About The Fitnessista
My name is Gina- I’m so happy you’re here.
On this blog, I like to share some daily happenings, as well as quick, effective workouts and healthy recipes.
About The Fitnessista
I started writing The Fitnessista when we were living in Valdosta, Georgia. I was in maintenance mode after losing 40 lbs, but healthy options were pretty scarce. Going to Whole Foods in Orlando was a vacation in itself, and the little things, like being able to harvest my own organic produce made me scary excited. The blog was a little way to share healthy recipes and workouts with some of my personal training clients and since the beginning, a lot has changed:
-My eating style. I started off the blog eating “diet foods” and eventually transitioned to more whole, unprocessed foods. I also experimented with pescatarianism but went back to eating chicken a couple of years later. Today I like to focus on lean protein, fruits, veggies, grains (I prefer to eat gluten-free), chocolate, wine and all the fun stuff sprinkled in.
-Our location. We travel and move fairly often and are currently stationed in San Diego, CA. Living here is absolutely dreamy, and we’re having fun exploring and living like tourists until our next move in 2016 or early 2017. So far, we’ve lived in Fayetteville, NC, Valdosta, GA, and Tucson, AZ. It’s been a fun and exciting adventure to see new parts of the world. Oh, and the honeymoon feeling? It never goes away.
We’ll be headed to Tucson for a few months this winter, then BACK to Valdosta Spring 2017.
-Our family. We started off as The Pilot (the love of my life I met at Starbucks), Bella (our maltipoo) and myself. In January 2012, we welcomed our daughter Olivia into our family. After dreaming about her for years, meeting her and having her in our life was even better than we imagined. You can read more about our family adventures, the pregnancy, birth, and musings as a new mom over on the family page.
In October 2015, we welcomed our second daughter, Penelope, into the world. Our family is complete with our two little ladies, and I feel so lucky to be their mama.
-My jobs. Since we move so frequently, I’ve changed jobs along with our location. I went from working in retail management to personal training and group fitness instruction, which is my passion. I’ve taught at a world-renowned health resort, private training studio, at brand events, and at local fitness clubs and studios. My #1 job is being a wife and mama, in addition to wrangling puppies and blogging my little heart out.
Certifications:
AFAA certified group fitness instructor
NASM certified personal trainer
NASM weight loss specialist
NASM Women’s Fitness Specialist
Precision Nutrition Level One Coach
Barre Body instructor
200-hour RYT yoga instructor
Zumba licensed, Aqua Zumba licensed and ZIN member (2008-2015)
Les Mills BODYPUMP certified instructor
Level 1 Raw Foods Chef (105degrees)
I try my best to respond to every comment and email I receive. If I happen to miss yours, please leave a comment on a recent post, send me a tweet or hit me up on Facebook! I apologize that I’m unable to create personalized workout training plans and provide nutritional consultations at this time. If that’s what you’re looking for, be sure to seek out the help of a local personal trainer and/or Registered Dietitian.
Occasionally I will do sponsored posts or giveaways on the blog if it’s a company/product I truly love. It helps me to support my family and cover the expenses to keep this blog running. If a post is sponsored, I will clearly label it. As always, all opinions are my own. You may see some Amazon affiliate links or ShopStyle links on the blog. These do not affect the purchase price and allow me to earn a very small commission. Thank you so much for supporting this awesome community <3
Interested in sponsoring or banner advertisements? Send me an email at fitnessistasponsor at gmail dot com for a media kit and current rates.
You can “Like” The Fitnessista on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest for more updates and pictures. Snapchat: fitnessista
Also, check out my eBook here for all of my blog-related tips, + my first health and fitness book, “HIIT It!” (Demos Health 2015), available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. My full postpartum fitness plan is available here.
Thank you so much for reading!
Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor or Registered Dietitian. The information presented is purely to share my experience and for entertainment purposes. As always, check with a doctor before making any fitness or nutrition changes. The author and blog disclaim liability for any damage, mishap, or injury that may occur from engaging in any activities or ideas from this site.
#AvantLink
Hi Gina,
Your about page is so sweet and inspiring. I’m the social media manager for Alo Yoga and we’d love to collaborate/work with you. Shoot us an email at social@aloyoga.com if this is something you think you’d be interested in.
Best,
Alo Team
Please sign me up for the newsletter 🙂 Love your workouts and blog posts!!
Please sign me up for the newsletter 🙂 Love your workouts and blog posts!!
Hey! I was wondering if you could maybe give me an idea of what you eat on a typical day? Thanks!
Hi Gina!
First of all, LOVE your site and all that you do. I recently created a 5-day plant-based cleanse program that I am selling on my blog and I would love to send you a free copy. If you like it, I want to have you do a giveaway on your site or in your newsletter! Email me for more info and we can discuss details.
Hope all is well, beautiful girl!
Xo,
Jordan
!
Love your website! Sign me up for your newsletter, thanks!
[…] Tabata but didn’t really have a clue what it was, and since one of my new-found favorites, Gina of Fitnessista posted this Tabata-style workout, I decided I MUSTTT try […]
Thx for the inspiration!
Hi Gina,
Love your site! Would you be interested in trying some PowerICE for review? Check out http://www.powerice.com and email me if you’re interested!
Best,
Zack
I found your site a couple weeks ago looking for some new ideas to spruce up my daily workout and I have to say that I just love what your doing here and want to thank you for all of your inspiring exercise posts/recipes. We have quite a bit in common…military, moving, mexican food (Yum!), and being a mom. So, i decided to order your DVD and I am so happy that I did! I did the entire hour the day that I got the DVD, and had so much fun with it, my kiddos joined in (lol). It is going into my weekly rotation! Anyhow, I just wanted to tell ya that I am looking forward to more..of it all 🙂
Airhugs!! (cause I’m a hugger too!!)
ahhh! air hugs back to you 🙂 thank you so much for reading and to you and your family for your service
made my day to hear you’re enjoying soli beat too 🙂
xoxo
Love your blog keep all your ideas coming!
thank you, hat!
Love your site 🙂 Signing up for the newsletter!
Hey Gina!
Have loved your blog for quite some time now…thanks for all you share :0)
My hubby and I might be relocating for his job to Tucson and would like to know if you could recommend a good neighborhood/area for us to look at housing, schools, etc. I would like to be centrally located to malls, trader joes, outdoor venues, kids entertainment, etc. Thanks for your help!
Bree
do you know which area of town he’ll be working? tucson is extremely spread out, so that makes a huge difference
Hello and Happy New Year Gina!
My name is Jarrett and I coordinate the community and media outreach for MyVirtualYoga.com. We are the first bilingual online yoga community offering high-definition streaming videos in English and French. MyVirtualYoga has a growing library of practices that explore various yoga traditions: Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Hatha, Yin, Restorative, Kundalini, Pranayama, Meditation, and more.
On top of the videos, we also feature a wide range of wellness information related to natural health surrounding yoga (nutrition, internal retreats, Ayurveda, meditation, Pranayama, herbalism, aromatherapy, etc.).
Because our goal is to bring a bit of wellness to the online community, we thought of you. We want to offer certain VIP bloggers an opportunity to experience an extended gift membership to our program. In addition to enjoying a complimentary membership, we would also be very happy to provide you with an extended gift membership(s) for your audience as a featured giveaway.
We look forward to hearing from you and creating your exclusive VIP membership.
Warm Regards,
Jarrett Wilson
http://www.MyVirtualYoga.com
Love these ideas, signing up for newsletter!
Love the site and would like to sign up for the newsletter.
Hi Gina,
I didn’t see a different way to contact you other than your forum. Hopefully you monitor these posts and can prevent it if you don’t want it posted 🙂
We are an innovative new diet plan called HungryBuddy and we are interested in advertising on your website.
Please contact me at your earliest convenience.
Thanks!
Matt Tronnier,
http://www.HungryBuddy.com
424 – 261- 3DAY (3329)
Please sign up for your newsletter
Hi, Gina!
My name is Alahandra, and first, I want to say I am a fan of your blog and your take on fitness.
I wanted to reach out to you to see if you would be interested in doing a product review on a new exclusive fitness product. It’s an interactive (You can put your phone on it!), free flowing ab roller called the Rock 360.
I work for FEWDM Fitness and we would love to have you opinion of the product! If you’re interested please send me your mailing address, and we will ship one to you. We can talk about what exercises that might be good for the review.
I attached a short video for you to check out the product. We look forward to hearing from you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cQSBTY8Xys&list=UUoXHXtG3RqeQqljd3gfu0cA&feature=c4-overview
Happy Blogging,
Alahandra
Please sign me up for you newsletter, blog updates, etc. Thanks! Polly
wahoo!
Please sign me up for your newsletter!
Hi Gina! I really have loved reading your blog the past 2 years. Bloggers like you are why I have decided to start my own blog. I hope that I can motivate people daily through my life and writings. Anyways, because I really look to you for blogging inspiration I was hoping you could take a few minutes, check out my most recent post, and give me any help you are able too. Thank you so so much in advance.
Healthy Regards,
Hayley
Hi Gina! I love your blog! I find it so inspiring and helpful. You have been such a great resource for me as a new mom trying to fit in time to take care of myself! Thank you.
As a new mom (stay at home), I am working on starting my own work from home business. Have you heard of IDLife yet? To be brief, it’s individually designed (ID) nutritional supplements that are organic/natural, non-GMO, gluten and casein free.
I would love to have you try out our products and see what you think!
If you have a little bit of time, please visit my website vitalnutrition.idlife.comand let me know what you think. The health assessment is really neat too!
Can’t wait to hear back from you!
Have a great day,
Kelly Crawford
Can I be a part of your newsletter too??? 🙂 Thanks!
Interested in the Winter Shape up. Thanks
Hi Gina! I love reading your blog! I would love to sign up for the newsletter and also WSU 2014! Thanks!! 🙂
I would love to sign up for your newsletter and the Winter Shape Up. Thanks!
You need to add Caroline to your family paragraph!
i do! this whole page needs a refresher
Just found your website and love it.Thanks.
thank you! welcome to the blog 🙂 xo
Please sign me up for your newsletter. Love your blog!
thank you for reading! 🙂
Hi Gina,
I have enjoyed reading your blog for a few years! I am wondering if you take regular vitamins and/or dietary supplements. There’s always a buzz about vitamin D, fish oil, etc and I’m wondering if you’ve done any research on what’s really important (short of eating super clean) or if there’s anything you swear by.
Thanks,
Katie
Hi Gina! I would love your opinion-my husband and I want to do a long weekend getaway in March for our 5 year anniversary. We live in Chicago and thinking of either flying into Phoenix and driving into Sedona, or flying into LA and driving to San Diego. We have never been to AZ or CA and would love to see either place. Prices are the same for flights. Since you live in AZ and are moving to Cali, I thought you may be the perfect person to ask. We love to see beautiful sights, do a little hiking, eat good food and chill out by a pool would be our perfect getaway. Oh and if you know some price facts like, CA is so much more expensive to stay or anything like that, that would be great to know. Would be so thankful if you felt like you could weigh in. Thanks so much!!!!
I love your winter shape up workouts!!
Hi Gina!
Was wondering what your favorite restaurants are in the Scottsdale/Phoenix area?! Any recommendations for Sedona too?!
THANKS SO MUCH!!
This is slightly random, but can you explain the fashion posts by Meg? Who is Meg?! I enjoy these posts but I am so confused ever time I see a fashion post!
meg is my sister in law! she’s been around on the blog for quite a while, but i definitely need to add a section for her on the “about” page
Gotcha! She definitely needs a little blurb!
I have viewed your blog off and on for awhile now and I just now saw that you are in Tucson, Arizona and work at a “world-renowned health resort”. My mom used to be a hiking guide at (I think) the same resort you do (if you work at the one in Tucson). I say used to be because she recently passed from leukemia. (Sorry, didn’t mean to bring this post down – but you made me think of my mom and that is a good thing). Anyway, thank you for your blog, I, too, am a military wife (Navy) and can relate. Keep up the inspiration!
Hi Gina!
Love, love, love your site and visit it often. Thanks for providing such awesome content!
xoxo
Diane
thank you for reading, diane! xo
Can you swim with the fitbit flex on
i think so! it says you can swim and shower with it on
Hey Gina,
I was wondering why/ if you knew that some of your old posts are down. I am running a Disney Half and I wanted to look at your recap/ training for that but the recap and other posts around that time are coming up “page not found”
Love your blog- you are an inspiration for workouts and recipes!
Hi, I know this is months later…but I saw your comment about sleep on your review of Fitbit Flex. I have been using the One for over a year now and I always have poor sleep recording, like 15-20+ times awake per night. I would love to see if you know other people who have the same issue and get a forum or something started so we could all figure out what’s going on. I’m more sensitive to noise, etc, but that can’t be all because even in remote places I still have the issue. I really hope to hear back! Thanks! Jen
Hi there! I have nominated you for the Liebster award! Here’s the link to my blog post where your ten questions await you:
http://runningthroughchina.weebly.com/1/post/2014/04/question-time.html
Enjoy! Cheers, Lou ?
Hi,
I have been following your blog for a few years now and love it. You are such an inspiration on living a healthy and active life. I needed some advice as to how to jumpstart my weight-loss after having two kids. I have done it previously 2x, however, this time around I am finding it very difficult. I need to lose the last 20lbs. Should I focus mainly on cardio? Thanks!
Sameen
thank you so much for reading! 🙂
i would focus on cardio and clean eating, but would still add in 1-2 days of strength
xoxo
Hi Gina!
I’m in Tucson and am considering hiring a personal trainer. Do you have any recommendations of who to contact or stay away from? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Gina,
I was wondering what comfort foods I could incorporate on those OFF DAYS/SORE MUSCLES (after intense workout). Especially the next day in the morning, I didn’t feel like anything cold or healthy. Thanks!! Hope you are having a great day!
Sameen
Hi Gina!
Thank you for posting the awesome Burger Lounge Quinoa and Brown Rice veggie burger recipe! I was in California for a few months and can officially declare myself an addict. I am super excited to try your recipe because I honestly haven’t found anything else quite like it.
I will let you know that they did tell me that they did use a little bit of panko in the patty itself (I had asked for a gluten free bun so they had to disclose it). They said it was just a minimal amount as a binder.
Will let you know how they turn out!
DJ
Dear Gina,
I would like to contact you to send you information about our brand and open the possibility to future partnerships and collaborations.
Let me know,
Thanks.
BeEssence Team.
Hi Gina, I’m a long time fan of your blog! I look forward to reading your blog everyday and you have inspired me to start my own blog. I’m not sure exactly where it will go or what it will become, but I’m going to start! 🙂 I was wondering what advice you have, what you use to host your site, do you do everything yourself or do you hire out, what would you change if you could do it over again? I need advice! I tried to see if you already have a post on the subject, but didn’t see one. Would love to see a post on it or at least point me to some reading that has helped you?
Thanks so much! Glad to see you are enjoying CA! 🙂
What kind of VitaMix do you have — there are SOOO many to choose from and would love to here suggestions!! THANK YOU!
i have the 500 series and also the new s30. i love my 500 for everything! the s30 is more for smoothies and smaller creations
THANK YOU!!! I want to get more into making juices, nut butters, soups, etc but the hefty price tag always scares me off but I know Vita Mix is the way to go. Thanks again 🙂
Hi Gina!
Just a couple quick questions for you: are you certified in pre/post natal training? Do you know if you have to be certified as a personal trainer first then do the pre/post natal as an add on? Thinking of getting certified so just gathering info 😉
Also, do you know anything about abdominal exercises for women who have diastasis recti (abdominal separation from being pregnant)? I have some exercises from my doctor and physio but could always do with more ideas.
Thanks!
Lauryn