Ayla Kell
“Make It or Break It” star Ayla Kell plays Payson Keeler on this drama which follows a group of teen gymnasts dealing with the fun, family, friends, frenemies and everything else involved with training for the Olympics. Ayla started off life with both the ability and desire to perform. However! She wasn’t born with bulging biceps and sturdy shoulders. That look, which is synonymous with most gymnasts, required a lot of work to acquire. Ayla shares her top training techniques and what type of pressure she will and won’t accept.
Fitz: “Make It or Break It” has had a big year on ABC Family. How has that affected your life?
Ayla: We’ve had a great response to the new season and people seem to have really response. The changes to my life have been interesting because of it. Thanks to my Facebook page and my blog, I’m able to have a bit of a stronger voice interacting with my fans. I work with Imagine L.A., and I’m using social media to help end poverty in Los Angeles.
Fitz: You have a very strong dance background, but the physical requirements for dancers and gymnasts are very different. What have you done to both play the part and look the part of a gymnast?
Ayla: I don’t really have to do gymnastics for the show, but we certainly work to make sure we look like we can do it. We need to look like we have a lot of upper body strength.
Fitz: Tell me about that training.
Ayla: We do a lot of pull-ups. I’m not going to lie. We do a lot of pull-ups. During the first couple of days of training, none of us on the show could even get half way up. But now I can do seven in a row!
Fitz: Seven is fantastic, because pull-ups are definitely one of the hardest, if not the hardest upper body exercises in the world. How many sets do you do?
Ayla: I try to space each set out by a few hours so I’m fresh to do as many as possible, and I do them four times each day.
Fitz: Have you seen a dramatic difference in your upper body?
Ayla: Absolutely! When I’m working and bars are available and I’m doing them all the time, I can see a big difference. Now that I’m off and I don’t have a bar around all the time … I’m not doing them as much.
Fitz: Well, pull-ups are one of my favorite exercises to promote, so I appreciate you endorsing them for me!
Ayla: The other exercise we have to do a lot are CURLS, hanging from a bar and curling up. We did those all day.
Fitz: On your personal time, what other type of fitness training do you do?
Ayla: I play beach volleyball once a week and tennis four times a week.
Fitz: Tell me about your eating habits.
Ayla: I burn so many calories every day, that I’m basically free to eat whatever healthy food that I want.
Fitz: Do you have a favorite healthy dish?
Ayla: I make a Mediterranean chicken which is probably one of my favorite things in the world.
Fitz: And what’s your favorite not-so-healthy food?
Ayla: Cannolis! I make a really good chocolate pistachio cannoli; they’re my demise.
Fitz: Do you ever have any pressure put on you to lose weight or make other physical changes?
Ayla: I know a lot of people who have had to deal with that, but fortunately I’ve avoided it thus far. I did have that when I was dancing though. TV world hasn’t been so bad about it, but the dance world is always going to be bad about it.
Fitz: Was the pressure you received ever detrimental to your health?
Ayla: No, in fact, before all of my dance performances I liked to go to “In and Out Burger”.
Fitz: Well, in the face – dance world!
Ayla: Everyone else was going for carrots and I would order a Double Double!
Fitz: What’s next for you?
Ayla: Hopefully we’ll get to go through the Olympics with the show, that’s a big goal for me. And then hopefully I’ll get some new roles which are entirely different for me!
**If you’ve never done pull-ups and want to learn how to get started (and try more advanced thing too) check out this Celebrity Fitzness Video. Fitz & Anthony Field of The Wiggles. Pull-ups on Rings II
