Women in Wellness: “With a morning routine, your mind and body knows exactly what they need to do to prepare for the day, every day” with Evelyn Huynh of EH Fitness

Morning routine — I aim to have a set routine I do every morning before I start my day. As humans, we are creatures of habit. We function at our best when we have consistency in our lives. With a morning routine, your mind and body knows exactly what they need to do to prepare for the day, every day!!

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Evelyn Huynh. Evelyn is the CEO of EH Fitness and Evolve with Evelyn. She started off as a personal trainer and has now evolved into the online space doing life and business coaching for leaders in the fitness, health, and photography industry. She uses her background in psychology, fitness and health to help them make more money and have more time by prioritizing their mental, physical, and spiritual well-being.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

I am a first-generation Asian Canadian. My parents came to North America after the Vietnam War with little to nothing. Up until the age of 12, we grew up eating fast food, frozen meals, and instant noodles because that’s all we could afford. As a result, I grew up a little on the chunkier side and this led to me getting bullied/cyber-bullied from the age of 13 until 17. This caused me to struggle with severe anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts during high school. When I got accepted to a University, this changed the game for me. I was able to take my fitness journey seriously, got a job as a weight room supervisor, and eventually became a certified personal trainer and worked at my University’s gym.

I started EH Fitness in 2015, and it originally started as a personal training business that turned into online fitness coaching. My business and I have now evolved into business and life coaching for other leaders in the fitness, health and photography space.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

The most interesting thing that has happened to me since I started my career was making an impromptu move from Ottawa, Canada to Los Angeles, California in September of 2018. What initially was a 4-month temporary stay turned into something more long term. This move has allowed me to excel in my career in ways I could have never imagined, and since, I’ve traveled all over the US for work trips!

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

One of the biggest mistakes I made when I was first starting is trying to do everything on my own. My parents came to Canada after the Vietnam War with little to nothing, and because of my dad, I was taught to do everything on my own, so that I never had to depend on anybody. While this is true in most areas of life, there are just some things we need support from others, whether it’s a coach or mentor.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

As odd as this sounds, I would have to say my dad. This answer would probably come as a surprise to a lot of people because he’s never truly supported my goals and dreams. However, because of the work ethic he’s taught me and how much I wanted to prove him wrong, that I COULD graduate in high school, that I COULD graduate a semester early in University, and that I COULD make a living off my passions and dreams.

He was always hard on me growing up and wanted me to play safe and get a safe job, and because of him, I’ve always wanted to prove that I could do all the things he said I couldn’t…and that’s probably one of the biggest reasons I’m where I am today.

Ok perfect. Now let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

I loved my job as a fitness coach. I helped hundreds of people transform their minds, bodies and overall lifestyle through my coaching. However, I realized that no matter how many people I coached, I could never create the mass impact I wanted to create by only being a fitness coach. This is when I evolved into business coaching for leaders in the fitness and health industry. I’m now able to teach other fitness and health coaches my specific strategies and protocols to help them help their clients achieve long-lasting results.

Alongside, I am now focusing on my YouTube channel again and sharing my fitness and business story in the media to show that fitness and health can be the catalyst you need to succeed in ALL areas of your life.

Can you share your top five“lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

1. Morning routine — I aim to have a set routine I do every morning before I start my day. As humans, we are creatures of habit. We function at our best when we have consistency in our lives. With a morning routine, your mind and body knows exactly what they need to do to prepare for the day, every day!!
2. Getting a 2.5L water jug — Most humans do NOT drink enough water in their day-to-day. Water makes up a large part of our cells and it’s CRUCIAL for cellular hydration, and is the reason why some people can’t lose weight, have headaches, dizzy spells, dry skin and/or constipation.
3. Minimum effective dose with training — Often times when we want to “get fit”, we succumb ourselves to drastic and unrealistic expectations, such as training 7 days a week for 2 hours a day. This leaves us burnt out, “falling off track,’’ giving up and thinking we’re not cut out for this lifestyle. Find the minimal effective dose that will provide you the results you want to see! If training 2–3 days works for you, then STICK to that at first. By focusing on this process, the results will reveal themselves.
4. Brain dumps + scheduling — In this day and age where technology rules most of our lives, it’s really easy for our minds to get jumbled up with all the things we need to do. Often times, we procrastinate sitting in overwhelm. By putting all our thoughts onto paper, we’re able to decipher what exactly it is we need to do, and by scheduling them out…we then have a game plan to actually do them!
5. Hip flexor stretch — The majority of humans sit around most of the day whether in a chair or in a car. As we start to age, I notice low back pain being one of the biggest struggles for people. A 30 second stretch on each side every day can significantly improve your physical health and overall well-being.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I honestly think it would have to be a movement that incorporates both kids and adults. One of my life goals is to create a life + wellness program that can be implemented in the school system in order to teach kids about proper training and nutrition so that it’s fun and exciting instead of it being a chore. By involving both the kids and adults, we can ensure that wellness is a subject discussed in school and at home. This way, wellness can be a strong foundation in the family home and in our kids’ lives.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

1. Success is subjective…it’s whatever ‘success’ means to YOU, so don’t let other people tell you otherwise
2. Always remember and aim to stay in your own lane, because there’ll be many people and things along the way that will distract you from attaining your goals and dreams.
3. Always focus on becoming a better version of the person you were yesterday. At the end of the day, it’s you vs. you.
4. Fear will never go away, and instead of avoiding or pushing it away…learn to face your fears head on and turn them into your greatest strengths.
5. You have a gift the world needs, and it’s your responsibility to share it, so don’t you ever dim your light just to make others feel more comfortable.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

If I had to choose just one…mental health would be the cause dearest to me. 2009 to 2012 were some of the toughest years of my life due to cyberbullying. As a result, I struggled with severe depression, anxiety, self-harm, constant suicidal thoughts, and it’s the number one reason I started EH Fitness. Fitness and health saved my life by helping me build up the confidence and self-esteem that was knocked down while I was in high school. This confidence allowed me to live to see just how beautiful life is, and that’s what my company aims to do — to help others heal their relationship with their mind, body and spirit so that they can find freedom in all areas of their life!

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

The best way for your readers to follow me on social media is through my Instagram: @evolvewithevelyn or https://www.instagram.com/evolvewithevelyn

Thank you for these fantastic insights!