has helped me to develop a method of training that utilizes mostly the person’s body weight. I focus on functional exercises to activate and engage more than one muscle group at a time, consistently prioritizing the core. These exercises mimic real-life movements and aid in preventing injuries—specifically back injuries. Body weight exercises help rebuild muscle wear and tear that develops as we age. They build lean muscle mass that is great for your heart, hormone production, brain activity, sleep patterns—and so much more. My program is three times per week and is a full body workout each time.
In addition to exercise, how else do you try and lead a healthy lifestyle?
For me, it is imperative to arm myself with knowledge of nutrition. It begins by identifying and understanding the macro-nutrients, meaning simple and complex carbohydrates, proteins and fats, what they do and when to have them. For example, when I am relatively inactive, I eat healthy fats and proteins, which satiate me longer, and provide me with sustained energy and control of my glucose. On the other hand, when I engage activities of medium or high intensity, I consume both simple and complex carbohydrates as they provide the body with energy. I try to avoid simple carbohydrates (breads, white rice, pasta, etc.) except when my activity calls for them, otherwise the high glucose in the blood stream calls for insulin, which is a fat-storing hormone.
Words of wisdom: “The pain from the sacrifices you will make committing to a fitness routine will quickly be replaced by something amazing: a feeling of being ridiculously alive!”
Photography by James Woodley
Creative Direction by Melanie Smit
Art Direction by Evelyn Suarez
Shot on location at Margaritaville Beach Resort, Hollywood Beach
