đź‘‹ Hi! Tell us about yourself and your training
Hi! So my name is Lial Rentie but I go by Lulu. I’m 31 years old and from Orange County. I currently reside in Menifee, California.
I am a personal trainer for LA Fitness and I’ve been working there for almost nine years.
I’ve been married for three years to my husband Ryan and recently had a baby boy (less than a year ago).
I am proud to say that I worked out every day of my pregnancy up till the day I was in labor.
That was a huge accomplishment for me. There were a lot of days when I would wake up and have no motivation, thinking it’s hard to be pregnant and workout.
When you workout you expect results. I was just getting bigger, so mentally it was very difficult.
I’ve been working out since I was 10, I started off doing track and cross-country as a young child which led me to join the gym and get into the fitness industry.
It made me really happy and I wanted to pursue it professionally.
In my down time I love to sing, especially to my baby, he loves music.
What I love most about fitness is the challenge! My goal is to be exceptional and not have an excuses for anything but greatness!
⏱ Describe a typical day of training
My favorite day is leg Day!!!!
I workout 6 days a week at LA Fitness after work:
- I start my week with legs concentrating on quads and core.
- The next day I do back and biceps.
- Wednesday’s I do glutes and core.
- Thursday’s I do triceps chest and shoulders.
- Friday’s I do hamstrings and core.
- Saturday’s I do triceps and biceps.
I do 10 minutes of cardio every other day. I try not doing too much since I’m still breastfeeding, so I don’t really want to lose too much weight.
I’m trying to gain as much weight as possible. I’m 6 lbs Less than I used to be sitting at 16% body fat.
Carb cycling has given me great results, but as of right now I can’t do it because I’m breastfeeding.
I take a preworkout which is tested because of breastfeeding and a catalyst which is an amino. I use the company called AdvoCare, I’ve been using them for 5 years.
I love their supplements and that they’re tested through a third party company called Informed Choice. I can feel comfortable knowing that the supplements I take will not hurt my baby.
I also take turmeric, fish oil, and multivitamin with iron and calcium + a whey protein shake. All through Advocare.
I workout by myself for the most part. Used to workout with my husband but now that we have the baby it’s more difficult to get a sitter so we can workout at the same time.
In my fitness bag there are always a weight belt, jump rope, gloves, a resistance band and a squat pad.
I keep a log in my phone of all the workouts, including reps sets and weights.
My favorite day is leg Day!!!! I love doing squats, bridges and deadlifts.
đź‘Š How do you keep going and push harder?
I know if I don’t go to the gym being exceptional wont happen. That motivates me a lot!
I’ve been training for so long and it doesn’t get old, it makes me feel better and just gives me some me time. There’s no other passion that I would put that much effort into.
The best hacks for improving in the gym is to write stuff down. When its on paper you can really see your weights improve and it pushes me more to beat those records.
What pushes me to go harder in the gym is to be an amazing example of a 31 year old who is healthy, looks good and feels good.
I work out right when I get off, have an hour to hit the gym hard with no excuses and then come home to see my baby.
The biggest challenge I’ve faced so far is trying to get all my strength back from what I had before the baby. It’s been difficult to gain, having a limited amount of time to workout and breastfeed.
I feel like I’m doing the best I can in the circumstances that I have.
🏆 How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
At the moment it’s going really good, I’ve definitely been seeing lots of improvements in strength.
My goal in the next 5 years is to have one more baby and get back to my perfect shape, which is at 146 lbs and anywhere between 15 to 20% body fat.
I know that to get to that goal, I just have to continue eating well and exercising hard.
My plan is to own a Fitbody bootcamp in the next 5 years. My husband and I want to own our own facility, we love fitness very much!
I wouldn’t change anything in my fitness journey so far, its been challenging, but also amazing.
🤕 How do you recover, rest and handle injuries?
I always find a way to work out even if it’s at home.
I recover by having Sundays off and stretching everyday!!! It’s so important especially as I get older.
I got injured about a year ago doing heavy deadlifts! I now use a weightbelt and really concentrate on squeezing my core so much more.
I sleep 6 to 8 hours depending on how the baby sleeps. I rarely travel but when I do, I make sure there is a hotel gym so I don’t miss a workout.
Being a parent of course changed everything, so you always have to be a step ahead. I always find a way to work out even if it’s at home.
For recovery, I take turmeric, aminos, protein, multivitamin with iron and calcium. I get my products from AdvoCare.
I stretch and foam roll quite a bit so I’m not so sore.
🍎 How is your diet and what supplements do you use?
Right now I’m breastfeeding so I’m just eating healthy. I eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, two snacks in between and a protein shake after my workout.
Once I stop breastfeeding, I will continue back on carb cycling like I was doing prior.
My goal is to get to 3000 calories a day. Since I’m breastfeeding and working out I don’t want to lose weight so I have to keep my calorie intake up.
When I do go out socially, I eat healthy for the most part. I have two cheat meals a week so I can work around that. My favorite cheat meals are Pizza and Pasta.
I very rarely drink, I just don’t think fitness and alcohol go together.
Right now my goal is to just gain muscle so I’ve been lifting very hard and eating very well to get to that goal. I’m pretty sure once I’m done breastfeeding, it will be a lot easier for me to hit my goals.
đź‘Ť What has inspired and motivated you?
I think so many people make excuses do not get to their perfect self
I really just want to look and feel great for my age and having a baby. I’m 31 years old and had a baby less than a year ago and have abs already.
I think so many people make excuses do not get to their perfect self, I want to be the person to tell them that they can do it.
I have my certification in personal training so I’ve learned a lot of fitness through that.
I really love watching Hannah Bower & Massy Arias. Those are fellow moms that have had a child and look great. They’re just so inspiring.
✏️ Advice for other people who want to improve themselves?
I would start off by joining a gym and getting a personal trainer. They know so much and they will definitely motivate you to really get into the fitness industry.
You’ll learn a lot of things that you didn’t know prior and you’ll have an accountability partner.
A lot of people are going to the gym and think that they can learn it all from YouTube or Instagram. That’s not the case, you really have to learn from the ground level up.
I see so many people everyday using equipment wrong or just having the wrong strategy when working out because they think that they can do it better or they can do it on their own.
I would also start by tracking your food and getting on a simple meal plan. People try to go in head first and they end up being overwhelmed and give up.
🤝 Are you taking on clients right now?
I have about 50 clients right now, their all in contracts for about a year. Most of my clients have stayed with me longer than a year because they see the results and see the value in what I’m giving them.
The biggest reason why a trainer is important is because they can guide you in the right way to do things.
Not to mention most of my clients are horrible with their diet, so I keep them accountable by having them sending me pictures of what they eat everyday.
I’m only seeing real life clients every day, but in the future I would love to take some online clients to help people maybe outside my area.
The most common training question I get is how do I get a flat stomach. I would say there’s no such thing as spot training and that abs start in the kitchen.
đź“ť Where can we learn more about you?
@Lulu_the_extraordinaryy. is my Instagram.
I have a YouTube account under Lulu Rentie and a blog from my pregnancy fitpregnancyjourney.home.blog.
