Personal Trainer, TV Host, and Fitness Model Carissa Bealert

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your husband.

Kyle and I are both certified trainers. We both grew up active, playing sports (Kyle basketball, me gymnastics), and fitness was something that was always a part of our lives. Kyle started working in fitness while in college at the University of South Florida. He was a director at their recreation center and after graduation, he moved on to work at the Y. He worked as a wellness director, senior wellness director, and personal trainer. His passion is personal training and he trains close to 40 clients and 60 hours a week.

I became certified as a personal trainer after meeting Kyle and falling in love with weight training. My certification allowed me to guest host on the Home Shopping Network for ProForm fitness. I have also worked as a sports announcer, TV host, and race announcer for 6 years and recently went back to school to become a registered dietitian.

We started our blog over a year ago as a way to be transparent to our training clients. We were always asked, “What do you eat?” “How do you pack a healthy lunch?” “Do you ever have treats?” We thought the best way to show people our healthy living philosophy was to “blog it”. We post about our workouts, clean meals, recipes, nutrition tips, races, and a little bit of daily life. We live healthy, but with moderation.

What is clean eating and how do you apply it in your daily life?

"Clean eating" to us is eating whole, unprocessed foods whenever possible. We find that we feel better when we eat that way. It is definitely not easy, but the results are worth the extra effort. We try to eliminate processed, packaged foods as well as trans fats, refined sugars, and often gluten. Our plates are filled with lean protein (chicken, turkey, fish, eggs), fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain carbohydrates like oats, quinoa, and brown rice. We do, however have treats and “bad” foods. It’s all in moderation.

On your site, it says your motto is "train hard, train smart, get results". Tell us more about that and each of your training styles and philosophies.

Our motto came from noticing that there is a lot of “bad” training advice out there. We are both educated, certified trainers and we believe that strength training combined with cardio intervals is the best way to build muscle and stay lean. Our strength training follows High Intensity Training principles that include working the muscle to complete failure, keeping your heart rate elevated with super sets, and utilizing compound movements. There is a point at every workout where we are literally pushed to the limit. That’s where you get stronger. Because of our high intensity training we don’t have to spend hours in the gym. The way we train, three thirty minute full body workouts a week, will achieve results. That’s how you train hard and train smart!

What is a typical workout like for you?

Our workouts incorporate super sets and work the entire body. We usually start with the biggest muscle groups (quads, glutes) and move onto smaller muscles as the workout continues on. That way you have the most energy for the big muscles groups and can achieve maximum calorie burn. We also use different rep schemes such as pyramids and extended negative counts to confuse our muscles.

Kyle likes to do workouts with big rep numbers that push his muscles to failure. Our Filthy 50 workout is a good example of that. He uses a lot of NFL training protocols when he creates his workouts.

My workouts are always full body and focus on keeping the heart rate up for maximum calorie burn. I usually start with a tough leg move like squats or leg press and then work through all my major muscle groups ending with abs. I also try to do two days of high intensity cardio a week. Lately I have been rowing 5000m since I’ve been having some knee pain, but I love to run sprints.

Here’s a sample of a workout I did:

SuperSet 1:

Leg extension 2x15

Heavy DB squat - 50lbs - 2x10

Stationary jump lunge 2x10 each leg

Straight arm pulldown on cable machine (for lats) - 2x18

SuperSet 2:

Standing heavy DB shoulder press 2x12

Split lunge with DB isometric hold overhead 2x12 each leg

Bicep cable straight bar curl 2x10

Burpees 2x12

SuperSet 3:

Plank hold with DB tricep extension 2x10 each arm

DB squat swing 2x10 each side

Pushups to failure

V-ups 2x15

With summer right around the corner, what are your top five exercises to get a killer bikini body?

A bikini body is made in the kitchen with healthy food choices, but hard work in the gym will help tone your overall body.

Our Top 5 moves would be:

1. Dumbbell Squat with Overhead Should Press – 15
2. Walking lunges holding dumbbells over head – 15 each leg
3. Plank Push Up – 12 each arm (video here)
4. Bench step-up with overhead dumbbell tricep extension – 12 each leg/arm
5. Roman Chain leg lifts – as many as you can every day!

What are your top five must have foods or vitamins to maintain a healthy body?

1. WATER! Drink it often!
2. Probiotics. I think they help maintain healthy digestion and I notice a difference when I don’t take them. I don’t eat dairy, so I take a capsule everyday.
3. Asparagus
4. Whey protein – Studies have consistently shown that your body responds best to whey after training to help synthesize new muscle.
5. Fiber – I often tell people, “I don’t count calories, I count fiber.” If I’ve had between 25-30g of fiber a day from whole food sources like oatmeal, beans, fruits, or veggies then I know I’ve eaten well that day.

Where does your own motivation come from to stay fit and healthy?

Quite frankly I feel better when I exercise and eat right. I feel better physically, I feel better about myself mentally, and that commits me to making the right choices everyday. Our fitness is a routine just as much as brushing our teeth or showering. I think because we view fitness as so important in our whole body wellness it isn’t seen as an obligation and we never dread doing it. It’s very much a habit.

What does “healthy” mean to you?

Healthy means having the energy to do the things you want and enjoy life! Healthy is not a size or a number on a scale. It’s an internal feeling of wellness that we believe comes from physical activity and whole foods.

Carissa and Kyle are certified personal trainers and the husband and wife duo behind Fit 2 Flex. Visit their blog, Fit 2 Flex to learn more about them, as well a pick up tons of healthy recipes, fitness tips, health advice, and high intensity workouts!