Beach Babe & Professional Ice Skater: Nicole Kennedy Glavas

I know I've been a little MIA recently and I am so sorry! It's been a crazy couple of weeks around here but I promise I'm gettin' back to business.

Today I'm thrilled to introduce you to the gorgeous and talented Nicole Glavas (formerly Kennedy). Nicole and I started teaching fitness classes together at Rock It Workouts and immediately hit it off. This babe is super sweet and super fit. She's been a professional adagio ice skater for several years and even spent a year skating in Greece. How cool is that?

Nicole lives in West Hollywood with her hubby and they are expecting a baby girl in just a few short months. She's still teaching almost every day and hasn't missed a beat since her pregnancy. Get excited to meet Nicole...

How did you get your start in Ice Skating?

When the 1994 Winter Olympics aired on tv with Oksana Baiul winning the gold medal, my mom and dad found me in the kitchen twirling around pretending to figure skate. They signed me up for figure skating lessons, and from then on I was unstoppable.

How did fitness and exercise help you on the ice?

Health and fitness is the foundation of figure skating and is the first thing you are taught. Without a balanced nutrition and variety of workout regimens, you are not as well rounded on the ice. Therefore, a variety of fitness and exercise routines is the key to becoming a successful figure skater.   For example, running san dunes, bleachers, rowing, cycling, swimming or surfing, weight training, interval training, Pilates, dance and ballet, were all daily rotations of exercise we would do on top of our training on the ice.

Favorite workout and why?

My favorite workout is barre with spinning as a close second.  Barre class changed my life mentally and physically. Because I’m an athlete and only 5”1”, I bulk up very easily, which was not okay in the skating world. I had heard about a fitness ballet workout and I had to try it. I was hooked when my body completely transformed and my legs and arms became just as lean and toned as my stomach. On the positive side, there was no jumping, heavy squatting, or lifting. I fell in love.

Tell us how you got started teaching fitness classes…

I wanted to teach fellow figure skaters and people that there was a no impact and fun workout that worked the entire body including the mind and soul in just one hour and had real results. I had to get out and help people see that anything was possible and this was my way of doing it.

What's your favorite part about teaching?

It's seeing the transformation within my clients, not only in their physical appearance but in their mental state as well.  I had one client who suffered from paralysis, she was paralyzed on one side of her body and would come into take a private class everyday. She was the most determined woman I had ever met.  Within 8 months she was able to move that one side of her body and she was able walk for a short time after classes. Her perseverance brings me to tears. Barre classes changed her life and she gets better little by little. If she could work through her disability and make her body do what she wanted then ANYONE can change the way their body moves or looks. It comes down to the work you put into it, determination, and the people you surround yourself with to keep you motivated.

How do you keep your clients motivated?

I remind my clients that they walked in the door for a reason.  It doesn't matter if it was to clear their minds or to change the way they look. That one-hour in class is theirs to feel the way THEY want and to let go of whatever is outside those doors. 

You're six month pregnant! Tell us how that has affected your ability to exercise. 

Pregnancy is such a blessing and there are definitely changes I've had to get used to. During the first 3 months fatigue was my biggest enemy, teaching classes would wipe me out. At this point in my pregnancy, running and jumping is not the best thing to be doing, unless you are a marathon runner and have been doing it your whole life. From 3 to 6 months my body has gone through extreme transformations, but I have learned to love and embrace the fact that my body is creating a miracle and I’m just the passenger. At this point in my pregnancy I feel the healthiest and less fatigued. Working out is fun at this point because my little girl kicks along with me as I teach. It’s incredible. My set back is that my body is 20 lbs heavier and my belly is now prominent, therefore bending over has become more difficult. Workouts have changed as well because at 3 months you are no longer aloud to lay on your back and you should be keeping your heart rate below 140 beats per minute. So I have altered many of my exercises and slowed them down for me, but that has not changed my exercises for my clients.

Words to live by?

For you created my inmost being;
 you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
 your works are wonderful,
 I know that full well. 

Psalm 139:13-14