Working Out With—Heidi Conlin

“You will never get this day back again!” shouts Heidi Conlin to invigorate those who are daring and dedicated enough to take her grueling one-hour workout, which mixes kickboxing, calisthenics, and cardiovascular training. They meet Monday and Wednesday mornings at CKO Kickboxing at 900 Madison St.
“It’s true,” says Conlin. “Whether it’s the happiest or worst day. You never get it back. It’s not to be morbid, but to be purposeful.”
Conlin conducts her class with great rigor and intensity. She’s a five-foot-one-inch mother of four who moves around the gym like a drill sergeant. A spark plug of energy, she shouts throughout most of her session, not to intimidate her clients, but to encourage them to push beyond their comfort zone and achieve their fitness goals. In the gym there is no “should’ve, would’ve, could’ve,” Conlin says; life should be lived with no regrets.
“I think people are too paralyzed by fear,” says Conlin. “I always tell my kids that there is one way you’ll never get what you want, and that is if you don’t try. I believe everybody’s body is already beautiful but if you want to be healthier, then why not? You just have to put in the work.”
“Why not?” That’s the mantra that Conlin lives by and embraces, both inside and outside the gym. Though she’s tough with the gloves on, she’s a soft touch with the gloves off, quoting the likes of Coretta Scott King, President John F. Kennedy, or Mahatma Gandhi for inspiration. Her own life shows that almost anything is possible.
Conlin is the sole practitioner in her law firm, which focuses mainly on adoption law with the mission of forming families. Knowing how arduous the road to adoption can be, Conlin works closely with adoption counselors, consultants, psychologists, and medical specialists to provide the best experience possible for those looking to adopt, either domestically or internationally. She’s working with advocacy groups to help transform New Jersey’s archaic foster-care system into a modern, streamlined one that will more effectively move kids out of the system and place them in permanent homes.
“Supporting and facilitating families has always been my passion, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have a skill set to help that,” says Conlin. “I very much believe that raising kids, teaching kickboxing, and helping people find a child match through adoption are all the same thing.”
Conlin moved to Hoboken in 1998 from Manhattan with her husband and son to attend law school after working for the National Football League and The United Way doing legislative work. In 2003, she earned her degree, passed the bar in New York and New Jersey, gave birth to twins, and cofounded Hoboken Happenings (now the Hoboken Family Alliance), which promotes and organizes family events around the community. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees at The Hoboken Charter School, which only recently recovered from a devastating fire last September.
“I like the component of working out for a release of stress,” Conlin says. “You want to work out for your mind, body, and spirit. I believe you can transfer any of your stress to the bag, cathartically.”
A follower of Eastern philosophies, Conlin believes that working out not only benefits the body but also provides inner peace.
“It’s the one hour a day that it’s nobody else,” Conlin says. “And you can work through a lot of physical and spiritual cleansings through punching a bag or holding a yoga position. You have to pay attention to who you are within to find balance in your daily life. You want to take it out on your bag so there’s no drama in your life. It brings you back to center.
“I can’t be a good mom, I can’t be a good wife, I can’t be a good lawyer,” she says, “if I don’t take care of myself from within.”—07030
PHOTOS BY Terri Saulino Bish