Women In Wellness: Kristie Alicea On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
My top 5 lifestyle tweaks would have to start with mediation and mindfulness. I have been meditating for years. I went to a performing arts high school in Manhattan, and our dance teachers would use meditation and visualization to calm our nerves before performance and help us be more in tune with our bodies. I have also been meditating daily for years; the benefits to taking time to be silent with yourself and your thoughts are immeasurable, you feel the effects in every aspect of your life. Meditation has helped my mental health tremendously. I have worked with a therapist for years and I can’t stress the importance of prioritizing your mental health; it will make you a better person, a better friend, better partner, parent etc. The mind takes priority over the body!
As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kristie Alicea.
Kristie Alicea, co-founder of ABC Fit Collective, brings a multi-hyphenated background of movement and wellness to her practice. Kristie and her partner and co-founder Sabrina Stockel have created ABC Fit Collective by taking Kristie’s training style — which can best be described as holistic in nature and goal oriented by design — to help their clients celebrate what their bodies can do.
After continually being referred to pregnant clients, Kristie and Sabrina realized that pregnant women really want to move and feel strong during this time, but they are often afraid they aren’t doing exercises that are safe and effective during pregnancy.
ABC Fit Collective’s focus is about celebrating what your body can do during this remarkable time: your maternity journey. Their purpose is rooted in celebrating the strength of women and helping them feel connected to their bodies as they are creating life and living theirs.
Kristie’s certifications include: NCSF Certified personal trainer. ACE Group fitness instructor, AFPA, Pre + Postnatal Fitness Specialist Specialties: Prenatal and postpartum training, functional fitness training, strength training, barre, HIIT.
Kristie is also a proud Latina and member of the LGTBQ+ Community alongside her partner (in business and life!) Sabrina.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
My name is Kristie Alicea; I’m a native New Yorker and proud Latina who has been in the fitness industry since 2011. I was born in Brooklyn, raised in Queens and lived in Manhattan for about 4 years so NYC is in my blood. I grew up dancing and went to a performing arts high school in Manhattan; LaGuardia Performing Arts. I continued dancing in college at Rutgers University. However, I graduated with a double major in Communication and Spanish. But Dance is actually how I got into my current career. I started taking Zumba classes so I could increase my cardio in preparation for backup dancing. But then it was a recommendation from the instructor to get a certificate in teaching Zumba that changed everything. That was the gateway that would open up my life to the fitness industry, which I have been in for over 10 years now.
I have had the privilege of working at Gold’s Gym, New York Sports Club, Equinox, Baree, Barre3. Then in 2017 I entered my next chapter in the fitness industry and became a co-founder of a new boutique fitness studio in Brooklyn. In 2020 I started my new business baby, ABC Fit Collective where we work with women before, during and after their pregnancies. When I’m not training clients, I love being outdoors and active. I thoroughly enjoy all things around food; cooking and finding great new restaurants. In 2021, after living in New York City for my entire life, my partner and I moved to Miami. I decided to ride the wave of change while down in Florida and pursue a sober lifestyle which I have really been enjoying. I feel like I hit the refresh button on my life!
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?
In 2015, while working at Equinox, I decided to get a pre and postnatal fitness certification on a whim. Little did I know it would be my main passion in just a few years. I happened to tell one of my existing clients that I had this certification and from there my career blossomed, as I began to teach one pregnant client after another. That one initial client (who I am still working with) was the catalyst to my niche and helped me birth my business idea of ABC Fit. My circumstances lead me to such clarity that this is what I want to be doing in the fitness industry; working with and changing the lives of pregnant and postpartum women.
I also had the pleasure of training Daphne Oz at Equinox and had Dr. Jill Biden and Elaine Welterworth take my Barre3 classes, which really taught me to be prepared for anything because you never know who will be popping in to take class or who I would partner up with as a client.
Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Before starting ABC Fit Collective I was a part of other fitness business endeavors. Some of the biggest mistakes I made while working for others was not speaking up for myself and asking for what I knew I deserved. Remaining silent landed me in a place of self doubt, a place where no one wants to be. With big ambition you are bound to have some bumps in the road, it’s not always smooth sailing. It is those bumps that teach us the biggest lessons. I have since decided to choose my words wisely and confidently. I have an important voice and people need to hear it and know I’m worth the compensation I am seeking. By doing so I am able to inspire other women in my position to do the same for themselves.
Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?
My work is focused on the health and wellness of others, particularly women before, during and after their pregnancy. As someone who has been working with women during their maternity journey, I believe that taking care of your baby starts with taking care of you. Taking time to be selfish will allow you to be selfless in everything else that you do. Especially during the pandemic, I noticed how unbelievably strong and resilient mothers are and how important they are to the boom of our society. If I can help just one mother to feel her absolute best and strongest self then I have succeeded.
Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
My top 5 lifestyle tweaks would have to start with mediation and mindfulness. I have been meditating for years. I went to a performing arts high school in Manhattan, and our dance teachers would use meditation and visualization to calm our nerves before performance and help us be more in tune with our bodies. I have also been meditating daily for years; the benefits to taking time to be silent with yourself and your thoughts are immeasurable, you feel the effects in every aspect of your life. Meditation has helped my mental health tremendously. I have worked with a therapist for years and I can’t stress the importance of prioritizing your mental health; it will make you a better person, a better friend, better partner, parent etc. The mind takes priority over the body!
My second lifestyle tweak would be intentionally moving your body and sweating often. I say intentionally because it really takes a lot to listen to your body and give it what it needs. When I was in my 20s I thought I had to do the most intense, hardest workouts every time then I had knee surgery and that put things into perspective for me. I now know that if my body is craving rest then I give it rest and if I have great energy that day I go for a strong solid workout. My goal is to intentionally sweat most days throughout my week. Sweating is one of the best things we can do for our lymphatic system and to simply feel good.
Sleep is one of the most important lifestyle tweaks that I tell my clients to prioritize. During the pandemic when my bedroom became another office, like many of us, I found it very challenging to sleep well and get good quality sleep. I knew I had to make a change so now I have a bedtime routine. Under no circumstances do I bring my cellphone or laptop into my bedroom, no tv or blue light at least 30 minutes prior to sleep. I have a mix of essential oils, a sound machine and I read every night before bed. If you aren’t getting good sleep you are on an endless cycle of binging on caffeinated drinks, your adrenal glands are constantly exhausted and I find myself to be more irritable to the people around me.
Eat real food and drink water; maybe this should be the first lifestyle tweak. If we think about the law of conversion of energy it says that energy can not be created or destroyed but rather passed from one to another. Then by eating real food I am getting all the energy from the earth from the natural foods I decide to consume. Whatever your dietary preferences are, eliminating processed foods and getting back to the foundation of food has amazing benefits to our health. I try to avoid highly processed foods and cook many meals at home to ensure I am consuming the absolute best. Staying hydrated is one of the best ways to feel all around better.
My last lifestyle tweak is getting outside and into nature as much as possible. Getting fresh air, sunshine on your face, getting away from screens, getting your feet on dirt or in sand has resoundingly positive benefits to our body and mental health. Getting outdoors and immersing yourself into nature allows you to quiet the external noise and explore your surroundings and inner workings of your mind. Not to mention the benefits of your circadian rhythm which affects everything.
If I had to start a movement it would be meditation! I believe that if we all meditated; brought ourselves to heightened state of awareness and focused attention, we can all achieve the most amount of wellness. Meditating can help us be more mindful and intentional in everything else we do.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
- Don’t take things so personally.
- Move from competition to collaboration mindset.
- If you never ask, the answer will always be no.
- People do business with people.
- I’m not for everyone and that’s perfectly okay.
Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?
I believe sustainability and environmental changes are basically being mindful of our presence on planet earth. Sustainability and wanting to live a life that is environmentally aware works hand in hand with prioritizing my mental health. Taking care of my mental health is what allows me to be more mindful in everything I do and focus my attention on important topics such as living a sustainable lifestyle and making sure my daily decisions are working towards environmental sustainability.
What is the best way our readers can follow you online?
You can find me personally on instagram at @Kristie_Fitness or my business account http://instagram.com/abcfitcollective@abcfitcollective!
Thank you for these fantastic insights!
Women In Wellness: Kristie Alicea On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.