As we move into the fresh and festive season of Summer, we look forward to enjoying both, the great outdoors, and the great indoors with you! From the farmer’s market to your family room, we continue to share our series of ideas, tips and essentials from our Onelife QuaranTeam. Here's what they've been up to, what they’re wearing around the QuaranCasa, how they're staying positive and fit, and more!
Brian, Personal Trainer
Q: How you’re staying fit and healthy?
Strength Training is the foundation of my personal health and fitness program. Thus, I am training daily in my garage gym with my workout partner and other friends that I invite to join me. For cardiovascular training, I have a spin bike for daily sessions. Plus, my wife and I live at the oceanfront, so bike rides and power walks at the beach are part of our active lifestyle. And, as always, nutrition and hydration are a daily habit.
Q: What inspired you to get into the fitness business?
When I was 25 years old, I was the hotel manager of a resort and conference center in Virginia Beach. One afternoon, while I was working out at a local gym, I gave assistance and instruction to a fellow gym member. As a result of that incident, I was offered a career at that fitness center by the owners. I have been a fitness professional ever since.
Q: How are you staying level-headed and positive?
To stay level headed and positive, I focus on gratitude first. By waking up and listing everything that I have to be grateful for; I feel happy, empowered and invincible.
Then, I search for and focus on all of the opportunities that this current situation is providing me to grow professionally, financially, personally and spiritually. By identifying the hidden and obvious opportunities, I am able to create my daily, weekly, and short-term goals and tasks to achieve them. I see this pandemic as an opportunity to continue being of service and inspiration to others, and to differentiate myself even further from my “competition” in the fitness industry.
Furthermore, I have extremely strong faith. I have faith in myself, my family, and my tribe. I have faith that any and all challenges can be conquered, and that I will thrive and succeed in my goals and my life.
And, finally, because I have gratitude for all that I have, versus concern for what I don’t have; each day is an incredible experience, regardless of the circumstances or variables beyond my complete control.
Q: What are you wearing at home? Any dressing up happening for special at-home occasions?
During the day, I am typically wearing athletic clothes since I am spending countless hours per day working out, creating workout videos, online fitness content and marketing materials.
In the afternoons, I prefer to wear light pants, a polo shirt and flip flops. That’s how I like to dress most of the time.
Once per week, my wife and I get dressed as if we are going to a nice restaurant and have a formal dinner at home that is extra nice. To support our friends financially that own fine dining restaurants, we typically get takeout/delivery. This allows us to savor a decadent meal and share our financial resources with people that we care about.
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Brittany, General Manager
Q: How you’re staying fit and healthy?
I'm in a physical therapy program and am so grateful to have resources there, as well as at home, as it helps me maintain an active lifestyle. Now, on a beautiful day- you cannot get me inside...my friends and I socially distance at a field where I practiced soccer as a kid. We play all kinds of sports to stay engaged and to see one another outside of our Zoom Virtual Game Nights!
Q: What inspired you to get into the fitness business?
I was always involved with physical activity growing up. And my family ran a non-profit for children which inspired me and helped lead me into the fitness industry during graduate school. Originally, I was on track to be a forensic chemist, but then found a niche in the Fitness industry that I enjoy very much, and I'm so grateful for the opportunities I experience every day.
Q: Coffee or Tea? Coffee, oh my gosh... if I don’t have coffee by a specific time, I am a different person, and the migraine-life is real!
Q: How are you staying level-headed and positive?
Honestly, a few different ways. It was pre-COVID that I began following a few self-mantras that have always helped me stay level-headed and overall a pretty calm individual. First is inspiration from good old Walt Disney. One of my favorite quotes of his ends with “we keep moving forward.” This phrase is applicable to anything in life and continually gets me through hardships. Another is “sink or swim.” In my mind, this is a choice we all have; we can swim and keep moving forward through our hardship, or we can let it get the better of us and sink to the bottom. Sinking is simply not an option. Finally, when those don’t work and I get frustrated, I give myself little pep-talks to calm down and it trains the brain to make you a calmer person. When COVID-19 turned the world upside down, I put myself into those mindsets and have been able to maintain a level-head throughout the process.
Q: Getaway from home you’re daydreaming about? I had a 16-day trip planned to travel throughout Central Europe. I was going to start in Germany, then travel through Poland, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. My family is Hungarian and German, so my day-dreaming is Oktoberfest and pretzels one day, and then goulash the next! My trip was delayed due to Covid but I am really looking forward to it being rescheduled as I am ready for the getaway and adventure!
Q: Favorite guilty pleasure? ... y’all, Georgetown Cupcake delivers. My favorite cupcake (cookies n’ crème with mint buttercream frosting) is only made on Thursdays... so…on a RARE occasion, I’ll order cupcakes , so I can get that fix. This doubles as a self-care gig since I can’t get to my normal self-care stuff.