Celebrity trainer Jeanette Jenkins is putting actress Jurnee Smollet through her paces and sharing the results on her social media. Jenkins posted a video of herself wearing a gray workout bodysuit, guiding Smollet through weight training exercises. “Fall in love with taking care of yourself. Mind. Body. Spirit. ❤️Here’s some workout motivation! Training the beautiful, strong & talented @jurneesmollett for her next role! 💥💥💥,” she captioned the post. Here are five great workout and fitness tips from the woman who has trained Pink, Alicia Keys, Serena Williams, and many others.
Jenkins works out first thing in the morning, and says it’s the best way to start the day. “7 a.m. is a great time for people to workout because there’s usually nothing that can conflict with it,” she told BET. “Get that workout in at 7 a.m. and you’re done! And you start your day feeling great. The stronger you are the healthier you are and the less risk you have for developing many illnesses. You need to schedule at least 30 minutes to an hour each day to workout for yourself. Write out your daily or weekly schedule and schedule those workouts in.”
Jenkins highly recommends that anyone trying to get fit pay attention to their calorie intake. “Whether you’re looking to burn fat or strengthen your muscles, you must pay attention to your meal plan just as much as your workout plan,” she told Abbott Nutrition News. “In general, most people don’t understand how many calories they eat in a day or how many calories they should be eating. If you are trying to burn body fat or slim down, you need to have a calorie negative at the end of the day.”
Jenkins prefers a healthy green juice as an alternative energy booster to coffee. “My favorite healthy on-the-go-snack is actually a drink,” she told BET. “It’s dehydrated vegetables called Macro Greens. It’s the equivalent of five or six servings of green vegetables. All you have to do is add water and shake it up. This is a healthier way of boosting your energy instead of doing energy drinks or coffee.”
Jenkins recommends meal prepping to understand exactly how much work it will take to burn off excess calories. “There are 3,500 calories in one pound of fat,” she told Abbott Nutrition News. “If you have a calorie negative of -500 a day, you can achieve a calorie negative of -3500 in a week (7 days) to help you burn off 1 pound of fat. It takes time to learn about the food you put in your body, but it’s necessary, and that knowledge you gain will remain with you for a lifetime. Also, take time to meal prep. Spending an hour at the beginning of your week planning meals will save time and calories.”
Jenkins focuses on her spiritual health in her down time. “I go to church, I definitely do yoga and I have to spend time with friends and family,” she told BET. “Kelly [Rowland] and I will take time off and go to a favorite vegan restaurant, put a group of girlfriends together and go for dinner.”