Beachbody New Year: My Summit Experience

I heard a coach describe Summit as "Beachbody New Year" recently, and it struck me as just the right metaphor!! It's a time for recognizing the accomplishments of the past year, setting priorities for the year ahead... and celebrating!

In this post I want to "take you with me" to Summit, not only for my newer team members who are thinking of attending next year, but also for those considering joining the team! If you want to learn more about coaching and our team, check out this free private Facebook group where we regularly hold events to tell our stories, introduce ourselves to people who have an interest in joining us, and share info about coaching!

But now, on to Summit... There are really four main topics and functions that Summit covers: announcements, recognition, education, and social. I think going through everything in chronological order will help it be less confusing for you, but just know that those are the four main themes you'll see along the way!

One of my favorite parts of Summit is meeting friends in person that I've previously only met online. This year I made a point of arriving a day early before all the craziness begins, so we'd actually have a chance to hang out and talk!

This also gave us a chance to explore New Orleans (including the fascinating St. Louis Cemetery #3) and learn about the city's history through politics, music, food, and more... plus the more recent history of Hurricane Katrina, its impact, and efforts to rebuild.

The next day, when registration officially opened, we were able to pick up our packets, bracelets, ribbons, medals, etc. Basically—whatever you've accomplished during the past year, the company wants to recognize it! There are awards for your own health journey, for supporting others, for leadership, for paying off debt—you name it!

I also found my name on this list of coaches who have helped at least three new clients get started on a wellness journey each month for two years straight. It gets to be a lot of different types of recognition but I love that this company has such a broad and multifaceted definition of success!

Wednesday was also when the Core Store opened. We made sure to go early to get our copies of the Shift Shop, our newest workout program that was released during Summit! Although everything is available digitally now, I still do like to have a hard copy of the nutrition guide and program materials, both for myself and to see what my clients receive if they order the hard copy kit. Plus it included the official floor markers AND it was a copy signed by Chris Downing himself!

Wednesday night the social events also began. As someone who usually spends most of my time in yoga pants and a sports bra, it was fun to get dolled up... not to mention enjoy New Orleans' legendary cocktails when usually I only have one or two drinks a month!

Thursday during the day, several of the teams did their own educational workshops on coaching and business skills. I do have pictures of some of the slides but they probably won't make a lot of sense to you so I'll hold off on posting those. Let's just say the workshops are always full of juicy tidbits that I'm eager to put into practice as soon as I get home. It usually takes me several months to implement everything!

Then Thursday night came a moment I'd been looking forward to for months... getting to walk across the stage to be recognized for advancing my team to a Star Diamond team this year. Leadership has been one of the areas where I've been most proud of my growth so this really meant a lot!

Thursday night we also got to learn about the new products and programs that will be released over the next six months. I know it's not too exciting to see a photograph of a video screen... but just imagine being in a darkened stadium with 25,000 people and learning each piece of news for the first time at that moment!

The first major announcement was the creation of Daily Sunshine, a nutritional shake formulated for kids (but safe and appropriate for adults too). It's pediatrician-approved and certified organic, non-GMO, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free... and it's super convenient because it's formulated to be shaken with water... no blender or mix-ins required!

Although you guys know I love Shakeology, I recognize that the herb taste can be a turnoff so I always recommend that people mix it with something yummy when trying it for the first time. I'm really excited for this new product that can help kids get essential vitamins and minerals as part of a snack with natural ingredients and a balance of macronutrients—and taste yummy at the same time!

Next up was Clean Week, a week-long program that will allow people to try Beachbody workouts, a nutrition plan, Shakeology, and working with a coach for one week. Super trainer Megan Davies will be our guide for this program, and I'm super excited for it because I know committing for the longer term of our programs (which range from one month to a full year) is daunting for some people. I know you can do it... but if you don't yet believe that you can do it, committing to seven days will provide a quick win and early victory that provides a sense of accomplishment to propel you into the next phase!

The final announcement was a new full-length fitness program called Double Time. Led by P90X creator Tony Horton, the program consists of buddy workouts designed to be done by a parent and a kid, or spouses/partners, or friends... Basically, it can be anyone as long as you have a buddy! I'm hoping to finally be able to get my husband to work out with me for this one! And I really love the focus on family and on "on ramps" for getting more people involved in healthy living by addressing common obstacles and objections. I know I keep saying I'm excited about everything but I'm just super excited for the potential of these new offerings to help us reach even more people in the second half of 2017 and beyond!

Friday morning was my small group workout with Shaun T. I don't know what it is about this man but he gets me in "the zone" to push harder than I ever though possible, and feel great while doing it! He works magic, I tell you!! I follow everything he puts out on social media... I consider him a "mentor from afar"...one of those people who picks me up when I'm feeling down and believes in me when I don't necessarily have the belief in myself. This is the second time I've gotten to work out with him in person and it truly is a special experience. (Let's face it, there are VERY FEW things I'll get up at 5 a.m. for but this is one of them!)

Friday held the "large group" educational workshops and also a "general session" with motivational speakers. It's almost like TED talks where you may not have heard of the speaker and it may not be clear when they start how their message applies to you but the insights are always profound.

Then on Friday night I got to attend an invitation-only celebration for leaders at Mardi Gras World. This is an event space on the water, but also has a warehouse where they store the floats from the annual parade! It was very cool walking through the hall of floats, and then once we got inside they had fireworks and live music, as well as local food treats: ice cream, beignets, bread pudding, crepes, and the standout was a blueberry lavender coconut milk popsicle! Wow!!

Saturday morning we were up early again for the "super workout." This consists of 10-minute segments with each Beachbody super trainer, for workout that's 90 minutes long in all. We had PiYo from Chalene Johnson, the Shift Shop with Chris Downing, Core de Force with Jericho and Joel, Body Beast with Sagi Kalev, Insanity/T25 with Shaun T, 22 Minute Hard Corps with Tony Horton, and 21 Day Fix with Autumn Calabrese.

I'll be honest with you and tell you that it was already hot and steamy at 6am... and by this point in the week I had low-grade nausea from exhaustion... but it was an exhilarating feeling to close down the street for a workout with 25,000 other people! Your cares melt away when you conquer a workout like that!

If you're a Shakeology lover like I am, you'll appreciate that Summit presents an opportunity to try some new recipes that you might not try at home... plus it's fun having your smoothie made up for you and all you have to do is go up to the daily Shakeology bar (with different recipes each day) and pick one!

Each day of the trip, I did snatch a bit of time to work on my business... posting on social media and helping people get set up with one of my monthly virtual fitness and nutrition programs. It's pretty awesome to me that this is what my business consists of so I don't mind working on it a bit each day... It's easier to put in a little time every day rather than fall behind and have to do a marathon session to catch up on messages! Plus, I find that business is the same as fitness and nutrition... taking one day and just saying "the heck with it" makes it easier for that one day to turn into two and before you know it you've taken a couple of weeks off and it's that much harder to get back to it. So I do a little bit every day.

Saturday evening we did have a little bit of time to explore New Orleans' French Quarter and get a nice dinner before the closing celebration, which really is like the Oscars of Beachbody: it has musical numbers, the top 10 coaches for last year being recognized and giving speeches wearing ball gowns, and then the core of what we do: the winners of the Beachbody Challenge announced, one man and one woman who each win $100,000 for transforming their health with Beachbody programs.

It's always so inspiring and completely humbling to hear their stories... going from rock bottom self-esteem, feeling embarrassed to be seen in public, all the things they weren't able to do with their children because of their weight... to learning to believe in themselves, discovering their inner strength and perseverance, getting their lives back in every way. Although the winners do have a physical transformation, that is not even close to the whole story!! Each year these stories leave me in tears with a renewed belief in the importance of what we do as coaches.

The final segment of the closing celebration was also memorable and moving. Our CEO sat on the stage with an empty chair beside him and said he needs each of us, as coaches, to step up and be right beside him as we go through the coming year, matching his level of drive (which is high) so that we can reach more people and change more lives. I love this image and what it says about the necessary mindset... I'm ready to put my head down and act as though it's just me and Carl. I'm not competing with other coaches... I'm just running MY race and doing what I need to do, focusing on the people who need my help and support.

I also love what this image says about the role of coaches to this company's success (just as important/equal in status to the CEO). This company continues to be one I'm very proud to be involved with! I am proud to offer its tools as ways to help my clients succeed at leading healthier lives.

I may sometimes say our programs are "magic" because I really do think that—but the truth is it's simple. We all know the healthy behaviors we need to implement, but many of us have trouble following through. It may not be necessary to spend money to get healthy—but if products and programs (including coaching support) exist to make it easier for you, why not take advantage if you can afford it? That's what I do... no judgment to anyone who doesn't join me but I truly believe those who do are making a smart decision to make healthy behaviors more of a "no brainer." I'm ready for another year of helping my amazing clients and helping my team build strong businesses to help their own clients!!!!

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