Meet Jen Varon | online training + nutrition fitness coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jen Varon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jen, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
There’s so much information within the fitness industry, whether it’s circulating out in mainstream media or within the smaller niche of the fitness community. However, there’s alot of misinformation or straight up bad information out there. It can be hard to navigate all of the information out there and figure out what is or is not accurate, beneficial, healthy, and/or optimal. One of the biggest misconceptions out there is that everything that comes out of the fitness industry is healthy or “good” information. And this isn’t the case. You need to make sure that you are getting your information and education from trusted sources that are backed in science. There is a solid amount of information spewed in mainstream media that is just inaccurate or actually unhealthy for you. That unhealthy information comes in the form of physically and physiologically unhealthy or even psychologically unhealthy. Diet culture plays a huge role in society today and the unfortunate truth is that it takes a negative toll on our mental health alot of times especially when it comes to bad information about carbs being bad, not eating at certain times, needing to do endless amounts of cardio and plyometrics to “tone” (plot twist, toning isn’t really a thing), restricting food groups or an entire macronutrient, etc.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
What sets me (and Jen Varon Fitness LLC) apart from other coaching businesses is the genuine connections that I have with my clients. Of course as a business owner and coach, I am always striving to learn more and stay on top of new science or protocols that are coming out so I can figure out if it’s something that I should implement into my possible coaching strategies. However, I really feel it’s the experience and connection that you get working with me that truly helps me to stand out from other coaches. Yes, there are coaches who don’t strive to learn new things so taking continuing education courses and different certifications helps me to stand out from them. But there are plenty of coaches who do try to stay up to date as well. So where I shine is through the connections that I’m able to build. I am first and foremost a coach to all of my clients. But I build good relationships with them where we become friends and they are able to talk to me about things going on in their lives even if it’s not training/nutrition related. And I feel like that helps my clients get a better service overall because I actually care about all of them and know about things going on in their lives (ie they are NOT just a number to me). Doing this also allows me to better coach them because training and nutrition coaching goes so much deeper than fitness. If coaches only focus on fitness and no other areas of life, they are doing their clients a disservice. There is so much that we deal with in daily life that you should know about as a coach in order to properly prescribe protocols and programs for your client. Things going on in their personal lives will affect ALL areas of their lives, including fitness and if you don’t know or understand that – you can’t coach them to the best of your ability. So I strive to connect with my clients on every level in order to provide them with the best possible

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
When my best friends from out of town come to LA to visit, we definitely hangout around Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and Manhattan Beach. Santa Monica and West Hollywood both have some cute, unique places to shop and to eat. West Hollywood is the go to for any type of brunch and we love a good bottomless mimosa brunch. The Butcher, The Baker, The Cappuccino Maker has a cute brunch spot on the Sunset Strip in the heart of Weho. There’s a bunch of cute shops and coffee shops around the area so take a little walk and check out what’s around after you get some pancakes and a great brunch cocktail. Santa Monica has great brunch options too, but I prefer to get drinks or dinner over there and walk around 3rd Street Promenade and the pier to shop and people watch. And pro tip – Demitasse, right across the street from where the Promenade ends, has amazing coffee. If you’re unsure what to get, have one of the baristas make a custom off menu drink for you. It never disappoints! Aside from that, I prefer the beaches of Malibu or Manhattan beach to Santa Monica. And if you head to MB for the beach, take a walk on the strand and then get dinner at Love + Salt. Highly recommend. Some other great options to visit LA are to go to LACMA, find some art installations, and maybe check out some instagram worthy places like the Museum of Dreamspace to get some great photos. How can you come to LA and not post it on the gram?

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would love to shout out one of my best friends and business inspiration, Ellen Yin. She is the owner of Cubicle to CEO and she has taught me so much about being an entrepreneur so I definitely owe alot to her. She was one of the first female friends I had that took the leap into entrepreneurship and she is someone who I truly look up to on so many levels.

Website: https://linktr.ee/jen_varon

Instagram: https://instagram.com/jen_varon

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jenvaron1221

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JenVaron