Happy Hemp

Happy Hemp is the newest item I have added to my repertoire. I met with the owner of the product, Tara Miko, last week and she educated me on the benefits and why she started incorporating the seeds into her diet. I have been taking the product for almost a week and have already noticed an improvement in my sleep and digestion.

Happy Hemp supports the following:

• Digestion
• Sleep
• Weight control
• Hair and nails
• Complexion
• Menstrual and menopause ease
• Well being

You can find the product at the Farmer's Market downtown on Guadalupe and at People's Pharmacy. 

Meet, Clarkie

pictured: Me, Coach Crystal McReynolds, & Clarkie

Meet, Jessica Clark, also known as Clarkie! Jess is a colleague and a dear friend. She came on board with Relentless Training Systems as the Marketing Director and a coach full-time this past month. I am beyond excited to have the opportunity to work along side this lady and to learn from her.

Jess encompasses every bit of her 5 strengths: Significance, Learner, Command, Discipline, Activator. The more I work with Jess I see the Activator and Discipline shine. When an idea is being created, this woman is someone you want to go to immediately to help execute with quick turn-around.

The beauty behind my job is I am able to develop true, lasting friendships with each person I work with daily. Jess is the person in my life who I can count on to be professional and get work done when it's that time, BUT also the person who I can be myself around, lean on for honest feedback, and showout.

Jess is a dynamic player on Team PURSUIT! I am thankful to have her on our team.

Contented living

(pictured: My youngest sister = Best friend. Encourager. Support. Bucket filler)

"Nine requisites for contented living: Health enough to make work a pleasure. Wealth enough to support your needs. Strength to battle with difficulties and overcome them. Grace enough to confess your sins and forsake them. Patience enough to toil until some good is accomplished. Charity enough to see some good in your neighbor. Love enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others. Faith enough to make real the things of God. Hope enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future."

I asked myself today---How content are you? The passage above provided some clarity in the thought process.

1) Health enough to make work a pleasure. --CHECK. ClearLLLLLy I  L-O-V-E my job! I am in the business of getting people healthy. Changing their lives from the outside in.

2) Wealth enough to support your needs. --1 day at a time. Each day I learn the more I help others the more we all win. Give first then receive.

3) Strength to battle with difficulties and overcome them. --CHECK. The support group I have from my family, friends, and within Trinity Training Systems is as strong as steel. The Circle of Trust within my core group is what pulls me through seasons of difficulties and allows me to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

4) Grace enough to confess your sins and forsake them. --CHECK. Praise Jesus I am a Christian and He forgives when I ask.

5) Patience enough to toil until some good is accomplished. --Patience is a virtue. Always a work in progress for  me.

Meet, Lindsay!

(pictured: Coach Lindsay in the middle at the Iron Belle competition)

Meet, Lindsay! She is one of the most disciplined and empathetic individuals I know, which clearly plays into 2 of her strengths, Discipline and Empathy. Lindsay was married about a month ago, and her life has been flipped upside down since then. However, this woman has come out of the gates ready and on fire to take Relentless and her life to new heights.

I am excited to watch her skill sets expand our corporate wellness division (RAW), and utilize her new talents of videography to capture the true essence of Relentless Training! Check out her 1st video production HERE.

Lindsay is a top-notch, caring, one-of-a-kind people that you want to know and be her friend. I am thankful to have this young lady on our team and to work along side her.

Natural High

I am addicted to the natural high I experience every time I workout, especially on Mondays. Endorphins amaze me! I show up to class ready to workout but not always 100% fired up and ready to crush it. However, by the end of a workout I feel like a completely new person, AND I know that is exactly how I will feel post-workout. It happens every single time.

Today was no different. 1 mile jog, KB warmup, and then Diane. Not only did I progressively feel more energized as the hour proceeded, I did the best I have ever done on handstand pushups.  Winning. What's even better is I L-O-V-E spicy foods, which illicit a similar endorphin rush to working out. 

I firmly believe that is why CrossFit and Relentless work so well and athletes return month after month---the euphoric feeling of kicking ASS and the physical fitness that happens simultaneously. Do you experience an endorphin high when you workout?

Endorphin 101: In addition to decreased feelings of pain, secretion of endorphins leads to feelings of euphoria, modulation of appetite, release of sex hormones, and enhancement of the immune response. With high endorphin levels, we feel less pain and fewer negative effects of stress. Endorphins have been suggested as modulators of the so-called "runner's high" that athletes achieve with prolonged exercise. While the role of endorphins and other compounds as potential triggers of this euphoric response has been debated extensively by doctors and scientists, it is at least known that the body does produce endorphins in response to prolonged, continuous exercise.

Meet tinyFIT!

(pictured: Michelle, tinyFIT, Showout)

Meet Lauren McAuliffe, also known as tinyFIT! Lauren is the newest coach to jump on the scene with Relentless. I had the honor of coaching Lauren for about 8 months along with seeing her transform during the 8-week Trojan Challenge.

Lauren is full of life, energy, and fun and is one of the toughest tiny people I know. Her and I share quite a bit in common-- from our core values of Balance and Integrity to the Communication aspect of our Strengths. We talked the other day on the phone for a good 30 minutes and created new business ideas within Relentless, new boot camp locations, and refined her future within our company.

I am blessed to have someone like Lauren in my life. Someone I get to work along side, someone I watched get engaged and now begin creating a new life, but also someone I hang out with and fills my bucket.

Team PURSUIT is a bucket full of go-getters and Lauren is absolutely one of them!

Transform from the Outside, In.

(pictured: Mike-- 2010 Empowerment Story) 

I would say about 90% of our clients come to us wanting to lose weight, get stronger, and lean up. Which makes absolute sense, since we are in the business of getting people in the best shape ever through our vehicle, CrossFit. But what amazes me the most is watching clients transform from the Outside, In.

I know everyone has heard the phrase, "Transformed from the inside out." However, I dare to go out on a limb to say that as coaches we are actually doing the opposite--Transforming from the Outside, In. The beauty of my job is having a client come to me wanting to get in the best physical shape and then as a by-product their entire life changes. They start setting goals beyond fitness, revamping relationships with friends and family, taking on personal development courses they never dreamed, beginning new hobbies and/or careers, and living the life they always wanted, while simultaneously looking and feeling the best they have ever felt. A complete transformation from the Outside, In.

I am a complete byproduct of this philosophy. I joined classes at CrossFit Central in June 2008 and made a total transformation from the Outside, In.

For anyone motivated to get into better shape that only runs skin deep, I say, "More power to you!" Simply because I know the end result is greater than you ever imagined.

Meet Heather

Over the next 7 weeks I am highlighting 1 of the 7 coaches from Team PURSUIT. This week meet Heather Reed. I met Heather about 4 years ago as a client, and now we work along side each other, and I consider her one of my closest friends.

Heather is one of the most dependable and caring people I know. She sees potential in others, which explains her active role as a Mentor to new coaches. Also known as her Developer strength. Heather is someone you want on your team when you are lost in the woods, no food, and need to survive. She will pull you through until the end. You should see her toolbox in her truck. Impressive.

Futuristic is another one of her 5 Strengths. The more I am around Heather the more I see this strength shine. Heather recently bought a house in her dream community. Now the goal of raising a family right where she wants in Austin can happen! She saves money better than most people I know and has helped me in the same capacity on how to plan for the future and not simply live in the here and now.

Watch out for this girl. She is the Lead Trainer for Relentless and her role is ever-expanding. Big things POPPIN!

I am blessed to call Heather a friend, co-worker, and a curly-hair goddess for life!

Work hard; play hard

Megan and Mary are a mother-daughter duo. Megan joined her mom this summer at Relentless Boot Camp while she was home from college. ClearLLLLLLLLLLLLy they know the greatness of SPARK and paired it with beer at Oktoberfest in Germany. Now that is what I call good to GREAT! Megan, Mary, and I are on the same page-- BALANCE -- or what I also like to call it, Work hard; Play hard.