We all start from a different place and all seem to partake in a similar journey – exploring the world of fitness. Kerrie Ann Frey started out as a fitness writer and has recently become a certified Pilates instructor. Kerrie Ann knows life in the fast lane – balancing being a wife, mother of three and a fitness fanatic and advocate, yet she still manages to make time for herself and her fitness routine and flat stomach goals. Starting of the New Year with a wonderful inspiration…Kerrie Ann Frey and find out how you too can make your fitness goals a reality this year.

Womens Ab Workout: Tell us more about yourself. Who are you? How long have you been training and what are your goals and aspirations in the fitness industry?

Kerrie Ann Frey: While the top of my “Who Am I” list includes mom and wife, just underneath is fitness advocate, Pilates professional and health and fitness writer.  I hesitate to even separate the list into sections because they all overlap. When I am being a mom, I’m always reinforcing the benefits of eating healthfully to balance out the junk that sneaks in to every child’s diet or encouraging my children to get outside and exercise.  Okay, the reality of that encouragement sounds more like, “Get your tushes outside and move them around! You need to burn some energy!”   I struggle to get my husband to exercise and hear a lot of “I’m tired, I work late, I…I…I…” from him. And I am just like every other mom who has to work to find time to exercise.  However, after a lifetime of learning and teaching clients, researching and using myself as guinea pig throughout three pregnancies, it is imperative for me to spread the word about healthful living.  And to make sure I get it in myself – no matter what form it comes in.

WAW:  It sounds like you began your journey in the fitness industry, as a writer. What interested you to be a fitness writer? Who did you write for to get yourself out there and become well known?

KAF: Writing has always come easily to me.  I coupled that with my love of fitness years ago when I began writing local articles for any publication that would take them.  By that time in my life, I had tried all sorts of exercise from dance to Jui Jitzu and had gotten a Master’s in English Literature so it was natural that the two blend together.  Eventually the local health and fitness magazine hired me on as the editor.  It was as in that position that I realized how important it is to be a credible source.  At that time I could write articles and tell people how to exercise, but until I became a certified professional trainer, I didn’t hold much credence.  Sure I did whatever the story called for – kite-surfing in Florida, sprint triathlons in Alabama or marathons in my home town of New Orleans – but I wanted to be able to provide educated references for my readers.  I became American Council on Exercise (ACE) Personal Trainer certified and eventually a Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant before becoming pregnant with my first child.

The pregnancy brought forth all sorts of new knowledge and a realization that there weren’t any pre- or post-natal fitness opportunities available in my area.  That’s how I came to found Fit Mom USA, a former stroller exercise-based program that evolved in to an online presence with fitness, wellness, and nutrition information for all men and women. I specialized in training the pre- and post-natal mom at first and eventually included athletes, dads and kids.  But it was through researching a story that I found my true fitness love – Pilates.

Through all this experimental fitness expeditions, I continued to write articles for area publications and made myself available as the go-to source for the media.  Building these relationships was critical in my quest to write, to train and to educate.  I learned the market locally and nationally and found out what they were looking for – and provided it.  I highly recommend doing the research before contacting editors or publications with queries for your own work.

WAW:  What does your workout look like? Do you only do Pilates or do you focus on lifting weights and cardio as well?  Do you need to do more than just Pilates for a good workout?

KAF: My workouts tend to vary depending on what I find holds my interest.  I go through phases and currently am in a half-marathon phase, so I’m running a lot.  Summers will find me in sprint distance triathlon mode and no matter the season, I always cross train with Pilates.  I completed the Kathy Corey Pilates certification, a full Pilates apparatus year-long program requiring 600 hours of study, training and apprenticeship in Louisiana.  Clearly I am a believer in the power of the Method – it works your whole body with focus on the core and it rehabs what I tear down with the running, biking, and swimming.  A lot of people who haven’t tried Pilates think it’s a bunch of stretching and I really encourage them to give it a try.  It goes beyond that and is so much more.  Once a month or so I’ll throw in a traditional weight training session just to throw the whole business for a loop.

There is not one thing that can be considered a perfect workout that should be done solely.  You need cardio, strength and flexibility.  It’s like apples.  Apples are great for you, but if you only ate apples, you’d get sick and they’d lose their potency.  Just running, just weight training or just Pilates by themselves would be better than nothing, but certainly not a complete program.  I do it all to give my body the best I can while keeping my mind active as well.

WAW:  As a busy woman, it can be hard some days to find enough time to get your workout in.  How have you been able to balance your time to make sure everything fits? What advice can you offer other busy women, to ensure they have the time to get their workouts in?

KAF: Let me just put it out there – I am crazy.  I will do whatever it takes to get in a workout because it’s the only thing that gives me peace when life gets me anxious and stressed.  If that means getting up at 4:15am to run and then get in my own strength and flexibility via Pilates in between clients, then that’s what it takes.  I forego lunch hours or visits with friends after training clients or writing to make sure I get my session in because it’s that important to me.  You just have to decide your level of commitment – do you want to look good, feel good and find patience or do you want to sleep later or gossip with the girls at lunch?  I’ve also managed to find fabulous friends who believe in the power of fitness as I do so they understand that I need to workout before I get in carline to pick up all the kids.  Finding people who support your fitness habit is so important – surround yourself with likeminded people and it’ll be easier to say no to the snooze button in favor of a good cycle class.

With every good decision like that, I am setting a positive example for my family.  All three of my children are firmly entrenched in the thought that exercise is a vital, uncompromising part of their day.  But, the trick is helping them, and me, find something that we like. No one will happily trek off to the gym if he or she dreads what’s to come.  If I made myself do a step class every time I stepped in the door, I’d be overweight and unhappy because I’d stop going.  The same goes for my clients and my kids.  Of course that means I drive all over world to get one to dance and another to tennis, but that’s what motivates my children and it’s my job to encourage that for now.

WAW: What are two Pilates moves that I need to be doing right now to help me get a flat stomach?

KAF: Oh there are so many! I encourage people to look at Pilates as a way to approach abdominal work – you can do your crunches or your bicycles, but do them Pilates-style.  Neutral spine, hollow out the abdominals and keep your head and neck in line with your spine and you can apply that principle to any workout.  I’d say the Pilates 100s and the Roll Up done properly will get your ab fix in nicely!

WAW:  What’s your favorite ‘healthy’ recipe?

KAF: I just love the Clean Eating magazine Oxygen puts out.  There’s such great recipes and shopping lists it makes cooking and preparing mindless.  Also, I am a big believer in sneaking in a goodie to make “healthy” food more palatable to the family as well.  That means I’ll sprinkle a teaspoon of chocolate chips in to zucchini bread of whole oatmeal to appeal to the kids.  One teaspoon of chips in a whole recipe adds hardly any sugar or calories but makes the bread more interesting.  Tricks like that can turn any untouchable “healthy” recipe suddenly a big hit in my house.

WAW:   Where can we find more information out about you?

KAF: I love Twitter for quick updates on the Pilates studio, my life or just about anything else I’m dealing with that day.  I can be found at www.twitter.com/kerrieannfrey.  The studio website is being reworked and will be up at www.corereformpilates.com by February 2010.  But my creative outlet, ranting house and catch-all is my blog at www.fitmomusablog.com.  I’d love a visitor or two – it makes me feel loved.

There are research labs all over the world doing studies daily about the human body and how we react to environmental factors – both natural and those we impose on ourselves. They are finding out how our bodies react to “X over Z time” or which type of hair care product is better for the environment or how much red wine you can drink daily and still be healthy.

The millions of dollars that goes into this research has found some pretty neat and interesting stuff – some things that we should take into consideration for our daily lives – to help us live longer, eat better and get a flat stomach.

So, here are 5 health related studies that I have recently come across that I thought everyone should know about (if you don’t already).

Study One: Slower eaters consume fewer calories than their ‘in a hurry’ counterparts.  Researchers at the University of Rhode Island have found that women who chewed each bite thoroughly and ate at a slower pace consumed 70 fewer calories (less calories = flat stomach).  Their studies have also suggested that paying attention to the smells, textures and flavors of food can help you slow down your eating.

Study Two: A recent European study has found a relationship between high protein diets and maintaining weight loss.  After tracking dieters over a six month time period they have found that those dieters who received 25% of their daily energy from protein (such as fish, chicken or ) gained back less weight than those people who ate less protein.

Study Three: People who quit smoking and start exercising are more likely to stay ‘non-smokers’, as reported in the journal Preventive Medicine.  They found that those who were encouraged to start some sort of physical activity after quitting smoking were 84% more likely to continue life without cigarettes. What’s the connection?  Exercise not only promotes a healthy lifestyle, but can help with withdrawal symptoms such as fatigue or sleep problems.

Study Four: If you are too busy to exercise daily, make sure you can fit in at least the government recommended workout time of two and a half hours of moderate exercise each week.  The Department of Health and Human Services suggests that at least two and half hours of moderate or one and half hours of vigorous exercise each week (such as a flat stomach workout) in order to improve your health and decrease your chances of heart disease, depression and type 2 diabetes.

Study Five: The study by the Center for Disease Control has found that there are millions of Americans who don’t know that they are prediabetic.  They have found that at least 25% of the American population have prediabetes, but only about 4% are actually aware that they have this condition.  Most people don’t know that they have this condition because there are no obvious symptoms, but to decrease the risk of full blown diabetes by 60% they recommend an increase in exercise, that will help you lose weight.

So, next time you get tired and don’t want to work out or scarf down your meal, keep in mind what the research has shown us.