Pilates Expert &  Fitness Professional

Pilates Expert & Fitness Professional

Kit Rich and Sonya Dakar
On our second installment of Sonya Summer Wellness, we are thrilled to be joined by Kit Rich, a nationally recognized Pilates expert, fitness professional, published writer and speaker. Sporting an impressive list of celebrity clients, Kit was also recently named one of the top five trainers in Los Angeles by SHAPE magazine.

Mimi Dakar Berry recently caught up with Kit to discuss fitness, Pilates and Kit's 7 Day Challenge.

Fitness + Pilates Expert Fit by Kit gives is the PERFECT 10 mi...

Fitness + Pilates Expert Fit by Kit gives is the PERFECT 10 minute ab blaster to get summer ready! Kicking off our Sonya Summer Wellness PART 2! #sonyasummerwellness #abblaster #kitrich

Posted by SONYA DAKAR on Wednesday, June 14, 2017

1. What is your fitness philosophy?

My philosophy is called the 3 or 30 method. It’s about “making FIT your everyday.” It’s a mantra to help you build consistency with working out. Only through consistency can you actually achieve your goals and a relationship to fitness. To see my videos and my workouts, here is the link.

I originally developed the 3 or 30 method as a tool to bring me, and my body, back to balance. For so many years I struggled with weight fluctuations and body dysmorphia. For so many years I beat my body up with extreme workouts that left me burnt out, injured, and feeling like I had no control over myself.

When I developed the 3 or 30 method, I had three thoughts in mind. One: I wanted to create a way to have a consistent, loving relationship with fitness and my body. Two: I wanted it to be sustainable. It needed to be fluid with the ebbs and flows of life. As I changed through life, I wanted my fitness program to be able to move with me. And three: I wanted it to feel attainable so that I felt empowered and in control of my body.

What started as an experiment became an everyday habit that gave me the results I had always dreamed of. It actually exceeded my wildest expectations. Very quickly, I started to find my way back to loving fitness. I began listening to my body and creating a relationship with it. My body began working with me and not against me. I was getting the physical results I wanted and I felt in control and confident.

It worked so much, in fact, it became a significant practice for many of my clients who also wanted a better, new, and sustainable approach to fitness. Whether they were celebrities walking the red carpet, fortune 500 CEOs, or stay-at-home moms—the 3 or 30 method became their mantra to help them stay consistent, build a lasting relationship with fitness and a healthy connection to their bodies.

So here’s the deal. Everyday, you choose one or the other. 3 miles can be anything from walking, cycling, running, rowing, doing the stairs or swimming. It can be using any cardio equipment at the gym. If one day you can’t figure out how to get 3 miles in, you can use a fitness tracker to make sure you have walked roughly 6000 steps (or 3 miles) that day. What is an easy walk one day, may be a hard and fast swim the next. But 3 miles is the end goal.

30 minutes means a 30-minute workout. It can be yoga, Pilates, circuit training, Tabata, HIIT or my workout videos. Whatever you decide. The point is for you to choose what you want to do that day for 30 minutes. But 30 minutes is the goal.

What’s so interesting about this method—and what I’ve learned and witnessed over the years—is that you can never plateau, never get bored, and it doesn’t take up a large part of your day. You can improve your time within the 3-mile framework. You can get stronger, leaner and more toned in just 30 minutes. You can find a variety of 3 mile and 30 minute workouts. It’s really a never-ending story within the 3 or 30 method.

My 3 or 30 is the philosophy that I believe will help you stay consistent. It is an approach to fitness to help you build healthy habits. It is about finding a way for activity to work into your already busy lifestyle and that won’t take away from you living your life to the fullest.

My goal here is very simple. Relationships may come and go, jobs may change, and you might move to a different city—but you and your body are in this together. It is the one thing that never leaves you. It is with you your entire life. I want you to treat it with the respect, love and attention it deserves. I want you to fall in love with you. I want you to know how incredible you are. I want you to discover your potential.

2. You are known for being very open and being brave enough to share a lot of yourself, what gave you this strength to do so? Why do you feel it’s so important?

First of all, thank you for saying that. I don’t think I’m brave for sharing my stories. Am I? I think it’s organic to storytell. I guess not everyone shares it with the world like I do , but we do all share our stories in some form or another. And we share as a way to connect to people--to help, to inspire, and to heal. And that’s my reason for sharing. It just so happens that for me personally, nothing ever really subtle happens to me. So if it happens to me, it always ends with a very big lesson to be learned. A “slap in the face” kind of lesson. So maybe it only feels natural that I share it in such a big way.

My strength in telling my stories comes from the deep knowing and trust that I am helping someone. Someone I may never even meet. And how beautiful is that?

I do feel this inexplicable need to help women understand and experience their power and potential. So if by sharing my trial, errors and wisdom gained-- it helps them understand themselves better-- then I feel I am truly contributing to them leading happier and healthier lives.

3. What advice do you have for busy women who want to exercise but don’t know where to start?

I would give two pieces of advice:

1. Drink more water! I know this isn’t an exercise tip. But here’s the thing. Majority of people just don’t drink enough water. And consequently, we eat more than we should and we are constantly dehydrated which leads to so many problems including being tired all the time. We are desperate for energy. And we don’t realize that by simply drinking more water, we would have more energy. I have seen this time and time again, but when my clients start to drink more water, they start to feel better, and suddenly they start to want to take actions towards living a healthier lifestyle. So first things first, start drinking more water.

2. Do an online workout or use a fitness app: I so wish there was a way to get fit without actually having to exercise. But it hasn’t been invented yet and I’m gonna bet that it never will because you just can’t cheat your way to health. So fact is, we have to figure out a way to get some exercise in for at least 30 minutes. There are so many workouts available now online where you don’t have to leave the comfort of your home and you can be done in 30 minutes or less. What’s also great, is no one will see you struggling through it so it’s very private and a great way to edge your way back into working out. If you’re not sure where to start, try one of my 30 minute workouts online.

4. Tell us about your 7- day challenge?

In my experiences of training thousands of people, the only way to truly gain a relationship to fitness is to gain a better understanding of yourself. And so my 7 day challenge isn’t just giving you a workout, but it’s also asking you to become more aware of who you are. And my hope is that by having people workout and also work from within, they become healthier physically but also have a healthier mindset.

5. What motivates you to maintain a healthy lifestyle (when some of us want to lounge in bed and binge bravo + bon bons!)

What motivates me is knowing that I feel better when I take care of myself. I’m more confident, I’m more present, aware and available for my loved ones. It’s only positive outcomes when I take care of myself. I have been through workout slumps and I feel so disconnected to me and to everyone around me and it’s just not worth it. It took me so long to understand my worth and my potential, and in my experience, you can’t truly live in that power unless you take care of your body. So it’s a non negotiable for me at this point.

6. Describe a typical day for you.

Kit-Rich-fitness-expertI assume we’re talking a weekday :). Because the weekends are always different.

Monday through Friday, I wake up for work around 5:30 am. MUST HAVE COFFEE. I am at work by 6 am. I teach classes and train clients usually straight through until 2 or 3 pm. Sometimes it’s later. After work I catch up on the other parts of my work. Sometimes, I’m writing an article. Sometimes I’m prepping for videos.

I work out usually anytime between 4-6 pm. I give myself 30 minutes-1 hour for working out. It’s really the only time I can get it in. I will either train myself in my backyard, lift weights or do yoga or Pilates. Whatever works at that time slot. I usually end up training myself. But if I can get in a class, I do yoga at Yogaworks in Santa Monica on Main street or Pilates at Speir Pilates where I teach.

I’m usually home by 6 pm. Sometimes later if work took over. I live with my partner Manuel. If his daughter is with us (we have her half the time), we will be having a homemade dinner with her or we might go out to eat.

If we don’t have her, he and I usually have some sort of plans. For tomorrow, we are going to theatre. That is a big passion of ours.
I’m usually in bed by 10:30 or 11. Sometimes late at night, I’ll finish up more work.

Then I fall asleep with always a reminder from my partner telling me how much he loves me. It’s a beautiful life.

7. What app can you absolutely not live without?
SPOTIFY! Hands down. I need Spotify.

8. List three items you always leave home with.
Larabar.
Sunscreen.
Coffee.

9. What are your favorite healthy snacks for when you’re on-the-go?
Larabars.
Apple.
Peanut butter on a rice cake.

10. Are there any fitness myths out there that you want to debunk?
I’m just going to leave it at this--there is absolutely no quick fix to getting the results you want. So if a gym, studio, diet program, drink or pill is trying to sell you the quick and magic potion to the perfect body--then don’t buy it. There is no magic potion. It’s everyday and consistent healthy habits that lead to change. Period. End of story.

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