Jill Brown Fitness

Meet jill

I landed in the fitness & nutrition industry more by kismet more than by plan. I grew up in Queens in a household that subsisted largely on junky processed and fast foods.  My mother was also a smoker and not exactly health & fitness minded. But I had high respect for people who exercised regularly and ate healthy.

I started gaining weight from my unhealthy diet around 16 and that steadily climbed until I graduated college in Boston with a degree in Mass Communication. My lifestyle in college took me even farther from my hopes of being a “fit and healthy” person.  I ate worse than ever (being broke).  I pulled all nighters (playing in a few garage bands and having mainly friends in that were musicians).  I drank sugar laden cocktails and even smoked.  I felt uncomfortable and gross in my body. I knew I had to change.

After graduation , I joined a gym.  The trainer on staff gave me a routine to get started.  He put me on a Stairmaster and told me start with 20 minutes, 3 times a week.  I couldn’t do 5!! Feeling disgusted with myself, I vowed to change and turn my life around. I started working at a production company in the city by day then, taking the train and my car out to the gym in Long Island for evening workouts.  

One day the manager came up to me after I finished taking an aerobics class.  He said he noticed my hard work and progress and asked me if I wanted to start teaching.  They would pay for my first certification if I agreed. I was elated!  I starting teaching a few classes a week at night as a side hustle. And that’s how it all began. When I moved to L.A. to pursue more work opportunities in production, I continued my side hustle teaching fitness.

Eventually my side hustle became my career.  I racked up numerous certifications and worked obsessively at my new craft. After all, it wasn’t what I set out to do in college. I didn’t give up production completely.  I still worked on freelance jobs, mostly marketing and informercials. Also community news reporting and I even took a full time as a TV news anchor & reporter in Colorado for a few years.  Of course I taught fitness on my days off. Teaching fitness satisfied my craving for making a positive impact in peoples’ lives and creativity, which is why I majored in Mass Communication to begin with.  l use my media background to educate, motivate and mentor thousands of followers, students and clients. 

These days you can find me teaching a variety of classes online and at Equinox and, across the web @Jillbrownfitness. I’m a big believer in mixing things up to prevent plateauing too quickly and to develop multiple pillars of fitness:  muscular strength and endurance;  cardiovascular strength and endurance plus mobility and balance. My nutrition coaching is done virtually so I can work with clients anywhere in the world.  Private training however, is best done in person.  

With decades of experience teaching and training in L.A.’s most prestigious studios and gyms, I have developed a highly respected and recognized name in the industry.

Work

What I do?

Philosophy

My definition of improvement is: “making your MIND comfortable with the fact that your BODY is going to be a little uncomfortable” from time to time.  And that’s how we make progress in fitness and even nutrition.  

Our minds and bodies are wired to seek out comfort.  But getting out of our comfort zones is where the positive changes happen. 

Nobody improves while sitting under a warm fuzzy blanket. 

As a coach, I help people get out of their comfort zones even if it’s for a minute at a time. 

My fitness classes are all about variety, using different formats of HIITs and gentle low, to no-impact moves with safety in mind.  And there will always be challenges and modifications in every session. 

When it comes to weight loss or body recomposition (more lean muscle, less body fat), or overall health, nutrition makes all the difference.  As we get older, workouts alone can’t get the job done.

But change is scary.

If you have some amount of fear of failure or commitment, that’s completely normal.  

If you’ve failed on fitness or nutrition plans in the past, it makes you doubt yourself.  And that’s why an approach you take is key.  

Trying to do too much at once will eventually lead to burnout and giving up.  It’s unsustainable to overhaul the way you eat and your workout routine all at once.  

That’s why my fitness and nutrition coaching programs take a gradual approach.  Keeping you on track and accountable as we develop new healthier behaviors until they become habits.  

I often say COMMITMENT = FINISHING WHAT YOU START.  

Backslides is part of the process.  Not a failure.  

You don’t need to be perfect every day.  You just need to be CONSISTENT.

I work with clients to create sustainable, lifelong habits, the mindset to maintain motivation, accountability, and the education needed to make the best choices. 

Signup for my some what regular newsletter.

My news letter feature workout videos, recipes, blogs on exercise science health and wellness news and special offers I am able to pass on to my followers from products I use and trust. They’re always informative and sometimes funny.

My Message

If I can get this fit, so can most anyone. If you look at me and think I’ve never struggled with my weight or that I’ve been fit and athletic my whole life you’d be completely wrong! From 16-22, when I should’ve been in the best shape of my life, I was 20 to 25 lbs. heavier than I am now. I had bad posture. I wasn’t a natural at any team sports that I attempted and where I grew up in Queens, there was simply no one to mentor me or help me find a sport I enjoyed. My only physical outlets were swimming when I vacationed at my grandparent’s and dancing school. I studied dance for 10 years but quit when I graduated High School. By the time I went to college, I was in the worst shape of my life! I could not have been unhealthier and my self-esteem got worse as my fitness level deteriorated. This is when most people are at their physical peak. I joined a gym towards the middle of my senior year. A trainer put me on a workout program. I will never forget the day he introduced me to the Stairmaster and told me to do this 3 times a week for 20 minutes. I couldn’t do 5 minutes at level one!! Today, at 40+ years old, I can do hours of cardio, lift weights, row crew, work out with my clients and play with my dog.
You can be in the best shape of your life at any age!

My challange

I do not consider myself genetically blessed. I don’t have the perfect set of genes. What I do have is a lot of stubbornness and a little OCD. According to all my doctors, I should not be able to do what I do. I should not be able to perform at the level I do and I should be in chronic pain. My right leg is very poorly aligned (my physical therapist referred to it as a “deformity) which causes me to have tendonitis in my knee and hip plus has lead to several dozen sprained ankles. I also have Spinal Stenosis in my neck – an arthritic condition where the vertebrae calcify and press on the spinal cord and pinch the nerves. In 2004 I was in a car accident that could have paralyzed me had I not been in the physical condition I was in. I learned I needed emergency surgery and had to have a spinal fusion in my neck – 2 of my discs were herniated and I had lost feeling in the right side of my body. I had to stop working and training for 3 months before and after my surgery. It took me almost a whole year to rebuild my body to where it was before the accident. Unfortunately, I will have this condition for the rest of my life giving me 2 choices – either back away from my training and give up many of my favorite activities or find new ones. Since rehabilitating myself from the spinal fusion, I joined an Outrigger Canoe racing team (won 3 medals in my novice season!), learned to row crew – both sculling and sweeping and got certified in teaching Pilate’s Reformer. When one door closes, another one will open – but often you need to be proactive and look for it!

HOBBIES & INTERESTS

Being on the water. I loved rowing with a rowing club, Outrigger canoeing on a team….. next is learning to sail!
Being on the beach. Whether it’s doing a beach workout or sipping a Mojito, count me in!
Hiking. Playing with my rescue dogs. Louie & Rizzo.
Reading audio books.
Volunteering (various animal adoption orgs. and tutoring high school drop outs in South Central for A Place Called Home”) Music. These days I just listen and play DJ in my fitness classes, but there was a time when I played (poorly but I sure tried!)
Listening to Podcasts (total junkie for the Moth, This American Life, TED Talks, Tim Ferris show, and so many more).
Crossword Puzzles.
Documentaries.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Trainer and Health Coach. Spinning (former Master Trainer and IDEA presenter – traveled internationally) Step Aerobics (former Master Trainer – traveled internationally) Pilates Reformer instructor Private Boot Camp Trainer ACE, AFAA, Stott Pilates certified. Profiled on USA Network for Subaru with my rescue dog Roscoe for their Character Profile series. Infomercial Host, Writer and Producer. Provide expert testimonials. Lead Trainer and creator of “Feel Fit Forever” fitness videos. Testimonial Trainer for infomercials (yes, there’s often times someone helping those Before & After photos get exceptional results). IDEA Blogfest Moderator Fitness Pro on P90 videos. Fitness model on 2 seasons of CRUNCH! TV workout series and home videos. Consultant for Guthy-Renker infomercials – advise on a variety of health and fitness products. Writer/Producer and Host for corporate marketing and branding videos. Yoga Model in Volkswagon Eos 2-page print ad. TV news reporter for a CBS affiliate from 2000-2002. Worked as a General Assignment
Reporter, Health and Fitness Reporter and Weekend Anchor. Co-Host and Co-Producer for El Segundo Magazine – TV news magazine show on local cable from 1998 – 2000. Writer and Associate Producer for “Healthy Living” – Body By Jake Prods. 5-min. health news interstitials on Fit-TV and Family Channel from 1996 – 1997. Los Angeles Magazine – 1996, one of LA’s best Spinning Instructors.
Working on providing eBooks and more video content for you!