Kim Smith is one sweet lady, but you put weights in this woman’s hands… and something inside her changes. Kim Smith, a certified personal trainer and co-owner of The Monster Gym just outside of Houston, Texas, is a walking testament to the power of sheer dedication, internal strength and uncompromising perseverance.  A wife and full-time working mother of three, Kim understands the challenges of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but her knowledge in conquering such challenges is just a fraction of what makes this trainer special.  Each week, Kim will share with us some of her favorite exercises — focusing on a different area of the body weekly  She’ll guide us through each exercise, step-by-step, and will share with us as well, her tips for getting the most out of each repetitive movement.  Now, it’s time for you to meet your personal trainer and the author of SeaShine Online Magazine’s Wednesday Work-Out Series, Kimberly Smith.

SS:  “Kind Kim,” that is truly what you should be called!  I have to start this interview off by asking you a similar question, which I just asked Heather Moseman — how in the world did you find time to sit down and chat with me?!  Between supporting your husband, whom you love dearly, mothering your three sweet children, entering (and spankin’ the competition, might I add) in figure competitions, managing your family business (owned and operated by yourself and your husband) and also leading both personal and group fitness classes… I’m just not sure how you can add one more thing to your calendar.

KS: Well, yes I am a busy woman.  But oddly enough, that’s just the thing that keeps me going.  I like to get things done, and I go crazy if I have too much idle time on my hands.  Even if I am sitting still, my head is going ninety to nothing filled with ideas, people, thoughts, tasks, you name it!  At the moment the bulk of my time goes into Hardbody Boot Camp, which is a boot camp program that caters to teens and women at any fitness level.  This boot camp program is my “baby” so to speak, so it’s like having a fourth child.  But no matter how much “stuff” I have going on in my life I think the most important thing is keeping God and my loved ones first.  That’s my rule.  So that’s why I’m here with you today!

SS:  Tell us more about yourself.  What do you enjoy doing in your spare time (if you have any), and what are you deepest passions?

KS: Spare time?  What’s that?  With the opening of our new gym, I don’t have too much of that lately.  Sundays, however, are my favorite days because that is our family day.  After church, we might grab a bite to eat or just go home and hang out.  I love being lazy with my husband and spending time with our three beautiful children.  Throughout the week I do find those quiet little moments and that’s when I spend time talking to God.  I also like to do a lot of self-reflecting.  My deepest passion is singing.  Years ago, I led praise and worship at church ,and that is my “happy place”.  Touching the heart of God with every breath of my being through beautiful music and lyrics is truly my heart’s desire.  There’s nowhere I’d rather be than in His presence.  It keeps me whole.

SS:  Have you always been athletic or had a passion for physical health?  Could you ever have imagined when you were younger, what you would achieve as a personal trainer and figure competitor?

KS: Absolutely not!  I did dabble in sports when I was in junior high, and I was a cheerleader as well.  But I focused more on my academics.  My love for fitness was a passion that developed when I met my husband, the love of my life. Funny story how we met!  He was my mother’s Personal Trainer, and she basically set the whole thing up.  Needless to say, I “hired” him as my Personal Trainer, and he introduced me to a whole other world.  Once I began seeing changes in my body and the way I felt physically, mentally and emotionally, I was hooked.  I not only fell in love with the world of fitness ,but I also fell in love with my trainer.  He is truly my inspiration and my hero.  He changed my life, and now I am changing lives because of him!

SS:  How did you get into personal training and figure competing?

KS: I actually obtained my degree in Elementary Education, and after teaching for three years, I felt as though I was missing something.  Although I LOVED teaching, I also LOVED being in the gym by my husband’s side.  So, after much prayer I obtained my certification in Personal Training and began working in the studio that my husband and I owned at the time.  My husband began competing in all natural bodybuilding when he was a teenager and still continues to compete.  In 2005, I went to my first bodybuilding and figure competition, and all I could do was look at all the sculpted girls and say, “I wanna look like that!”.  My husband encouraged me to try it out.  Knowing that he had faith in me was all I needed.  I competed in my first show in 2007, just thirteen months after my third child and have since competed in two other shows.  It is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.  Dieting and training consumes you for about 14-16 weeks.  When everyone around you is eating chocolate and pizza, you’re scarfing down chicken and asparagus!  But there is nothing like stepping on that stage.  All your hard work pays off when you have the courage to walk across that stage and show the world what you’ve been working so hard to achieve.  It’s priceless.  I plan to compete again in October 2010, so I’m working super hard in the gym right now!

SS:  Tell us about your professional and educational experience, along with any credentials you have obtained.

KS: I went to college to become a teacher because I didn’t think I’d be that good at anything else, and I really enjoyed learning.  I always made A’s and B’s and NEVER missed class.  Education has always been a priority of mine.  It took me seven years to go through college, but I made it and even graduated with honors!  By the time I began teaching, my interests and lifestyle had changed which led me to the pathway of the fitness industry.  Currently, I am certified through American Muscle and Fitness, and I absolutely LOVE what I do.  I still get to teach.  Just to a different audience, so to speak!  My kids say that I’m their favorite teacher.

SS:  I hinted at this before, but seriously, how do you manage your schedule?

KS: I’d like to think of my schedule as a “well-oiled machine,” but unfortunately, it’s more like “organized chaos”.  (Big laugh!)  The key is planning ahead and trying to remember that I’m not superwoman.  My typical daily schedule looks like this:

3:45 am – Wake up

4:30 am – Arrive at the gym

5:00-6:00 am - Teach boot camp

6:30-10:00 am - Train clients

10:00 am-12:00 pm  - Workout

12:00-2:00 pm – Home for lunch, then naptime for me and kids (hopefully)

2:00-4:30 pm – Cook dinner for later, housework, financials for the gym, update website, answer emails, return phone calls, pay bills, and help my oldest son with homework

4:30 pm - Stick dinner in oven and head back to gym

6:00-7:00 pm - Teach evening boot camp class

7:30-9:00 pm – Go back home, eat dinner, bathe kids and put them to bed

9:30-ish pm- FALL INTO BED

Paul and Kim Smith with their three children.

Did I mention that in between all of that, my husband and I own and operate our own gym?  I am the “brains”, and he is the “brawn!”  He is basically there until 9pm every night, and he works half-days on Saturdays.  Sundays are our only days off from the gym.  That’s why Sundays are so special to us.  But seriously my strength, without a doubt, comes from my one true source, my Heavenly Father.  There is NO WAY I could do what I do without His guidance and love.  I wear many hats each and every day, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.  Owning a business is challenging, but it is our ministry.  We are reaching out and changing lives through our gym.  It doesn’t get any better than that.  Plus, we are instilling core values in our children at such an early age.  Our nine-year-old can do more push ups than any other student in his class, our five-year-old loves to lift weights, and our two-year-old knows what lunges, squats, crunches, and push ups are!  Life is good.

SS:  What advice would you give anyone looking to improve his or her own personal health through an eating plan and fitness schedule, but feeling as though the time just isn’t there?

KS: Plan, plan, plan ahead!  We can think of a million-and-one excuses why we can’t make it to the gym or maintain a healthy diet (not enough time, low self-esteem, can’t afford a gym membership, etc.). Plus nowadays, there is a coffee shop and fast food restaurant on every corner.  It’s so easy to say, “I’ll start a new plan on Monday! Give me the pastry or French fries!”  But Monday comes and goes, and then you decide to wait for the next Monday.  It’s a vicious cycle.  You have to first begin by asking yourself if you’re truly happy with your physical health and current fitness level.  I have so many clients with different goals and a variety of reasons why they come to me.  Some have a life-threatening condition due to years and years of a sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits.  Others come to me because they want to compete in a Figure Competition.  These are just a few examples, but you get my drift.  We all have different reasons why we NEED to change our lifestyles, but we should all WANT to change our lifestyles for the same reason — so we can be the best stewards of our bodies while we are here on this earth, and can enjoy our time with family and friends!  Living a healthy lifestyle will make you a better husband or wife, father or mother, and so on!

SS:  This season you’ll be sharing all kinds of fun tips and exercise with us to get our “bootays” in shape.  Can you share one with us now??  I know I could use an extra arm raise or something!

Exercise 1 | Step 2

KS: I love training my shoulders because I get to use heavy weight, and it’s very challenging!  My favorite shoulder exercise is the Side Lateral Raise!  Stand feet shoulder width apart, slightly bend the knees.  Hold dumbbells at your sides with palms facing in.  With elbows slightly bent, raise arms up to shoulder height.  Lower, and repeat!!

SS:  Tell us about Monster Gym and Sports Complex, located in Kingwood, Texas.  How did this facility come about, and what services do you and your team provide?

KS: Monster Gym and Sports Complex is like no other health club or gym. Our massive 13,000 square foot facility is the only one of its kind in the Houston area. We offer something for everyone: gym memberships, personal training, boot camp for women, nutritional counseling, bodybuilding and figure competition training and prep, power lifting, sports training for any sport, sports massage, and we also have batting cages available for rental.  We also hold power lifting meets, presented by world-record holding power lifting champion, Tiny Meeker, where many state and world records have been set.  This gym is a blessing!  My husband started a little personal training business in 2001 in the warehouse of the church we attended.  Over the years, the business grew, and now here we are!  We want our gym to be a sanctuary where people can come from all over and experience a new realm of fitness.  Our members are treated with the utmost care.  Monster Gym is our ministry.  God blessed us with it and now we want to use it to bless others.

SS:  Are you able to assist clients nationally with specific needs or referrals (outside of SeaShine Online Magazine)?

KS: We currently have one location in Kingwood, Texas.  Our dream is to open several more.  Of course, it’s all up to God.  We are along for the ride!  However, people do contact us from all over with questions about diet and exercise via the website!

SS:  Do you have an email address you’d like us to link to from our site for those readers who have additional questions for you?  If not, would you prefer we direct such readers to your website for further information, etc.

KS: You can visit our website at www.themonstergym.com.  There, you will find a Contact Us tab where you can fill out a contact form.  There are other links that will lead you to our email addresses as well.  I built the website myself (first time ever!), so be nice!

You can also EMAIL your questions for Kim to us, and Kim will answer them in Wednesday’s work-out article.  Have a great time working out, friends!  We’ll be doing these exercises along with you all week, too.

*Kim Smith’s hair styled by hairstylist Amelya Gross, 530.210.5702.

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