Jump, Skip & Smile with Amanda Kloots

How this NYC celebrity trainer discovered herself through fitness.

by TAYLER BRADFORD    ★    DEC. 1, 2017

Wearing snake-patterned leggings and a white tank top, Amanda Kloots, 35, dances at the front of Studio B filled with 30 women. Natural light illuminates the studio through a wall of tall windows that reveals the New York cityscape. As the music blasts and sweat drips from her blonde braided hair, Kloots leads her hour-long signature class, “The Dance,” with a smile on her face. When “The Dance” comes to a close, nearly every woman approaches Kloots with open arms and thanks her for an awesome workout.

An additional 30 women are packed in a tiny waiting room outside Studio B, a workout studio owned by activewear company Bandier. As the women walk into Kloots’ other signature class, “The Rope,” they grab a jump rope and yoga mat. Keeping their water bottles nearby, they claim a spot facing one large floor-to-ceiling mirror and notice a wall adorned in gold stars behind them. All of a sudden, Kloots raises the musics. She leads everyone into a warm-up that consists of jumping rope for one minute followed by holding a plank for one minute, repeated for times with no breaks in between. Minutes into the warm-up, everyone is drenched in sweat.

“The Rope” was Kloot’s seventh workout of the day. Prior to it, she taught five private sessions and one group class. Fueled by her passion for teaching fitness, Kloots’ positive energy remained consistently strong and contagious from the time she started at 8 a.m. to the time she finished at 8:30 p.m. “Doing what you love will make you successful, because it gives you the drive and passion to keep going even when things get tough,” Kloots said.

With over 37.4K followers on Instagram, Kloots streams 10-minute workout sessions Monday through Friday on Instagram Live. Jumping rope will change your body by toning your arms, sculpting your legs and lifting your butt, according to Kloots.

Born and raised in Canton, Ohio, Kloots moved to NYC when she was 18 years old to attend musical theatre school at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy where she danced, sang and acted everyday. Two days after graduation from the Academy, Kloots landed her first Broadway show, 42nd Street, and toured for 10 months. Afterwards, she became a Radio City Rockette and danced in other Broadway shows, such as The Producers, Spamalot and Young Frankenstein. After her last Broadway show closed, Kloots began to envision the rest of her life and considered having kids. However, her plans were put on hold when she went through a difficult divorce after six years of marriage. Kloots became depressed. “My Broadway show closed. I was out of a job and all alone in my 30’s.” she said. “I thought my life was over.”

Little did she know, her life was just beginning. One morning, her best friend encouraged her to teach fitness at Body By Simone in NYC, a prestigious personal training and fitness club. Kloots’ depression began to subside when she started a teaching gig that lasted four years. “I fell in love with teaching because i was helping people. It became my new way of performing. I loved being in front of a group, leading a big class and offering one-on-one individual help. I loved seeing people grow,” Kloots said.

As Kloots’ clients grew stronger, she did too. “Getting out of bed and in front of people and working out definitely saved my life, on top of therapy and my amazing friends and family who were my support system,” she said. “Working out, being happy, smiling and helping people really helped my overcome the divorce.”

During her time at Body By Simone, she started “The Rope.” As Kloots handed a jump rope to one of her clients, she thought to herself, “We’re not going to put this rope down.” Throughout the session, Kloots created strength and cardio moved not eh spot only using the jump rope. By the end of the session, Kloots knew she was onto something. Within two years, “The Rope” was perfected.

Until Kloots started teaching at Bandier, she was privately training clients. She passionately pitched “The Rope” to Jennifer Bandier, owner of Bandier, proving it not only burns calories, but also tones the whole body. Bandier loved the idea and had Kloots debut it in Studio B during April of 2016. With over 25 years of dance experience, Kloots created “The Dance” after “The Rope.” “When you truly believe in something, you just have to keep pursuing it until people finally catch on,” Kloots said while sitting on the hardwood floor of Studio B. “Jen was one of those people. She was my champion, and I’ll never be able to pay her back.”

Kloots discovered herself through this experience. “I found myself when I started my own business,” she said. “I learned that you are stronger than you think you are. You can work harder than you think you can. When I started to believe that, I discovered who I am and what I want.”

Admiring the sunset peaking out behind NYC skyscrapers, this 5’10” confident girls wears a smile so big, her blue eyes begin to squint.