Jana Webb is a well-known name. She is a mother, a survivor, an innovator, and an industry disruptor. And she's just in her 40s! Isn't that something? Most of all she discovered her own brand of yoga to recover from injuries. It happened when she discovered that traditional yoga was not up to the mark with her athletic body, so she modified it to suit her needs. She, therefore, created Joga- a combination of the science of yoga with the biomechanics of sports movements. After 16 years since she launched her brand, more than 500 practitioners have become certified to teach it and spread her legacy around the world. The name is so big that it has become the governing body of yoga in sports. All her clients are professional athletes and people from various sports teams like NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, CFL, NFL, Hockey Canada, Red Bull, WWE, and many more. It is for the first time since so many years that she has brought her method of training to the non-athletic world including the corporate athlete, urban athlete, or a person who works out from home, even!

Jana Webb has been an athlete since forever. She made it her mission to share her perspective with her brand, spreading fitness and a healthy lifestyle attitude to people all over the world. Being the CEO of Joga which has revolutionized the fitness industry recently and the sports industry for almost 16 years, she has become a super inspirational figure for all of us. The existence of Joga is fuelled by her own journey to rehabilitation after a major car crash incident in which she got severely injured. She is also a spokesperson and makes her communication skills a tool to show people how to take control of such situations, be resilient, and use the vulnerability to empower themselves. Clearly, she has made people enhance their productivity both at home and at work.

Before she came into the fitness industry, she was a successful TV host and advertising executive. The car incident made her think about her health and rehabilitation and that's how a yogi was ultimately born. She completed her Ishta Yoga training from Japan to recover and sustain her training that was of athletic nature and launched her brand as soon as she recovered and saw the benefits.

In her own words explaining the hard times that she had to go through, she says, ‘I don’t even think the word ‘hard’ describes it. Once I saw there was an opportunity and demand for what we are doing, then I needed to raise money and write a business plan – which I have never done before. So it was kind of like doing an MBA, but learning the hardest way possible.’

Ever since the list of her clientele has been huge. She has worked with top athletes all across North America that includes Olympians too. Her Joga has helped them enhance their workouts and performance considerably and made them excel at their sports. Launched in 2010, Joga now has more than 350 trainers around the globe and its first Joga House in Toronto, Canada.Having found her niche and passion, she has been all over the news including capturing the attention of The Toronto Star, The Globe, and Mail, Inside Fitness, CBC, CityLine, and Breakfast Television, and has spoken for TedTalks, Optimyz, CanFit Pro, and Veg Expo.

Jana Webb Workout Routine

Jana Webb, who is now also a Reebok ambassador, has introduced yoga in her training methods to help her followers make the most out of it. As Jana describes it, ‘JOGA is a hybrid of traditional yoga with the biomechanics of sports’. The focus primarily was mainly on athletes where the JOGA coaches instructed them with a tailored all-encompassing wellness program to fit their personal emotional, mental, and nutritional well being. ‘So for the program, there is a DNA kit that we use, we call it our lab. Because human DNA doesn’t change, it’s what you are born with. From there we are able to prescribe nutrition, movement, and environment so their bodies could strive’.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks6nOLc0PqECurrently, Jana has over 400 certified coaches across Canada, a head office in Seattle, and she aims at expanding her brand to Europe, Australia, and South Africa.

Focus on the journey

Jana Webb asks to focus on the details. For example, she rides a bike to work or walks her way to the destination. It is all about the little things that add up to something bigger. She likes to bike around her neighborhood and chooses to climb stairs for a quick stair workout. She takes advantage of outdoor gyms and likes to workout in parks too.

Add a medicine ball

Using a medicine ball or a fit ball can really amp up the workout routine and gives a bit more to be creative with the workouts. It can help break the monotony too. For example, lunges can be done while holding the ball or during a push-up, place one hand on the ball, and the other one on the ground. You got an instant variation. “It’s a different way to activate the muscles,” says Webb.

Bring on the bands

Bands are great to use and also very handy since they are lightweight. It also becomes easy to carry it thereof. With a resistance band, you can workout anywhere. For example, you can create some resistance for bicep curl by stepping on the band or just wrapping it around the tree to do an upright row. The bands help to have greater mobility and created a tension that helps in muscle development.https://www.instagram.com/p/B8sUHQTFeLw/

In an interview, she was asked about the motivation factor that leads her to discover the brand for herself and others like her. She says, "I was in a car accident many, many years ago and I had to rehabilitate my body, so I was introduced to yoga. But I couldn’t actually do yoga because I was an athlete, so my body just wasn’t built for it in that I couldn’t touch my toes or do a lot of the positions that were offered. I learned about a program in Japan that prescribed individual movements based on your anatomical structure. I learned that style of yoga, brought it back to Canada, and I started teaching. I ended up getting a call from the Calgary Stampeders (CFL team) to go and teach yoga. I started working with them and learned very quickly that these athletes need something completely different than a traditional yoga program. They need something that can fit with their training regimen, something that could be implemented during the off-season."She explains that there is a lot of difference between traditional yoga and yoga designed especially for athletes. She comments,

"I actually look at the biomechanics of sport. For example, a common yoga posture would be tree posture. In a football game you would never see an athlete stop and do the tree posture, but what you might see is them balancing on one leg with their knee bent and their arms out reaching for the ball with their back leg somewhere in space. What we do in Joga is emulate those athletic movements. It’s more of a movement-based style that’s focuses more on the biomechanics and what the athlete needs to achieve in terms of performance and injury prevention."

Who does she work with?

"We work with the CFL, NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL – you name it, we work throughout all leagues. Now we’re taking this to the urban athlete and positioning [Joga] for the mom athlete, the corporate athlete. Pretty much anyone who has ever played a sport in their life thinks they’re an athlete (laughs) and they still go to the gym and they still train like an athlete. We’re now excited we have a brick and mortar opening here in Toronto and we’re going to be able to offer that to the urban athlete."https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptXTd_FWH-E

But she also makes some time to stay healthy herself. "I think now more than ever I’m really practicing and focusing on that, but I definitely get my workout every day. I eat well, but I definitely don’t have a regimen. I eat burgers, I love beef jerky, I eat pepperoni, and I love wine. I love eating! I just try to find that balance," she explains.https://www.instagram.com/p/B7Rxc3HF5vN/She often rewards herself at the end of a busy and hectic day. "For me, it’s always a big steak and a big bottle of wine!" she reveals. She further added that she also likes to treat herself with a spa treatment every once in a while. "These days my esthetician does this non-surgical facelift treatment where she takes something like an ultrasound wand and it emits a whole bunch of little vibrations that help with the elasticity of the skin. No knives involved!"

This is how she began with bodybuilding in the first place...

In her own words, she describes what lead her to begin a new path of bodybuilding in her life. She says,

"For me, bodybuilding and fitness never even crossed my mind until the summer of 2008. Up until about 10th grade I was always in great shape and I could eat whatever I wanted (and I did) and not gain a pound. That eventually caught up with me and I went from 110 pounds to about 135 pounds by the end of that year. For my petite frame 135 pounds was in no way flattering. A couple of years passed and my insecurities grew to the point where I hated my body and hated myself. I developed an eating disorder in 2007 and ended up hospitalized the summer of 2008 weighing 98 lbs. This is when I finally realized that I was destroying my body, and I knew it had to stop. There was no way I would let myself gain the weight back in fear that I would end up right back in the hospital with another eating disorder so I decided to keep the weight off, but this time I would do it the right way. I began lifting weights and educating myself on clean eating. At first I was terrified of the “6 meals a day thing” but after about two weeks I started to see positive changes in my body and have not looked back since."

Her biggest motivation factor was seeing her hard work paying off. Seeing the results and her confidence levels springing up and touching the clouds, she wanted to do the best that she can. She says,

"My motivation comes from actually seeing the results of my hard work. One thing that has really helped me stay motivated is taking pictures of myself. Sounds a little weird, but seriously! I have photos of myself when I first started working out, and I had absolutely no definition, I was “skinny fat”. For the past 2 years since I have been training, my body has completely transformed! I took photos of my body regularly and even made a little “progress collage” of pictures. When I look at it, I can’t even believe it is all the same person! A year and a half ago I was so uncomfortable with my outer appearance, I dreaded bikini weather! Working out has completely changed my confidence level, I actually like what I see in the mirror for once!"

She shares the workout routine that works the best for her and helps her sneak a few body movements even in her super busy schedule.

"Training one muscle group per week and having 2 rest days for recovery. I have also had to learn the hard way with doing too much cardio. (I am just telling you what works for me and the results that I’ve seen with my own personal body). When I was doing an hour of cardio before my workouts I wasn’t gaining any muscle, and I was actually “softer” looking. So I ended up ditching the cardio before my workouts and just added in some plyometrics in between lifting and results came fast. I was able to add a bit more muscle size and wasn’t looking so “soft”. Again this is what worked for me, and everyone is different. I think it’s important to know and understand your body and do some trial and error to see how your body responds to different kinds of training to workout what is best for you."

This is what her sample routine looks like:

• Monday: Chest/Triceps
• Tuesday: Back/Biceps
• Wednesday: Legs
• Thursday: Rest
• Friday: Shoulders
• Saturday: Biceps/Triceps
• Sunday: Legs

Three of her favorite exercises are:

1. Pull-ups – "They work your arms, back, and shoulders all at the same time especially your lats when doing wide pullups."
2. Squats – "Ultimate exercise for a complete lower body workout."
3. Lunges – "Because my legs have a mind of their own and if I didn’t do lunges they would be like toothpicks."

Jana Webb Diet Plan

She has a very balanced approach to her diet and likes to have an eating schedule. She is not restrictive and treats herself as often as she can. She eats super clean all year round except for very special occasions. She also explains some of the difficulties she has to face, saying, "I eat clean year-round, every day except for special holidays or my birthday. And yes people give me a hard time, yes I get picked on, yes I get the stink eye at restaurants when I try to order plain chicken with no salt or marinades but it’s all worth it in the end."

Her diet remains most likely the same with few alterations. This is what Jana Webb eats in her day:

• Meal 1: Water, 5 egg whites, 1/2 cup oatmeal 1 or 2 cups of coffee
• Meal 2: Water, protein shake
• Meal 3: grilled chicken breast, green beans
• Meal 4: Water, protein shake with an apple and peanut butter or a homemade protein bar
• Meal 5: Bison steak, 1/2 sweet potato, green beans
• Meal 6: 6 egg whites and some fat-free cottage cheese (6th meal is only when needed)

When trying to cut down, she keeps her diet the sam because she needs that kind of energy to do her workouts. However, she likes to do HIIT workouts rather than cardio. HIIT always gives a better result than cardio according to her. She keeps her heart rate up by doing rapid movements during her workout schedules that include weight lifting sessions.https://www.instagram.com/p/B5OTp4XFKoO/

Jana Webb Supplements

She is not super into supplements and does not go head over heels crazy about them but takes them whenever absolutely necessary to complete her fitness goals. "I take a multivitamin, a pre-workout supplement if I need it, glutamine, BCAA’s and whey protein," she said.

Her training program has evolved into something sport-specific like yoga for golfers that includes exercises pertaining to the injuries faced by people into golf. Her chart also includes “Yoga for Runners”, and “Yoga for Triathletes” that focuses on specific movements and postures that help the athletes in these kinds of sports. Her certificate program offers a variety of training sessions and people can now officially be certified in some particular fields that include, yoga instructors, physiotherapists, athletic therapists, and strength coaches become Joga certified.