Building Mental Clarity Through Fitness: An Interview With Noelle Benepe

At only 26 years old, the stunning Noelle Benepe has built a virtual training program that is making world-wide impact. On October 1, 2015 she successfully launched another of her online fitness challenges, Rock Your Curves, which has already reached over two thousand participants. She also shares her self-produced functional training videos with nearly a quarter of a million followers on social media. While her online training business has been an instant success, Noelle’s love of kinesiology began over ten years ago, and establishing her career in the fitness industry required a bit of risk taking, personal growth and, financial struggle.

In 2009, Noelle left the comfort of her small town of only 5,000 residents, and a secure job in banking management to move to Los Angeles, “It wasn’t that I hated my job, I was doing well, saving up money and earning promotions, but I just knew I was capable of so much more.” Soon after her move to L.A. when she 20 years old, she faced the reality of living in a big new city on her own, “Unlike in my hometown I had to learn to be more aware of my surroundings. This was an eye-opening experience which ultimately changed my life; I also had to learn that I couldn’t trust everyone, and that in order to achieve success, my mental strength and clarity would have to be trained just as much as my physical strength.” She spent over three years living in L.A. before finding a sense of family through the Herbalife community. With the encouragement of a mentor, Noelle took another risk, giving up a lucrative career in the nightclub industry in order to follow her passion for training fitness full-time, “My life was offering me two choices, I was working until 3am making great money promoting the nightclub lifestyle and then turning around to manage a gym the next morning, promoting the fitness lifestyle. The two worlds didn’t mix and I just couldn’t live that way anymore, so I quit the nightclub and started working in the gym full-time.”

The decision to transition to full-time fitness training left her completely broke, “I remember rounding up coins from around my car to pay for gas. I was pretty much surviving off of the fruit from the front desk of the gym I was working at.” However, like most successful entrepreneurs Noelle is ambitious, and although she was struggling financially, she continued to align herself with mentors in the fitness industry and began networking with successful trainers who created a tag-team system to build their following on social media. After being introduced to the Trainersvault business management program, Noelle achieved success through her dedication to consistently creating easy to follow, functional training videos. Upon launching her first online challenge she was greatly rewarded for the risks she had taken, and the obstacles she has overcome, and it is safe say she will no longer need to gather up coins in her car to pay for anything.

Let’s hear more about how Noelle began her fitness journey and how she stays inspired to train:

What was your 1st experience with fitness training?

In high school I took a course in strength and conditioning and I fell in love with it. I ended up taking the class every semester after that because I was fascinated with anatomy and physiology. I’m a kinesthetic learner, and studying the human body required me to move to understand how things functioned. I started playing sports in 2nd grade, and continued playing multiple sports until junior high, when I tore my meniscus and was told I could no longer play sports.

How did that work out for you?

It didn’t! I wanted to stay active. So, instead of playing volleyball and basketball, I got involved in crew. This way, I figured I could still participate in sports without bothering my knee, but throughout high school my injury persisted and I ended up reinjuring my knee and actually making the first injury worse. I immediately turned to fitness training to stay active and rehab from injury. For myself, I use fitness more as mental training than physical training. Fitness training gives me strong mental clarity.

When do you make time for your training routine?

I always train first thing in the morning. At least three days out of the week I’m training by 5:30am. Sometimes I do two-a-days. Sometimes my workouts are just for stress relief. Two out of three days of my training are purely therapeutic.

Building and maintaining a successful business takes discipline, what morning rituals have you committed to?

I wake up at 3:30am and light a candle, and then I turn on the heating pad on my desk chair. I’ll sit and drink my tea and listen to a personal development audio or read for about a half an hour. One of the walls in my office is covered with a vision board, so every day I have in front of me the goals that I’m working towards. After my personal development time I answers emails and have a small pre-workout breakfast. I exercise from 5:30 to 6:30 then come home and meal prep for the day.

And what does the rest of an average day look like for you?

I do whatever I feel will inspire me more. I’m consistently communicating with clients that I’m virtually training through my challenges on Trainersvault, or on email and social media. Every day I have some kind of outdoor experience. I just stay inspired throughout the day.

Who or what would you say has been recently inspiring you the most?

Business wise I’m inspired by Nicole Mejia, but for my personal fitness I get my inspiration from my clients. Seeing my clients work toward their goals inspires me.

On the days when you don’t feel like working out? How do push yourself to get it done?

I just go onto my Instagram page for inspiration. Seeing my client’s progress pics and knowing that I’m pushing so many people. That helps me to get up and at least try. If I’m having a bad day, I don’t try to pretend that I’m not. I try to stay as realistic as possible. I feel that since I have so many people looking up to me, I have to be honest with myself when I don’t feel like training. So I go to my clients and followers for inspiration.

If you had only one more chance to workout, what kind of workout would you do?

Plyo! I love jump squats and any kind of lower body plyometrics. I’ve been working with my trainer on agility training and that is also very challenging. At one time I was completely obsessed with Spin and even planned to become an instructor, but I ended up doing other things instead.

What are few last things you want your clients and followers to know about who you truly are?

Well, I’ve always loved traveling and I intend to see the world. I’ve never really been into fashion and I’m not a huge fan of make-up. I’m concerned with the sentimental value of things more than the monetary value; I still wear a bracelet that my best friend made for me in high school.

I also want my clients to know that I want to stay recognizable and accessible, not through my physical appearance, but in the sense that people will know that what I’m presenting is real. My message is that it’s important for each person to find value in themselves. I use my coaching as a way to help build the self-confidence that I lost through some of my life experiences. I’m very spiritual and I read to influence my mind so I can be a better person. I believe that when you give you receive; my opportunity to grow was given to me so that I can help others grow and I intend to make a genuine connection with the people that I’m here to help.

Follow Noelle’s inspirational coaching on Instagram @NoelleBenepe, on Twitter @Nbenepe, and join her next virtual fitness challenge at Trainersvault.com/noelleb

#interview #noellebenepe #fitness