Erin Oprea
If the name Erin Oprea rings a bell, it’s no surprise.
As the trainer shaping up some of Nashville’s hottest celebrities such as Carrie Underwood, Maren Morris, Kacey Musgraves, Kelsea Ballerini, and our cover girl Carly Pearce (to name a few), Oprea has catapulted into the public eye as one of the most sought-after fitness gurus. But Oprea’s success didn’t happen overnight. In fact, her journey from U.S. Marine to celebrity trainer is one she describes as “slow and steady,” and attributes to tremendous hard work and perseverance.
With a lifetime of experience under her belt, Oprea strives to share her extensive health and fitness knowledge with as many people as possible—famous or not—to help everyone feel like the best version of themselves. With her Pretty Muscles app, anyone can access the same workouts as her star-studded clients. And now, in a follow-up to her bestselling 4x4 Diet book, Oprea is expanding on the keys to a lifetime of sustainable, healthy living with her second release The Power Plate Diet.
Erin Oprea
Age: 43
Marine Mentality: I would say 100 percent that the military has built my life to happen the way it happened. I learned so much through that. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be in the military. Ever. I was out of high school and I was like, “Wait, they get to go camping? OK, I got this.” Needless to say, it’s not like going camping. I was like, “I’ll do my time; I’ll get out.” Then I reenlisted, did two tours in Iraq, and I learned so much about myself. It has developed me into the person I am. I’m a very structured, Type A, disciplined, minute-to-minute schedule kind of person and I really think a lot of that came from the Marine Corps.
Slow and steady: I was a trainer before I joined [the Marine Corps]. I got certified when I was 18 and when I got out, I went right back into training. Training is kind of a cool career now, but when I started there was no social media and it was not a cool career. I slowly built my business but because it was just my kids and me, I was not making enough money, so I started a house cleaning business, too. My only goal was to be able to pay my bills with training and do what I love every day. I wasn’t looking to get rich; I wasn’t looking for fame. Fame is the furthest thing from me. It was 100 percent word of mouth and just doing what you love every day. I feel like people see right through people chasing money and fame. If you follow your passion and your dreams, that’s what people see. I think that’s what my clients saw in me; that my motivation was truly to help them, not to be in on their world. Word of mouth grew and that’s how my training business grew, but it was slow and steady. People look at it as overnight, but I’ve been training since I was 18. I always say slow and steady wins the race.
Not just a diet book: The biggest question I get is what’s the difference in the first book and my second book. If I had my choice it would never say diet on it because they’re not really diet books. They’re all about living a healthy lifestyle; not one diet and then you go to the next diet. The 4x4 Diet is how I live my life every single day, and now The Power Plate Diet takes those same things and dives more into inflammation. It teaches you all about inflammatory foods, yet it’s not just going to say, “don’t eat this, and eat this.” It’s going to explain what the power of food is; how food is fuel for your body; how to look at it differently; how to still enjoy all your favorite foods but maybe let’s change some things up. I want people to still be happy—that’s my goal. If I said, “I want you to eat grilled chicken and broccoli for every meal and then you’re fine,” who could do that? Not a soul. I want people to love life and realize they can still go out, but here are some better choices you can make and here’s why.
I want people to understand the power of what they’re doing. My heart truly believes that if people read this book it can change their lives. There are inflammatory foods and anti-inflammatory foods that are the basics, but everybody is completely different. What might inflame your body might not inflame my body, and I’m not talking about healthy and unhealthy foods. It could be anything, but you’ll find out because I go over it. There’s lots of yummy recipes throughout the book and of course workouts, because you can’t have an Erin Oprea book without workouts. It is a health and wellness book. It talks about health and I will tell you what to do, but I will also tell you why I want you to do it, and then it will sink in. I am thankful to be able to share what I’ve learned through the years with everybody, and hopefully try to get as many people as I possibly can to feel their best. My goal with my app and my book is to reach the masses. I can’t train everybody one-on-one, but I can help everybody through this.
Words of wisdom: My biggest thing is to remind yourself every day that you’re worth it. You’re worth putting the effort in, you’re worth feeling amazing, you are worth all the success. Once you decide you’re worth it, it’s going to give you the drive to keep going. There are days you’re going to feel like crap and don’t want to do anything. Go for a walk. Movement brings energy and when you have more energy you want to do more. Maybe you haven’t started a workout program and don’t know where to start—just go move. Walking helps break cravings, fresh air brings energy, even if it’s cold it’s going to make you feel more awake. Maybe when you get up for your walk, you’re like, “Wow, I’m feeling awake now, maybe I’ll do a little workout.” Hopefully that will kickstart you to want to do it, and then all you’ve got to do is download the Pretty Muscles app, hit start, and every day is a different work out for the whole year.
Confidence is key: My favorite thing is when clients send me pictures and they’re like, “I feel so good!” Confidence. I don’t care what size they are, I want them to put on their outfits and whether it be on the [red] carpet, or at the beach, or on a photoshoot, whatever it is, celebrity, non-celebrity, I want them to be like, “I feel the best I’ve ever felt.” That’s what my favorite part of my job is. If you feel good, I’m happy. Everyone doesn’t want to be a zero or a two; that’s not everybody’s goal and that shouldn’t be everyone’s goal. I always say if you’re trying to look like someone else, you’re going to be a miserable person because God made every one of us different. A lot of times I get, “I want Carrie Underwood’s legs,” and I’m like, “You’re not Carrie Underwood. Carrie Underwood has Carrie Underwood’s legs.” I say look at yourself and say, “I want to feel and look my best,” and your best is what you’re meant to have.