Leaving Fitness to Pursue Health

Chalene Johnson is the creator of popular workout programs Turbo Kick, Turbo Jam and Piyo Fitness. I enjoyed taking those classes so much that I got certified in the Live Format.

If you’re familiar with the fitness company Beachbody, then you may recognize Chalene from the infomercials that have been airing for the last several years.

In those infomercials, Chalene Johnson appears as the very picture of fitness. Ripped abs, tiny waist, and strong arms.

In a YouTube video (linked at the end of the Blogpost), Johnson admits that those infomercials put her in an unhealthy place and she made the decision to no longer do consumer fitness videos. Johnson goes on to share tht for now she’s left the fitness industry.

Her story is familiar to many of us who have worked in fitness.

Behind the scenes of the videos where she appeared to be the picture of fitness, Johnson admits she was barely eating and exercising for 3–4 hours per day.

“I was afraid of real food. I was doing lots of pre-workouts, energy drinks, bars, and shakes,” she shares.

Realistically, Chalene Johnson says that she didn’t really have the time to eat because she was always going to another workout.

Didn’t that seem crazy? Not really because everyone around her was doing it too.

I can relate because I got caught up in the “fitfam” hype of several years ago where you exercised 6 -7 days per week, lived on(No sugar) energy drinks, chicken breasts, broccoli, and protein shakes. (Read my Blog Post on why I handed in my fitfam card on social media at the end of this post)

The Industry takes its toll…

From the very start of her fitness career, Chalene Johnson said she didn’t feel that she belonged in fitness and that she always felt like an imposter because she felt like she was not pretty enough, not fit enough, and not tall enough

“Once I got into consumer videos that took a toll on my confidence because people like to comment on everything,” she says in her video.

Other people’s comments are one thing but what we tell ourselves is the bigger issue. Geneen Roth calls this, “The Voice”. It is…