It's never easy, but it IS possible!

A common misconception is that these workouts are easy for us coaches. Let me tell you, they never get easy- nor should they! Challenging ourselves is what makes us better, faster, stronger, and healthier!

When I started my very first at-home workout program, I put in the DVD, pushed play, and was seriously struggling 5 minutes in! 

I looked at the people on the video and coaches that I knew and assumed it must be so easy for them. I thought that once you got over the initial difficulty of the workouts, it would magically become easy one day. How lucky they must be to be at that point and how easy it must be for them to churn out all of those vertical jumps and push-ups!

The truth is, I DID get stronger in time. I look back over my progress and am amazed by how far I've come.

It did not happen over night and it took consistency with my workouts, challenging myself with one extra rep, pushing through a cardio move a little faster, or picking up a slightly heavier dumbbell. 

It took getting back on track even when I missed a few days or even a few weeks of workouts.

I trained myself how to get back on track when I fell off track. And I trained myself to APPRECIATE my workouts (and I eventually even learned to kind of love them... kind of ;-) ) by constantly reminding myself what this was doing for my health and my life. I began to appreciate all that my body could do for me and realize that it was my biggest cheerleader. 

It didn't feel like it became easy all of a sudden but I do remember all of a sudden realizing how much better I had gotten. I could FEEL the health and vitality re-entering my body. I felt incredible energy. I walked with my shoulders back and head high feeling so STRONG! And I have never looked back :)

It's a long road but it can be made shorter and MUCH more enjoyable by: 

1. Finding a workout program that is the best fit for YOU (not just for your goals, but also something you will enjoy doing- I always say that the best workout program is the one you will actually do)!

2. Getting proper support! I would have never stuck to the workout programs I have done or gotten back on track each time I fell off without the support of the wonderful people in our facebook groups who were also working towards making healthy changes.

3. Learning how to appreciate and love the PROCESS and all that your body can do for you (and already IS doing for you)!!

If you need help, don't hesitate to reach out- I would love to be your support. 

In the meantime, here is a picture of me from my workout today after a 2nd set of floor sprints, head on the floor, trying to mentally gear up for a 3rd round. Use it as a reminder that it is never easy for any of us, but it IS possible. And eventually, it IS possible to love it, even when it's hard. :)

Have a great day, everyone!

Love, Katelyn

Visit https://www.facebook.com/CoachKatelynLesk and http://beachbodycoach.com/katelynlesk for more info!

I would be honored to help you with your fitness journey :)  Here is a link to sign up for a free account with me as your coach: https://www.teambeachbody.com/signup/-/signup/free?referringRepId=183908. Or you can go to www.teambeachbody.com, sign up for a free account, and enter any of my info in when it asks if a coach referred you: screen name: KatelynLesk, coach ID: 183908

Disclaimer Copy: Katelyn Lesk is an Independent Beachbody Coach.

Baby Steps: Releasing the Pressure

I ran into a childhood friend tonight at an art crawl (very chance meeting given that we don’t even currently live in the same city!) and after some light-hearted catch-up, I ended up in a side conversation with his husband, Paul. What I love about Paul is that he’s not afraid to dive into the deep stuff. Neither am I. We both value authenticity and the deeper connection that comes from being fearlessly vulnerable, even a few minutes into a conversation.

After some talk about my work as an online health and fitness coach, we got into some discussion about psychology, self-love, motivation, and the necessity of loving process of getting to a goal, whether that be losing weight or climbing the corporate ladder. In my work as a coach, I am a very big believer in baby steps. I will always favor long-term, sustainable lifestyle changes over anything extreme, controlling, or pressured. I believe we have to love ourselves at all stages of the process in order to reach our goals (especially if we want to stay there and potentially go beyond it). I don’t believe we can ever self-hate our way to a goal and actually be happy at the destination.

My personal strategies for creating this in my own health journey have been an evolving practice of gratitude for my body. I remind myself regularly that my body is my biggest cheerleader. Despite how active or not active I choose to be or how healthy or not-so-healthy my food is, it keeps my heart beating, my eyes blinking, my nervous system firing, and my fingers moving as I type this. Reminding myself of what my body actually does for me on a physiological level makes me WANT to take care of it. Before exercising (or more specifically, when I’m trying to work up the motivation TO workout), I remind myself of the things my body can do that people who suffer from physical disabilities cannot. There are people who WISH they had the capability to lift their arm up when their brain says to do so. During exercise, I focus on appreciating the feel of my muscles lengthening, my lungs expanding, or the pounding of my heart in my chest after an intense cardio move. It can be euphoric to feel connected to my body in that way. When it comes to nutrition, rather than spending all my emotional energy on limiting myself, I try to focus on what I can do to increase my intake of nourishing, alive foods. The feelings of restriction and guilt are replaced by freedom and vitality when I focus on putting the right stuff in rather than keeping the wrong stuff out.

It has taken years, but these baby steps and perspective shifts have added up. I still get off track but I know I am capable of getting back on track. I focus on reducing the frequency and duration of the time off track rather than beating myself up for not being perfect all the time. I give myself permission to ease back on track. And I can truly say now that I love the process of taking care of my body. To me, taking care of myself also includes my emotions so it’s important to me to be gentle with myself in the process.

Interestingly enough, I was able to apply these concepts tonight, even with this very post. Towards the end of our conversation, the ever-supportive Paul suggested I apply for an op-ed in the Huffington Post. My heart soared with his vote of confidence and I trust and believe his opinion that, “this message needs to be heard.” Whether it’s me writing it or someone else, I absolutely agree. We need more people in the world giving us permission to take the baby steps we need to get to where we’re going. In a world where high stress is valued as some form of success validation, there are nowhere near enough reminders to slow down, love the journey, and love where you’re at right at this very moment.

When I got home tonight, I sat down to write. I succeeded at applying the first part of my philosophy; I allowed myself to just be where I was at. I didn’t sit down with the intention to write an op-ed application to the Huffington Post; I sat down to write a blog post to whoever might need to read this message about baby steps. I reminded myself that it didn’t need to be perfect, I just needed to start somewhere; there was no downside to just writing what was on my heart. The problem was, there was a part of me still putting pressure on this. How many times do we tell ourselves this is our one chance to “get it right”?? I was having trouble connecting to my creativity or what was even on my heart because I was getting too caught up in perfect wording. I was trying to be something I’m not. Fortunately, Paul’s reminder that this message needs to be heard really stuck with me. I reminded myself that it’s about the MESSAGE, not about the perfect wording. I reminded myself that part of what was on my heart that I needed to speak about WAS the pressure we regularly put on ourselves without even realizing what we’re doing. Baby steps are about releasing the pressure to be perfect. They are about giving ourselves permission to meet ourselves where we are and do what we can right here in the moment. Tonight, that was an unedited, unperfected blog post. Instead of worrying about a perfect format; a great flow; or a clearly defined opening, point, supporting points, and clever wrap-up, I just wrote. So this was my stream of consciousness tonight. Thank YOU for meeting me where I was at. And I hope someone somewhere was helped by this reminder that it is OK to do only what we feel ready for, to release the pressure and overwhelm, and connect to what’s true for ourselves.

Our epic run-in at the art crawl :)

Visit https://www.facebook.com/CoachKatelynLesk and http://beachbodycoach.com/katelynlesk for more info!

I would be honored to help you with your fitness journey :)  Here is a link to sign up for a free account with me as your coach: https://www.teambeachbody.com/signup/-/signup/free?referringRepId=183908. Or you can go to www.teambeachbody.com, sign up for a free account, and enter any of my info in when it asks if a coach referred you: screen name: KatelynLesk, coach ID: 183908

Disclaimer Copy: Katelyn Lesk is an Independent Beachbody Coach.

Is Beachbody Coaching saturated? Is there room for me?

One of the biggest hesitations I hear from people who are considering coaching is that the market is already saturated, they already know several coaches, or that they’re worried they won’t have anyone who is interested. This is my response to that:

If you have that inner voice whispering that you know it would be something you’d really like to do, if you’re heart is quietly nudging you to give it a try, if you’ve been thinking about being a coach and you think it would be fun and fulfilling and a great way to keep yourself on track while helping others, DO IT. Or at least don’t let this be the reason that stops you.


Disclaimer Copy: Katelyn Lesk is an Independent Beachbody Coach.

Dream messages

This is going to sound certifiably insane but I liked the message so I don't care. I dream really vividly and often hear names or messages repeated in my dream. Then it's just a matter of whether or not I can remember it clearly enough to translate it when I wake up- I start to lose it as soon as I start writing it down. But this one I heard over and over so it was pretty easy to piece together. This one felt like poetry :) Sooooo, crazy or not, enjoy the message for today!

There is magical place where the dreams of your soul lay waiting patiently, dormant, until they are ready to be unleashed to the world. Meanwhile your heart whispers, "you are ready."  Have the courage to become who you were meant to be, for it only takes revealing who you already ARE.