Christy Baroni

Hear Me Roar

Christy Baroni

Hometown: Brandon, FL
Lives in: Paradise!
(aka: Hilton Head Island, SC)
Career: Faith-based Personal Trainer and
Fitness Coach

What is something you’ve made your own: As I’ve grown my faith has taken center stage in my life. I am a CrossFit athlete and trainer. I’ve taken all of that and made it one: a weekly, faith-based workout, where we start with a devotional, commit to a healthy habit to cultivate that week, then get a killer workout. When we look at our habits through the lens of faith, it becomes easier to make choices that are in line with our goals.

What’s the last book you read? “7” by Jen Hatmaker. I love all of her books, but “7” hit home for me. It details her mutiny against the excess in her life: food, clothes, spending/shopping, social media and stress. All the things I get overwhelmed by, as well. It was refreshing to read her hilarious and insightful take on scaling back and keeping life simple.

Debunk 2 myths about wellness: 1. You cannot out train a bad diet. Nutrition and food habits are the absolute base of the health pyramid. If you want to see real and lasting changes to your body, start with food. 2. Cardio is NOT king! Lifting weights has long lasting and far-reaching health benefits a long jog simply cannot match. Especially for women, lifting weights has hormonal benefits, metabolic benefits, and let’s be honest, nothing beats a squat booty!

Complete this sentence: Keep Calm and… Do burpees!

You have 10 spare minutes, what do you do? Believe it or not, you can get a great workout done in 10 quick minutes. Try this: Warm Up: 1 minute of burpees (I know, I hate them too, but they really do challenge your whole body and if you are short on time this warms up your entire body and gets your heart rate up.) Then, complete 5 rounds of 10 push ups, 20 air squats, 30 sit ups, and 40 jump ropes. Keep track of how quickly you can get through all 5 rounds!

What’s a happy medium between potato chips and celery sticks? Food choices can be tasty and satisfying in addition to being healthy, I promise! While I’m generally not a huge fan of pre-packaged bars, KIND PLUS bars are a fantastic on-the-go snack. They have an all nut base, a splash of dark chocolate, and contain at least 10g protein per bar.

When was the last time you danced? I am lucky in that my husband loves to go dancing! We recently found ourselves at this underground speakeasy in downtown Savannah. We danced all night to the unbeatable music from the ‘50s and ‘60s, and left actually feeling sad that kids these days don’t know truly great music.

Have you ever felt like royalty? I actually got to BE royalty for a short period of time. My life growing up was centered around dancing, and my first job during high school was as a performer at Walt Disney World. During the summer of 1993 I was cast to play Princess Jasmine. It was truly a dream job! For the daily parades, I was hoisted to the top a giant 2-story mechanical elephant and perfected my princess wave riding down Main Street at Hollywood Studios.

Give us 3 quick tips for wellness:
1) Get good sleep.
2) Drink lots of water.
3) Take the long view, not the quick fix.
There is no ‘big secret’ to finding health and wellness. Everything about you—your body, your skin, your mindset—are all products of your habits.

What do you like most about yourself? I love my legs! I’m sure I should pick something else, something deep and spiritual, but my legs are great. As a CrossFit athlete, we squat a lot, we jump and sprint, we practice Olympic style weightlifting. All these things build big, powerful legs. So, my legs are larger than they have ever been before in my life, but I’m proud because they are a product of hard work and consistency.

What would your daughter say is your superpower? I asked her, and she said that my superpower was loving other people. That truly made my heart happy!

I am currently roaring about: Faith-based fitness! I am on fire about spending time with positive people who want to pray, lift weights, hold each accountable, and live our lives to the fullest!