Female Boss Patricia Friberg Shares Her Tips for Staying Fit
Working on your craft, being a motivation to others, and being a mom is not an EASY task. That’s why when I am able to connect with other women doing the same thing, I am elated! Patricia Friberg was an inspiration to me when I was pregnant with my son and continues to inspire me with the interview below! Continue reading and get a dose of your own motivation from this superwoman!
NMFIT: One is your biggest struggle when it comes to finding time for a workout daily?
Patricia Friberg (PF): As a Group Fitness Manager, Instructor, and an educator, I am fortunate that I do get quite a bit of exercise throughout the day. That being said, my struggle is getting in my own personal workouts where I can truly focus on my goals. When I teach, lead and educate it is 100 percent about the participants. I am there as a coach to correct form and motivate.
My struggle is like many of my clients who are working moms. We can feel guilty to taking the time to exercise, if I am to working I am focused on motherhood. It is daily conversation both with myself and my clients that it is our job to keep ourselves healthy so that we can be better in all facets of life. When we exercise and take the time to nurture ourselves it makes us better employees and moms. I schedule my workouts like an appointment on my calendar, when I really struggle to fit it in my schedule, I will use hire a trainer recruit a friend to hold me accountable.
NMFIT: In what ways do you inspire your kids to be physically active? I have include my kids all along in my work to expose them to different ways to move the body.
PA: For instance: My oldest son (now 13) when he was in preschool used to come into the Pilates/ Gyrotonic Studio with me and loved to explore the equipment. At 2 years old he would call the GYROTONIC tower a "Gyna tower" which caused so much laughter.. Over the years he has gotten to see me train NBA and NFL players. What I love about that experience is that he got to see how hard the athletes work and that nothing comes easily. It is all about putting in the reps and working hard. More recently, I have my oldest participate in charity events through work including Cycle classes and even climbing Mt Baldy 3x.
My youngest son made his fitness debut in my belly for my Prenatal DVD Belly Beautiful workout. He was also featured in my post natal DVD. Both boys were involved in the JAM school program, which was a non profit organization in which I was there fitness expert. It was an initiative to educated the importance of incorporating exercise in your daily routine as well as preventing obesity. For several years they were both leaders in the JAM world record, where everyone did a workout routine for 1 minute across the globe. Getting the boys involved in fitness and my work will have a long lasting effect. They understand the importance of moving your body as well as the importance of working hard.
NMF: What are some of your favorite workouts and why?
PA: When I was a child if I was not hanging upside down, I was perfecting my cartwheel. I loved Gymnastics! I was told shorty after our first competition that I was getting too tall for gymnastics and that I should consider another sport like basketball. Now at age 45 I allow myself to explore as many modalities as possible. I do not let my size shape or preconceived notion of what I am "built" to do cloud what I would love to do. I embrace variety in my workout routine and nothing is off limits. I took arial classes for. year. My love now is ballet! At 45 years old after two years on intensive ballet I am now on Pointe. I ride horses every chance I get. I love to SUP!! Living in southern CA, I try to get outside as often as possible. For me variety is key as well as doing things that are new, it teaches me to be a beginner again. This helps me relate to those that are just getting started in a workout routine, I know what learning something for the first time feels like, this makes me a better teacher and ultimately helps me connect to people.
NMF: How do you train your mind or give yourself a little mental TLC?
PA: This is always a work in progress. I am constantly reminding myself and educating my clients about the importance of regeneration. Our community in Westlake Village was greatly affected by the Woolsey Fires. With my finger on the pulse of our community I realized how much we all needed TLC. I implemented many regenerative classes in the fitness club that I manage including Sound Bath meditation coupled with Yin Yoga. They have been the most well attended classes that we offer.
Do you have anything new and exciting coming up?
YES!! I am so fortunate to have been included in a book of letters written by some incredible women with incredible stories. I am one of 60 women sharing their wisdom in the book, Why Didn’t Anybody Tell Me This Sh*t Before?
Motivational speaking has become a love on mine and feel so fortunate to get to share my stories to help others find their passion. There is much more to come on this.
For more information on Patricia visit: http://www.patriciafriberg.com/
For more fitness inspiration and barre workouts visit Nadia Murdock Fit on Instagram @NadiaMurdock and the NMFIT Blog!