Hit the Ground Running (Or Walking) in 2021: Inspiration from Reggie Kinchen for Your Workout

When it comes to physical fitness, it can be hard to remain consistent in your routine, especially when you’re balancing work, family and other commitments. Although it can be difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle, it’s necessary to try to fit in some form of physical activity on a daily basis. This is what personal trainer and fitness guru Reginald “Reggie” Kinchen tells his clients.

Kinchen has always been active in fitness. He began his journey participating in taekwondo at a young age, which then turned into taking his workouts more seriously in 2003. From there, Kinchen would help his coworkers by giving them advice on what to do at the gym and even doing the workouts with them. Once he helped his coworkers with their intimidation inside the gym — and helped one lose weight — Kinchen realized he had a natural gift for helping others reach their fitness goals.

“For the longest time, I was trying to find my purpose,” he shared. “But I feel like my purpose found me within that moment. From there, I looked toward achieving my personal training certification — that way, I could have other stories just like that one … in my community.”

Kinchen achieved his goal of being certified by completing his certification at Ace Fitness. Since then, he’s been training people from all walks of life. His clients rage from 10-year-old athletes to grandmothers. He’s trained supremely athletic individuals as well as people who have hardly been active in their lives. He started by offering group fitness plans, then worked his way up by offering other specialty training.

“It all started just with someone reaching out and thanking me for … helping them with their fitness journey,” he said, beaming.

For Kinchen, it’s all about having fun while working out. In Tifton, Kinchen teaches a group workout class called “Body Blast,” which he refers to as a “fitness gumbo” — throwing everything into a pot, such as cardio boxing and martial arts, and having fun doing it. Don’t have enough time to work out with a trainer? No worries. Kinchen also writes workouts for his clients who have limited time or those that find comfort in working out in their own home.

Speaking of working out from home, Kinchen has produced four fitness DVDs throughout his ca- reer: “Total Body Sculpt,” “Total Body Burn,” “Total Body Tone” and “Total Core 360,” his newest release. The DVD collection is a great way for individuals who don’t live in the South Georgia area to stay connected to his brand. Speaking of branding, Kinchen also produces fitness apparel.

“If your swag is on point, your workout will be on point,” he said, smiling. “That’s what I always try to tell people.”

If you’ve ever worked out before, you know that it requires a lot of motivation, dedication and determination. There will be times you want to give up and eat junk food, even when you’re trying to lose weight. For this reason, Kinchen is also a motivational speaker.

“I feel that with fitness it’s a mind and body connection,” he said. “To reap the maximum amount of results is having both of those, like a well-oiled machine.”

“Any time you’re entering something new, that’s going to be a realm that you’re unfamiliar with, and it’s going to be scary,” he continued. “Try … not to be scared of something you haven’t done before. It’s ok to be scared, but what I try to motivate people with — whether it’s in the gym or personal advances in life — is that if you’re trying to reach somewhere you’ve never been, you’re going to have to evolve yourself into something that’s uncomfortable.”

What are some tips Kinchen has about the gym? One is making sure you choose a gym that fits your needs and build a community of people that will help you along the journey. He noted that it’s all about accountability because it’s not going to be easy to get through the “murky forest,” as he called it. There are some gyms that are perfect for beginners, for example, and others are more advanced. Knowing your level and building from there is essential to your fitness growth.

Since we’re in the middle of a pandemic, it’s also important to remember that gyms are not the only way to remain fit. Being versatile is the key. Kinchen suggested staying active in multiple ways, such as walking or running around the neighborhood, bicycle riding, yoga and even using household items to work out with.

“Try doing something different because it will give you different results — but will also give you backups if anything happens,” he said. “During the pandemic, you have to really have some kind of variety in your workout. That way, you still can reach your goals no matter what the climate is, [and] you still can take care of you.”

So what’s next for the fitness instructor? Kinchen can add author to his list of accomplishments. His first book, “The Key Fundamentals to Getting Your $hit Together,” is a personal development guide that he hopes will be debut- ing on the market as you read this magazine in early 2021.

“You may not have to have an intense workout every single day,” he said. “But I encourage people to move every single day in some form.”

You can find Reggie Kinchen on Instagram, @regthetrainer, and on Facebook.

Written by: Tyrah Walker

Photography by: Brandon Pham