Start Before You're Ready

Kelly Young reconnects with college friend Beth Novy for a warm, free-ranging conversation about Beth’s career in communications, her family’s experience when her son Zach developed transverse myelitis, and the routines and values shaping life after major change. Their memories of college and enduring friendship lead to a practical closing message: reach out when someone comes to mind.

It all started with a Friday tradition at Ithaca. Fridays were Beth’s time to herself, and every week Kelly would ask if she could come along anyway. Years later, hearing about her daughter Lindsay’s Fridays with friends at Syracuse made Kelly think of Beth and send her a text. One quick call turned a planned solo episode into a conversation between old friends. Beth reflects on leaving Paramount after nearly 20 years, what helped her family get through Zach’s recovery, and why motherhood comes to mind when Kelly asks when she’s had to start before she was ready.

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Let’s connect!
IG: @kellys_bootcamp
My website: https://kellysbootcamp.net/

In this episode of Start Before You’re Ready, I’m joined by Rebecca Weaver, a mom of two, IT executive, and member of our KBC community for 11 years. Rebecca shares how her relationship with fitness has evolved through different seasons of life, including a lupus diagnosis that challenged her identity as an athlete. We talk about learning to focus on what you can do, surrounding yourself with people who help you grow, and why someone who seems confident can still struggle with imposter syndrome. I love her reminder that success can mean finding ways to keep going as your life and body change.

From signing up for her first triathlon while holding her baby at 2 a.m. to adventure racing with her sister and renovating a neglected lake house with her family.  Rebecca has plenty of experience starting before she’s ready. We also talk about friendships built through fitness, the shift from chasing a lower number on the scale to protecting muscle, and building strength for the life you want to live. This conversation is full of honesty, humor, and reminders that we can do hard things, even when we’re figuring them out along the way.

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Let’s connect!
IG: @kellys_bootcamp
My website: https://kellysbootcamp.net/

In this episode of Start Before You're Ready, I'm joined by longtime KBC member Kjersti Oliver, whose story is an incredible reminder that life doesn't have to be perfect for us to keep moving forward. Kjersti is a wife, mom of two young boys, assistant principal, and former competitive swimmer and triathlete. In 2024, while helping open a brand-new school and raising her young family, she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. She shares what it was like navigating chemotherapy, surgeries, and radiation while trying to hold on to the things that made her feel like herself. One of my favorite parts of her story is how she reached out to me to start exercising again, even when she wasn't sure what her body could handle. She literally started before she was ready.

We also talk about the power of community, raising kids with healthy habits, making fitness a part of your life without becoming obsessed with goals, and why consistency matters so much more than perfection. Kjersti shares some great practical advice about meal planning, involving kids in the kitchen, and supporting someone going through cancer. Her biggest takeaway is something I think we can all learn from: sometimes the most meaningful thing you can do for someone is simply keep showing up. This conversation is about resilience, perspective, and finding your way back to the things that bring you joy, even when life looks nothing like you planned.

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Let’s connect!
IG: @kellys_bootcamp
My website: https://kellysbootcamp.net/

In this episode of Start Before You’re Ready, I sit down with Chip Connell, who has been part of our KBC/INERGY community since 2020. Chip grew up playing soccer, spent years lifting heavy at the gym, and didn’t necessarily picture himself becoming a regular at group workouts. Now he is one of our Saturday Bootcamp and Dude Camp regulars! We talk about how his training has changed, the difference coaching has made in his movement and mobility, and how he and his wife make time for workouts while raising their three-year-old son.

We also get into his first HYROX, which he signed up for just a few weeks before the event, what surprised him, and what he wants to improve before his next race. Chip shares how he is approaching nutrition, body composition, and learning more about his health through blood work. But my favorite part is hearing what this community means to him. From new friendships to seeing people in their 60s and 70s doing hard things, his story is a reminder that finding your people can change what you believe is possible for yourself.

Anneli's episode: https://share.transistor.fm/s/e15516f9

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Let’s connect!
IG: @kellys_bootcamp
My website: https://kellysbootcamp.net/

In this episode of Start Before You’re Ready, I sit down with longtime KBC member Megan Jacoby, who has been part of our community for 11 years. Over that time, I’ve watched Megan’s relationship with fitness and health evolve in such a powerful way. She talks about the people who have influenced her, the programs that helped her stay accountable, and the changes she has made to become stronger and healthier.

But Megan’s story hasn’t been a straight line. We talk about some of the challenges and setbacks she has faced along the way, and how she has continued to show up through all of it. Her story is such a great reminder that getting better doesn’t mean being perfect. It means continuing to make choices that move you forward, leaning on the people around you, and being willing to keep going even when life gets hard.

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Let’s connect!
IG: @kellys_bootcamp
My website: https://kellysbootcamp.net/

In this episode of Start Before You’re Ready, I’m sharing three stories from my book, Start Before You’re Ready: The Power of Taking Action. Jodi, Gloria, and Rebecca all started for different reasons, faced different challenges, and took very different paths—but there is one thing they have in common: they kept showing up. Jodi went from struggling through her first boot camp after having five children to becoming a fitness instructor and creating our Retro program. Gloria went from questioning some of my crazy ideas (and telling me so!) to becoming a longtime KBC member and yoga instructor. And Rebecca learned to stop focusing on everything she was told she couldn’t do and instead figure out what she could do.

These stories are such a reminder that the reason you start doesn’t have to be the reason you stay. Small changes add up. Confidence grows when you do hard things. And sometimes the biggest ripple effect starts simply by taking care of yourself. I also share the story behind one of my oldest KBC sayings, “Get what you came for.” Because what you need from a workout—or from this podcast—might be strength, confidence, connection, a break from a hard day, or simply a win. Whatever it is, I hope these stories remind you that you don’t have to have everything figured out. You just have to start.

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Let’s connect!
IG: @kellys_bootcamp
My website: https://kellysbootcamp.net/

What happens when someone who doesn’t think group fitness is for him decides to show up anyway? Mo has been part of the KBC community for 15 years, and today, on his 54th birthday, we’re talking about the journey from his very skeptical first workout to becoming one of the strongest, most consistent, and most valued members of our community.

We talk about why starting slowly works, finding a fitness community that keeps you coming back, and why exercise becomes about so much more than burning calories as we get older. Mo also shares what Dude Camp has meant to him, the importance of men talking openly about their health, and why connection may be one of the most valuable things we get from working out together. This conversation is such a great reminder that you don’t have to be ready, fit, or even convinced when you start. Sometimes you just have to show up.

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Let’s connect!
IG: @kellys_bootcamp
My website: https://kellysbootcamp.net/

What would I really tell you as a fitness trainer and coach after two margaritas? In this honest episode, I’m sharing some of the things I believe but don’t always feel comfortable saying out loud from what “I don’t have time to exercise” really means to why building strength matters at every age. I also share a deeply personal story about my mom, her broken hip and ALS diagnosis, and the lesson I still carry about never assuming we know what someone else is going through.

I’m also opening up about my own health journey with hormone replacement therapy, blood work, body composition testing and visceral fat. I share what I’ve learned from people in our community about their experiences with GLP-1 medications and how those conversations have changed my perspective. This isn’t medical advice. It’s my personal experience and what I’ve learned from others. The message is simple: don’t be afraid of your numbers, don’t be afraid to ask for help, and don’t accept feeling miserable when there may be options that can help you feel like yourself again.

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Let’s connect!
IG: @kellys_bootcamp
My website: https://kellysbootcamp.net/

In this powerful episode of Start Before You’re Ready, Kelly sits down with Cole Parvin, a Northern Virginia athlete who is turning profound loss into purposeful action. After losing his mother to opioid addiction when he was 12, Cole committed to a 200-mile run from Hampton to Fairfax, Virginia, ending at the home where she passed away. His goal is to raise money and awareness for families affected by addiction while supporting the Chris Atwood Foundation and its work to provide compassionate resources, housing, support, and overdose-prevention efforts.

Cole shares honestly about growing up amid addiction, grief, guilt, and instability and the resilience he built through faith, therapy, football, endurance sports, and a decision to keep moving forward. From a career-ending football injury to Ironman races and now this extraordinary run, Cole’s story is a reminder that you do not need to have every detail figured out before acting on a calling. This conversation is about honoring the people we love, choosing purpose over fear, controlling what we can control, and doing the hard things that seem bigger than us.

Please consider donating to his important campaign.  

https://chrisatwoodfoundation.app.neoncrm.com/campaigns/milesformom

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Let’s connect!
IG: @kellys_bootcamp
My website: https://kellysbootcamp.net/

Coach Nicole Foley returns to Start Before You’re Ready to share how her Empower Her program is helping middle- and high-school girls build more than physical strength. From athletes looking to improve performance to girls who are brand new to fitness, Nicole creates a supportive, small-group environment where participants learn proper form, set personal goals, gain confidence in the gym, and discover that progress has nothing to do with comparing themselves to the person next to them. Kelly and Nicole discuss the powerful culture created when girls encourage one another, and celebrate every win from a longer plank to a first pull-up and learn to feel proud of what their own bodies can do.

Nicole also talks about coaching girls’ soccer at PVI and Freedom High School, her work with Morgan’s Message to amplify mental-health awareness among student-athletes, and training for her third HYROX race in Washington, D.C. This conversation is for parents, coaches, athletes, and anyone who believes young women deserve spaces that challenge them, support them, and help them become stronger for life

Episode #3 Find Your People: —Your Essential Hype Team for Life, with Nicole Foley

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Let’s connect!
IG: @kellys_bootcamp
My website: https://kellysbootcamp.net/