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Speech Transcript

 

L. Scott Ferguson:

Hey, Time To Shine Today varsity squad, it’s Scott Ferguson, and I am really blessed to have one busy lady, the Fit Mama. And also a really good friend of mine, Kerry Marraffino. She has the company R.E.P.S. by Kerry. And REPS is an acronym for recipes, education, products and support. And talk about support, Kerry is one that is there for you every step of the way. She went through a lot of different journeys in her life. And I can’t wait to dig in and have her share them with us. The Fit Mama, Kerry Marraffino, can transform your life and body from the inside out. Kerry can turn your struggles, doubts, and fears into the fire that fuels you by tapping into your mind and body. Combining the power of mindset with her passion for helping you feel comfortable and empowered as you strive for health and fitness. Kerry helps you get unstuck and create the life and body you want. And Kerry, thank you so so much for joining Time To Shine Today. And if you could just introduce yourself to our squad, but first, what is your favorite emoji?

Kerry Marraffino:

My favorite emoji is, this is going to sound creepy, but it’s the little kissy one.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Kissy one, kissy emoji. Awesome.

Kerry Marraffino:

It’s just happy and it’s smiling. That’s my favorite.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Kerry, what’s your favorite color?

Kerry Marraffino:

Blue.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Blue. And why?

Kerry Marraffino:

Reminds me of the ocean and the sky and mountains.

L. Scott Ferguson:

With all squad out there, with all disclosure, Kerry is kind of a neighbor about 40 miles away from me, maybe a little bit less, but we have this huge Epsom salt thing just to the East of us, called the Atlantic Ocean. And both Kerry and I are kind of drawn to that. It’s great healing. And most the mornings you’ll find Kerry doing Facebook lives and whatnot with the camera on the ocean or on the water and she’s getting after it. So Kerry, again, welcome and tell us a little bit about the origins of where you it started to get in your head.

Kerry Marraffino:

Thank you.

Let’s see, where it really started… I always had a passion for nutrition, which started in college, and through my teenage years and continued through college, but I didn’t start working out or lifting weights until I got to college. And my college roommates basically kind of drag me along with them and I went. And I fell in love with it because I never saw any results in my body until I started lifting weights and putting on some muscles. So I really liked that part of it. And then after I left that support system of my group of friends going to the gym, I really struggled a bit with going into the gym and getting bored, I would do classes and things, but if I didn’t have a plan or something to do, I would get bored and I would say, “Oh gosh, do I really need to keep going? I lost my 10 pounds. I’m in shape, do I have to keep doing this?” I think I was like a lot of people, where I just said really?, did the people that look healthy, do they keep doing this? Because I think I’m done.

Kerry Marraffino:

And until I got pregnant and had my kids, then I really got back into lifting and being consistent. And I think what made a difference is I finally found what I love to do, which is CrossFit and HIIT workouts and things like that. But I like to be around that group atmosphere and be around the people.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Yeah, I noticed that you’re very community oriented in the fitness world. And for the squad that’s listening, HIIT is high intensity interval training, correct?

Kerry Marraffino:

Correct.

L. Scott Ferguson:

So that’s really taking your heart rate up, bringing it down, spike it, which really spikes the fat burning. Am I correct with that?

Kerry Marraffino:

Yes. Mm-hmm (affirmative).

L. Scott Ferguson:

Awesome. And if you’re watching a video, you can see this lady’s pretty well put together. And as you see in your videos, she’s a total savage. And we say that in the most affectionate way in the fitness world. A lot of the listeners out there know that I kind of live it as well. So Kerry is the epitome of that. And so Kerry, what was the moment where… I understand you had your children and you really want to level up your life to stay fit yourself, and it speaks for itself with your physique. What was the aha moment to say, “Listen, I’m going to pay it forward and help others level up?”

Kerry Marraffino:

I think just watching people at the gym who were in similar situations to me, they had 30 to 50 pounds to lose like I did. And it’s really hard, especially when you’re going into CrossFit or anything that’s new really, to be consistent. So I think where I wanted to really start helping people was when I saw me, in them. And I could really relate to what was going on and help them first focus on the weightlifting or the exercise and then work on nutrition. We try to do everything all at once. I think it gets overwhelming for people.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Got you. And even with your acronym with REPS, I think the R really is the most important, cause no matter how hard you train, if what you’re putting in and fueling your body with is not on point, you’re really not going to see the difference. Especially as we get older, right?

Kerry Marraffino:

Right. Yes, I have noticed that.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Yeah, harder to take care of. So where do you get your recipes, if you will? Where do you find them? Do you have like a collaboration or masterminded people? You pick them up and you make stuff yourself?

Kerry Marraffino:

I make stuff myself. My husband’s an excellent cook. And he’s a retired firefighter, paramedic now. But he was the cook at the station whenever he was on duty. And his family used to have an Italian restaurant called Marraffinos. But his family is-

L. Scott Ferguson:

Wait a minute. An Italian restaurant named Marrafffinos? No way.

Kerry Marraffino:

Yes.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Is it Irish? No, that’s awesome. Very good.

Kerry Marraffino:

So we both like to cook and he’s probably a better cook than I am, but I like to keep things as healthy as possible. And what’s big, now that I’m in my forties, what’s big for me is food that causes inflammation. So that’s where I focus now. I thought I ate healthy until I really focused on getting rid of foods that cause inflammation in my body, not for everybody, but in my body. So everybody is different.

L. Scott Ferguson:

What foods were those?

Kerry Marraffino:

For me, it’s really dairy, sugar. I don’t do well with sugar, MSG and glyphosate I don’t do well with pesticides, glyphosate, stuff that you really didn’t realize was in your food maybe.

L. Scott Ferguson:

All the good stuff.

Kerry Marraffino:

Exactly.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Feel you.

Kerry Marraffino:

… until you start looking into it.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Yeah, absolutely. I add turmeric to like everything now, I’ve found that really helped out. As well as schisandra berries and some CBD, it’s just really helped out my inflammation.

Kerry Marraffino:

Right.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Okay. So if I’m out networking or we’re listening to hear, what kind of keys am I listening for when we’re out, able to press flush again and meet people and networking and cause, we’re just in full disclosure, I think we’re like day 9,280 of quarantine. But if I’m talking to somebody, how do I know if they were a good prospect contact next gen or someone that I need to refer to REPS by Kerry?

Kerry Marraffino:

I’m really looking for someone who is ready to change. You know a lot of people say they want to change, but they’re not in the head space to change it. So I’m really looking for somebody… What I mean by that is someone who knows, they need to change, wants to change and is ready to do the work. And maybe doesn’t know where to start, needs accountability, which I think is helpful to all of us. I think that’s where a lot of people fall off is, you can’t just give somebody a meal plan and say, “Okay, see you later.” They really don’t have that ability.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Yeah. Cause they kind of run out of that passion, if you will.

Kerry Marraffino:

Right.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Or like you even said, like they start seeing results and they think they can coast and that’s the time we may need even to ramp it up a little bit. Right?

Kerry Marraffino:

Right. Right. And that’s what I found in my experiences. That’s really when you want to coast and you’re like, “Well, I’ve been so good for so long. Now I can just back off.” And that’s where you just really fall off and get into trouble, I think. So that’s really where you need to tighten it up a little bit.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Okay. So you’re a trainer and when you’re first starting to work with a prospect or a client, or even a prospect as you come in, what kind of secret sauce do you use to help find their blind spot? Cause all of them has their blind spot. Right?

Kerry Marraffino:

Right.

L. Scott Ferguson:

They looking to lose fat or they’re looking to gain muscle, what not. What’s your technique to find the client’s blind spot?

Kerry Marraffino:

I think it’s just digging deeper. When you ask somebody what they want, the first two or three things that they tell you, are never really what they want. You have to take down-

L. Scott Ferguson:

That is awesome.

Kerry Marraffino:

They’ll say, “Oh, I want this. I want to look sexy. I want to look hot. I want to be fit now.” No, that’s not what they want.

L. Scott Ferguson:

That’s their root cause for that, right?

Kerry Marraffino:

Yeah.

L. Scott Ferguson:

So what you’re saying is, you ask really super powerful questions to them to make them almost embarrassed to tell you, because they haven’t told anybody except their own. That’s awesome that you said that, because that’s true. You got to dig and you’re not [crosstalk 00:09:12]-

Kerry Marraffino:

And dig into why they want that. With digging deeper and deeper as to why, then you’ll get to what’s really going on, and what’s holding them back.

L. Scott Ferguson:

That’s amazing. Because you lived with those why’s, a couple of different why’s when you went through this stuff, right. I mean, from training before… And it’s funny, you told a story about someone dragging along to lift weights. When I was in the Navy, I was really skinny guy when I first went in, I was great with what I did in my operations that I did, but they drug me to the gym for my first weight lifting workout and they had the bar and I couldn’t bench press it. That wasn’t even push me the most. It was nuts. But no, I appreciate that you shared that journey. So to you, what makes a great trainer, a great leader, a great coach?

Kerry Marraffino:

I think someone who listens, but adapts to the person they’re working with.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Wow.

Kerry Marraffino:

You can’t just say, this works for all my clients and it’s going to work for you. You really need to listen to what they’re telling you and how their body’s responding. And it’s really teaching them to recognize that in their own body.

Kerry Marraffino:

I do a lot with intuitive eating and it took me a while to figure out what foods were bothering me. I was eating all these foods that really cause inflammation and my body doesn’t agree with, but I didn’t know it. Until you tune into your body, your body’s like, “Oh, that’s fine.” And this is how everybody feels. I love it when people ask me, “Oh, what do you take for pain?” And I’m like, “Well, what do you mean?” You shouldn’t be in pain all day long every day. And you shouldn’t be sore all the time. Yeah, you should have a workout that makes you sore every once in a while, but you shouldn’t be walking around sore and in pain and having a tough time getting out of bed. If you are, then you need to change something.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Yeah, absolutely. And you have to listen to your body. So when people leave you for the day for your workout, what do you say to them to make them… Cause grit is a monotonous activity. Like you and I have grit. A lot of my listeners have grit. A lot of people out there have grit. So what do you do to help them instill that grit inside them, so when they leave you in there on their own accountability, I know you’re kind of on their ass a little bit, right. But it’s like, what do you kind of [crosstalk 00:11:31]-

Kerry Marraffino:

I am kind of bossy sometimes, but-

L. Scott Ferguson:

Oh yeah. That’s okay though.

Kerry Marraffino:

… but they’re on their own. And what I tell them is you have to prepare. You know you’re going to be out on the road when we could go out for meetings and things, prepare your food, or have a plan. If you know you’re going to a restaurant and Oh my gosh, you have to pick something off the menu, look at the menu ahead of time. Already have your plan. Don’t be deer in the headlights and “Oh, I’ll have the French fries.” You know, you can’t do it. You know, it’s not easy to pick out something that’s healthy all the time, but if you plan, it can be very simple.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Absolutely. I 100% agree across the board. So you listen to some of my show. So we’re in our DeLorean with Marty McFly. We’re going back to meet the 22 year old, Kerry. I don’t know what your maiden name is, so that Kerry. What kind of knowledge nuggets are you dropping on her to help her level up earlier and less things that you wish you might have known then that you know now, what kind of stuff are you telling her?

Kerry Marraffino:

I was in a really unique spot at 22. I was traveling all around the world at that point. So I think what I would tell myself is that to really… What I worked on then was my connections with people, and that was great. But I think what I could have benefited even more from, was seeing where I actually was and not just working all the time, enjoying the places that I went to because I was always traveling for work and it was stressful. But I think taking more me time and downtime, instead of just running, running, running, and not getting to see the countries in their entirety.

L. Scott Ferguson:

So maybe meeting in more mindful than mind full.

Kerry Marraffino:

Right.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Full of shit.

Kerry Marraffino:

It was busy, busy, busy, all day long until you pass out, wake up early, do it again the next day.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Why did you grind like that? Was there something you had to prove, or it was just in your innate nature to grind like that? Why did you do that?

Kerry Marraffino:

I don’t know. I think a lot of it had to do with the countries that I traveled to. That was just their culture. You know, they ate, they didn’t even go into a restaurant until 10, 11 o’clock at night. So you didn’t get home until 8if you were having a great meeting and everything, they took their time at dinner and you didn’t get home till 1 or 2 in the morning sometimes. And that was an adjustment for me because I was used to eating way later or way earlier and they wouldn’t even… You’d go to a restaurant try to get something neat early. They weren’t even open. So that was a big adjustment.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Right. I remember Argentina they didn’t even open til 1, 2 in the morning. 1, 2 in the morning?

Kerry Marraffino:

Yeah.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Wow. And they had the best steaks in the world. So what… Okay. You’ve did a lot of things between your younger days and now you’ve accomplish a ton in your role, and just your more momentum is building, building, building, but what’s the big, the B-I-G thing that Kerry Marraffino wants to accomplish.

Kerry Marraffino:

I think the big thing since I had children later, I was lucky enough to do all the travel and all the fun and everything first. And I waited a long time to meet the right person. And I had my daughter at 40 and my son at 36. So I think what really drives me, Scott, is my children. And my whole reason for being and being healthy is so that I can be here for them and see them have kids and be here to guide them. And that’s really my life.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Right. And with all this-

Kerry Marraffino:

I don’t want to… I don’t want to have a heart attack or get cancer or something at an early age because they still need me.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Right. That’s amazing. And then you’re such a go giver, in that you’ve accomplished. You kind of said factually you’ve lived license life in reverse, where you did all this stuff that people really wait. But the way you’re keeping yourself in shape, unless the man upstairs has a different plan from you to take you a certain way, you’re going to be healthy. By the time they’re rolling off to college, maybe in your fifties and you’re still rocking life. That’s amazing. That was a great answer for that, there was the kids.

L. Scott Ferguson:

So with that being said then, we talk about the dash here at Time To Shine Today, all the time. You have your life date, your death date, and that dash. So how do you want that dash to be remembered, maybe that epitaph? How do you want that you to be remembered?

Kerry Marraffino:

Just that I enjoyed life to the fullest and really got out and went after what I wanted and spent time with the people I love. Really that I didn’t leave any stone unturned.

L. Scott Ferguson:

You lived, L-I-V I-N, I love that. So then what’s your definition of a life well lived?

Kerry Marraffino:

I think for me personally, it would be well lived if, I tell my kids this all the time, my job is to make sure they’re problem solvers and they can figure stuff out on their own, even though I’m here to guide them, but I don’t want to tell them how to do it. I want to help them know how to do it on their own. If that makes sense.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Absolutely.

Kerry Marraffino:

So I think if they could be givers, kind, caring and know how to figure things out and help people along the way, I think that would be a life well lived.

L. Scott Ferguson:

And that just goes right along with your REPS, your recipe, education, products and support. Recipe does not have to mean food, it could just be instruction manual part for life. So you want to pay forward to your children to say, “Listen, I’m not going to tell you how to do it, but I’m going to give you the REPS to be able to figure it out by yourself.” Am I saying that maybe, kind of keeping up with your life well lived.

Kerry Marraffino:

Absolutely.

L. Scott Ferguson:

I love that. We’re kind of the same age. So what music blew your mind when we were kids?

Kerry Marraffino:

You want to know my first concert?

L. Scott Ferguson:

Sure.

Kerry Marraffino:

George Thorogood.

L. Scott Ferguson:

No way. Bad to the Bone, huh?

Kerry Marraffino:

Yes.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Mine was Shaun Cassidy. I don’t know if you’re here-

Kerry Marraffino:

Oh, I really wanted that satin jacket with him on it. Yeah.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Bell bottoms Shaun Cassidy. That is hilarious. That’s hilarious. You’ve heard me ask this before, but if you take your cell phone, computer, everything out of it, what are three things Kerry can’t live without?

Kerry Marraffino:

Let’s see. I can’t live without my exercise or meditation, some form of self care as far as my mental health and movement. I can’t live without my family. And my writing and creativity.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Yeah folks, make sure you get over to the blog, go to kerrymarraffino.com, it will be in the show notes, and click on blog. Her writing is just off the charts. And she really made sure she critiqued the book cover of Level Up. It’s your time to shine that’s coming out is great because everything she said made sense. And now the publisher loves it. So thank you very much, Kerry.

Kerry Marraffino:

You’re welcome.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Send me your invoice. So as we wind down into our level of lightning room, you and I could talk for 15, 20 minutes on each one of these topics, but you have 5 seconds to answer them. And they’re super easy. All they just need is the first thing that comes to your mind. You’re ready?

Kerry Marraffino:

I’m ready.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Alrighty. What’s the best leveling up you’ve ever received? Best leveling up advice you’ve ever received?

Kerry Marraffino:

Oh, let’s see. I have five seconds. Really?

L. Scott Ferguson:

Four, three.

Kerry Marraffino:

The best advice would be to have no expectations when I’m going into a situation.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Got you.

Kerry Marraffino:

And what I mean is don’t think, “Oh, this is how it’s going to go down.” Just be open.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Love it.

Kerry Marraffino:

Let it happen.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Love, love, love that. Share one of your personal habits that contributes to your success.

Kerry Marraffino:

One of my personal habits that contributes to my success is having a plan, but being flexible.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Plan, but flexible. Love that.

Kerry Marraffino:

So my plan includes being flexible. If it doesn’t go according to plan, adapt.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Right. No expectations. You adapt and overcome. You know what you want, you see the goal, you rock it. I love that. Other than your own website, kerrymarraffino.com and of course timetoshinetoday.com-

Kerry Marraffino:

Of course.

L. Scott Ferguson:

It’s a shameless plug. Recommend another internet resource that Kerry likes to go to a level up?

Kerry Marraffino:

I really love The Gift of Adversity.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Wow. Okay.

Kerry Marraffino:

By Marcus Aurelius Anderson.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Okay.

Kerry Marraffino:

He’s a podcaster as well, is an author, TEDx speaker-

L. Scott Ferguson:

If speak from the stoic viewer-

Kerry Marraffino:

Who’s was in the military, like you was in the army. And he was paralyzed while preparing to deploy.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Oh. Yeah. Yeah. You told me about him. Excellent.

Kerry Marraffino:

But he’s really all about, you would love him, because he’s really all about finding your purpose-

L. Scott Ferguson:

Love it.

Kerry Marraffino:

… and going after it.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Kerry, recommend, not the flavor of the week, not you’re reading now, or if you even read or even like a book on tape, recommend that one that if you just met me and I’m the doldrums and you like, “Scott, read this, it’ll change your life.” What book?

Kerry Marraffino:

Let’s see. I really like, you’re going to laugh if I tell you this one. One of my favorites, and I think it works for adults as well, is The Giving Tree-

L. Scott Ferguson:

Oh my God [crosstalk 00:21:14] I have it right here.

Kerry Marraffino:

… by Shel Silverstein. That’s my absolute favorite. And also I’m having a kid’s theme today, sorry-

L. Scott Ferguson:

Look.

Kerry Marraffino:

… but The Tao of Pooh.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Is it showing up? There it is.

Kerry Marraffino:

I see it.

L. Scott Ferguson:

The Giving Tree. Yep. Oh, I have it, literally right here. It’s on my… I have all the Dr. Seuss, everything. Sometimes we’ll read that. That’s awesome-

Kerry Marraffino:

The other one is The Tao of Pooh.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Oh yeah. Love it. Love it. Yeah. Your favorite charity and organization you’d like to support?

Kerry Marraffino:

Rotary International.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Beautiful. If you could be one age for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Kerry Marraffino:

Oh boy, that’s a good one. For me… That’s tough. I would say about 34 to 42, in there, but I don’t know. It’s tough to pick.

L. Scott Ferguson:

I think that’s a great age. Excuse me. All right, last question.

Kerry Marraffino:

It keeps getting better, so I don’t know.

L. Scott Ferguson:

I know right, you don’t know.

Kerry Marraffino:

So I’m opening up the window.

L. Scott Ferguson:

What’s the best decade of music, Kerry? 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s?

Kerry Marraffino:

80s.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Yep. We were definitely hanging out some more. So there you go. I love it. So Kerry, where can we find you?

Kerry Marraffino:

You can find me on Instagram @kmarraffino, I’m very active on there. And you can go to my REPS group on Facebook, it’s REPS by Kerry.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Okay. And tell us about your 31 days free workouts?

Kerry Marraffino:

Oh. So with all this that’s going on and we’re stuck in our homes and after wondering what am I going to do for workouts? And everyone else is in the same boat. I created 31 days of free workouts that anyone can do. All levels. No weights required. Of course, you can add them if you want, but I don’t even mention them. It’s all body weight stuff. They’re based off of powerful words. So you get your powerful word for the day and your workout and a nice quote.

L. Scott Ferguson:

How can they find that? Or are you putting that together for people-

Kerry Marraffino:

We can put it in the show notes, but it’s on a kerrymarriffino.com/31daysofworkouts.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Love it, love it. Awesome. So Kerry, leave us, the squad and listeners, with one last knowledge nugget that you want them to take with them, internalize and live?

Kerry Marraffino:

I think the most important thing, as far as getting healthy and being fit, is one, to start. And if you mess up to be very gentle on yourself and start over.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Wow, that’s powerful. That’s strong. Do you hear that Squatty start and if you’re going to fail, fail forward and just know you gained that extra yard, as you’re failing, don’t be hard on yourself, but get up, bootstrap, bite down your mouthpiece and keep going. Right?

Kerry Marraffino:

Correct. Yeah, just start again.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Love that. And squad, you’ve just had a powerful, powerful knowledge nugget dropped on you by my really good friend, Kerry Marraffino. Don’t forget to check out everything in the show notes, the 31 days of free workouts in there. For someone that saw herself in a lot of her clients, she’s able to be able to pull them forward and always level up. She always listens and adapts the person she works with. She doesn’t cookie cutter them. So if you do work with Kerry, know that you’re going to get that Ritz Carlton types of service. She’s always preparing whether it’s her food, her life, her children, her husband, whatnot. She’s always preparing for greatness and she always wants you to pay for it in, to be a problem solver. She wants you to always move forward. Be open minded with no expectations, but always grind and grind forward. Kerry, you level up your health, you level up your wealth, you are phenomenal, you’re humble, you’re hungry. And thank you so so much for coming on the show today.

Kerry Marraffino:

Thank you, Scott. It’s been a pleasure.

L. Scott Ferguson:

Awesome.

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