Time to Get in Shape With the Best
Written By: Diego E. Gaxiola Costa Mesa Fitness Trainers
The results from “Your Favorite Fitness Pro in Costa Mesa” poll are in! Whether you are just beginning your fitness journey or contemplating giving a new type of exercise a try, these pros have some great words of wisdom that will surely keep the sweat going and the endorphins flowing.
Costa Mesa Fitness Trainers
Aileen Pham, Owner of Spectra Yoga
Q: How does it feel to be voted one of Costa Mesa’s favorite fitness pros?
Aileen Pham: I’m truly honored to be nominated in a category with so many distinguished fitness pros, especially in Orange County where there are a lot of great trainers.
Q: You say your favorite workout is Vinyasa yoga. For readers not too familiar with yoga, what are the health benefits that make Vinyasa yoga such a great exercise?
AP: The added benefit is a decrease in stress as relaxation. [It] is an integral part of the practice, especially at the end where class ends in Savasana. For those who aren’t familiar, Savasana is a lying down pose with eyes closed and the emphasis is on allowing the body to decompress and the mind to clear.
Q: How important is it to not only focus on the physical state of your body but also the mental state while working out?
AP: Spectra Yoga’s goal is to uplift students’ minds and bodies. It is important to not only focus on the physical state of your body but the mental state during a work out because it all starts with the mental state. The mind is very powerful and when you can focus on decreasing the mental chatter, there’s a lot of freedom [in] that to clear the mind so that the body is set up for a physical practice.
Spectra Yoga
2701 Harbor Blvd, Ste E1
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714.436.0576
Costa Mesa Fitness Trainers
Jenny Vande Hei-Secor, Co-Owner of Ra Yoga
Q: How does it feel to be voted one of Costa Mesa’s favorite fitness pros?
Jenny Vande Hei-Secor: We have such an awesome fitness community in Costa Mesa. There are so many amazing coaches and teachers. I’m honored to be considered among them.
Q: When did you first start practicing yoga and how has it changed your life?
JV: I started practicing yoga in college, 20 years ago. Yoga has saved me in many ways, but it’s the peace of mind that has truly changed my life.
Q: What advice would you give someone who is just starting out their fitness journey?
JV: Take your time. I promise it gets easier and soon healthy will not just be something you do, but someone you get to be.
Ra Yoga
3077 Bristol St, Ste A
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714.708.3060
1617 Westcliff Dr
Newport Beach, CA 92660
949.612.7905
854 Spectrum Center Dr
Irvine, CA 92618
949.727.7407
Costa Mesa Fitness Trainers
Monica Pommier Grubin, Owner of Pure Barre
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Q: How does it feel to be voted one of Costa Mesa’s favorite fitness pros?
Monica Pommier Grubin: It feels great! I love this community, it’s where my husband and I raise our family! I wanted to share my passion for the Pure Barre technique and show others within my community a safe, yet extremely effective workout.
Q: Pure Barre’s workouts center around being both effective and low-impact. What is one fitness myth you wished more people knew the truth about?
MP: At Pure Barre, we are always trying to help educate our clients on how effective low-impact workouts truly are! We use light weights for our upper body and sometimes there seems to be a misconception that using weights will make you bulk and that’s not true! Using light weights with small isometric movements, combined with proper stretching techniques, will actually elongate and tone muscle!
Q: You serve as a role model in your fitness community, motivating others to live a happier and healthier life. Who is your fitness role model?
MP: Being a new mom, I truly admire other moms who are setting such a great example to their children by living a healthy and active lifestyle! Honestly, I am inspired by anyone who is striving to live a healthy and active lifestyle!
Pure Barre
234 E 17th St, Ste 116
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
949.230.9131
Katrina Fischer, Owner of Elev8 Performance
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Q: How does it feel to be voted one of Costa Mesa’s favorite fitness pros?
Katrina Fischer: It’s an amazing feeling to be recognized for doing something that I love. My passion for health and fitness continues to grow every single day and I am extremely grateful for platforms like Locale that allow opportunities like this to happen.
Q: You are a great example of someone who took control of their fitness dreams and completely changed their life, thanks to fitness. What initially helped you to jumpstart your fitness goals and how do you continue to stay motivated today?
KF: I initially got into the fitness because health problems ran in my family and I wanted to try and prevent them from happening to me. I did a lot of my own research and tried a lot of fad diets but never really knew what path to follow. To eat carbs or not to eat carbs? Keto? Paleo? Sometimes trying to figure out what the right answer is to being “healthy” can be overwhelming in itself. So I decided to take the next step and become a certified trainer. In doing so, I’ve been able to continually gain knowledge on what being truly healthy really means and am fortunate enough to be able to convey that message to our clients and staff at Elev8 Performance. It’s everyone’s dream to look good on the outside but feeling good on the inside is just as important. My own personal motivation comes from seeing our clients transform their lives for the better every single day.
Q: ELEV8 Performance is a community striving for growth, positivity, and empowerment. How important is it for individuals to have a support system when pursuing their fitness goals?
KF: The community we have created at Elev8 Performance is about so much more than just reaching your fitness goals. Working out is only one aspect of what we do here at Elev8 Performance as we continually strive to educate our clients on what being truly healthy really means. From the quality of foods they eat to the facial and skin products they use to the proper recovery methods after a hard day of training; all of these things matter in the overall quality of someone’s life and education is the key to someone’s long-term, healthy success.
Elev8 Performance
2950 Airway Ave, Ste A5
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714.980.0465
Costa Mesa Fitness Trainers
Matt Gencarella, Head of Trainer Development at The 12 Costa Mesa
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Q: How does it feel to be voted one of Costa Mesa’s favorite fitness pros?
Matt Gencarella: It makes me feel proud for The 12 community. Our community is our soul and they are what means the most to us and I’m happy they’re getting acknowledged. They work hard and work as a team—that’s how we make progress here!
Q: The 12 offers nutritional coaching programs for those interested in further pursuing their fitness goals. What foods would you recommend people stay away from?
MG: I feel most people know what to avoid. The guidance that I push is to consume good carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes, rice, steel cut outs and vegetables. Bad carbohydrates like processed bread, pasta and baked goods are easily stored as fat. It’s actually very simple…just don’t overthink it. Eat complex carbohydrates earlier in the day and taper them off in the afternoon and evening. Eat clean sources of proteins to help repair and build muscle such as fish, chicken and other lean meats. Avoid the pitfalls of fads and trendy diets and instead aim to understand clean, healthy eating.
Q: The 12 is known for its “boredom-busting,” scientifically formulated workouts. For those of us finding ourselves bored during a workout, what things can we incorporate to keep us focused and motivated?
MG: We do put a lot of thought behind the science, sequence and flow of our workouts, but boredom is mental, not physical. Boredom creeps in when a trainer doesn’t connect with and understand how to motivate each individual client and truly guide them to the real reason they are training in the first place. You need to keep them mentally engaged and consistently thinking about the bigger picture of training which is their “why.” Training is a tool to be used to make a person stronger mentally. If we become stronger mentally by remembering why we must push through the pain of training then we will be stronger physically and that will carry over to the rest of our lives. My goal in training is to make them better humans, not just physically fit.
The 12 Costa Mesa
140 E 17th St, Ste B
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
949.200.9499
Diego Gaxiola was born and raised in Orange County and currently lives in Tustin. Outside of writing, he enjoys anything related to real estate, exploring different cities, and trying new foods. In addition, Diego is an expert when it comes to the The Real Housewives, though he will never admit to it in person.
