How This Woman Made Bank By Building Her Booty
Before Instagram fitfluencer Heidy Espaillat, 28, racked up nearly 500,000 Instagram followers, she went to Lehman College for business administration with big dreams to work as a banker. The problem? After a few years of banking and another year of financial temp work, she realized the industry wasn't all that dreamy.
"I knew I needed to do something else that made me feel good about myself," she says of the decision to leave banking for good last year with no specific plan.
Coincidentally, the pursuit of happiness also led Espaillat, who's originally from the Dominican Republic and now lives in Westchester, New York, into her gym's weight room back in September 2015 with her then-boyfriend, who's now her fiancé. Although she was no stranger to exercise-she'd been using the stair-stepper or treadmill at her gym about four times a week-her routine never made her feel all that great about herself.
"I didn't have any muscles," she says, "but I thought weights were for men."
Her boyfriend, who's not a trainer, showed her the ropes-or rather, the Smith machine. Together, they'd do squats and lift weights to target the upper body.
"I started to see definition in my legs, my quads," she says of the muscle tone she noticed almost immediately. "When I saw my butt, I was like, 'Wow! Look at this!'"
The following year, she began posting informative fitness videos showcasing her workouts and tracking her booty gains. The content gradually boosted her follower count and provoked e-mails from men and women who'd been inspired by her page.
In fall 2017, with her banking career behind her, Espaillat had an idea: She'd turn her passion into a day job by getting her personal training and fitness nutrition certifications to become an online coach.
Early this year, she launched a paid online training program, using her Instagram page, where she continues post workouts and butt pics, as a sales funnel to pick up new clients. And now? Espaillat earns twice as much money off her guides and products as she did in banking.
"I never thought I'd have a business helping people," she says of both her line of work and the fitness journey that inspired it all. "I just wish I'd started earlier."
Espaillat works out for roughly 90 minutes five or six days a week. Two or three times a week she focuses on her glutes, while other days are designated for her chest, back, and arms. She does an abs workout just once a week.
"People think you have to be doing hundreds of thousands of abs exercises," she says. "But abs have more to do with your diet."
On butt days, she begins by warming up the area-"for a mind-muscle connection," she says-with bodyweight exercises like glute bridges, single-leg glute bridges, and kickbacks. Then, she'll grab a barbell that's heavy enough to tire her out by the end of each set, and do squats, Bulgarian squats, hip thrusts, sumo deadlifts, and walking lunges. Finally, she'll finish on the incline treadmill, stair-stepper, or elliptical by alternating between quick sprints and one-minute recoveries at a slower pace for 25 to 30 minutes.
"Consistency is key," she says, revealing the best booty-building secret of all. "You need to lift heavy, increase the weight as you progress, increase your calories, and make sure you’re not eating junk food but whole, natural foods."
"If you want to grow your glutes, you need to eat more calories," Espaillat says of the lesson she learned early in her fitness journey when her booty gains plateaued. "I wasn't eating the right foods or the right amounts."
After all, her old diet consisted mostly of fried foods, juices, and whatever else she craved. Research, trial, and error helped Espaillat turn over a new stone in 2015: She amped up her water and vegetable intake and cut back on sweetened drinks and processed foods.
Now, nearly three years later, she gravitates toward whole, homemade meals, eating more or less the same thing every day: In the morning, she starts with scrambled eggs and toast or overnight protein oats (aka oatmeal with a scoop of protein and fruits like berries). For a snack, she makes a Greek yogurt smoothie with berries and walnuts.
Lunch typically involves grilled chicken or fish with sweet potatoes and asparagus, and for dinner, she has chicken or salmon with jasmine rice and veggies or a salad. Later, she snacks on an apple with almond or peanut peanut butter. She's not into alcohol and makes a conscious effort to drink a ton of water.
And although she indulges in cravings about once a week for, say, her mom's home cooking, fried chicken, tacos, or ice cream, she knows she'll go right back to her typical routine the next day-so she never feels restricted.
"Everyone is different, but this is what's worked for me," she says. "It takes a lot of time and dedication to build the body. It’s not that easy-you don’t grow muscles overnight."
The same can be said for her Instagram following and newfound career. "I never had the intention of starting a fitness page," Espaillat says. "If I did it, anyone can do it!"
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