Meet the celebrity trainer who found God — and now he’s transforming lives

By Billy Hallowell (Pureflix), Pureflix.com Thursday, December 13, 2018

(Photo: Unsplash/Victor Freitas) | (Photo: Unsplash/Victor Freitas)

Celebrity trainer and fitness enthusiast Alec Penix is on a mission to inspire people to think deeper about physical — and spiritual — health. Penix, who trains some well-known names in Hollywood, is a Christian whose faith informs his work, as he helps people reach their hopes, dreams and personal fitness goals.

“We’re much more than physical. We are body, mind and spirit,” he recently told The Billy Hallowell Podcast. “And by strengthening all three aspects, that is really how we become the best versions of ourselves.”

Penix addresses this reality in his new devotional titled, “Seven Sundays: A Faith, Fitness, and Food Plan for Lasting Spiritual and Physical Change,” a book that promises to offer a “Biblically grounded, six-week plan to lead you on the path toward losing weight and getting healthier by focusing on the connections between spiritual and physical health.”

Listen to Penix share his own incredible journey toward God and spiritual health:

Penix shared his journey to faith, noting that he found God at one of the darkest moments in his life. He was in Mexico for a wedding and woke up feeling pain, despair and lostness.

“I woke up not feeling the greatest. I was laying in bed,” he said. “ This was the first time I’ve ever prayed out loud … I just cried out and said, ‘God I need your help.’”

That’s when Penix heard a voice that changed everything: “Alec, It is time to become the man I’ve called you to be.” That experience transformed the trainer.

“From that point on I really just fell in love with God,” he said, noting that he turned to church and the Bible. “Because of that I started to see my life change. I wasn’t spiritually malnourished anymore … I started seeing my enthusiasm start and carry over onto other people.”

Penix realized that his life was transforming, and that he could help others through a combined focus on faith and fitness.

Now, he’s hoping to encourage fans and readers to go on a similar journey.

“Having goals, having purpose is extremely important to push us out of our box into see that we really are created in God’s image and that we have unlimited potential,” Penix said.

The celebrity trainer is hoping that “Seven Sundays” helps people recognize that human beings are far more than mere physical beings, while also encouraging them to build stronger relationships with those around them.

“I really believe that this book is also about how it allows you to share and connect more with the people around you,” he said.

Find out more about “Seven Sundays” here. And if you’re looking for fitness videos and tips for building a healthy life, look no further than PureFlix.com.

This article was originally published on Pure Flix Insider. Visit Pure Flix for access to thousands of faith and family-friendly movies and TV shows. You can get a free, one-month trial here.

Billy Hallowell, author of "The Armageddon Code," has contributed to TheBlaze, the Washington Post, Human Events, the Daily Caller, Mediaite, and the Huffington Post, among other news sites. Through journalism, media, public speaking appearances, and the blogosphere, Hallowell has worked as a journalist and commentator for more than a decade.