Name: Jen Comas
Age: 36
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
What does being a Girl Gone Strong mean to you?
Being a Girl Gone Strong means being a woman that embraces her strength, in all of its forms, and uses it to fully enjoy everything that life has to offer.
Why are you so passionate about sharing information with the Girls Gone Strong audience?
I have been through a lot throughout my health, fitness, and self-developmental journey thus far. While there have been a lot of great things that have happened, and I’ve made plenty of mistakes too, which means I’ve had the opportunity to learn so much!
I feel passionately about helping women (and men) get to their goals in the most enjoyable way possible.
There is this bizarre way of thinking that pervades the industry, that makes people think that becoming healthier and getting into shape should seem like punishment. It’s not! It’s so not.
Food that nourishes our bodies, and supports our activities, can be so incredibly easy, delicious, and satisfying! Training intelligently can be really fun, and shouldn't leave you dreading workouts.
There is so much more to life than worrying about your next meal and getting into the gym everyday, and I want to show women that it’s possible to live a healthy life, while still having a helluva lotta fun.
What excites you most about being a part of Girls Gone Strong?
Girls Gone Strong is incredibly near and dear to my heart. I love what GGS stands for, and the incredible amount of information that is being shared with hundreds of thousands of people! I’m extremely proud to be amongst the amazing professionals behind GGS, and I’m most excited about the possibility of a further reach with even more high-quality info from everybody involved.
What’s your athletic background?
I was a semi-pro couch surfer throughout the majority of my teenage years. I was a bookworm, and unfortunately, extremely lazy. Aside from t-ball in my younger years, I don’t have any athletic background. All of my strength and physical skills are a product of hard work in my adult years.
What are you currently doing for your own training?
I am currently in maintenance mode with my strength training in order to take advantage of the summer activities that I love so much, like mountain biking, dirt biking, hiking, and paddleboarding. I would rather be expending my energy outdoors with my friends, and enjoying the warmer weather while I can. With that being said, I still do get into the gym a few days a week to maintain the strength that I have, which typically means a good squat session each week, plenty of pull-ups, a little conditioning, and other random movements that feel good to my body at the time. I also continue to practice yoga for about 75 - 90 minutes, several days per week.
What does a sample workout look like for you?
They are admittedly all over the place right now, because it depends what my activity schedule looks like for the rest of the week. For example, I know I’m mountain biking twice this week, and hiking three times, so I knew I need to save some leg power. I did squats this morning, and hit a few moderately heavy singles. Finished up with pull-throughs, single-leg back extensions, and a whole lot of handstand practice.
What’s your favorite exercise or movement?
In the gym, I love pull-ups, probably because I struggled with them for so long, and now they are one of my strongest movements. Outside of the gym, I’m a big fan of inversions.
Top 5 songs on your training playlist:
My music taste is all over the place, but these are my top five most played right now:
Top 3 things you must have with you at the gym/in your gym bag:
Do you prefer to train alone or with a training partner? Why?
I definitely prefer to lift alone. I enjoy conditioning work with friends, but my strength work is a solo act. I love to blast music, and lift; it’s therapeutic. With that being said, I love to socialize at the gym, and chit-chat a lot between sets. For me, that is a big part of the reason that I go.
Most hilarious pick-up line you’ve heard at the gym:
“Wow, you would produce some fantastic offspring”, which I feel is something you would say to a stud mare, but I suppose it was flattering.
Most embarrassing gym moment:
When I had just started powerlifting, I was training at the Las Vegas Athletic Clubs, and these clubs are enormous. Thousands and thousands of people filter in and out every day. I staggered into the gym early one morning, and headed straight to the squat rack, only to find that somebody had left the bar loaded.
Four plates on each side. ::sigh:: I was irritated that I had to clean up their mess, and huffed over to one side of the bar and started ripping plates off.
One…two…as soon as I yanked the third plate off, the now drastically lightened side of the bar flew up into the air, and the still-loaded side went crashing to the floor, nearly killing a personal trainer who was standing nearby. Have you ever heard an Olympic bar and 5 metal plates fall to the floor from about five feet up? It was THUNDEROUS. People came running from all directions. I don’t get embarrassed easily, but that… that embarrassed me! (Of course I stayed and forced myself to squat, because I refused to slink out of there with my tail between my legs.)
Favorite meal:
Filet from Botero at The Encore in Las Vegas. To die for. A close second would be the halibut at Joe’s in the Forum Shoppes, also in Vegas.
Favorite way to treat yourself:
Buying equipment for adventures and experiences.
Favorite quote:
“What you seek, you will certainly find.” I’m not sure who said it, but I remind myself of this often. Many of us get tripped up by putting too much energy into what we don’t want to happen, rather than focusing on what we want to happen!
Favorite book:
Mindset by Carol Dweck. The book is about the importance of having a growth mindset, and it shifted the course of my life, and my business.
What inspires and motivates you?
I get inspiration and motivation from so many things, but I’m mostly inspired by nature, movement, and social interactions. I’m most motivated to spread the word of health and fitness when I talk to people that just don’t feel good. They have low energy, and aren’t able to do the things that they want to do in life. That motivates me to work harder, and help more people.
What does a typical day look like for you?
During the week: I wake up naturally without an alarm (I loathe alarms with the power of 1,000 suns) around 6:45-7 am. I always drink one cup of coffee while I listen to music and scroll through Instagram. Around 8:30 or 9 am, I hit the gym, the yoga studio, or go take a walk. I eat around 11 am, and starting around noon, I lock it in and work, which means I’m at my computer until about 6 pm. I break my work time up with one or two 20-minute outdoor walks to keep myself sane.
After 6 pm, I'm with my friends, and we go out to dinner a lot. If it’s summertime, I’m usually out, or zipping around on my motorcycle until around 10 pm, and bedtime is typically around 11:30 pm. If it’s wintertime, I’m usually reading by 9 pm, and asleep by 10 pm.
What’s the coolest “side effect” you’ve noticed from your training?
The coolest side effect that I’ve noticed from my training is that it is contagious. By my staying active and becoming stronger, my friends and family tend to show a higher interest. I’ve had so many people say things like, “I did squats on Monday because of you!” or “I saw your Facebook post about sprints, so I tried them the other day!” That is the best!
Next training goal:
Complete a 2000-meter row in under 7:40!
What’s your biggest accomplishment in the fitness industry thus far?
My biggest accomplishment so far has been running an extremely successful nutrition coaching business, and most recently to be coaching Girls Gone Strong's Coaching Program for Women. While writing for websites and magazines is always fun and exciting...
...nothing compares to individuals putting their faith and trust in you to guide them step-by-step to a healthier lifestyle.
I take it very seriously, and I’m so incredibly honored to have the opportunity to work with each client.
What’s your biggest accomplishment outside the fitness industry thus far?
The first thought that came to mind was making it out of my seven-year stint in Vegas alive, but being serious, it’s being a business owner.
Three words that best describe you:
Passionate, fun, stubborn.
How has training changed your life?
Training has improved my mental toughness, and shown me that I can do things that I may initially doubt I’m capable of doing, so long as I put in enough consistency and hard work. Much like life.
What do you want to say to other women who might be nervous to start working out?
I understand that embarking on a workout program can be a bit unnerving. Like anything else, it takes time to get your bearings, and to become comfortable with the gym environment, as well as certain movements. Take things one day at a time, but start. Just start. There will never be a better time, and there is no such thing as the perfect plan, so you may as well dive in, and you can figure out the details as you go along. Plus, we — Girls Gone Strong and all of our amazing colleagues — are here to help you every step of the way!
What would you like to be remembered for in regards to your impact on the health and wellness industry?
I would like to be remembered as the woman who helped people become the healthiest and most fit version of themselves to enjoy life outside of the gym. There is so much fitness fluff out there! People and products that promise visible abs and slimmer thighs, if you just buy this-and-that supplement, and eat this strict diet, and it drives me crazy! Health and fitness is not just a diet of dry chicken and soggy broccoli, nor is it a life relegated to hours at the gym every day.
True health and fitness is being full of energy, having a body that allows you to do the things you want to do, having valuable relationships, exploring, adventuring, and so much more!
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