Exercise is not only a great way to help keep your body looking good and healthy but also a great way to build your overall confidence. Kristie Barker, the founder of an online workout community called Girl Hustle, Mind and Muscle explains how working on herself in terms of her fitness, helped her to not only get through her divorce but also become a more confident and compassionate person. 

Everyone Deserves to Feel Good

One of the central principles of Kristie’s business is how self-care, in the form of exercise and taking care of your body, can lead to having more confidence in your everyday life. Jessica shares this sentiment. She started this program during the pandemic and felt like the program helped her get the results she was after, both in terms of physical health and strength, as well as emotional and mental well-being. Kristie started this company as she was going through a divorce as a way to financially support herself, but also as a way to share her knowledge of fitness and well-being with other women who may be struggling with the same situation she was in. She says that even though she was struggling herself, what mattered most to her was sharing her knowledge of health and fitness with other women. When you have control of your physical self, everything else falls into place, and you can start to feel yourself regaining control over your life. 

Share the Knowledge

Working out, especially as a beginner, can be very intimidating. How many sets should I do? Is my form correct? One of Kristie’s main goals from the beginning has been to share her knowledge of fitness and exercise in an educational and inclusive way. Girl Hustle has helped empower women by offering a program that allows the user to grow or level up, at their own pace, as opposed to workout routines that may leave someone struggling to keep up. This is one of the highlights of the program for Jessica, who knows that life can get pretty hectic, particularly while going through a divorce, and it often seems like there just isn’t enough time in the day for exercise. The program is created in a way so that you can be your own personal trainer, learning about all the exercises and techniques as you work through the program, and taking the time you need to really learn what you’re doing. This sort of “grow at your own pace” model really encourages people of all ages, abilities, and levels of confidence to begin or continue their fitness journey.

Well, if They Can do it, So Can I!

A huge part of Kristie’s business is centered around the online community of women who come together to support one another via a Facebook group. People come to this group to share progress photos, discuss which workouts they’re working on, and generally encourage and support one another. Seeing and hearing these pictures and stories of other “real” people really helps encourage others to continue on their transformation journey. Since she began the Abs Accelerator program from Girl Hustle, Jess finds herself checking in on the group first thing in the morning. The majority of people really just want to be heard and validated. One of the things that really resonated with T.H. was how relatable the programs and the stories around them are. People seek out things that resonate with them and hearing other people’s real stories and seeing their progress helps inspire others to start to improve themselves. They want to know that other people understand their experiences and maybe even share some of them. Creating a community where women can come together to encourage, and support each other, has become a critical component to the success of Girl Hustle. 

Show up EVERY DAY (or, Consistency is Key)

One of the hardest things about working out is remaining consistent with your exercise. However, consistency really is key to improving your physical, mental, and even emotional health. Once you make the decision to show up every day for yourself, you’re going to want to eat better, stretch more, and generally do more positive things for yourself and others. Kristie also stresses the importance of setting realistically achievable goals for yourself. She tells her members to write down 3 to 5 goals every day that they know they can accomplish. By setting goals for yourself that you can actually achieve, you’re setting yourself up for success. When you start to feel successful in your workouts and with other goals you set for yourself, it tremendously helps improve your confidence. Once you attain that level of confidence in your physical self it radiates to all the other aspects of your life. You feel more confident in your relationships, your work, and you especially start to treat yourself better. 

So if you’re in that space of going through the divorce process – or are finished with your divorce – and are ready to start trying to focus on getting fit in an encouraging, uplifting, and truly doable way, go check out Girl Hustle. And who knows, you may even “see” Jess in there, too!