Meet Jill Charton | Personal Trainer & Founder of iFour.Life

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jill Charton and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jill, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?

Balance in life is everything! The idea of “balance” is actually a huge part of iFour.Life’s name, value and model. I show clients what’s possible by setting aside just 4% of their entire day to focus on themselves and their wellness. That’s just one hour a day in order to transform into a healthier, happier, more efficient version of yourself.

Have there been any challenges along the way?

Of course, throughout different stages of life, the busyness and the chaos, there are learning curves and battles to get back to a balanced state. Personally, I can think of three pivotal life changes that challenged me to find my balance:

1) Transitioning from Corporate America to becoming an Entrepreneur.
2.) Becoming a mom while running a business.
3.) Designing, creating and releasing my iFour Core App during Covid while my husband was at work and my kids were home! (As you can imagine, like many other parents, I have never appreciated the school systems as much as this time).

If I learned one thing during those events, it’s the importance of being in tune with your body both mentally and physically. Setting aside time to check in with ourselves, connect and be present really does help us focus on our priorities and balance our lives for the better!

What should our readers know about your business?

When I transitioned from working at Drayer Physical Therapy to Personal Training, I saw a tremendous need among the patients who were discharged or graduated from PT. They were at a place mentally where they wanted to get back to training at a gym or on the field, but did not want to re-injure themselves and didn’t know how to make that transition safely. I saw this as an opportunity to help those patients regain their confidence both mentally and physically. I started training clients 1-on-1 and was the liaison with their Physical Therapist. I gained so much knowledge working with an array of injuries, which helped me gain more insight into the human body and also, how important consistency is with any program!

What are you most proud of?

When I worked in PT, 90% of patients had a bad back and a weak core, which presented physical challenges. However, many fitness apps focus on exercises that already require a strong back and core to have a safe, proper form and see results. I saw a dire need to bridge that gap in order to provide an app that will strengthen key muscles that alleviate back pain, build a strong core, and therefore a strong foundation to perform other physical activities safely. One of the biggest challenges, yet most rewarding milestones was to create, design, test & release my iFour Core App from scratch during a pandemic. It was a huge learning experience and brought many challenges, but was rewarding in so many ways! My program meets you where you’re at and I help you to progress every day to become stronger mentally and physically.

To be able to hear people and see people’s progress stories fulfills me in so many ways! I’m proud to be able to help people live happier, healthier lives.

What do you want the world to know about you for your brand and story?

The term “Fitness” is often generalized to fad diets and/or weight loss. To me, fitness is our own personal journey and it is part of our story! Therefore, if there is one thing that I would want the world to know about my brand and story, it would be that Fitness is finding what works for our bodies and creating daily habits that achieve long-term success. Every human body is different. That is why I help my clients discern, and then progress through personalized steps necessary to help improve their daily lifestyle from both a physical and mental state.

As a wife, mother of two, and CPT, I am passionate about connecting, creating and inspiring people of all ages to find their positive mindset and accomplish their goals.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers?
If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

If my best friend was visiting Atlanta and I wanted to show them the best time ever, it would definitely be an active itinerary and you can never go wrong with the food scene in Atlanta!

Getting active:

• Take Red Hot Yoga class in Buckhead or a boxing class at Pepper Boxing in Buckhead
• Rent bikes and ride around the Atlanta Beltline
• Skyline Park at Ponce City Market rooftop
• Skydive Atlanta
• Take a day to drive up to Helen, GA and Shoot the Hooch (Cool River Tubing)

Choosing where to eat is SO hard because there are so many great restaurants in Atlanta! It just depends on what you’re in the mood for – food and environment-wise! Below are some of my favorites:

• Brunch: Cultivate Food and Coffee, Canoe, Buttermilk Kitchen
• Dinner: Little Alley Steak, King + Duke, Garden Room, Delbar, 9 Mile Station, Barcelona Wine Bar, Gypsy Kitchen, TWO Urban Licks

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

Of course! I have a plethora of incredible individuals I’d like to shout out for their influential roles in my life and foundational support.

First is my husband, Chris, who not only pushed me to pursue a career in the fitness industry as a Personal Trainer (the best decision I ever made) but continues to support both our family and my career. As many are all too familiar with, running a business, balancing schedules with a spouse’s career and taking care of a family can be a handful. It takes a team, and I wouldn’t be able to do it if it weren’t for his endless support!

I also have to acknowledge my inner circle of mentors, family and friends. Surrounding myself with people who push each other to be better and hold each other accountable, people who I trust and who inspire me daily has been everything to me.

Next, I’d like to thank my clients. My clients are the ones who have made me fall in love with my job and I feel blessed to get to do what I do every single day. Their positive attitudes and drive always leave me in awe and constantly remind me why I pour so much of myself into their successes.

Last, but not least, I’d like to shout out Drayer Physical Therapy for being a catalyst for my professional knowledge and growth. When I worked here, my team was my rock! I learned so much about transitioning patients from Physical Therapy to training in the gym or on the field. Once the patients were discharged, Drayer referred a lot of their patients to me so I could transition them safely from their injury to training.

Website: https://www.ifourlife.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillcharton/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillcharton/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ifour.life/?ref=pages_you_manage

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtFcmWVznR6j55iA7cxIVtQ

Image Credits
Michelle Rose Stephen Renney Alex Chapman