Krissy Cela talks finding motivation, mental health and her brand-new book

At just 25 years old, Krissy Cela is the founder of global fitness app Tone & Sculpt and trains thousands of women across the globe, including a huge celebrity following.

A former law student who started her fitness journey when she was heartbroken and homeless, now Krissy champions women finding warrior-like strength both in their bodies and their mindset. Yas!

She's recently published her first book Do This For You – it's full of nuggets of wisdom and motivation and will become a permanent fixture on your bedside table thanks to her friendly, honest and open advice on creating healthy habits.

Your book is a bit of a motivational manual, isn’t it?

"I wanted it to be one of those books that you would always refer back to, rather than a 25-day challenge. Anyone can read it; a beginner, someone who is lacking motivation, someone who has maybe stopped and started again, especially with the pandemic happening. I would want my best friend to pick this up whenever she was feeling a bit of self-doubt and feel great about herself."

You haven’t always worked out?

"No, I started my fitness journey six years ago and I had no fitness background. We always ate very well when I was growing up as my mum believed in good nutrition and wholesome food. It’s very easy to see the end product and assume that’s that. But this is a six-year progress, this isn’t a six-minute journey."

It’s about consistency, isn’t it?

"100 per cent. If you’re looking for a quick fix, it’s just not sustainable. For example, the honeymoon phase in your relationship is a real high and you think everything is great and then you get to the next stage where you discover all the nitty gritty things about that person which annoy you.

When you’re first starting out with exercise, it’s all about motivation and that high of those beginner gains. But afterwards that fades away, so what then? Do you just stop? Or do you learn more and keep going. That’s when you build discipline and habits."

How does exercise help your mental health?

"I think it’s very easy to have this perception that fitness is about looking a certain way and we forget the value of the journey. You going to the gym and building that discipline and habit will prevail in all areas of your life.

If you’re consistent with the gym you’re more likely to be consistent with your eating, your deadlines, or progressing with a book as you’ve already built a foundation of discipline and habit."

Did you ever expect your app to become so huge?

"Oh god, no! One of my favourite things on the app is the community forum. I never had a community when I started my fitness journey, so I wanted to place where women could come and talk to one another and feel safe. Fitness can be intimidating but the community we have is what gives the app the magic - not me!"

The Tone & Sculpt app is available from £13.99 at The App Store and on Google Play

SHOP: Krissy Cela's gym bag favourites

Just so you know, whilst we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this page, we never allow this to influence product selections.

We’ve launched our Heat Half Hour campaign this month. How would you spend your 30 minutes of self-care?

"So I’ll either put my headphones on to block the world out and get a tone and sculpt session done – they’re only 28 minutes long and you’re going to feel fantastic afterwards. But sometimes it is just laying on the sofa, having a hot chocolate and watching Netflix. You shouldn’t feel bad about those moments."