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Fitness Guru Kathy Smith Interview

Fitness guru Kathy Smith interview. Interview with Kathy Smith, the ageless inspiration for health and fitness. She discusses being a pioneer in the fitness industry and her media empire.

Acacia Lifestyle recently provided me with an opportunity to interview fitness guru Kathy Smith in coordination with Kathy’s latest workout DVD release, Ageless with Kathy Smith: Staying Strong.

I was honored to be able to interview someone I view as an “idol” of sort. I’ve always admired Kathy Smith’s ambition and dedication so I was very excited for the fitness guru Kathy Smith interview.

Lisa LaGrou of Oakland County Moms – You live your life around health and fitness. You’re still going strong in your 50’s. What advice can you give others for how to make a healthy lifestyle a way of life as we get older?

Kathy Smith – When it comes to exercise, the key is to find something you love doing – whether it’s strength training, tennis, or dancing – and find people you love to do it with.  That will keep you coming back for more and will change the “have to” mentality to a “want to” mentality. And then there’s nutrition. It’s nearly impossible to change all of your habits over night, so break it down into doable steps. Start with one thing – whether it’s replacing soda with water, or cutting out sugary cereals – and stick to it until it becomes second nature. Each week, make an additional change, and before you know it, you’ve done a full-blown diet overhaul.

Lisa LaGrou of Oakland County Moms – As we approach our older years, we get busy with kids, family, work schedules, etc., we battle with bodily aches and pains, and we feel like we have less energy than ever before. What’s the best type of workout that will help us effectively maintain a healthy lifestyle?

Kathy Smith – “The Great Decline” is my term for the loss of muscle mass and vitality that happens as we age. It leads to a host of problems, from weight gain to diabetes to osteoporosis. But that decline isn’t inevitable. You can reverse it with a combination of strength training, cardio, and stretching. And anytime I’m feeling sluggish or lacking energy,  here’s a quick exercise I call my “Full Body Energizer”: Lie on your back and start by focusing on your left foot, progressively contracting and releasing every single muscle on both sides of your body, all the way up to your forehead. Once you’ve worked your way from top to bottom once, do a full-body burst, tensing all the muscles in your body simultaneously, holding it for ten seconds and then release!

Lisa LaGrou of Oakland County Moms – You’re a pioneer of a fitness industry that exploded in the 80’s. How did you get involved in the early days and did you know back then it would get as big as it is?

Kathy Smith – When I was 17, my Dad died of a heart attack, and two years later, my Mom was killed in a plane crash. So there I was, a college student in Hawaii, feeling completely lost and alone. I’d never been an avid exercise, but I turned to running as a means of therapy, and quickly it became my saving grace. It was a breakthrough for me, because I realized that what you do with your body affects your mind and your quality of life. So I came to LA and started teaching aerobics, and after my classes gained some popularity, a record promoter named Toni Profera approached me about making an exercise album – that’s right, an LP that you’d listen to while following along to a poster with photos of me demonstrating the moves. That eventually led to my first VHS, which led to DVDs, and beyond. I had no idea where this would go…I just knew that people wanted to feel good mentally and physically and exercise was a way to capture that good feeling.

Lisa LaGrou of Oakland County Moms – You are absolutely stunning. How much time and effort do you invest in your health on a daily basis?

Kathy Smith – I’d say an hour a day keeps the doctor away.  That’s a balance of strength, cardio, and yoga, and at least one day a week I go on a longer hike (about 2 hours).

Lisa LaGrou of Oakland County Moms – Has your regimen changed much since your twenties?

Kathy Smith – In my 20s, I did a lot more running and high impact activities. I still do some running, but it’s shorter distances and with less impact. One thing that’s really increased over the years is more strength training. It’s a cornerstone of my routine and keeps me strong,  confident, and energized.

Lisa LaGrou of Oakland County Moms – Outside of advertising campaigns, fitness books and fitness posters, your bread and butter has been your groundbreaking fitness videos. Did Hollywood ever come calling or did you ever look to expand your empire outside of fitness?

Kathy Smith – I’ve made some fun little cameos in Hollywood over the years. I did some modeling and was a “Faberge Babe” for their ad campaign. I also hosted a cable TV series called “Alive and Well.” One of my first jobs was playing a cocktail waitress on “Hawaii 5-0.” And clips of my workout videos have been featured in several movies, from “Cocktail” to the recent indie comedy “Away We Go.” I  was the face of the “Got Milk” campaign a few years ago with television and print ads. I also do a lot of humming….but my daughters have begged me to stick to my day job. They tend to be right about most things.

Special thanks to Acacia Lifestyle for arranging a review copy of Kathy Smith’s DVD to review and coordinating an Oakland County Moms interview with Kathy Smith herself.

See related posts below for more Oakland County Moms celebrity interviews.

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