Jessica Olie is a renowned fitness trainer with a massive following on Instagram, where she shares not only workouts but also personal reflections. Recently, Olie revealed the story behind one of her tattoos, explaining it was inspired by something her swimming coach once said: “The idea of the tattoo came from something my swimming coach used to say to me years ago, that our choices ultimately shape who we become, that we are always one choice away from a different outcome.” Olie believes in showing up fully in every moment, even when choices are limited. Here’s how she stays grounded and healthy, both physically and mentally.
When it comes to her fitness, Olie makes sure to be realistic with her goals. She talked about this in the caption of this Instagram post. “Building muscle takes longer than you think… Let that sink in because I just WISH someone had told me that in the beginning to manage my expectations. Sure, I had made a really good start and don’t get me wrong, I was making progress and I was SO proud of myself. Now, looking back at 12 weeks, I hadn’t even scratched the surface of what my body and my mind were capable of. So take it from someone who has been there and learnt so much in the process… Be realistic with your progress and the expectations you place on your body or you will just feel like you’ve failed when you haven’t.”
Olie likes to do pistol squats to stay in shape. She shared her routine in the caption of this Instagram post. “There are a couple of things to remember about the Pistol Squat…1. It’s hard, really hard so don’t beat yourself up if you can’t do them just yet, it takes time! 2. This skill requires strength AND flexibility, you have to have both or it won’t work! 🦋 METHOD + EXERCISES 🦋🌱 WARM UP — these are a few of my favorites to do to prep, you’ll need to warm up your ankles nicely and open up your hamstrings! 🌱 BENCH MODIFIED PISTOL SQUAT — my favorite intro to a pistol squat, this drill focuses on developing uni-lateral or single side strength and balance. As you get stronger, the box can be lower! 🌱 ASSISTED PISTOL SQUAT — once you have the hang of the box, you can now add these into your routine, the goal is to mimic the movement pathway with a little bit of support, so only use the wall/pole as much as you need to. 🌱 NEGATIVE PISTOL SQUATS — the final progression is away from the wall, focusing on the lowering part of the movement only! This is how you will build the most strength. The hardest part is to get the depth, so make sure you lower ALL the way down — even if you fall back onto your butt.”
Olie likes to do pull-ups to stay in shape. She shared this video on Instagram of herself doing them. Olie captioned it, “The only way to improve your grip strength is by gradually doing more of the movements that CHALLENGE your grip strength. You cannot expect something to go from hard to easier if you aren’t doing it. You have to do it for it to get easier. Also it’s hard. Pull ups ARE hard. The hardest actually. They don’t get easier but you get stronger — Just not overnight. Hanging from a bar if you’ve never done it before is hard. So you start small and you build up. Hold it for as LONG as YOU can. Maybe that starts off as a few seconds. Every week, hold it longer. Then 5 seconds becomes 10, into 15 into 20 etc…”
Olie loves to swim to stay in shape. She shares a lot of posts on Instagram of herself in the water. Olie shared these photos of herself swimming, captioning them, “Happiest when I’m in the sea.” She also posted this set of photos, and captioned them, “Nothing takes more courage than putting yourself back together again. – Unknown.”
Olie shared some of her favorite wellness tips in the caption of this Instagram post. She says that she doesn’t believe in tracking her food. “You don’t have to track calories. Counting every single thing I eat is not for me and it doesn’t have to be for you either. Focus on building a sustainable routine that works for YOU and your goals, viewing food as fuel and giving yourself the flexibility to enjoy everything in moderation.”