Interview With Jena Goldberg
Personal Trainer of the Month - March 2010
Interviewed by: Angela Courduff
WP:Jena Goldberg is a Personal Trainer and a National Figure Competitor. She wasn't always so fit, as a matter of fact, she struggled with being the "fat" kid most of her life. It wasn't until she turned 31 that she was introduced to strength training after attempting endless cardio to shed unwanted body fat. The combination of the two absolutely changed her physique. She now loves lifting weights; there's just nothing that can compare to how powerful and in control it makes her feel. She has also changed her eating habits around and she loves healthy food; and have learned that you must have the combination of both to get results.
“ I would run every now and then, so I would feel better when I had a burger and fries later that day. I always thought they would balance each other out, but I could never get below 32% body fat.”
WP: Hi Jena! Let’s start by having you tell us a little about yourself.
JG: Well, the first thing I will tell you is that I talk way too much! So when you say a little, I have to laugh. I’m a small town Southern girl from South Carolina. It’s both fortunate and unfortunate that my mom is the best cook in our town, and my physique was evidence of that for many years. I didn’t get to be the cheerleader in high school for two reasons: I’m barely coordinated enough to skip and I was a chubby teenager. I am very passionate about helping others reach their fitness goals now; I think it’s because I understand the emotional journey of overcoming a weight problem.
WP: Your fitness journey really began when you were 31. What was your exercise and diet regime like before that? What made you want to change?
JG: Before that, they were just awful. I would run every now and then, so I would feel better when I had a burger and fries later that day. I always thought they would balance each other out, but I could never get below 32% body fat. I wanted to change because my diet just made me feel tired and exhausted most of the time. I just wanted to look better and feel better about myself.
WP: I hear you placed in the top 5 of your very first fitness competition. What an accomplishment! Can you tell us about your first show and your experience?
JG: My husband, who is a soldier, had to go to Korea for a year. I stayed in SC with my little girl while he was there. He got me my first gym membership before he left so I could attempt to shed some fat while he was gone. I was so intimidated that I just went in and did the treadmill every day for 50 minutes so I wouldn’t look “silly” attempting anything else. I remember one day I was going to the locker room and a trainer approached me. Scott Griffin! I must say his name because he saved me from an unhealthy life and I will forever be grateful to him. He asked what my fitness goals were and I showed him the beauty on the front of the magazine in my gym bag. I remember him laughing and saying that he thought I was running away on the treadmill to another country or something. He gave me 2 free sessions that day and I stayed with him for about 10 more and I just fell in love with lifting weights. I remember month by month looking in the mirror and just being amazed by the transformation my body was making.
One day, I remember him telling me he was competing in a show and telling me that I should consider it as well. I was so excited about the possibilities. Funny, being a child of the south that was the first time that I’d ever considered eating oatmeal and now it’s my favorite thing to eat. It’s just amazing the things you can make with oatmeal. We got ready for the show together, month by month checking in on each other; he was by my side for the whole journey. It was quite an experience; you just never know what bodybuilders and fitness competitors go through until you’ve been there. It’s a process; everything from a perfectly clean diet with a gallon of spring water a day for three months to the final stages where you practice posing a million times and paint yourself the night before six times. Wow, what a long day it is! You’re just exhausted by the time you finally make it to the evening finals. I remember being back stage and hearing them announce the final five to come back out and I cried when my name was one of them.
WP: What an incredible experience! What was the hardest thing for you to overcome when you started training for that show?
JG: I have a little person in my life, Abbi, and the hardest thing for me was making sure that my goals didn’t affect my time with her. With my husband being a soldier, sometimes it’s just the two of us. I always have to be a mommy first and a fitness competitor second. I’ve become more creative over the years and now practice posing with her. She’s better than a lot of girls on stage! She just loves that time together. We crank up the music, put on our heels and practice for 30 minutes a day.
WP: Like mother, like daughter! What have you learned from competing?
JG: I’ve learned that there are no limits to where you can take your body. It’s what you feed it and what you do to it every day. People think there’s some magical pill out there that will fix everything. There’s not and you have to put in the hard work. If you want to look like an anatomy chart, you don’t get to eat fast food!
WP: Isn’t that the truth. Are you planning on competing this year?
JG: Funny, you should ask that as I munch on my last piece of unsalted baked chicken. I have a show five weeks from today. I’m getting better at the preparation. I eat pretty much the same thing all year round.
WP: Good for you! How has your training changed since your first competition?
JG: Tremendously! I’ve come a long way. I remember when I wanted to do a pull-up more than anything. I used to practice every day before my workouts back then. I can now do 155 of them in an hour. I’m quite proud of that; it took me a long time. It’s great when a little military wife goes in the gym and can do more pull-ups than the Army, the Navy, and the marines!
WP: 155 pull-ups? That’s amazing! What are the key factors that dictate the way you train?
JG: I train pretty much the same way year round. I incorporate more cardio once I am closer to a show, like now; I do at least 60 minutes a day. My legs are the hardest part of my physique to respond; I work hardest on them especially at show time.
WP: Can you give me an example of your current workout?
JG: Absolutely! I usually do about 60 minutes of cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach; it’s hard but you burn fatter that way. Then, I come home, take a shower, rest, eat, and about 3 hours later I go back and lift. They usually wave me away when I go to scan in because they are sick of seeing me! I do this five days a week, usually starting with legs on Mondays, chest and triceps on Tuesdays, shoulders on Wednesdays, and back and biceps on Thursdays. I just do cardio on Fridays to rest my upper body a bit. I have an easy workout Saturdays where I just hit the hips and do lunges outside on the track. On Sundays, my favorite day, I do a pull-up assessment that usually consists of 155 pull-ups in an hour. I have to have a really great back because my core is a bit squared and it’s just the only way I will ever achieve the V-taper they want to see on stage.
WP: You are a machine! You’ve said that you feel personal training is your calling. When did you become interested? Can you tell us about some of your client experiences?
JG: Once again, the wonderful guy that introduced me to fitness, Scott Griffin; it warms my heart to think of him, recommended that I do it. He was with me when I passed the test and was beside me when I trained my very first client. All of my clients still keep in touch with me, much like I have with my first trainer. You just never forget that person that pushed you to change your life. I have clients that still call me on my cell so that I can explain to them how to do an exercise. I’ll be in a store doing the shoulder press on the phone like they can see what I’m doing!
I’ve met a lot of clients in the five years that I have been training. It’s amazing to meet doctors and lawyers that seem to have no idea what they should be feeding their bodies. I love when I know that a person is finally there with me, when they are finally willing to try the foods that fuel their body. Americans are so afraid of what they might miss out on if they try a healthier lifestyle. They don’t realize that you can eat healthy almost anywhere; it’s just the decision that you make before you order. I’ve trained everyone from bodybuilders to fitness competitors, but the most rewarding for me is the client that’s always fought a weight problem and gets to feel the magic of fitness for the very first time.
WP: You are truly dedicated to your profession. Tell me about your personal ‘contribution to fitness’ program?
JG: Yes, definitely! I decided to randomly pick one person a year in my gym to train absolutely free as my contribution to fitness. My last client was a girl that I watched comes in the gym door, so nervous she almost turned around, until the petite teenager at the front desk grabbed her and welcomed her in. I saw her make her way to the treadmill and put her earphones on to escape the faces around her on her dreadful first day. I looked over at her in my disciplined toned life that I had just discovered a few years before. I saw tears in her eyes as she tried to figure out how to start the intimidating machine. I saw her look towards the door, and I quickly decided I could do without my last ten minutes of cardio. I stepped off the machine and headed her way. I welcomed her to the life of fitness, started the complicated sweat machine and left my card on her bag.
Since then, she’s lost 80 pounds! It’s done just as much for me as it has for her, well maybe not quite as much but, it sure has given me an awesome love for what I do. My biggest journey with fitness is to continue to share it with those around me and try to help them all know that it is an accomplishment that can be conquered.
WP: Your clients must be so grateful for your generosity. What do you feel has been your stepping stone to get where you are today?
JG: I feel that I am more determined than the average person. I’m stubborn and I won’t give up until I move that brick wall in front of me. I also think one of my biggest stepping stones is that I know where I’ve been and I just don’t ever want to go back there again.
WP: What has been the most difficult part of maintaining your physique?
jG: I think the most difficult part for me is my genetics. I work twice as hard as most of the women beside me on stage. If I think about it too much, it seems unfair. If I think about the possibility of a pull-up contest with that naturally small-waisted woman beside me, then it seems entertaining. I try to look at it in a positive way because I’m not that naturally thin woman with the tiny waist. I have forced myself to do millions of pull-ups. The reward of this is an awesome back, and I just love it! Life’s too short to focus on what’s unfair; we can’t move forward that way.
WP: It’s great that you can maintain a positive attitude in a competitive environment. Can you give me an example of your current diet? What do you normally eat in the weeks leading up to a show?
JG: Usually, I’ll finish up cardio and by then I’m starving. So, I’ll have 6 egg whites and keep one yolk. I usually throw in some raw spinach so I can check off one of my green veggies for the day. I also have a half cup of oatmeal and about a hundred cups of coffee! That’s exaggerated, but only a little bit. About 3 hours later, I’ll have a Beverly Nutrition protein shake (yummy!) before heading out to lift weights. After working out I’ll have about 6 ounces of chicken, a half cup of white rice and some broccoli. A couple hours later, my next snack is another Beverly shake or, if I’m feeling creative, I’ll mix it into pudding or make a brownie out of it. Yummy!
Finally, for dinner I have either fish or chicken with a big salad full of cucumbers and tomatoes and, sometimes, I’ll sneak a few almonds in there.
WP: How does your diet differ when you are in training?
JG: I don’t eat junk, simple as that. If it’s not a holiday or my birthday or a real special occasion, I try to stick with the food that fuels my body. I have lots of muffin recipes and yummy things that I do with protein and oatmeal if I crave sweets. I also drink lots and lots of water; people forget how important it is to our bodies.
WP: I might have to pick your brain about those muffin recipes! Do you currently take any supplements?
JG: I do take a few things to help with my recovery; it’s hard to train as hard as competitors do if you don’t recover properly. Glutamine and my protein shakes is a staple for me; it’s hard to get enough protein without them. I’ve used Beverly Nutrition for all 5 years that I have been training and I am very pleased with their products and their team.
WP: What is the hardest thing you have had to deal with when it comes to your diet?
JG: I think the hardest thing is just having everything readily available. Sometimes, you have to take your cooler with you and people see you with broccoli in your teeth at the red light because it’s time for meal three. You get used to eating food cold if you have to; your body knows when it’s time to eat. You can’t just say that you’ll eat when you get home. Our metabolism just doesn’t stay elevated if we aren’t fueling our bodies every couple hours. It’s like expecting a fire to keep burning without wood.
WP: Very good analogy. Are you involved in any other sports or activities?
JG: Sports, no. As funny as it seems now, I was always the kid left standing after everybody picked who they wanted on their team for baseball. It used to hurt my feelings a lot, but now those same people are asking me to write workouts and diets for them. As for activities, I love to write; I’m writing my first book now, and I’m very proud of it.
WP: It’s amazing how things change over the years! Can you tell me more about your family? Tell me about your husband and daughter!
JG: I’ve been married for 15 years to my husband, Gary. He’s a soldier and he shares my love for fitness; he has completed two marathons and is the first one in the gym at 5:30 every morning. I have one little person, Abbigail. Not to brag, but she is the smartest kid in the third grade. I’m certain!
WP: So, how did you place in all your shows?
JG: I’ve placed in the top 5 for 6 shows now and will be competing in my 7th shortly. I placed 5th in my first show, the 2006 Palmetto cup in Columbia SC. I competed 2 weeks after that in the SC State 2006 show and placed 5th again. After moving to NC, I placed 5th in the 2007 Metrolina in Charlotte, NC, and 5th again in the 2007 NC State show. I finally broke my 5th place curse and placed 2nd in the 2008 Excalibur in Charleston, SC, and again placed 2nd in the 2009 Palmetto Cup in Columbia, SC. I’m still trying to get that first place, but I’m determined. “A champion is a loser that never gave up.”
WP: Again, great positive attitude! Who are some of your idols? Who do you admire most in the fitness industry?
JG: This will sound odd to most. You would think I would pick some professional fitness girl or bodybuilder, but that’s not who inspires me or who I even admire. I would have to say my idol and the man I admire the most is Richard Simmons. He is a passionate soul, much like me. I have cried with people when they cried over where they have let themselves end up, and I have cheered with them when we conquered the very thing that has stolen most of their lives. I feel that Richard truly is the most inspiring person in the industry because his heart is genuine and his love for people and their struggles with weight loss are real.
WP: I must say, Richard Simmons is a first for me, but, when describe him I totally understand the appeal! Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
JG: In ten years, I finally see myself settled down running my own gym and helping people reach their fitness goals in my own studio. I’m just waiting for my soldier to retire. Just five more years, thank goodness!
WP: How have you changed over the past few years when it comes to thinking, actions, and life in general?
JG: I would have to say that becoming a mom changes the way you think about a lot of things. You want to be someone they can be proud of, and it’s terrible when your little person corrects you for yelling at the car in front of you. In the past, I’d also found myself a little envious of some of the folks that have landed modeling deals while I was overlooked. I’m learning to appreciate all of the women that put in their hard work to succeed in this industry. I believe that at some point we just have to stop competing with each other and start patting each other on the back. I’ve finally made it to that point. Same thing goes with my shows; I always think I should have won, but I’ve started reviewing the footage after I’ve settled down a bit, and I usually find why the competitor beside me was more deserving.
WP: That is really big of you. Do you have any future projects in the works?
JG: Right now, I am writing a blog on the journey of a fitness competitor. I have been recording my thoughts for almost 16 weeks now. I thought it would be fascinating to have it all on paper the way your mind struggles through the journey. You can find my blog at www.blogger.com under fitjgirl.
WP: Any shout outs?
JG: Yes, I must again thank the person that introduced me to fitness, Scott Griffin. I also have to thank my wonderful family for putting up with me when I’m getting ready to compete because I do get grouchy from time to time. I must also thank my mom for taking the one magazine that I made it into every place she travels so that she can show off how cool I’ve become. Finally, I must add my best friend who believes in me and reminds of what an amazing woman I am, every day. Every now and then, we find someone wonderful enough to overlook our imperfections and accept us completely for who we are.
WP: Is there anything I have forgotten to mention that you would like to add?
JG: The only thing I must add is that if there’s a person out there that thinks they just can’t do it, think again. I would love to hear from you and show you the healthy life that you deserve. I am always available to guide a person towards the life of fitness. Just drop me an email at Jenafitness@yahoo.com. Sometimes, all you need is one person that truly believes you can do it.
WP: It has been a pleasure interviewing you, Jena! I wish you the best of luck in your 2010 competitions!
