Shaun T

The Journey Does Not End

First off, I just love this song. Secondly, because I don’t really watch much TV any more and I didn’t know anyone still made videos, I had no idea that this existed. I also don’t watch movies so I don’t even know what, if any, movie this is from. Plus, it just went along with today’s theme.

And what is today’s theme, ladies and gentlemen? Why, fitness, of course. And I don’t mean fitness this whole slice of pizza in my mouth. I’ve been active ever since childhood. I come from that generation where in the summer, you got up early, ran around the neighborhood playing hard all day, probably stopped for a snack at some point but maybe not because there was just too much playing to do, and went home before the streetlights came on. Weight wasn’t something I ever thought about and that’s a good thing. Flexibility is also something I never thought about. That is not a good thing.

In early adulthood, I worked in a lot of jobs that kept me on my feet, be it working outside or working in a restaurant. That was in the days before Fitbit. I can only imagine how many Fitbits restaurant warriors are going through these days (or pre/post pandemic). Again, never thought about exercise. When I moved on from restaurants but stayed within hospitality, I did slip up for a little bit and put on some pounds, but I lost it all again and kept it off because we were hella active in our roles.

Once I left hospitality and ventured into, eww, corporate America, I stopped moving around as much. There were work lunches and snacks and all kinds of crap. I slipped again. It was the fact that I was going to meet up with some old hospitality buddies that had me look at myself and say, “Oh girl, we better do something with *points to my body* all of this.” And so I did. I saw an infomercial for a program that looked like fun. It said that it was full of dance. I didn’t have to get on the floor. It didn’t take super long per workout. I pulled the trigger and ordered it. That program was Hip Hop Abs. And that was thirteen years ago.

Fast forward a couple years and I’m still doing the corporate America thing. I haven’t fallen off the deep end by any means, but I’m getting married soon and of course I want to be on top of my game. I was willing to do what it took. And what that took was a 12 week program called P90X. I looked fan-fucking-TASTIC on my wedding day. It’s true!

For a while I rotated between the programs I had. Then I joined a gym because it was SUPER cheap through my job for a REALLY nice gym. I stopped lifting weights and instead went to Zumba twice a week in the evenings and did yoga for 75 minutes three times a week. And pole, and trapeze, and hike in the summer and snowboard in the winter. Right, I was a little active.

I think it was about this time that I was introduced to Beachbody On Demand. I already knew that they had churned out a couple programs that I had already done. I saw that there were more programs by the people that I already had done their programs. That made it a pretty easy decision to go ahead and sign up. All of the signs were there: the per year cost was less than the gym even with the steep discount, no travel left a few more morning minutes, my favorite yoga instructor was leaving, I was already set up for a home gym that was collecting dust. It’s early 2017.

There is literally a plethora of programs that fit everyone and I’ve been running through them. I think I’ve gone through a total of 20 at this point, and they keep releasing programs. I’ll never be bored.

Over the time that I’ve been doing these programs, I’ve been on social media. Now and then I would post about doing one of the programs, and, inevitably, a Beachbody coach would reach out and ask me if I was interested in becoming a Beachbody coach too. Four years of no thank you to whomever asked, but I kept doing the programs.

Well, after all those asks, I finally said yes recently and now, I am a Beachbody coach. But what does that even mean? Truthfully, it means different things to different people. Some folks get in to have play money, some work at it to make it their full time job. I’ve heard people are making 6 figures at this. But that’s not it for me. I don’t care if I don’t make any money at all. I really don’t. I have a 9-5 that takes care of that. What I do want is to keep exercising and reaching my goals and I want to walk alongside you in your journey to do the same. I want to encourage you. I’ll kick you in the ass (virtually) if needed. You want me to nag you? I can. But none of it happens if you don’t take the first step and sign up.

Is it free? No, it isn’t. But it also isn’t over-the-top expensive. I bet that you go to Starbucks or McDonald’s or even WaWa twice a month. Yeah, so for the cost of that twice a month over the course of a year, you could be working out with me and a whole bunch of other people. You could be getting into the best shape you’ve been in for a while. You could be putting yourself into a position where, when you do go into Starbucks or McDonald’s, you won’t feel bad about it at all because it’s a treat from the work you’ve been putting in. And you’ll see results. You don’t need to be a slave to the scale. Your clothes will fit differently. You’ll have more energy. But you know, that’s just me talking after doing this for more than ten years.

Ok, last bit because I’ve gone and gotten long-winded. I just started as a coach and already, I have had an insanely cool opportunity. I got to chat with Shaun T, who created that first program I started with, Hip Hop Abs, and his hubby on their weekly Wine Night IG live. The fun levels are off the charts. So yeah, you could join me at the Virtual Fit Inn. Cuz the Fit Inn is where we get it in. And maybe one day you’ll be talking to a Beachbody trainer on IG live. Til then, lemme know if you’re ready to sweat. And here’s a chat screenshot.