GINA Personal Trainer

Running used to be my worst nightmare

I can’t stop thinking about this place 😩 still dreaming about it.

A few weeks ago Jeff and I did a wellness retreat at Grand Velas Riviera Maya in Riviera Maya. From the moment we arrived every little detail was intentional. The rooms are stunning, the food is incredible, and having a Michelin-star restaurant right on the property made the experience even more unforgettable.

What really made this place stand out though, were all the activities during our wellness retreat. Morning run clubs, cycle classes, ice baths, sound healing classes and SO much more.

I left feeling relaxed, recharged and already wanting to plan my next trip back.

Safe to say Grand Velas Riviera Maya has completely raised my standards 😅 hope to be back soon!!

Velas Resorts

This year wasn’t about becoming someone new.

It was about becoming someone I genuinely enjoy being.

I stopped chasing things that looked good from the outside and started paying more attention to how my life actually felt. Somewhere along the way, I realized that peace is worth protecting, a small circle is enough, and the routine I used to dream about is the one I get to wake up to every day.

Nothing changed overnight. But little by little, my life did.

I think that’s the funny thing about happiness. It doesn’t usually arrive all at once. One day you just look around and realize you’re living a life you don’t want to escape from.

I used to think my arms just weren’t “meant” to be lean.
So I wasted way too much time looking for the perfect workout that would magically burn arm fat.

Spoiler: it doesn’t exist.

Your body decides where it loses fat first. You don’t get to negotiate with it.

What you can control is creating a calorie deficit, eating enough protein, getting stronger, and being consistent long enough to let your body do what it’s designed to do. That’s exactly what I did and what I help my clients do as well.

Just months of showing up, lifting weights, eating well, and trusting the process even when I wasn’t seeing changes where I wanted them yet.

The fitness industry makes a lot of money convincing you there’s a shortcut.

There isn’t :) and I say this cuz I love you.

Human anatomy doesn’t care about marketing.

Save this for the next time someone tells you they found the secret to losing arm fat 😂🫶

It’s funny how we put deadlines on happiness.

“I’ll be happy when I lose the weight.”
“I’ll be confident when I fit into those jeans.”
“I’ll finally feel good about myself when I look like her.”

I spent years believing my life would begin once I reached a certain number on the scale. But life doesn’t suddenly change because your body does. What changes is who you become while chasing that goal.

You become someone who learns discipline over motivation.
You learn how to keep showing up after bad days. You prove to yourself that you’re capable of doing hard things. You build confidence that has nothing to do with abs or a clothing size.

Looking back, my fitness journey gave me so much more than a transformation. It taught me how to trust myself.

And once you trust yourself, you start believing you’re capable of bigger things than just changing your body. Maybe that’s why so many good things happened after I started taking care of myself. Not because I got leaner, but because I became someone who believed she deserved more.

Sometimes your biggest goal isn’t the destination. It’s the person you become on the way there 💗

I’ve recently started incorporating curtsy lunges into my glute days... and they’ve been such a good addition. 🍑

This exercise gets a lot of mixed opinions, but when it feels good for your body and you perform it with control, it can be a great way to target your glutes.

A few cues that helped me:
• Don’t be afraid to let your knee travel over your toes.
• Sit into your hip instead of staying too upright.
• Control the lowering phase.
• Push through your front foot and think about driving the floor away.

These actually came from my coach, and I’m really glad she added them into my program because I probably wouldn’t have chosen them on my own. They’ve definitely earned a spot in my glute days because HOLAY do I feel it.

Have you tried curtsy lunges before? 👇

When I was trying to lose fat a lot of people were saying “just stop eating bread”

I can’t even tell you how many times people told me that. So naturally I believed it. And I’d cut it out for a while, but just crave it more. I’d eventually just eat it anyway and then feel guilty because I thought I was ruining my progress.

The funny thing? Bread wasn’t the problem.

I lost almost 40 lbs without cutting out bread, and I still it everyday lol. I still have bagel, toast, sandwiches, you name it.

What actually changed my body wasn’t eliminating one specific food. It was learning how to eat in a calorie deficit, prioritizing protein, understand portions, and being consistent for months instead of trying to be perfect for a few days.

If you enjoy bread, you really don’t have to cut it out to lose weight. You need a way of eating that you can realistically maintain long term. Because the best nutrition plan isn’t the one with the most restrictions. It’s the one you can stick to.

Also- sourdough is my ultimate favorite (I literally have it every morning)

It’s funny how everyone gives credit to the version of you they can see.

The leaner body. The confidence. The discipline. But none of that started here.

It started with the girl who felt uncomfortable in her own skin. The one who had no idea what she was doing. The one who wanted to quit more times than she can count but kept showing up anyway.

This version of me gets all the credit, but she really just gets to enjoy the work someone else started.

I don’t look back at old photos with embarrassment anymore.
I look at them with gratitude. Because without her, there would never have been me.

Today was my first run back after taking a month off because of my knee.

I won’t lie… I was nervous. Not because I thought I’d lost all my fitness, but because I didn’t know if I could trust my body again. That’s honestly the hardest part of an injury.

I loved that built me a personalized post-injury plan instead of throwing me straight back into hard training. It took all the guesswork out of returning safely, and today reminded me that taking time to recover wasn’t starting over… it was part of the process.

And the best part? My knee didn’t hurt at all. 🥹❤️ I’m so back.

If you’re coming back from an injury, or you’re just getting into running, I genuinely can’t recommend the app enough. Use my code GINA for 2 weeks free and let it build a plan around you.

My goals right now are pretty simple: build.

After spending so much time focused on running, HYROX, and endurance, I’m in a phase where I really want to prioritize muscle growth again, especially my glutes. And one thing I’ve learned is that if you want to grow, you actually have to eat like it.

This has been my go-to smoothie lately:
🍌 Banana
🌴 A few dates
🍫 Transparent Labs™ Chocolate Hazelnut Protein (code GINA10 if you want to try it)
🥛 Fairlife milk

And before the almond milk people come for me… I was joking in the reel 😂 If you can’t tolerate dairy, almond milk is totally fine. But if you can have dairy, regular milk actually contains a decent amount of protein, which is why I’ve been using Fairlife lately. Remember I’m also not cutting right now, I’m building.

Nothing fancy. Nothing complicated. Just an easy way to get more protein and calories in, and honestly it tastes unreal.

Now excuse me while I continue my mission of making my ass walk through a doorway 3 inches after I do :)