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Follow Your Fire: TIU Trainer & Tabata Expert Kristina Earnest on Reinvention & Finding Your Purpose
Description
This week, Karena sits down with Tone It Up trainer and Tabata queen Kristina Earnest for an episode that is equal parts inspiring, hilarious, and deeply real. From trading a career in fashion merchandising for a front desk job at a gym, to teaching her first-ever cycling class with zero certification and someone else's playlist, Kristina's journey into fitness is proof that sometimes the most unexpected leap of faith leads you exactly where you were always meant to be.
Kristina opens up about navigating multiple miscarriages, uprooting her life across the country more than once, and overcoming a heart condition that doctors said would keep her from running — a condition that ultimately became the very reason she fell in love with movement. If you have ever felt stuck, scared to start over, or unsure whether your dream is even possible, this conversation will leave you feeling seen, uplifted, and ready to take that next step. You are so not alone in this.
(00:00) Coming Next
(01:00) Intro
How Do You Find the Courage to Start Over When You Have No Roadmap?
(03:55) From Fashion to Fitness: Kristina's Career Leap
What Happens When Life Keeps Redirecting You — And How Do You Keep Going?
(13:30) Choosing Family, Choosing Home
(18:02) Coming Back to Yourself After a Season Away
How Can the Thing That Held You Back Become Your Greatest Strength?
(15:16) The Heart Condition That Became Her Superpower
How Do You Keep Trusting the Process When You Don't Know What's Next?
(20:13) On Intuition, Open Doors & Taking the Leap
What Does It Really Mean to Work Out for the Right Reasons?
(22:31) Sweating With a Smile — It's Not About the Aesthetic
CONNECT & RESOURCES
• Follow Kristina Earnest on Instagram: @KristinaEarnest
• Try Kristina's Activate & Ignite program — available now in the Tone It Up app
• Find Karena Dawn at @karenadawn on Instagram and karenadawn.com
• Leave a voice message for the pod at karenadawn.com/message
• Subscribe to the Tone It Up newsletter for live event updates and new program drops