Slow and steady wins the race. Is it a cliché? Sure. But is it true?
When it comes to improving your fitness, absolutely it is, says personal trainer Kasey Clelland.
“I tell my clients, ‘Move your body 30 minutes a day, five days a week, with a combination of strength training, cardio and stretching,’” she says. “Start slow. Eat that elephant one bite at a time. People put so much pressure on themselves to go from zero to 100, but just a simple walking routine can improve your health score by a ton. And you build from there. Starting is the hardest part.”
Clelland started her professional fitness journey as an undergrad at UC Santa Barbara, where she picked up a minor in exercise and sports studies and fitness instruction along with a bachelor’s degree in communication. Shortly thereafter, she earned her National Academy of Sports Medicine certification, intending for personal training to be a side gig. But she loved it so much it soon became her career.
“After graduation, I moved to Oregon and I worked at a gym. I loved it so much, I couldn’t do anything else,” says the busy mom of two boys. “I taught every type of class and worked with so many different clients at different levels of fitness. Learning about myself, learning about the human body and helping people feel great in their own skin — I loved everything about it.”
Today Clelland is an independent contractor in Rancho Murieta, near Sacramento, where she sees clients in her home gym, in their homes and on Zoom. With specialty certifications in corrective exercise, women’s fitness and senior fitness, the one-time “jump-jump, pound-pound, go-go style hardcore trainer” now is a passionate advocate for slow and steady. “There are a lot of benefits in a more gentle, tiered approach,” she says. “It’s lots of stretching and more about feeling good, and not so much about quick fixes.”
About that. With fitness content rampant on social media, where, it seems, anyone with access to dumbbells is posting workout videos and offering advice, Clelland urges caution.
“Be careful,” she implores. “Extreme diets and extreme workouts typically don’t work. And even when they do, they’re nearly impossible to maintain. Keep your goals in alignment with your routine. If your goal is to lose 10 pounds and feel better in your jeans, you don’t need to sign up for a marathon.”
