It goes without saying that two-time Fitness Olympia champion Whitney Jones is incredibly fit. If you’ve ever watched the artistic routines that fitness competitors perform in competition, you know that it takes strength, agility, flexibility, and sheer talent to do well in the division.
As part of the Olympia’s Home Gym Series, Jones, who’s also a businesswoman and mom of two, took fans through a day in her life during quarantine (catch the full takeover here). Through tons of skills training and a tough home workout anyone can try, Jones has more energy than most—and then some.
She started off her morning by training some fitness division skills, which involve plenty of plyometric pushups, flips, and other gymnastics-style moves.
In the car afterward, she answered a common fan question: How does she stay so positive all the time? Jones shared an unorthodox tip that helps keep her so peppy and positive.
“This will sound like the craziest tip, but I swear by it because it actually helps me. I keep a meme library on my phone,” she revealed. “So if I’m having a bad day, I pull up my meme library… It helps pull me out of a funk and gets me refocused. If I can laugh, I’m good to go.”
On a more conventional note, she also explained that it’s all the mindset and focusing on what you can control, especially during the pandemic when many people are feeling understandably stressed.
Jones also shared the details of her diet during the takeover, and it’s not exactly what you’d expect. Her daily treats include a giant bowl of cereal for breakfast, Oreos (which she keeps in two gigantic storage bins at her gym), and various other desserts. On this particular day, Jones created warm cookie sundaes with store-bought cookie dough and vanilla ice cream.
As far as contest prep, she does the opposite of what many bodybuilders do and keeps calories lower in the off-season than during prep. In the last six or eight weeks of her prep, she bumps her macros up significantly as she ramps up her training.
Aside from her skills-based workout in the morning, Jones shared a bodyweight workout anyone can do at home. Unsurprisingly, it’s not a walk in the park.
Banded Star Jumps (12 reps)
“The key is really jumping, get your hips out, squeeze the glutes, and back down—fast,” Jones says.
Spidermans 20 (10 reps each side)
“Plank/pushup position, bring your knee to your elbow and rotate, with a slight pulse in the pushup,” Jones says.
Slide Reverse Lunge 20 (10 reps each side)
Wear socks or put your back foot on a towel. “Use the lack of resistance to slide back so you’re really hitting the back of the legs,” Jones says.
Single-Leg Squat Jumps 20 (10 reps each side)
You can do these on the bottom of the stairs to elevate the back foot, or just level ground.
Elevated Pushups (15 reps)
Do these on the stairs or any spot where you can elevate your arms. “Make sure your core is tight, and booty’s down—no cheating,” Jones says.
Squat Jacks (20 reps)
You can use a bar, shovel, broom, gallons of water on each side to add weight to the push press portion.
