An Interview with Shawn Johnson, Gold-Medal Gymnast and Fyt Life Founder
How has gymnastics impacted your life?
Gymnastics has defined my life. It taught me everything that I know about failure, setbacks, success and perseverance. It has truly made me the person I am today. There’s no more humbling sport, where you have to fall on your face a million times before you get to succeed. Gymnastics teaches you that you have to fail in order to be good at something.
Gymnastics teaches you that you have to fail to be good at something.
How has your fitness routine changed after your gymnastics career?
Up until the Olympics, I knew nothing but gymnastics. So after, I felt lost. I didn’t know how to go to a gym and work out. I fell in love with group fitness because I need a coach, it’s kind of ingrained in me, and being in a group fitness atmosphere is kind of like being on a team. You get the energy, you get the coach and you get a fun workout.
Why do you use ClassPass to take these fitness classes?
ClassPass just keeps it easy. I live on the road, and everywhere that I go I’m always trying new classes and dropping in. I find a workout in every city I travel to with ClassPass. It’s like a hobby.
Do you have any favorite classes?
I take every kind of class imaginable. I get bored really easy so I take cycling classes, HIIT workouts, trampoline classes, dance classes, yoga, Pilates, CrossFit, anything. There’s a lot of benefit from variety in your routine because it keeps your body guessing. It keeps you energized, motivated and excited to try new things.
Switching to the new year, how was your 2018?
In 2018, I started my own health and fitness brand called Fyt Life. It’s essentially a positivity-driven health and fitness brand that caters towards women to give them a raw and real look at fitness journeys. I started it because growing up in gymnastics, perfectionism became this obsessive trait. Gymnasts are constantly striving for perfection, looking and acting a certain way, and I just got tired of it. I wanted women to have a real platform where they could feel safe and motivated.
Any 2019 resolutions or goals?
I’m looking forward to growing the Fyt Life, expanding my own knowledge in the health and fitness industry and working with a ton of women around the world.
Do you have any advice for someone starting out in their fitness journey?
Don’t give up and just keep it fun. A lot of times people try to intimidate you, saying you have to do a certain thing for so many hours a week, and you don’t. There are no rules. Just find something that you enjoy and it’ll grow into a larger passion over time.
