Peloton’s Jess Sims Shares Her Fitness Tips and Best Advice Her Dad Gave Her (EXCLUSIVE)

Peloton instructor and ESPN College GameDay host Jess Sims is always on the go, juggling fitness classes and sports broadcasts. To stay alert, awake and healthy, she needs one thing: her chocolate Ka’Chava protein shakes—and she’s recently become a spokesperson for the plant-based superfood company. To learn why she loves Ka’Chava, what football teams she thinks people need to be on the lookout for and the super sweet advice her father gave her many years ago, keep reading! 

First for Women: What made you decide to partner with Ka’Chava? 

Jess Sims: I’ve been in fitness now for eight years, which is wild. Six years of Peloton and two years before that just in New York City. I played sports nonstop since I was five and I’ve never aligned with any sort of protein supplement company, because I’ve never found something that works for me.

I don’t know how I was introduced to Ka’Chava, but the first thing I tried was the vanilla. And I was, like, “Why does this taste so good and why do I feel so good?” I felt satiated and full, but I didn’t feel sick. 

With my jobs at Peloton, ESPN and Good Morning America, I’m constantly on camera, and so it’s really tough for me to trust food that’s going to make me feel good and that’s not going to make me feel ill before going on camera. 

Now, chocolate is my new favorite and it has been really great to fuel me. It’s also incredibly convenient. I used to spend at least 10 minutes making a smoothie in the morning and Ka’Chava just saves time in my morning routine or whenever I take it on the road. 

FFW: Aside from Ka’Chava, what are some of your other favorite meals? 

JS: I really try to eat super clean, which is why I love Ka’Chava so much: Their list of ingredients is super clean and readable. 

Some of my favorite go-tos are avocados and hard-boiled eggs. I can have them near workouts. For dinner, I love either salmon, baked chicken or grilled chicken. I love my air fryer, so I’ll fry the chicken in the air fryer with sweet potatoes. 

My go-to green right now is broccolini when it’s in season, and then asparagus. 

FFW: Beyond strength training and running, what else do you incorporate into your routine?

JS: I teach cardio and strength training at Peloton four days a week. When I’m not on the platform, I really love yoga, stretching and meditation. I try to keep it balanced. 

FFW: Along with your work at Peloton, you are quite well known for your work as a College GameDay Host. What has that experience been like for you, and is there one thing you learned about yourself during it? 

JS: That I am resilient. I laugh, because College GameDay is the toughest show in the world. It is three hours of live television with drunk college students screaming bloody murder behind you. There are different people to interview. There are changes at the last minute. It’s outside, so you’re dealing with whatever weather it is, and then we don’t find out what college campus we are on until the Sunday before. So, I would say that the thing that I learned about myself is definitely that I’m resilient and I can do hard things. 

That’s why I say that so much in class: the job is not easy, but it’s fun at the end of the day. 

FFW: College football season is clearly in full swing; what should people expect during this season? 

JS: I would say expect the unexpected. We’re coming off of a weekend where two top-five teams from the SEC, Alabama and Tennessee, were beaten by unranked teams. So, literally anything can happen. 

I think Texas is the team to beat this year. They are 5-0 right now, but they have a big test next week with Georgia, so it’ll definitely be a great game. 

In terms of the fun stuff, I would say Notre Dame has a chance to have a big moment this season. They have a great coach, Riley Leonard, and a great quarterback, so I think they will make a run for it this year and make the playoffs. 

FFW: Moving onto basketball, what teams in the WNBA and collegiate circuit are you most excited to watch this year and why? 

JS: With the WNBA, I’m so happy that the New York Liberty made it to the finals. They beat Vegas, so I really hope that Liberty takes this home this year. Shout out to Ellie the Elephant. I’m obsessed with that mascot, for sure. 

For men’s college basketball, hands down, Duke. It’s Cooper Flagg’s first season. He’s obviously a standout athlete, and everyone’s so excited to watch him play. But I’m also excited to see Coach Cal [John Calipari] at Arkansas. I think that it’s going to be an interesting experience to see him away from Kentucky. 

FFW: Another thing happening this time of year is the holidays. What are you doing to prepare for them, and what are some products you just have to have with you during this time of year? 

JS: I’m super excited to take a little bit of a step back. We travel on Fridays instead of Thursdays for Thanksgiving, so I’ll be able to enjoy that. I think my mom is going to come into the city this year, which will be good, and then just spend time with the pups. My favorite thing to do is be under a blanket with my dogs and watch some sort of trash reality TV. 

FFW: What is one thing you wish you could tell your younger self? 

JS: Not to make decisions and moves based on what you think other people will think. 

As a kid, I always worried about things like, “Will my mom approve of this? Will my dad be proud of that?” And then with Instagram, it’s, like, “What if no one cares about it?” Well, what if they do? What if they do care about proper push-up form? What if they care about what you use to fuel your body because they’ve also been struggling to find something that makes them feel good? 

Don’t do things based on how you think other people are going to react, because if it helps one person, then it’s worth it. 

Actually, now that I’m saying this out loud, I used to get very stressed out. My first year teaching, back in 2010, I had fifth graders. I had 75 of them that I taught math to, and at the end of each day, I would just be so stressed and rethinking all the interactions I had with each of my students. And when I would talk to my dad and say, “Well, this student is upset with me, and then this student doesn’t like math,” and my dad’s, like, “You can’t help them all every single time, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try.” So that’s what I try to think about.