3 Reasons A Fitness and Wellness Regimen Can Empower Women
Celebrity Trainer Holly Perkins Says Women Should Look Great To Please Themselves, Not Others
From an early age, women have foisted on them images of the "ideal" female body, and self-esteem can plummet when they fail to measure up.
But celebrity trainer Holly Perkins says it's time women stop buying into those societal pressures.
"There's this perception that all women need to look like perfect runway models," says Perkins, a leading national weight-loss expert. "They can feel the anxiety building when they are trying to meet someone else's expectations. That's when the effort to lose weight or get fit can add to the stresses of life instead of relieving them."
Certainly, women should want to improve their health, get fit and look gorgeous all at the same time, says Perkins, who recently released a home-exercise system designed specifically for women called baladea (www.baladea.com), with regimens she developed to fuse fitness and wellness exercises.
But getting in shape needs to be something women want for themselves, and not an effort to mimic some airbrushed image on a magazine cover at the supermarket, she says.
Perkins realized several years ago that her clients met their weight-loss goals faster when she created programs that addressed both their fitness and wellness needs at the same time.
They also felt happier about themselves. So she incorporated yoga and other stress-relieving and relaxation techniques into the baladea program.
Perkins offers three reasons why the right fitness and wellness regimen can empower women and emancipate them from society's image pressures:
• Because looking good makes you feel good. That's especially true when you're trying to look good to please yourself and not others, Perkins says. "There's this sense of empowerment when you exercise, eat a healthier diet and lose weight because it's what you want and not because of peer pressure or societal pressures," she says.
Self-esteem rises when you improve your image on your terms, she says, and as a result "looking gorgeous never felt better."
• Because the science says so. Research shows that stress can keep you from losing weight and might even cause you to add pounds. Even if you eat well and exercise, an excessive amount of stress can counteract all your efforts. That's why meshing fitness and wellness works so well, Perkins says.
"Stress reduction and relaxation can significantly improve weight loss," she says. "That allows you to look and feel your absolute best."
• Because while improving your look, you also become healthier. You will feel amazing not just because of elevated self-esteem, but because your body really is functioning better because of the diet and exercise, Perkins says. Your energy level will rise and "you will feel ready for anything," she says.
"You can look awesome and you can feel happy at the same time," Perkins says. "It's all about letting your true self shine."
About Holly Perkins
Holly Perkins is a national fitness expert and developer of baladea (www.baladea.com), a customizable fitness and wellness system for women. She holds a bachelor's degree in Exercise Physiology and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), one of the most prestigious certifications in the industry. She believes that making fitness a fun lifestyle is the best way to achieve true change. As one of the nation's leading weight-loss experts and a highly sought-after celebrity trainer, she has been featured in numerous magazines, newspapers and on national TV shows.
