Happy Wednesday!
I’m still thrown off by the long weekend, anyone else? Ben and I traveled down to central Illinois for Memorial Day to visit my family and celebrate my brother’s and sister’s graduations from college and 8th grade. My siblings are growing up, so weird!!
It was a wonderful break from the fast pace of the city. I love getting back to the peace and stillness of the cornfields and my parents’ lush peony-filled backyard in early summer.
We threw a graduation party on Sunday afternoon, which brought up plenty of opportunities for me to explain what I’m doing with my life to old family friends, relatives, and neighbors. Ah, yes. I know that “online health and fitness coach” is really hard to explain and understand so I thought I’d write a little more about what exactly I do as a full time Beachbody coach!
“What is a coach? To me, a coach is a person who is your friend, someone who really cares about you. A coach is committed to helping you be the best that you can be. A coach will challenge you, not let you off the hook. Coaches have knowledge and experience because they’ve been there before. They aren’t any better than the people they are coaching. Sometimes a coach doesn’t even teach you something new, but they remind you of what you need to do at just the right moment, and they push you to do it.”
In a nutshell
There are two broad components of my job: health and fitness mentoring for my clients (aka “challengers”), and business mentoring for the coaches on my team.
Health and fitness mentoring
The main thing I do as a Beachbody coach is help women grow their confidence and develop a positive body image by providing them with tools, resources, and support they need to prioritize their physical and emotional wellbeing. I provide accountability and support via group and individual coaching and help them work towards specific health and fitness goals and/or bigger picture life goals based on how they want to feel about themselves. This is all online, and the location independence is great! I set up private accountability groups on Facebook every month for my group coaching, and provide individual coaching to my clients through weekly emails. Once you enroll in one of my groups, I’m your workout buddy/life coach/cheerleader/mentor/breakthrough facilitator for life...as long as you need me!
How the process works
First I help women get to the bottom of their goals and over-arching “WHY,” or motivation for making a change. Then I recommend a home fitness program and nutrition plan that meets their needs and lifestyle, and finally provide them with emotional support as they get started on their program and for as long as they need me.
Because let’s face it -- whether your goals are to lose 5 pounds, lose 30 pounds, establish a consistent workout routine, break a plateau, eat healthier, curb cravings and cut out junk food, gain positive body image, lose the baby weight, focus on yourself in spite of the demands of being a busy wife/mom/student/career woman, moving out of your comfort zone is HARD and SCARY! Especially if your friends and family don’t support you or understand why you want to change.
In my monthly Facebook groups, I create a space in which women can find support, community, and guidance as they make healthier changes so they can stop the yo-yo/diet cycle, stop beating themselves up, and learn how to nourish their bodies with real food. It’s not about deprivation or crash diets or quick fixes, it’s more about what you can ADD to your life to uncover the best possible version of yourself. I post a motivational quote or mini-challenge everyday, and every night we all check in with our progress and how we're feeling.
You can learn more and apply to my next challenge group HERE.
Business mentoring
I also provide personal business mentoring to women who decide to join my coaching team and become a Beachbody coach too. My coaches usually come straight from my challenge groups, because once you discover how amazing you feel when you start treating yourself and your body with respect, it’s easy to want to pay it forward and help others. Coaching is a great way to share something you’re passionate about, align your life with your unique strengths and talents, earn a side income, work towards financial freedom, join a family of closely knit like-minded people, and design a life that is custom tailored around things that bring you joy.
Through coaching, you gain permission to be successful at life by simply being yourself and sharing your story with others.
You don’t have to "try" or hustle products, you don’t have to change or improve or be at your goal weight, you most certainly don’t have to be perfect! It’s our scars and mistakes and rock bottom moments that connect us to others, and showing that you’re simply working towards a bigger and better vision for yourself and your life is the most inspiring thing you can share with others.
It sounds too good to be true, but it’s not! I’m living proof. Even if I still have a hard time believing that I’m literally living my dream of working for myself and making a bigger impact by sharing my gifts and creativity!
My team is growing into a powerhouse tribe little by little, and watching my coaches spread their wings and fly is my absolute favorite thing about my job. The sense of self worth that you gain when you start immersing yourself in a positive culture of empowerment, personal development, and a community of big-hearted women who have your back is INSANE! In the past 12 months alone, my coaches have already been able to leave soul-draining jobs and land their dream jobs, move to their dream cities, achieve their “happy weight,” tackle huge life bucket list dreams, make a side income to pay off loans and vacations, and are growing their own businesses and creating financial freedom for themselves and their families too. It’s like a ripple effect. We focus on helping one person at a time believe that they’re worth more, and the positivity spreads like wildfire.
You can read more about our team Inspire Joy HERE.
A day in the life
A "typical day" in my life as a full time Beachbody coach varies a lot and I love having flexibility and freedom, but I am consistent with a few important things. Every day I'll make sure to workout, eat healthy, drink my superfood smoothie, journal and work on personal development, write content for my blog or groups, post on Instagram and Facebook, catch up on messages and emails, check in with my coaches and challengers in our Facebook groups, and work on building relationships with potential coaches and clients. Every week I schedule one-on-one coaching calls with my team, tune into our team webinars, listen to our national training call, and will absorb as many random business or coaching podcasts, webinars, or YouTube videos as I can handle.
Building your own business is a giant roller coaster, but I do my best to keep it real!
I've been working hard to establish work/life boundaries, and have been doing my best to stop work by 3 or 4 pm and take weekends off! Once Ben is home for summer I definitely want to open up my schedule more so we can enjoy the city, travel, and random adventures.
Something big I've been learning is that with coaching, more hours worked does NOT equal more success. The most crucial component to success is to keep myself inspired, enthusiastic, and motivated every day. Sometimes that means unplugging and taking a day off to paint, draw, read, drink coffee on the deck, watch mindless TV, or hang out with friends or family!
The ironic thing is that I worked more hours on my business while I was still working my full time job, than I do now! I'm learning how to work smarter, not harder, so I can maintain sanity and joy and leave lots of room for my Etsy business, hobbies, and life.
I'm learning that I don't have to be productive 100% of the time to build a thriving business. As a recovering perfectionist, over-achiever, workaholic, it's been a tough but oh so amazing pill to swallow, and despite the challenges of being an entrepreneur, I wouldn't have it any other way. My heart is full, I'm learning more and more about myself every day, and I've definitely discovered my bigger purpose in life!
My personal coaching mission
One of the best things about Beachbody is that you have complete freedom to create a business that revolves around you and your unique strengths and interests. My personal mission as a coach is to enable women to reach their health and fitness goals, gain confidence, and learn how to love their bodies while working towards uncovering their “best selves.” Because the better you feel about yourself, the happier and more productive you can be, and the more you’ll be able to fully SHOW UP and be present in your life and for the people you love.
What is your “best self”? It’s different for everyone, but I believe that feeling your best starts with taking care of your body through nutrition and exercise.
Overall wellness, confidence, and joy are rooted in health and fitness. When you move your body, push your physical and mental limits, and nourish yourself with fresh nutrient dense foods you feel ALIVE. It doesn’t matter where you’re starting from, what you weigh, or how far you are from your “goals.” All that matters is that you’re making an active intentional choice to invest in yourself, to feel better and do things in the present moment that bring you energy and joy. It’s about taking CONTROL of your life, releasing the victim mentality of “I’ll never be good enough,” and making small changes.
I help women learn how to enjoy the journey and the process of life by sharing my own story, complete with the ups and downs. I’m not motivated or perfect every day and that’s ok. That’s what life is all about! If you can’t learn how to love your body, yourself, and your life right now (no matter how much of a crazy hot mess you think it is…) you’re never going to find happiness or joy in the future, no matter how much weight you lose or how “perfect” your diet is.
So stop waiting, stop postponing your happiness, stop thinking “once I can finally lose 10 pounds I’ll be able to have fun at the weddings/concerts/beach this summer” and start LIVING!
Surround yourself with women who are on the same path.
And for goodness sake do NOT ever believe anyone who tells you that you have to give up wine, carbs, chocolate, ice cream, pizza, burgers, your social life to be happy. Do more of what brings you joy, but listen to your body and respect it along the way.
"Progress, not perfection" is my motto. Closely followed by "treats, not cheats."
You were created to be vibrant, happy, energetic, joyful, and strong, to wake up every morning with a sense of excited possibility, inspired to take on each new day, and you deserve it.
Everything you are desperate to be, do, and feel already exists inside of you.
As a Beachbody coach, I will believe in you until you learn how to believe in yourself!
xo Anna
p.s. Curious to see if coaching might be for you? Click here to learn more about my team!
Beachbody does not guarantee any level of success or income from the Team Beachbody Coach Opportunity. Each Coach's income depends on his or her own efforts, diligence, and skill. See our Statement of Independent Coach Earnings located at https://images.beachbody.com/coach-office/downloads/statement_of_independent_coach_earnings.pdf for the most recent information on our Coaches' actual incomes.
