Amanda Russell: Fitness Trainer, Expert & Fitness Model Reveals Her Workout & Diet Secrets

Namita Nayyar (WF Team)

8 years ago

As a female fitness icon, Amanda Russell is all too aware of what people see when they look at her: “People see this skinny girl, who seems overly energetic and travels all over the world with her workouts, events and engagements. They think, why bother? She’s already skinny. I can’t relate to her.”

Every girl has a relationship with her body- and Amanda’s was the skinny girl who looked like it was really easy to stay thin and be fit. But the reality is that her relationship with her own body and her experiences with it have given her the perspective, knowledge and compassion to do what she does. Above all, Amanda understands that feeling that we can all relate to; where you don’t know where to begin, because you feel trapped in your body, and uncomfortable in your own skin.

As a Canadian girl from a small town, Amanda had always dreamed of being something bigger than herself. In running, she had found her passion, and dedicated her life to perfecting her craft; the results paid off.

She wrote her ticket to realizing her dreams, by attending the University of Richmond on a running scholarship, where she consistently won races, and broke collegiate records. She was on her way to pursue her dreams… the Olympics”

Unfortunately, tragedy struck when she sustained an injury so severe that the doctors told her she would never run again. Crushing her Olympic dreams, and presenting her with the possibility that she would walk with a limp for the rest of her life.Devastated, she felt that a huge part of her had died; running had represented her identity, aspirations, and even her future. Without running, the world that had once seemed so full of promise was suddenly dark and uncertain.

Her biggest fear was returning to Canada without accomplishing her dreams, all of her hard work amounting to nothing. If running had taught her anything, it was that the true winners do not quit just because it gets hard. It was this realization that led to Amanda’s turning point, she made the decision that she could and would win this journey and not let the injury rule her life. Given that she could no longer run, she was determined to get back to fitness, and by using her own knowledge of training, started to regain her confidence and her body.

Despite not knowing a soul, she moved to New York City because, as they say, “If you can make it here you can make it anywhere.” Through great struggles and often scary times, she always managed to weather the storm and come out stronger. Eventually pursuing her MBA and signing with Wilhelmina Models. This contract gave her the opportunity to travel the world, be featured on everything from billboards to bus stops internationally gaining connections around the globe.

Using her business training and applying the same focus and determination she had to running, she started blogging and sharing her knowledge of fitness to a growing audience. With an uncanny ability to inspire and motivate others, in less than a year of her launch of AmandaRussell. TV channel on YouTube, she was selected as one of “YouTube’s Next Fitness Trainers” and has garnered over 70,000 SUBSCRIBERS AND 5 MILLION VIEWS WORLDWIDE Drawing from her own experiences, she developed Fit Strong and Sexy, a customized workout regimen based on the framework she practiced as an elite athlete but suitable for all fitness levels. The program, composed of 20- to 30-minute sessions that burn more calories and fat than most 70-minute workouts, received rave reviews and her second career as a young female fitness icon took off.

The recent launch of her FitStrongandSexy program will allow anyone, anywhere to get access to her customized training program. Not only will her students have access to her personal training and workout video library but they will get special recipes, a community to interact within, special coaching and training from Amanda herself – and more. This next step in Amanda’s offering will truly allow people of all fitness levels get access to the information, support and resources to get the body they want.

In addition to providing real training and fitness products Amanda is a featured Fitness & Lifestyle columnist on The Huffington Post and LiveStrong.com. She speaks often at events such as the Toronto Marathon, OptimMYz Live Wellness Conference, and WPIX11 Health and Wellness Expo. She also donates her time as a speaker and supporter to organizations that are close to her heart- including Girls on the Run. And just for fun, she was the host of the Aspen Summer Morning Show where she got to cover the world famous events that happen in Aspen throughout the summer.

Whatever she is doing, Amanda does it to the fullest and is truly invested in showing people that fitness is about so much more than exercise, it is a gift that can and will transform your world

Full Interview on Next Page!

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Amanda Russell is an exceptionally talented and accomplished fitness expert. She is in conversation with Namita Nayyar President Women Fitness.

Ms. Namita Nayyar:

Tell us about your journey that took you to the top of the world of fitness training?

Ms. Amanda Russell:

Firstly, thank you so much for considering me at the top of the world of fitness! There is still so much I have yet to do and can’t wait to share with you. But my journey started in a small town in Northern Ontario where running had always fueled my passion and ultimately shaped my journey, as I know it.

Being a “runner” was my identity and provided me a ticket into a larger world in the form of a track scholarship to a prestigious Division One university in the US. I was from a small town, but I had big dreams, and this was the ticket that catapulted my career. I was fiercely determined and my sights were never just on the Olympics. I wanted to break every record, surpass the current university standings, change the course of the sport, and make my own OLYMPIC RECORDS. I was reaching new heights and there was nothing that was standing in my way. I was on fire and I had it made, then it all came to a screeching halt…

While I had my mind set on an ultimate goal, I pushed my body to the limits and reached a point where I had created a stress fracture, which continued to get worse and finally cracked as I continued to train and race on it. I went from running twice a day, logging 70-80 mile, to being told I would never run again (and possibly always walking with a limp). a fracture at the neck of my femur, an extremely rare injury and usually the result of a traumatic accident…but in my case I had inflicted this pain on myself. All because I was so fixated on the end result, that I stopped paying attention to the journey and experience itself.

As many of your readers likely know, fitness becomes a part of your identity, your life, your self-confidence. So when it’s taken from you, whether that’s in the form of an injury or illness, it’s as if a part of you dies. It was through this setback that I truly began to understand the impact fitness can have on your life. I wanted to feel alive again, to get that challenge and passion back, and to make that passion my life’s work.

Fitness is not easy, but once you experience it, you can’t imagine life without it. Exercise elevates you to a level you otherwise would not have known was possible and shows you how much better your life can be I believe these cards were dealt to me so that I would use my exercise for more than winning races, but instead to help others experience an elevated state of health and improve their lives through simple techniques that provide results. Fitness is about more than simply exercise; it’s a catalyst for positive change.

Everyone has a different motivation, and we all need to be tapped into. I wanted to give women more than another workout plan, they need a friend, a supporter, and fitness is 99% in your head. The FSS Program was created to train your brain, the strongest tool you have, to push harder, stay disciplined, and do whatever it takes to reach your goals.

The FSS Plan is expertly designed for success, but it’s your mind that will get you there! The best, most expensive plan or machine in the world won’t work if you don’t work it – part of the FSS plan works on strengthening and motivating your mind. I want to be your friend, your trainer, and your coach to get you in the head space to elevate your mind, your body and your life.

Ms. Namita Nayyar:

How your experience and background of a running athlete has helped you in your present profession of Fitness Trainer, Fitness Expert and Fitness Model?

Ms. Amanda Russell:

My experience as a runner and athlete has given me such a deeper understanding of not only the body and exercise, but the power of the mind, the psychology behind it, and how that is what plays the biggest role in every individual’s fitness.

Fitness modeling showed me another side of the ‘fitness’ world. A world where your training is focused on aesthetic appearance above athletic performance. Some people don’t know, but fitness modeling often requires hours of running on a treadmill or bounding, jumping, leaping and beyond to get ‘just the right picture’. It’s a full workout on its own.
I learned both sides of the industry, whether its functional training for performance or training to look a certain way, there are many parallels and you need to know how to address all angles, as everyone has different goals

Ms. Namita Nayyar:

Share your exercise routine that you do to maintain such a bikini perfect physique?

Ms. Amanda Russell:

I work hard and consistent – when it’s time to exercise I make it count. Some people think you need hours to have a successful workout, but if you workout strategic and smart, you can maximize any amount of time if you really use that time to the full extent. The other key point, is that it is about structuring the right flow of workouts for maximum benefit.

Ex. If I do an interval cardio workout one day, the next day I have an appropriate complimentary workout. You can get fixated on doing the same thing which causes your body gets used to it and the workouts become less and less effective. You’ve got to keep your body guessing.

The 7 Day Body Reset Plan is an exact example of my weekly workout routine and has all the videos for each workout Seven days of guided workouts, meals, recipes, tracking progress and more to get you to literally reset your body, tone up and energize in just one week.

If you want to follow my daily plan long term, that’s exactly what the subscription to FitStrongandSexy.com includes: a daily workout delivered directly to you, so you always know the plan and never get bored!

Plus you receive access to my entire full-length workout library, nutrition plan and recipe database. If you are the busy woman who wants it all, I HEAR you, and the FSS fitness and nutrition plan is for you.

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Ms. Namita Nayyar:

What is your diet? Do you take a particular fixed regulated diet comprising of nutrients and vitamins to keep you in perfect health?

Ms. Amanda Russell:

I believe in the 80/20 rule, meaning you never deprive yourself of anything, but you eat healthy most of the time. I don’t call it a diet, because it’s a way of life and involves no deprivation or ‘rules that are against the diet’.

I get asked this question frequently, which is why I created Fit Strong and Sexy nutrition guide – it is my personal routine on what I eat, what to enjoy, what to portion out, tips, tricks and beyond.

I like my red wine and chocolate and would never preach a life that forbids those things. However, when I need to energize and feel/look my best for a big photo shoot or event, I take it up a notch for a limited period. It is 7 days of incredibly wholesome clean, ‘ab-reavealing’ eating and energizing daily workouts. I just made it available for the first time online: I call it the 7-Day Body Reset Plan, which is my version of a ‘detox’. No starving or juice fasting, rather it’s a more daily blueprint to follow!

All super easy with daily meal samples laid out, grocery lists and ‘go-to’ solutions, and much more. I decided to share this because the results are truly incredible, it’s amazing how good you can feel and look in just 7 days – you can literally reset your body. I understand there is never a ‘good week’ to diet, life is full and busy, this is the beauty of the 7 Day Reset, it is simple and easy to integrate into even the busiest of lives.

Ms. Namita Nayyar:

What is your motivation to take a multi-faceted personality of a fitness model, personal trainer, media personality, nutritional expert, fitness and lifestyle writer, professional keynote speaker, Olympic-trained athlete, spokeswoman, founder of FitStrongandSexy.com and one of the industry’s leading experts in fitness?

Ms. Amanda Russell:

Thank you for the generous description. I think we are all multi-faceted, if you think about it, everyone has multiple roles, interests, & talents. No one is one dimensional, and we are all motivated differently.

My motivation comes from an intense desire for happiness. I know what it takes to be happy and that it doesn’t mean just floating. It’s a conscious choice and it’s not always easy. For example, I know that there are many mornings where I’d rather sleep in than rise to the alarm and sweat it out before a day of work, but I also know that pushing myself is what makes me happy and strong in the long run. I am motivated to really live every day to the fullest, so that when I sit down at night I can reflect and know that I maximized every minute of that day.

Ms. Namita Nayyar:

You have glowing skin and gorgeous hair. Do you take some kind of skin treatment to keep it young and glowing and secondly what you do to your hair to make them look so stunning?

Ms. Amanda Russell:

Why thank you! I think regular exercise and getting the right nutrients are the main sources of healthy skin and hair. I am very committed to working out hard and ensuring I refuel my body with the best fuel. However, even with the most balanced diet on the planet, can be enhanced. I used to be opposed to ANY form of supplements or skin care products – no joke, I thought it was all a bunch of marketing. But I hit a certain birthday, some well respected girlfriends told me it was time to try what they’ve been doing and they introduced me to this line of skin care and ‘ageless renewal’ supplements. I started and within 3 weeks even the ‘check in’ guy at the gym noticed that I was looking more energized and even ‘glowing’!

Ms. Namita Nayyar:

You were preparing for Beijing Olympics in the 10,000m, with your hopes high, your running career soaring, and your training schedule was all set when all of a sudden it all came to a screeching halt with a career-ending injury. How you were able to overcome this physical injury/setback and what advice you can give to fellow sports person in a similar situation?

Ms. Amanda Russell:

While the injury was ‘physical’, what I learned from it was that it is about so much more than the ‘physical’. I was devastated and felt lost on so many levels. I struggled through it without my usual outlet of being able to sweat it out, but what I gained from this situation was a life-altering new passion. I believe it is some of the seemingly’ worst situations’ that you have the potential to gain the most from (I say ‘potential’ because it is your individual choice how to react).

I didn’t realize how important fitness was to me until the injury took it away. During that time, I ended up taking a job, working for a prestigious corporate consulting firm in New York City. Like many desk jobs, I was stuck sitting at a computer 12 to 14 hours a day, feeling like a part of me was dead and numb and bored. It was this depressive state, this feeling of being ‘stuck’ that drove me to pursue the journey of trying to get back to some sort of level of fitness – that’s what running taught me, no matter how HARD things get, you are NEVER stuck.

I knew that it was about so much more than the exercise itself, and I had some pretty major physical (and mental) limitations to overcome. But, I also knew what it felt like to be happy and confident, and that life was too short to live this way. Like anything, I knew that I could find a way back if I set my mind and heart to it. The journey was not going to be easy or even clear, but it was one worth taking.

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Ms. Namita Nayyar:

You have done bold photo shoots. What advice you wish to give to the women of today to be body confident in order to do such bold modeling?

Ms. Amanda Russell:

The beauty and power of a woman is in her confidence – if you make the decision (yes it’s a decision), to love your body and be proud and confident in your own skin, it changes everything. You must do things that empower you, if you feel uncomfortable or insecure, there is no amount of make-up that can hide that, it’s in your subconscious. So whatever you decide to do, you need to be all in and ‘own it’ or don’t do it at all.

Ms. Namita Nayyar:

Tell us about your endeavour of Fitness Video’s Channel on Youtube the “Amanda Russell TV”?

Ms. Amanda Russell:

I actually started filming workout videos in my New York apartment while I was trying to get back into shape without being able to run. After trying everything out there, and failing to find something that fit all my criteria:

Time Efficient
No running miles
Produced the results physically and mentally of running
No fancy equipment required
No gym required.

Essentially, the plan that allows the even the busiest of women to have it all, So, I finally developed my own plan based on the type of training I was taught as a runner and substituting in a lot of other forms of drills, cardio and bodyweight exercise in the place of intervals, hills etc.

The results spoke for themselves and people wanted to know what I was doing so I started making videos to show them…and so it began….

Amanda Russell on WomenFitness: I am extremely impressed by this site, from the range of topics and quality content, to the lay out and user-friendly navigation – it really is a top resource for all things fitness. I’m honored to be among the amazing women you have featured on this site, and completely understand why Forbes awarded you one of the top 100 websites for women – well deserved.

Ms. Namita Nayyar:

Elaborate on your personalized concept of “Personal Training” you offer online?

Ms. Amanda Russell:

There is no ‘one size fits all’.

I am beyond excited about this online training, it is more than training, it is a growing community with all like minded people that want to be fueled with education in becoming the CEO of your own body. FSS is not a generic, one-size-fits-all program, I don’t believe in that. Everyone is motivated by different things and what works for one person isn’t going to work for another, so there are many different ways people use the site. Once you sign up, we find out exactly where you are at and what your goals are and then walk you through how to train your body, and start you on a daily workout plan. By the final phases, you become an expert on how to structure your week to make your training and nutrition work best for you. I like to say that my program helps you earn your Master’s degree in your body.

The program is for everyone from elite athletes to the jet setter, the urban professional to the stay-at-home mom. The concept is that living FIT doesn’t require spending a lot of money or time or going somewhere specific to make it happen. I’m a big fan of hard-core workouts that get the job done in less time and keep your mind engaged and motivated.

Essentially, in order to achieve results you must not only have a destination, you must have the right navigation/road map. FSS gives you that road map, and myself or a member of my internal team is there 24 hours per day/7 days per week to answer your questions and provide support through your own private email.

Ms. Namita Nayyar:

What you wish to say about the website Womenfitness.net and message for its visitors?

Ms. Amanda Russell:

I am extremely impressed by this site, from the range of topics and quality content, to the lay out and user-friendly navigation – it really is a top resource for all things fitness. I’m honored to be among the amazing women you have featured on this site, and completely understand why Forbes awarded you one of the top 100 websites for women – well deserved.

To know more about Amanda Russell, check her out at: http://fitstrongandsexy.com/

To know latest about Amanda Russell check out on her social networks:

Women Fitness Team thanks Amanda Russell for giving her valuable time for this interview and quenching the thirst of her fans to know more about her and made this interview happen.

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