We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alexandria Lipinski a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Alexandria thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

I want my business and my work to spread the message that movement is so very important and that all movement counts. I don’t necessarily need it to be associated with me, but I want everyone to understand that the more they’re able to move, the more they’ll want to move (and the easier it will become).

When I started my career I thought my passion was helping people lift as much weight as they could and to continually get stronger by doing that. The further I’ve gotten into my business the more my passion has shifted to helping people move in more efficient and pain free ways for as long as they possibly can. Building a strong core and using functional movements to create strength and mobility that allows someone to do the things they love OUTSIDE of our workout sessions is my main goal.

Alexandria, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started a career in automotive after graduating with an engineering degree from Michigan State University. I was at my job for 7 years before leaving in 2020 to run my personal training business (Alexandria Jean Fitness) full time (a business I had been running on the side for 2 years).

I became a certified personal trainer in 2018, and although I’ve always had a passion for creating workouts and plans for clients, the focus of those workouts have changed over the years. My primary focus is core work, mobility training, and teaching proper form. My clients have had so many different backgrounds that I’ve learned various ways to explain exercises that cater to what works best for each person and their individual understanding of their body.

My favorite client wins aren’t related to the amount of weight they can lift, but rather things like eliminating back pain, being able to more easily do a sport they enjoy, evening out muscular imbalances post-injury, and getting satisfaction out of being able to go through their lives and the things they enjoy with noticeably more ease because of the strength we’ve built together.

I love and get the most satisfaction out of my in person client work, however I was feeling like that was limiting my potential reach. At the beginning of 2023 I launched my fitness app to bring my workouts to a larger audience. I continuously put out both home and gym based programs monthly with different focus areas so you can find various different programs for different goals there!

I want my habits and excitement and passion to inspire and motivate others to work towards creating their best life through fitness!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Something I’ve had to unlearn is that no matter how passionate you are, no matter how educated you are, and no matter how hard you try, you can’t force someone to change their habits (or even desire that change). When I first started training I thought that if a client didn’t do the exercises I gave them to do outside of our sessions that I was somehow failing to do my job to inspire them and get them more active.

When I had a client ask me for exercises to do at home after a YEAR of working with me, it clicked that the year it took this client to WANT to do exercises on their own time was their journey. I was part of this journey and without my consistency over the past year, they may not have ever wanted to workout on their own.

I meet my clients where they’re at. I take into account all of the various things going on in their lives (both good and bad) that may impact not only their mental but physical health as well. I have programs written for my clients but I almost always adjust those plans throughout the sessions based what they’re bringing to me on that day. This allows clients to feel great after their workouts regardless of their current state. If they have high energy we do something high intensity that leaves them feeling even more energize and motivated. If they are going through something stressful or haven’t slept or have low energy for whatever reason, we’ll focus more on stretching and mobility and in the same way that provides them with what they need that day.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

Alongside my personal training business, I created a female entrepreneur strategy workshop with my cofounder Allie (Alexandrae Photo). We met in college 13 years ago and have been best friends ever since. We both quit our corporate jobs in 2020 to pursue our small businesses full time. Since she lives out in Seattle, we would meet weekly over Zoom to have business meetings to discuss our wins, our struggles, and our current goals.

At the end of 2021 we decided to book a weekend away in Phoenix, Arizona to work on our business strategies for 2022. A year later, in 2022 we turned this weekend strategy work into a full business retreat for other female entrepreneurs. In 2022 we brought 5 female business owners to Biz Retreat in Phoenix, Arizona and successfully ran our first retreat.

We’re hosting another one on November 30th this year and have opened sign ups for any female entrepreneurs interested in getting together with other entrepreneurs in different industries to discuss and work through business strategy together! We’re @bizretreat on Instagram!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alexandriajeanfitness.com
• Instagram: @alexandriajeanfit
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexandriajeanfit
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwshobW_L9vK5IxXgQh1LZg
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexandriajeanfit
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/alexandriajeanfit/

Image Credits
Alexandrae Photo