I have been long time friends with my gal pal Heidi Powell for over a decade. The masses love her for her “realness” even though she is a celebrity, and I can attest that she is in fact, as real as they come; also as genuine as ever. She transforms the lives of others while being a busy mom to four kiddos, and works along side her celebrity trainer husband, Chris Powell. So how does she keep it all together? What are her favorite workout outfits to wear? How does she remain so real and beautiful and balanced? I sat down with her and asked her all the gritty questions that we are all dying to know. You can also check out her new book, Extreme Transformation: Lifelong Weight Loss in 21 Days for amazing health and weight loss tips from the dynamic duo known as Chris and Heidi!
Hey Pretty Mama: Meet Heidi Powell.
1). You and Chris are obviously known as trainers with huge hearts that genuinely care about the lives of those you are transforming. How does being a great mom to four kids work into that daily cultivating of others roads to transformation?
Believe it or not, I give all credit to my success in the transformation world to the fact that I am a mama, and I have been from the beginning. When I met Chris, his approach was very scientific. It was all about calories in and calories out. His, and really “our”, approach changed dramatically once we teamed up, and parenthood was brought into the mix. I started helping out on season 1 of Extreme Weight Loss, and we had 8 very different personalities to work with at once. It very quickly became less about science, and more about spirituality and emotional balance.
Motherhood, as you know, is not science…and if you think it is, you are in for a rude awakening! Motherhood is about that emotional balance, and about connecting spiritually with yourself as well as with your kids. I had 2 kids when I met Chris, both with very different personalities. I already had experience with and knew the importance of creating boundaries, following through with discipline, having structure, and more importantly, loving unconditionally. So it only seemed natural to me to introduce Chris to the world of parenting, in a way, to create more of a unique and “whole” approach to transformation.
Fast forward 7 years, and Chris and I have 2 more kiddos together, 4 total. Parenting together has molded the way in which we work with every single person we come into contact with now. As well, having the opportunity to work with individuals from every walk of life on EWL (some with some pretty tragic circumstances) has only made me hold my littles closer at night, and appreciate every little thing about them.
2). Women look up to you as a role model for many reasons. What is the one thing you hope to accomplish to inspire others? Business related (go working moms everywhere!) and also family related?
More than anything, I hope to accomplish ONE thing that crosses over for me into both personal and business work: I hope to inspire women everywhere and show them that YOU CAN make a difference in this world OUTSIDE of your home at the same time you are making a difference inside of your home. You CAN be the example for your kids of how to treat others, how to love unconditionally, how to give selflessly, and how to live a healthy lifestyle. I feel like too many moms these days live with ‘mommy guilt’, and are too scared to accomplish their own dreams outside of the home out of fear of neglecting their in home responsibilities. I want all moms to know that not only is there a way to accomplish both (fulfillment in the home, and for YOU personally), but it’s necessary. Happy home only happens when Mom is happy! There is nothing wonderful about a home lead by an unfulfilled, sad, and depressed mommy. Moms MUST take care of themselves and their needs FIRST…and it is only after that, that they can take care of themselves.
3). What is your go to outfit when you aren’t in gym clothes or at a photo shoot?
Ha! Miss fashionista here…not. Now this totally depends on my mood and my to dos. If I am going out to run errands or to a meeting, I am super casual with skinny jeans (gotta make my buns look perky!) and a cute tank. From there, I can make it dressier if needed with heels and jewelry, or I can dress it down with my Havianas. I DO love dressing up every now and then…and when I do, I am a SUCKER for a Leger bandage dress, heels, and cute shoes. I like things that hug my curves, accentuate my buns that I work hard to grow, and make me feel like a woman. Now if I have nowhere to be, you will most definitely find me wearing my Reebok lounge pants with a tank…barefoot. Always barefoot.
4). What is the best advice you wish to share bout life, or motherhood, or balancing the two as seamlessly as you do?
Don’t compare yourself to anyone other than yourself! It’s way too easy to see other moms on Instagram seeming doing it all better than you think you are doing yourself. You’ve got to remember that comparing yourself as a mom or a person to someone on Instagram is like comparing your reality to someone’s highlight reel. It’s like comparing apples and oranges. We are all human, we all have struggles…some are just better at hiding them than others. Cut yourself some slack and know that you are doing everything as well as you can! You are perfectly imperfect…and good enough JUST AS YOU ARE!!!
5). I have known you for years, and I love that I have seen so many different phases in your life. You seem to always adapt to the present and still maintain such a positive outlook daily, despite being busy or stressed. What is your recipe for that amazing smile and cheerful personality that we all have come to love about you?
Ahh…this makes me a little emotional to read. Thank you!!! Gosh, I don’t even know what to attribute it to. I will say that I am naturally a realist…I let Chris do the dreaming, I will be the one to bring him back down to reality really quickly. So maybe it has something to do with the fact that I never expect things to be perfect. Ever. I live by the motto: Expect the worst, hope and work my buns off for the best. Sounds CRAZY, I am sure…but I really think that because of this I rarely have unmet expectations, neither have I ever encountered a situation that I didn’t KNOW I could change simply by adjusting my attitude. I have realized and fully accepted that there are many things in life I can’t control… I will try like heck to control as many things as possible (#controlfreak), but for those things out of my control, I CAN control my attitude toward them. Plus…gosh, I just feel so dang blessed in my life and always have. Yes, I have encountered hardship in MANY ways…but at the same time, why focus on those things when I have so many other beautiful things I can focus on that can make me smile?
6). Can you share your favorite items that you use when you workout that you can’t live without?
Yes!!
Slingshot resistance bands – I don’t work with this company at all, I am just in love with their bands I recently stumbled upon. They make EVERY workout a glute burner. I love them. They help build and engage the medial glute…the part of your buns that helps create the nice heart shape.
Weight belt – I don’t do a workout without one. While many use these for core stability and support when lifting heavy weight, I use mine – cinched tightly – as a reminder/cue to engage my core and vacuum (aka. Draw in from my belly button).
Squat Sponge – Hip thrusts seem to be a staple in my lower body workouts these days, and I legit would cry without my squat sponge!!!! It makes the weight of the bar bearable on my hip bones! Love it.
7). You are supermom when it comes to involving your kids with the business side of things. You and Chris both seem to be mindful about sharing your love for helping others get healthy, as much as you do having your kids experience it along side you. How has the positive ambiance impacted their love for keeping their bodies healthy and also reaping the benefits of seeing your job help others?
Without a shadow of a doubt, the kiddos do follow our example. We have learned that the more we push a healthy lifestyle on them, the less they want to listen! Leading by example has been key for them. They see what we do ourselves and what we do for others, and naturally they want to follow. It’s pretty cool to see Marley and her friends creating circuits for themselves in our garage with out ANY encouragement from us…just the example they’ve seen. Hands down though, one of my favorite things as of recent was bringing Matix to a workout we did with 16 people we are helping along the journey. The entire time, Matix was right by their side…coaching, encouraging, and participating to help them accomplish a victory. SO cool!!!!
