Truth be told, I sucked at sports.

My whole family was gifted in the sports realm, but I just kinda sucked.  I not only was on the ‘B’ team during my junior high basketball career, but I was actually the esteemed bench warmer.  And that’s about when I quit sports.

My story, my exercise journey really didn’t start until I joined the band.  Yep… you heard me right.  I played the clarinet for seven years of my life for the sole purpose of wanting to join the color guard.

Nothing seemed cooler to me than to march out on that foot ball field during half time, twirling a flag in my hands, dancing around to the beat of the snare drum and the pounding of a tuba.

You think I’m joking?  I can’t remember why the whole “volleyball/cheerleader/drill team” thing didn’t seem cool to me at the time… but the band/color guard thing?  Now we’re talkin’!

I loved it so much that the summer between my junior and senior year of high school, I actually was on a color guard team as a part of a professional marching band through Drum Corp International. (Go Sky Ryders 93!)

What I learned about exercise was that it had to be fun.  It had to be something I really enjoyed.  And fun doesn’t mean easy.  There were plenty of 107 degree July Texas days running miles out on hot pavement and football fields nursing broken blood vessels and blisters all in the name of flag twirling for competition, but I loved it.

Then upon moving out to California at the ripe age of 18 for no apparent reason, I discovered the great outdoors as my pathway into new and exciting athletic adventures.

While none of the cool things I tried ever came easy to me as self-proclaimed non-athlete, my desire to learn and “become” a rock climber, or snowboarder, or surfer, or salsa dancer (or whatever), was deeper and greater than my athleticism.

While I might not be the best basketball player, I discovered the satisfaction of scaling 3 pitches up a rock face after having to hike 5 miles in with all the gear.

Then came snowboarding…and for a Texas girl who had never even seen snow before 23, this was and still is a truly magical experience.

Not bad for a band nerd, huh? 

I have this very soulful, spiritual girl inside of me that’s drawn to yoga and surfing.  When I’m feeling the Universal Love… that’s when I “just HAVE to hit the waves!” (Or I should say… the waves hit me.  Hard.)

I also have this rugged-and-tough girl inside that insists on exercising outdoors and even getting a little dirty (hence the birth of Be Fit Boot Camps).

But then I have this super sexy sultry girl inside that sometimes just HAS to go salsa dancing or help a friend of mine open up her first pole dancing studio (think: Sheila Kelly…NOT the Pink Poodle…).  When I’m feeling a little flirty, it’s off to the salsa dance club!  (I haven’t climbed a pole in a while… but I’m still up for it!)

And then sometimes this bad-ass girl just has to step up and punch the hell out of something in my boxing boot camp, or drop down a rocky, steep single track on my mountain bike.

Degrees?  Yeah I got ‘em.  Certifications?  Out the ying-yang.  But I don’t think any of that means jack if you’re unwilling to even show up because you “hate exercise”!  I think as women, we need to let go of all the bullshit excuses of either not finding time to exercising or hating it.

We need to learn to love our body for her beauty, strength, power, and splendor… NOT because we beat her into submission to fit into some fucked up idea of a “perfect body” that society has shoved down our throats since we were little girls.

And the most powerful way you can experience this is to move your body!

And that’s what I offer at Be Fit.  Programs that actually work.  Coaches who are passionately and deeply invested in your success.  And the camaraderie of our community is unparalleled, with like-minded beautiful women (and men!) changing their bodies (and mindset) from the inside out.

 

I get your struggles.

While all the above may sound fun and exiting, my struggles over the past 3 years getting Be Fit Boot Camps and my online nutrition Business up and running, I finally felt the stress and pressures I heard my clients talking about all the time.

The first year was crazy.  I found every “legitimate excuse” in the book not to exercise while running my business.  And through that process, I stopped exercising regularly, gave up the fun things that keep me sane (like mountain biking), got myself into a stressful state of stage 3 adrenal burnout, and basically just felt like shit.  There I was, in my early 30′s, gaining weight, getting totally stressed out, and feeling completely disconnected with my body and therefore my life.

I had to take a few steps back, take a hard look at what was happening in my life, and make some serious course corrections.  This included lots of sleep, lots of self care, and “finding my happy” again by making time for the things I love the most.  Lately it’s been surfing and yoga.

I see a lot of my clients (especially female clients) exercise because they ‘have’ to.  Out of spite and discord for their own bodies, and often completely disconnected from their bodies… like it’s punishment for whatever they ate yesterday.

I see it often when they sign up to do a marathon or 1/2 marathon.  They’re not doing it because they love to run.  They do it begrudgingly, hoping that it’s the answer to their weight loss woes.

But it’s not the answer and it never will be. (In fact, 80% of them actually end up gaining weight.)  And until they find a path where exercise is enjoyable, they won’t have the answer.  I try to teach them lessons of self-love and connection to their body, utilizing exercise as an expression of this.

Our bodies are meant to move.  Our bodies are the vehicle with which we experience this world.  Our bodies should be agile, moveable, lean and strong.  And we should do the things we love to do in a manner that feels life giving in order to make our bodies agile, moveable, and strong.

Letting go of the bullshit quest to be wafey, skinny, and weak, and instead focusing on experiencing life at it’s fullest with all it has to offer, in a body that moves well, is lean, strong, and ready to take on the world one salsa class or boot camp at a time!

Because as my clients already realize, once you start experiencing exercise in a manner that feels exciting and life giving, your whole paradigm shifts, and it’s easy to lose weight naturally and effortlessly, and you end up living in a body that love, that you always wanted.

I’d love to get to know you better!

I host a once a week video training series called Motivation Monday… This is a free weekly training to keep you motivated and on track as you progress through your health-filled life.  You can sign up here.  We also offer complimentary sessions to find out more about your needs and  goals, and to see if our offerings match what you may be looking for.  You can check that out by clicking on the button below!