Health August 29, 2013

GET UP AND GO: REASONS TO KEEP MOVING FROM PERSONAL TRAINER JENNA MINECCI

In my childhood group of friends, Jenna Minecci is the fitness guru. As a University of Tennessee legacy and alumni, this fitness junkie completed her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and is a certified National Academy of Sports Medicine Personal Trainer.

Currently a Body Transformation Specialist, Jenna works at Renu Health and Fitness in Nashville, Tennessee. When she came into town for a short visit, I knew I had to ask about her motivation, recovery from 6 surgeries, and new fitness career.

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Even though it is a part of your job and you’re an athlete, who has undergone major surgeries, how do you stay motivated in the gym?

Jenna Minecci: Sometimes it’s hard to train clients all day and still get to the gym to fit in my workout, but my workouts encourage me.  I’m challenging myself and holding myself accountable every day.

Leading by example is also a great way to show my clients that their fitness goals can be accomplished; if they see me working out hard it will inspire them more. Plus my workouts help me sleep better, live longer, manage stress, and keep my joints from hurting so much!

You’ve recovered from numerous surgeries due to your ACL. How did you help yourself get back in shape? 

Jenna Minecci: I’ve had a total of 6 surgeries; 5 knee surgeries and 1 hip surgery. Overcoming these typically career ending injuries was one of the hardest things I have ever been through. After each surgery, I lost my muscle mass and gained fat to replace it. I struggled with motivation and frustration.

I am a true believer that your struggles determine your strengths. With each surgery, I learned how to overcome setbacks, physically and mentally, and the importance of patience and persistence. I had to teach myself the WIN method: ‘What’s Important Now?’.

These experiences taught me my passion for the human body and its amazing abilities. It made me realize I wanted to help others achieve things they never thought their bodies could do. It motivated me to want to help people take care of their bodies to be disease-free, pain-free, and injury-free.

What do you recommend to others recovering from injuries and surgery?

 

Jenna Minecci: My best advice for anyone with injuries is to never use an injury an excuse! There is always a way to workout and move your body while keeping your injuries safe.  It’s all about adjusting your workouts for your body. Find a certified fitness professional to help you with injury-safe workouts and corrective exercises to keep injuries away.  No matter the injury, you are making it worse by being sedentary. Motion is lotion!

Last year, I remember a story you told me. Due to a doctor’s warning, an older client started training with you to lose weight and lower his blood pressure. He was your first success story. Tell me about another one of your success stories. How much weight did they lose and how did they lose it?

 

Jenna Minecci: One of my favorite stories is about a doctor, wife, and mother of three that I trained in Knoxville. She was very motivated and her goal was to be fit by 40! Her family and her job took up a lot of her time so it was difficult to dedicate time to managing a healthier nutrition plan and her stress.

A few months into our sessions, she was losing weight and eating healthier, but anytime she had a stressful day, she would eat our workouts away. Coupling with her horrible back pain, I could tell she was discouraged and viewed working out as a negative. So I sent her to a trusted chiropractor whom I worked with on her pain management and I bought her a book that had helped me, by Michael J. Loiser. After reading the book and discussing it together, we set new goals and she had a completely new mindset. Suddenly her pain and her overeating were decreasing and her workout frequency was increasing. In addition, we worked on meal preparation at the beginning of the week. She would heat up her healthy meals and have more time for family or work.

From these small changes, she ended up losing over 22 pounds in just 6 weeks and her total weight loss was over 50 pounds. She is still losing weight. She is 40 and fit!

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Follow Jenna on or contact her to set up an appointment if you’re nearby!

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injury recoverypersonal trainingrehabilitation
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1 Comment

  • Reply August 29, 2013

    Katrina Manning

    Very inspiring!