Tag: Strength and Beauty
Gym Crush: Courtney King is a True Beauty
Images via Instagram @courtneykiing
Courtney King is strong and gorgeous.
Courtney King is the Ms. Bikini Olympia 2016, so it’s safe to say she has one of the best bodies on the planet. Not only does she has an amazing body but she also has a beautiful heart and spirit.
Courtney has an active Instagram (467K followers) where she regularly posts her training routines, diet tips, and lifestyle posts. King is genuinely one of the most humble, genuine, and caring fitness athletes you’ll come across on Instagram.
Courtney King – The Bikini Queen
Courtney King is in her mid 20’s and started on her fitness journey early in her life. She was 17 years old when she first stepped onto a stage. King currently offers her services online for Competition Prep and personal training through her website.
King is a Gym Shark sponsored athlete and has her own line of clothing in collaboration with the company. Sometimes you might end up wondering if the clothes make her look so good, or is it the other way around.
A Foodie at Heart
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If you’re into healthy diets and recipes, following Courtney’s YouTube channel is a must. Courtney has everything from protein ice-creams, muffins, cakes on her channel. You’ll just love the recipes King shares.
Courtney’s pear-shaped butt is probably her best body part. She helps her followers achieve a rear like her’s by sharing exercises and training tips on her Instagram. Achieving a Ms. Bikini Olympia level butt isn’t easy, and King’s workouts are the proof.
Always Remeber to Have Fun While You’re at it
Courtney isn’t all about business, she’ll keep you entertained with posts like these. We’re sorry Drake but we’ll have to give this one to Courtney. We’re sure Drake wouldn’t mind either.
King became a new mom recently after getting a new French Bulldog, Poppie. Courtney’s selfies with her baby girl will make you fall head over heels in love with both of them. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself wanting a pet dog for yourself after following King.
What we love about Courtney is the fact she is a complete foodie and shares pictures of delicious looking mouth-watering food. You won’t be seeing the good old chicken breast and rice on her timeline.
Be My Muse
Courtney is an outdoor person and you’ll find her posing with beautiful landscapes in the background. You’ll have to make a choice between looking at her or the scenery behind her. It won’t be a hard decision to make though.
Coming as a surprise to everyone, Courtney didn’t step onto the Ms. Bikini Olympia stage to defend her title in 2018 owing to health reasons. King has had her fair share of ups and downs in her fitness career.
An even bigger surprise came when Courtney announced her sudden retirement from competing this year in March. King had a small career on the Ms. Bikini Olympia stage, but she made a dent, let her presence know and will be remembered for a long time for her incredible physique.
The GI team wishes Courtney King the best of luck and hope for health and happiness. We hope she achieves bigger things in the fitness industry.
Do you follow Courtney King on social media? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.
*All images courtesy of Instagram
Gym Crush – Krissy Cela
Krissy Cela – The Fitness Star
Krissy Cela is arguably one of the prettiest fitness celebrities. Look at her Instagram profile and you’ll be adoring her cuteness, be awe-struck by her charm and blown-away by her perfectly chiseled and carved physique.
We believe every athlete has a unique story that can motivate people to go after their dreams. It’s with the same reason that we bring you these articles showing the struggles, hardships and unwavering grit of these individuals.
The 24-year old Brit wasn’t always into fitness. Krissy was completing her legal training while working 30-hours a week as a waitress to stay afloat when she turned to fitness and working out.
‘It was a challenging time for me. Fitness found me when I needed something the most,’ she said, thinking back about when she starting training. It has been a steep upward curve in terms of fame and success since then for Cela.
Talking about why she started she said: “I was going through a really hard time in my life. I felt like I was so alone and afraid that I wouldn’t be able to shift my focus onto anything positive.”
The Dream Girl Next Door
Krissy thinks fitness helped her believe that she could do this for herself and that there is light at the end of the tunnel regardless of how unhappy she was at the time when she initially started training.
As she got better with time, Krissy started posting videos of her workouts on Instagram. Her initial reason for posting videos on social media was to keep herself accountable. It turned into something bigger when she started seeing traction.
Cela’s stunning physique got her a huge Instagram following – 1.8 million loyal fans. Though Krissy is humble about her mega success on the internet, we believe her drop-dead gorgeous looks, incredible physique, and humble personality are the biggest contributing factors.
A True People’s Star
With the response she got, Krissy realized that many women around the world felt the same way she did. Cela connected with her audience on a personal level and produced content that resonated with her fans.
Krissy isn’t just about crafting a peach-shaped butt. She focuses on developing her mind along with her body. She has several videos on mental health on her Instagram page and her captions are often enriched with mental jewels.
Krissy Cela is a successful entrepreneur and has launched an app called Tone and Sculpt. The app helps an individual tone their body and sculpt their mind. The app has over 500,000 downloads and has made Krissy over £1M since it’s launch.
On being asked about her goals, Krissy says, “My goal is to encourage even more women to feel confident, strong and part of a supportive online community.” We wish Krissy Cela the best for her future endeavors and hope that she achieves her noble goal.
Who is your gym crush? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.
Gym Crush – Anllela Sagra
Anllela Sagra – The Fitness Model
To some people, girls in gym clothes are hotter than girls in party dresses and Anllela Sagra is the perfect example of this. Sagra is a 25-year old Colombian fitness celebrity who has made her mark on Instagram with her drop-dead gorgeous face and a perfectly crafted physique.
Back at home in Colombia, lifting weights was thought of as a men’s thing and the idea of ‘muscular girls’ wasn’t well received. Anllela set out to challenge this mindset, and going by her gigantic following – she might have won the challenge.
A Flawless Physique
Anllela is from Colombia where being a fitness model wasn’t considered the right thing to do for a girl. Sagra started out wanting to become a normal fashion model but soon changed her ambitions after a chance encounter with a fitness enthusiast in the gym.
Anllela started lifting weights in the gym and turned her slim physique into a toned and muscular one. After getting a feel for the gym life, Sagra set out to become Columbia’s first female fitness model.
Anllela Sagra is beautiful, fit, strong and a lot of fun. Her unique personality and drive have garnered a lot of attention and turned her into a fitness icon, and her 11 million Instagram followers are proof.
Breaking Stereotypes
Don’t let her pretty face fool you. Sagra’s workouts are nothing short of brutal and will set your muscles on fire by the time you’re done. Anllela often shares her workouts on her Instagram page for you to follow along.
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Anllela is big on motivational training videos and chances are you’ve already seen her in such videos before. Sagra’s work ethic and dedication are what have helped her achieve a chiseled body and the fitness celebrity status.
Look at her photos, and it feels like she is best friends with the camera. The Colombian beauty will leave you awe-struck with her photos, and wondering why don’t more girls lift weights.
Bathroom selfies might be a thing but Sagra takes it one step further with her bathroom videos. Photos can be edited with filters but the videos Anllela puts up are untouched and show her Greek-goddess body in its full glory.
Sagra’s washboard abs can put most of the fitness athletes to shame. Anllela maintains her conditioning throughout the year and looks like she is always ready to jump onto a magazine cover.
Anllela is raising the standards of selfies for the female fitness athletes with her gorgeous pictures. Sagra has upped the game for the ‘woke up like this’ selfies with just one post.
Not being around a gym can’t stop Anllela from getting a workout done. She isn’t the typical gym rat and enjoys the outdoor life. Follow Sagra on Instagram and she’ll keep you glued to your phone for hours.
Who would you like to see featured in the next Gym Crush article? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.
*All images courtesy of Instagram
Iron Maiden – Valentina Lequeux
The Unstoppable Valentina Lequeux
Valentina Lequeux is a fitness model, personal trainer and an online sensation with almost 2 million followers on Instagram. Lequeux was born in Bueno Aires, Argentina and raised in Florida (USA).
Valentina started posting pictures of her incredible figure on social media in 2016. It wasn’t long after that she started getting noticed. Since 2016, she has inspired thousands of people to achieve their dream physiques.
Valentina isn’t the typical booty-flaunting Instagram fitness chick. Her shredded back and ripped abdominal is proof of her prowess in her field. Lequeux regularly posts her home and gym workouts on her Instagram for her fans to follow.
Apart from her jaw-dropping body, Valentina shares her mind jewels through her post captions. Valentina Lequeux is the personification of beauty with brains. If going through her Instagram feed doesn’t motivate you, chances are nothing ever will.
Queen of Conditioning
Lequeux has some crazy muscle definition and can put some of her male counterparts to shame with her washboard abs. The fact that Valentina maintains her magazine-ready shape throughout the year is commendable.
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Keep your mind, heart and eyes on what’s important ?How are you getting excited about 2020 ⁉️ Please Read ?? Save this post and visit it whenever you need it. – Taken at the incredible @museumhotel – As this year comes to an end I’m starting to see posts about how 2020 is going to be the year of_____ fill in the blank. If you really want to have a successful year you have to start now and get ahead of everyone that will be competing in your field. One thing @luisenriquepzia has taught me over our years of relationship and business together, Is to always evaluate where we are, what we are doing wrong and what have we done correctly? We take December to do that, and I encourage you to do the same. If you wanna have a really successful year. Start isolating the areas of your life that are important to you. Mine are these 5: Professional life Love life Family Friendships Health (mental, physical, spiritual). – After isolating them start by discarding the distractions around them! Visualize the big picture, and start dividing it into small goals and step that you will use towards achieving that goal. Once you’ve organized that you shall realize that many things you are investing time and energy on are just distractions! Time, right alongside health is the biggest currency you have in life! How you invest both of these into your purpose will dictate how you will fulfill your life. Your life Is either going to be a happy beautiful journey, or you will be miserable on your way to trying to achieve it! It’s your responsibility, your duty, your job to actively work towards your goals! And you only have two options around it! Either stay actively working to make the journey a joyful one or a miserable one! – If the choice is to make it a joyful one! Discipline is your biggest ally, because sometimes happiness is about having the discipline to stay the course and do the things you know will help you even if in that moment you don’t feel like doing them! – – #travel #healthylifestyle #mindfulness #motivation #traveling #positivevibes #happiness #love #couplegoals #couple #marriedlife
A post shared by ????????? ??????? (@valentinalequeux) on Dec 4, 2019 at 10:28am PST
Lequeux has a travel bug and some of her pictures are truly scenic. The landscapes in her photos are wronged as she steals the limelight from them. Sharing the frame with Valentina is no easy task.
Love Thy Body
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?INTIMACY & VULNERABILITY? – ? @DelekTulum – This series of photos were taken by my husband. And couldn’t help to think about how intimate they are, and the possible criticism I may receive. One common line I always get when I post this type of content is that I should keep these moments and visuals for my husband and not post them. – The truth is, for us it doesn’t matter what we showcase here on social media because our true intimacy comes from how vulnerable and open we are with each other, on how freely we communicate our thoughts, desires, hopes, dreams and also fears, confusion, anger, sadness and any other emotion, from the brightest to the darkest. – we have learned a lot through the years of being together and have found that the key to our happiest days is having judgment free communication ?? Always trying to put ourselves in the shoes of the other. – That type of intimacy is one that can’t really be shown on a photo or a video, that intimacy always happens behind closed doors, never filmed, never taken photos of it. It is our most private moments that build the strong bonds between us, and those moments makes us so strong that we can get all the judgment and criticism in the world and as long as we have our safe haven, we are sure that everything will be alright. – I encourage all couples to practice 100% honesty, no judgments, say what you need to say even though you think it may hurt the other person, it’s always better to be honest and open, this will help you grow as a couple faster and stronger. ?? – #DelekTulum #TashiDelek #DelekInspire #mindfulness #TulumMéxico #Tulumexperience #Tulumbeach #Tulumvibes #México #infinite #consciousness #happiness #changetheplanet #actoflove #wanderlust #peaceofmind #travel #hotel #beachhotel #vacation #toursim #beach #ocean #sea #luxurytravel #beautifuldestinations #explore #nature #adventure #landscape
A post shared by ????????? ??????? (@valentinalequeux) on Oct 23, 2019 at 11:14am PDT
Valentina has one of the strongest voices against body shaming and moral police. She constantly reminds her followers to expand their horizons both psychologically and physically.
If you’re someone who doesn’t have the time to hit the gym but want a toned physique, you should follow Lequeux as she has some great bodyweight workouts you can do in the comfort of your home.
A Little Something For Everyone
If you want to start working out, need new workout ideas or need a daily dose of motivation, Valentina has got you covered. Valentina’s Instagram posts check all the right boxes and are fun, informative and engaging.
In the gym, on the road, or in the kitchen, Lequeux keeps her content fresh – just like her recipes. If you are someone who gets bored with their diet quickly, trying Valentina’s new recipes will keep you busy in the kitchen.
Keeping It Real
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??LOVE & PEACE ♥️ – ?PLEASE READ? ? @ajkphotography1 ? @villacellabella – Hati in Indonesian means “heart”, emphasising the spiritual meaning, more so than your actual heart. Hati hati means “watch your heart” or in other words, “take care”, “watch out” or “take it easy”. I’ve heard it used mostly in the context of “slow down”. I’m used to living in an environment where we rush everywhere, we rush to get up in the morning, we rush our lunches or even worse, we eat lunch at our desks or whilst walking on the streets, or standing up at home, we drive fast to get somewhere quickly just to rush through that activity too. This is for sure how people live here in South Florida. So… when do we ever slow down?? – My experiences in Bali we’re much like back at home. We essentially took with us our lifestyle from back home and didn’t practice hati hati. I have to be honest that @luisenriquepzia and I have a hard time with slowing down and taking life in. We’re so wrapped up in so many projects, and making a successful life for ourselves that we have a tendency to rush through life. I would love to tell you that in this photo I felt calm and in the moment. But the truth is that I was feeling some anxiety over creating the perfect content for you guys. – The experiences that I create and you see here always have a purpose behind them. I want to share with you my life, in hopes that you and I learn together how to be more in the moment, more present, feel healthy and happy, and find some meaning and purpose when lost spiritually. – So why are the Balinese so peaceful and do everything with gratitude? With love? With patience? Because they have practiced, yes practiced this lifestyle for years, this is all they know, and in turn the life’s we lead is all we know! Practicing gratitude, love, peace and patience is what we struggle with, so why not practice more of these things in hopes of leading a more bountiful life, spiritually and finally being able to let go, not be so controlling and being more at peace ??
A post shared by ????????? ??????? (@valentinalequeux) on Jun 2, 2019 at 8:46am PDT
PDA? Yes, please. While most other fitness athletes try to hide their relationships, Valentina breaks away from this practice. She is one of the most transparent, humble, and genuine people you’ll find on the internet.
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MAKING A CHANGE or START LIVING⁉️ – [email protected]_photography Gym @gee.gym – Before I get into today’s talk, I want to thank everyone who’s already signed up for my 8 week challenge ! You guys have me SOOO excited to see some major mind, health and body changes. And for everyone who is asking, yesterday’s post has all the info on how to enter, I still have spots open don’t worry! – Now to the REAL TALK…This isn’t your typical “NEW YEAR NEW YOU” bunch of sappy stuff, stick around because this is about to get real… – Making a living, vs LIVING, and actually taking a risk, so big that you don’t know if the outcome will be good, or bad, is scary AF!!! For all you guys that have been reading my posts for years, have come to see some major achievements in my life, and I’ll tell you what, behind EVERY SINGLE ONE of them was a scary decision made. Not a lazy one, not a half ass one, a FULL BLOWN decision made to do something SCARY (yes I have to CAP LOCK those words, trying to make an impact here…) – Ok, yes we’ve heard it before, “Take a leap,” “take a risk…” blah blah blah. But what people don’t talk enough about, is the reality, what it looks like after the fact that you take that risk, that leap. I’m not going to sugarcoat it, because, well, when do I ever sugarcoat anything around here? ITS SCARY and it REAL, and there will be tears of happiness, of sadness, of fear, but man I have NEVER felt more alive, more full of energy and more HAPPY than in THOSE moments guys. I’M SERIOUS! – I want you all to understand one thing, and one thing only, I am NOT perfect, and I don’t pretend to know eveything but what I am doing here, every single day is taking a leap into the UNKNOWN, and taking risks and failing, and trying again, and picking myself up every time things don’t go my way, why? Because I have already seen the math work, I have seen that after so much hard work, learning and trials and errors that when I seek out what I want badly enough and I GET SHIT done, guess what? I get it. – So? How badly do you want that thing you’re thinking about right now? Take the risk, do it, and don’t be lazy. The only reason you won’t get it is because you didn’t try it to begin with.
A post shared by ????????? ??????? (@valentinalequeux) on Jan 3, 2019 at 12:37pm PST
There could be no better way to end the article than sharing a quote by Valentina herself – “Everyone needs to understand that your body is capable of amazing things and you can shape it and build it to its highest potential.”
Who is your gym crush? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.
*Header image courtesy of Instagram.
Iron Maiden – Katya Elise Henry
Katya Elise Henry – The Fitness Megastar
Katya is no ordinary fitness chick, she’s a model, trainer, and entrepreneur with over 6 million followers on Instagram. Henry, through her social media, inspires her fans to follow the fit and healthy lifestyle.
Henry was a cheerleader as a teenager, but she wasn’t happy as she wasn’t building muscle mass due to the cardiovascular nature of the sport and a poor diet. For Katya, fitness began at home as her mother was a personal trainer who started guiding her towards her fitness goals.
Katya got hooked to the fitness lifestyle when she started seeing results in her physique after following a custom diet and training program. She started posting pictures of her transformation on social media for other people to see.
Many people found these photos inspirational and approached Katya for help. Seeing people’s responses, Katya decided to turn into a trainer. Henry further improved her skills as she gained more experience by training her clients.
Falling In Love – Head Over Heels
The more Katya learned about weight training, nutrition and supplementation from her mother, the more she fell in love with the sport. She was fascinated by the planning which went into designing an effective workout plan, and its ensuing results.
Over the years, Katya has built her dream physique with her hard work in and outside the gym. Henry acknowledges how blessed she is to be in a place where she is today that she has got the word “blessed” tattooed on her trademark butt.
Fitness Model Turned Entrepreneur
Katya has turned from an Instagram model into a fitness entrepreneur. She has two other Instagram profiles; one is dedicated to sharing her workouts with her fans, and the other is the brand page for her bikini line.
Henry is a sponsored athlete and has partnered with EHPlabs for her line of a plant-based protein called – you guessed it right – blessed. There are only a few other people who take being a vegan as seriously as Katya.
An Inspiration For Millions
Katya’s rise to fame on Instagram was almost sudden. When she saw her transformation pictures, she decided to post pictures of her newly achieved toned glutes and abs on the internet. Soon after that, people started noticing her.
Along with the rear showcasing bikinis, Katya can slay in any outfit she wears. On Instagram, you’ll find her in the most exotic of places, doing what she does the best – slaying and inspiring.
Katya’s Training Style
Due to her busy schedule, Henry follows a 4-training days a week program. As she calls herself “the glute master”, she focuses her training mainly on her rear. She fits in abdominal and upper body workouts where she can.
Katya has been making a name for herself in the fitness industry, and we can see her going places in the time to come. We wish her best for her future endeavors in and outside the fitness industry.
Who is your gym crush? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Instagram.
Gym Crush – Kayla Itsines
Kayla Itsines – The Fitness Mogul
Kayla with her 11 million followers on Instagram is one of the biggest internet fitness celebrities. Through her Bikini Body Guide (BBG), Itsines has helped thousands of women reach their fitness goals.
Itsines (pronounced it-seen-ess) didn’t have a clue about Instagram before her cousin asked her to post her clients’ transformation pictures on the platform. Kayla teaches her followers to overlook the number on the scale, and focus on becoming strong.
Itsines was born on 21st May 1991 in Australia. While she loved playing sports growing up, she wasn’t interested in fitness, and the gym overwhelmed and intimidated her.
Kayla gathered the courage to step into the gym when her sports coach asked her to start somewhere. To her surprise, she didn’t find working out with weights intimidating, and on the contrary, enjoyed it.
Finding Her Calling
The more time Kayla spent training in the gym, the more her passion for fitness grew. It was not long after joining the gym that Itsines gave up her original plan of becoming a beauty therapist.
With her newly-found calling, Kayla started studying to become a Master Trainer at the Australian Institute of Fitness. Soon after her graduation, she found a job as a trainer at a gym in Adelaide.
Going Viral
With time, Kayla’s clients started seeing results and her cousin asked her to post the before and after pics of her clients on Instagram. Within a few months, Itsines’ posts started going viral and people started asking her for training advice.
As her follower count grew, Kayla identified the opportunity and worked hard on building her brand. All her efforts paid off and she successfully established herself as an authority in the female fitness industry.
World Tours!
As Kayla’s popularity grew, many people started asking her to organize meet-ups. As always, she listened to them and organized a world tour where she organized free fitness boot camps for everyone attending.
Kayla relies on aerobic exercises to help her clients achieve their goals. She always focuses on the goals of other people as opposed to her own. Itsines has built a community where people help each other on their journey towards success.
Keeping It Real
Kayla Itsines is one of the most humble people you’ll come across in the fitness industry. She admits that she’s nervous to meet the girls who follow her programs because she follows their journey to health on Instagram and Facebook intensively.
Kayla routinely shares her workout plans on Instagram for her fans to follow. She’s one of the few people in the fitness industry who keeps her fans as her priority. We wish her the best for her future endeavors.
Who is your gym crush?
Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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