WHO WE ARE
Jaime Barr, NASM-CPT
Founder, The Collective By JABFIT & JABFIT Training
I worked in fashion and consumer insight for almost 15 years, but my fitness journey started over a decade ago. A few years into my career, I was living in New York City, struggling to maintain a healthy lifestyle between work, traveling overseas for my job, and a long distance relationship. I was always an active kid but post-college, amidst the chaos of life, I became my own last priority. On one particularly stressful work trip to China, something in me clicked. I told myself I needed to get a handle on my mental and physical health. I made a call to Stephanie Middleberg of Middleberg Nutrition in New York, and set a goal of losing 40 pounds. Not because I wanted to be skinny, or to appease societal ideals, but because I wanted to gain control of my life.
I always despised going to the gym so I did a ton of research on great starter workouts that were short, seemingly effective, and easy to do at home. I was trying everything from Jillian Michaels DVD’s to Zumba on Nintendo Wii in my 500 square foot studio apartment. I started out with 20 minutes a day a few times a week and worked my way up to five times a week. Within six months I hit my goal weight and felt stronger than ever. The healthy relationship I developed with exercise, along with my newfound knowledge of eating properly, made me feel so powerful and strong.
This feeling of empowerment has lasted and has helped me come back from all three of my pregnancies stronger than I was before. It’s what pushed me to finally make the life-changing career move and become a NASM certified trainer. I chose to become NASM certified because I wanted to understand my client’s bodies and how they function; I don’t just want to make bodies look a certain way, but rather help my client’s understand themselves inside-and-out to become their strongest self.
Seeing clients succeed and surpass their goals is what truly drives me. I firmly believe you do not need to deprive yourself of things that bring you joy whether that’s drinking wine, or eating chocolate every day (I eat Hershey kisses every single night after dinner!) It’s all about finding that balance and giving yourself room to succeed but also stumble. My purpose in all of this, is to assist and guide my clients as they grow mentally and physically stronger than they ever thought possible.