I’m originally from Northern California and I grew up on a dairy farm - my father was a dairy farmer. My father’s family was Dutch and my mom’s was Italian. As I was growing up, my Oma and I used to ride our bikes on the weekends to see the neighboring farms. We were a very active family and there was always something to do. When I turned 16, it was a pivotal point in my life as my father was diagnosed with terminal cancer and was told he had 6 months to live. I went from helping him on the dairy farm and taking care of the cows to taking care of him every day until his untimely passing. In that time I saw the strongest man that I knew become very frail and weak - it was then that I decided that I wanted to help people and become an oncologist.
I started in the fitness industry when I was attending college as a pre-med student. I first joined as a way to help myself and keep myself in shape, but then I learned about personal training and saw how this was a different avenue to help people focus on their health and wellness and hopefully help prevent them from getting sick. The fitness manager at 24hr Fitness saw the potential in me to be a personal trainer and encouraged me to seek my personal training certifications. I did and before you knew it I had a full schedule of a very diverse set of clients – men, women - both young and old. I was so successful that I decided to start my own personal training business as a way to help pay for college.
After a while however, it didn’t take me long to recognize that I would be more successful if I broke out on my own, but I was discouraged by a few people around me and told not to do so. The fitness business was male dominated and I was told that as a woman I would have a difficult time running my own business and having others take me seriously. As a result, I stayed where I was until several months later when I decided not to listen to that advice and do it anyway. The rest is history. The lesson learned – don’t listen to the naysayers. Trust yourself and trust your instincts.
I have followed that advice throughout my career and it has served me well. It served me when starting a virtual training business through Skype well before the thought even entered the minds of the creators of the many digital platforms that exist today, to trying to decide whether I should join a little known company at the time called Peloton who was looking to reach people beyond brick and mortar for group fitness, to leaving Peloton with the intent to grow my company the J METHOD further and challenge myself to do more and reach more people. Each time I was faced with the choice to either stay with the status quo or take a chance, believe in myself and do more. My goal was and still is to reach as many people as possible to help them lead healthier lives. I want to show people that it’s never too late to make a change in their life to allow them to feel better and live a longer life so they can be there not only for themselves but for their friends and family.
After leaving Peloton and while focusing on growing my brand, I had a lot of opportunities presented to me – Beachbody was one of them. I knew I needed to be very thoughtful about what my next endeavor and partnership would be. My goal always being to reach as many people as possible, to reach the masses.
We often make our work our priority and/or our loved ones and there is nothing wrong with that. But we need to change the mindset that we are not a priority as well. It is not selfish to make ourselves a priority because when we take care of ourselves it only sets us up to take better care of others or be better at our jobs.
The program I developed for Beachbody does just that. It is a program that puts you in the mindset that staying on top of your fitness and nutrition shouldn’t be optional—it should be your top priority, your Job 1. It’s about showing up for yourself and giving your health the focus it deserves. When you put your health and nutrition first you’ll tap into a wealth of benefits. More self-confidence. Increased strength. If you make your health your top priority, you’ll see major improvements in almost every part of your life.
In whatever you set out to do, always be authentic and always be true to yourself. Don’t think that there is anything you can’t do. If you have an idea, try it out and see if it sticks. And if it doesn’t, know that it is okay. Pick yourself back up and try again. It doesn’t mean you failed, it just means you learned something and that always makes you better for the next time around. Lean on your network. Don’t be afraid to ask people you know for advice, and if they don’t know the answer, ask them if they know someone who does. There are so many people who have been in your place before that you could learn from!
For more info, kindly visit my website www.thejmethod.com and follow along on Instagram @jmethod.
WRITTEN BY
Jennifer Jacobs