In The Gym with Courtney Bentley

Courtney of Star Systemz Method.

FFFC: Please introduce yourself to our readers.

CB: My name is Courtney Bentley, and I am a fitness personality, promoter of self-love and a holistic party girl. I have a YouTube Channel where I create workouts and share my latest and greatest findings. I also am the Fitness Editor for Expat Ladies Magazine, have created content for Ehow.com, The Jackie Fame Network, been a keynote speaker, a published writer in a few books as well as personal trained some big names in the entertainment industry.

I am obsessed with researching you can find me at a local coffee house with a green tea stashed with stevia watching YouTube videos and reading medical and fitness journals. I am happily married with two small shih-tzus who are my world and I wake up every morning to go do what I love with a shot of ACV.

FFFC: How did you get started in fitness and working out?

CB: Go back to 2007, I was a Slim Fast Drinking, starving herself kinda gal, I also ran on the treadmill with no food for hours and when I did eat, well let me just say it never made it down my digestive tract. Through years of living this way I finally met a man who changed my life forever and taught me how to lift weights. He looked me dead in the eye and said eat and if you get bulky or fat in 6 months you can go back to what you were doing. This man later became my husband and I now teach other women to eat healthy, workout, and love their bodies.

FFFC: How and why did you make fitness your career choice?

CB: What I learned during my aha moment of weight lifting and eating healthy was something I wanted to share with others. I finally felt confident and stopped bashing my body, my self-confidence was roaring. Whenever I see a woman with her head dropped down, it makes me want to run to her and say let me show you this easy peazy way to gain your confidence back and feel good about yourself, I sometimes have to stop myself from spending my day doing this. I was working as a bartender and telling everyone of my new-found love of fitness and that minute was the aha moment, I knew this is what I wanted to do with my life.

FFFC: How do you balance making time to get in your workouts with the demands of your career and personal life?

CB: I have two gym passes, one for when I have time in between my clients and the other for when I am at home, I know it sounds excessive, but this is how I am able to keep up my workout routine whilst helping others achieve their goals. Also I teach a group class Tuesday’s and Thursday’s and trust me when I say I work up a sweat with my group!

FFFC: What do you like most about what you do?

CB: Watching my clients gain confidence is one of the biggest rewards as a personal trainer. Teaching my clients how to love their bodies with nutritious foods and through movement is something I pride myself on. I not only work my clients out but I teach them self love and how to become their own personal cheerleader in not just losing weight, but in career as well as family. I guess you could say I mix life coaching with training and seeing my clients walk around with that “I can do it” attitude is the best feeling for a trainer!

FFFC: What is your favorite exercise routine?

CB: Right now, I teach a group class that is a combination of ballet barre, insanity, Pilates and Dance Cardio to club beats. I call it Booty Camp and teach it Tuesdays and Thursdays, its honestly a crazy cool workout because you get to shake your booty and push yourself to the limit all at the same time. I love watching new clients come in and try a burpee for the first time and feel like a bad ass after taking on a new challenge and leave my class with a new level of confidence.

FFFC: What do you consider the most useful workout equipment?

CB:

I will die and live by a squat rack. #fitness @cbentleyfit @dstprl

Click To Tweet

Ok, I am kidding but the one piece of equipment that changed my body was the squat rack and it is also one of the first movements I teach all of my clients. Ladies, Instagram is not kidding when you see “Squat it like its hot”

FFFC: What do you think is the biggest misconception about this field and what you do?

CB: Every trainer is just reinventing the wheel, we all have the same information and we take it, put our spin on it and speak, preach and live by it. The biggest misconception is that one “method” is better than another, I find that training and eating healthy has many translations. Finding what works for each individual is the most important thing, some of us find it fun to throw dumbbells around whilst others want to have a dance party in Zumba, of course lifting weights has its benefits but if a client is not having fun she will discontinue and all of it will have been for nothing. I am big on finding what works for each individual there is NO right method just do what will stick and what makes you the happiest.

FFFC: What general tips do you have for the average woman trying to balance family, career with a fitness lifestyle?

CB: Organize, schedule and find that motivation. Organization is KEY, I have had a well-rounded sort of women clients and have learned that those who are organized succeed. For instance, write out your workouts before going to the gym, if you only have 30 minutes then YouTube 30 minute workouts, write down a weeks worth of workouts and have them in your gym bag which you should pack with all that you need to head to work afterwards. Create a grocery list and plan out your and your families meals for the entire week. My favorite resource is Rachel Ray’s Week in a Day recipes, just substitute for healthier alternatives like cooking with coconut oil and use organic produce etc. My number one tip for motivation is to find a photo of yourself where you were working out and eating healthy and put it as your background on your phone. We look at our phones constantly and that slight reminder to keep on track will keep you focused.

FFFC: What is the Star Systemz Method?

CB: I developed the Star Systemz Method in college with my own trials, tests and errors. My method is a Mind, Body and Soul Method, finding the balance in life is difficult and my goal with each and every client is to set them up for success. I have even gone as far as going into my clients home and showing them how to prepare meals for the week. I teach my clients how to work themselves out, how to prepare meals and how to be successful on this journey. I feel that many people fail after they leave a trainer because they never learned how to do it themselves.

FFFC: What would you say is your biggest career accomplishment to date?

CB: My charity boot camp Bangkok Babes Boot camp has been the most rewarding and beautiful things I have done with my life. Moving to a new country was rough but by creating this group I have met some of the most amazing women. Through my boot camp, I have created a community of women who are in a new country looking for friends and want to workout as well as give back to those women who are less fortunate.

Boot camp

FFFC: Who is your fitness idol?

CB: Chalene Johnson, no doubt about it, she is an incredible woman, wife, mother and she really has paved the way for an entrepreneur running her fitness business all herself.

FFFC: Do you have any words of wisdom to share with our readers who may struggle with motivation to work out and poor eating/drinking choices?

CB: Working out and eating well all comes from within, the self-love for your body soul and mind moves you to sweat and eat well. Life is all about balance but finding that time to stop consuming and be at peace with your mind, body and soul is essential to live a happy life. The motivation to do right by your body comes from within, no doubt about that. When you feel like crap, you eat like crap and I can guarantee you will skip that workout, change your attitude the minute you wake up by getting that workout in, and eating a well-balanced breakfast, these two small decisions will put your mind in a positive state and I can guarantee the rest of your day is going to ROCK!

FFFC: Do you have any new projects or programs coming up? Tell us all about it. (i.e. appearances, events, shows, etc.).

CB: I love speaking and getting my message of Self Love out there and am working on a potential Podcast called Party Girl Podcast as well as speaking at many local events out here in Bangkok Thailand.

FFFC: How can our readers find you on the web and learn more about your services?

CB: Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cbentleyfit