Powerhouse Kelsey Wells is nothing short of extraordinary. Beyond her incredible career as a personal trainer that spans across the globe, she’s a wife and a mother. We’re obsessed with her because her mission is to help people around the world feel strong, sexy, and more importantly, confident in their skin. After sharing her workouts and transformation with the BBG program, she became a viral sensation. She created the fitness blog, My Sweat Life to blog about her experiences as well. On the SWEAT app, she takes it to the next level, sharing incredibly easy to follow, fun workouts that give you strength and make you feel incredible.
We sat down with Kelsey and interviewed her about her life, some of her favorite things, and why SWEAT is the best app for exercise and training. She just launched the PWR 4.0 Workout on SWEAT, where she put together 12 weeks of workouts that help build mental and physical strength. She’s encouraging women to lift weights with confidence.
Keep reading below to read more!
1) What is some of the best advice you’ve been given?
Years ago one of my very close friends told me, “What people think of you is none of your business.” I didn’t fully understand the advice at the time, but in recent years I have leaned on this advice countless times and have come to appreciate how true it is. We cannot live our lives seeking the approval of others. If we do, we will never be happy. Whether people are singing your praises or tearing you down, you must remember that what matters is what you know of yourself, not what anyone else thinks. True confidence and self-worth come from within.
2) How do you start your day? What does a normal day look like for you?
- Meditation: I like to begin my day with a gratitude journal and then a meditation session. I find that this daily practice helps me to center myself and mentally prepare for the day ahead.
- Skincare: Taking care of my skin is a big part of my daily routine and I like to think of it as a form of self-care. I wash my face every morning and hydrate my skin with moisturizer. Utah has a dry desert climate, so I make sure to moisturize my entire body and face morning and night.
- Breakfast: For breakfast, I always make sure I am fueling my body with wholesome, nutrient-rich foods to give me the energy to go about a busy day. My go-to breakfasts usually include some eggs and vegetables — fried egg whites with spinach or fried egg whites with avocado are two of my absolute favorites.
- Mornings: After I’ve got my son Anderson ready and dropped him off at school, I get some ‘me’ time in at the gym. I will typically train for around 45 minutes – 1 hour using my PWR weight-training program – available within the Sweat app. While at the gym I will also film workout content for the PWR community to post on my social accounts.
- Lunch: After my workout, it’s time to rehydrate and refuel my body – typically I will have a protein shake straight after my workout to help with muscle growth and recovery. When I get home I will make myself a nutritious lunch which usually consists of some sort of salad with protein – more often than not it’s leftovers in my fridge from dinner the night before.
- Afternoons: My afternoons are spent working hard. This is when I have meetings with the Sweat team via Facetime back in Australia, work on developing my PWR programming, write and create content for social posts and blogs, and respond to emails amongst other things.
- Evenings/Dinner: During the evenings, my priority is enjoying quality time with my husband and son. My husband owns his own company and we both have extremely busy schedules as most people do. We decided long ago to always prioritize family time, no matter how busy life gets. We try to have dinner together and play with Anderson until we put him to bed. During the summer typically we will have some sort of protein (chicken or shrimp) with a side of salad or vegetables. During the cooler months, a family favorite of ours is crock-pot meals – they’re so easy, tasty and are great for leftovers.
3) What time do you usually wake up?
I am not a morning person by nature however I force myself to get up early (usually at 5:30 am) every day. This allows me to have a block of time in the morning to meditate, journal, walk on the treadmill, and just start my day off on the right foot before Anderson gets up at 7:00 am and the morning chaos begins. Implementing this has absolutely changed my life. I now enjoy mornings, am much more productive overall throughout the day, and love the hour or so we have as a family sharing breakfast before leaving the house.
4) Breakfast always consists of …
Every morning the first thing I do when I wake up is drinking a big glass (or two) of fresh cool lemon water. This is so simple, but I find it so refreshing and it helps to wake up my mind and body before my meditation. I then have breakfast at around 7.30 am with my boys. Some of my go-to breakfasts include fried egg whites with sauteed veggies like spinach and peppers. Maybe a big bowl of greek yogurt with fresh berries, or avocado toast with vegetarian sausage patties. All very quick and simple but super tasty and nutritious.
5) A favorite workout that gives fast results on the Sweat App?
First and foremost I think it’s really important for women to understand that fitness is about caring for your health – mental, emotional and physical. While it can be fun to have physical fitness goals, your primary reason for working out should be to take care of your health and nurture an appreciation for your body and sense of self-love. I strongly stand by that using fitness as a selling tactic for quick fixes or as solely a means to change your aesthetics is not the right approach. The truth is that there are no quick fixes and your body doesn’t need to be fixed. It needs to be loved and cared for.
It’s also important to remember that working out and taking care of our health doesn’t have an end date – it should be something that is incorporated into our everyday life. How that looks each day might be different, and that’s perfectly ok, but it’s important that you are looking after yourself and being active in some way on a regular basis. When it comes to selecting a workout, it’s important to find a form of exercise that you enjoy doing as this will help you look forward to working out and make it more sustainable. If you’ve been following my fitness journey, you know that I am passionate about weight training.
It makes me feel strong, empowered and confident and is why I created my PWR weight training programs, which are available exclusively in the Sweat app. There are so many incredible benefits to weight training, it’s important to note that the non-physical benefits are just as important as the physical benefits you can expect to see.
Some of the non-physical benefits of weight training include:
- Better sleep
- Increased energy
- Increased confidence
- Enhanced memory and mental focus
Some of the physical benefits of weight training include:
- Increased muscle mass
- Prevention of muscle mass loss
- Preservation of bone density
- Increased bone density
- Faster metabolism
My PWR weight training programs allow you to train with me in the gym or at home. What I especially love, and why I’m so passionate about my PWR programs, is the way that they are designed. They blend proven, effective strength training exercises in a unique way that keeps it interesting and maximizes the results from your time and effort in the gym or working out at home. A typical PWR session in the gym or at home takes about 40 – 50 minutes to complete, including warm-up and cool down.
6) Coffee Or Juice …
Coffee; my go-to is an iced latte.
7) The song I always have on repeat is …
Anything that makes me feel empowered and motivated. Some all-time favorites of mine include Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes (Miss Congeniality Remix), Unstoppable by Sia, or anything from Taylor Swift!
8) In my gym bag, you’ll always find …
- AirPods: Music is a must for me when working out! I find that listening to music during my warm-up helps me to get into the right mindset to workout.
- Drink bottle: Proper hydration is essential, not only when working out but also consistently throughout the day. Staying hydrated and on-track with my daily water intake. It helps with improved digestion, less bloating and means I have fewer cravings.
A few of my other gym bag essentials include:
- Sweat towel
- Antibacterial gel
- Dry shampoo
- Protein bars for after my workout session
9) The last thing I do before I go to bed is …
Every night before I go to sleep, I like to take a moment and write down three things I’m thankful for in my gratitude journal or just in the notes section on my phone. Life is not always easy and there will always be challenges, but I find that practicing gratitude can help me reduce feelings of stress and anxiety, and can also help set positive intentions for the next day.
10) My go-to 3 pm snack is …
I have a few go-to snacks that I always keep handy such as; homemade protein balls, cheese sticks, raw cut-up veggies with hummus or cut-up fresh fruit with almond butter. One of the biggest keys to eating healthy is making sure that I never let myself get too hungry. I eat every 2 – 3 hours. The primary focus when it comes to food is to learn how to fuel your body. Eat foods that make you feel best. Remember that food is fuel!
11) If we looked in your fridge, what would we see?
I keep a range of fresh, nutrient-rich foods in my fridge. I follow a high-protein diet which includes various proteins such as lean meats, poultry, eggs, and dairy. You will also find a lot of fresh fruits, veggies and complex carbs (oats and quinoa are my go-to’s). I don’t cut out any food groups and still enjoy less nutritious foods now and then. But, I do keep these to a minimum and enjoy them in moderation. When it comes to food, I really try to focus on three things:
- Balance
- Consistency
- Everything in moderation.
12) What are you excited about in 2020?
I have something exciting coming for the PWR and Sweat community very soon which I can’t wait to share. Looking further into the year, I am really looking forward to traveling the world. Also, meeting more of the incredible PWR community. I absolutely love them and feel so grateful to be able to do.
Click here to read about why music may help you achieve better results in the gym.
