Molly Coogan / FJ Spotlight

I met the incredible Molly Coogan when I was hired as the makeup artist for her absolutely incredible music video It Could Be.  I loved Molly immediately, she was passionate, energetic, inspiring, easy going, yet had a fierce determination in her eyes… and, at this point, this all pertained to music.  The video we shot, was all done in ONE CONTINUOUS SHOT.  Yes, you heard me right, once shot.  This made for a long day, in hours, but with Molly at the reins and an incredible team behind her, the day was fun, exciting and just plain awesome.  Fast forward to a year later and I come to find that Molly is also a personal trainer! Now, I haven’t had the pleasure, YET, of training with Molly, but I have heard that she is just amazing and, to be honest, I couldn’t imagine that she would be anything less.

It is my absolute pleasure to introduce the beautiful, talented and pretty badass ass Molly Coogan…

Where do you train/teach?

I train clients privately in their homes, apartments, parks – any place we can move around.  I also train at Clay Health Club + Spa in Union Square and absolutely love it there.  I’m currently teaching a Bootcamp on Saturdays in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, too!

 What inspires you most about your clients?

I am constantly inspired by the guts my clients have – by how willing they are to commit to doing something that is often really hard.  I’ve worked with a lot of people who have either been away from exercising for a long time or have never really had it be a part of their daily life before.  It’s a huge risk to take because you know you’re going to have to do things outside of your comfort zone.  Many people are not willing to go there and push themselves into foreign territory, but that is how real change starts.

What do you love most about your job?

I love being able to see my client’s transformation as a whole person, not just the physical one.  Obviously, you spend time during a session giving your client a work out but there is a big emotional component to training; past issues, experiences, and the trials of daily life come up.  You have to take time and care to work through it all and issues differ for every person. Seeing a client start to make different choices and tap into a part of themselves they thought either didn’t exist or had lost is pretty empowering.

What is your advice for someone looking to get started on a better diet and/or fitness plan?

Write when you will be exercising directly into your calendar, just like any other appointment.  I sit down every Sunday night with my planner and schedule in my work out sessions for the coming week, even when I don’t want to.  Just because I’m a trainer does not mean I love working out all the time – I have weeks where it is a struggle to make it happen, just like everybody else.  But, I’m much more likely to stick to something if it’s in my calendar as an appointment than if I just say, “Okay, I’ll go to the gym today at some point.”

What are some of the motivational tools you use in your life each day to stay healthy?

I constantly remind myself that SH*T HAPPENS!!!  Things are going to come up, life is going to throw curve balls at you, and you’re going to get derailed a little bit.  Don’t let that bring you all the way back to square one.  I came up with the mantra, “It’s okay to have a messy kitchen” because sometimes all the things I want to get done just don’t happen and that’s fine.  That’s life!  It doesn’t mean you can make excuses for everything, but it does mean you shouldn’t beat yourself up when you’re honestly doing the best you can and things go off the rails for a minute.  We can’t control everything.

What are your hobbies?

I am an actor, writer, and musician.  Training is the side job I have that I actually really love.  Most actors have a “survival” job that they loathe, but I feel lucky to have one that I’m passionate about.  I just closed the run of a play I was in for the month of April and I’ve just started writing a new show that I’ll be doing in the fall and will continue to write this summer thanks to a few gracious artist residencies I’ve received.

It’s Friday night, your best friends are all ready to meet you out and you don’t have to work tomorrow, where are you going and what are you doing?

I love really well made cocktails and cooking.  One of my favorite things to do is have friends over for vodka gimlets, cook a big dinner, and just hang out since I’m usually running around like a maniac during the week (and often on weekends, too).  And, now that it’s finally warm out, it’s so nice to smuggle some of those cocktails in a to-go container, sit in Prospect Park, and watch the fire flies make their nightly appearance.