Friday, December 18, 2015

Common Objections to Becoming a Beachbody Coach or Purchasing a Challenge Pack

Common Objections to Becoming a Beachbody Coach or Purchasing a Challenge Pack

I'm here to talk to you a little bit about Beachbody coaching and objections. Everybody has an objection- trust me; I've heard them all because I had them too! My friend worked on me for quite a while before getting me to sign up, and I wanted to share with you some of the objections I had before signing up because I hear them all the time now as a coach when I approach other people. Getting objections from other people is frustrating and to be honest, it kind of breaks my heart because I had them and I broke through them; I had faith in my friend that she would not be steering me wrong and I'm so glad that I listened to her because my life has changed in so many ways once I finally put the objections and the excuses aside and took a chance on myself to not only change my fitness but also financial future by becoming a coach.
I’ll get to specific objections to being an “active” coach later, but first I want to talk about what people say to getting a challenge pack or sale bundle. One of the top objections I hear all the time is “I don't have the money” Oh my goodness, I totally felt that way too! I'm a stay-at-home mom, my husband is a schoolteacher and we are paying off 2 sets of private college tuition: it is tough! I did not think that we had the money either at first. Fortunately, my husband and I work from a budget so we saw on paper what our income was and we kept track of what we were spending every month and we decided to prioritize our health and instead of paying money to go to the doctor, we decided to try to prevent some sickness. If we took away one or two times of going out to eat for a month, or some of the extra things that we were spending money on that we really didn't need to be buying, we could we could swap those out for Shakeology and a challenge pack. I really don't miss all that extra stuff but we have felt the benefits of Shakeology and it's been a year and half of drinking it every single day. I would not spend that money every single month if I didn't feel the health benefits and know that it is worth it, because trust me, I could totally be using that $100+ a month to get ahead on our loans, or go out to eat a couple more times in a month, and just enjoy other things like to the movies. But I'm so glad that I'm healthy and I think that you'd find that too, but you've got to take that chance for yourself.
If you are not sure that you want to sign up and it's a lot of money to put on the line, guess what? You can try the program, you can drink the entire bag of shakes and if you're not happy with the results you got or how you feel, you can get your money back even after you drink them! Now that is a money back guarantee one hundred-percent; there's really nothing to lose at that point when you know that you can drink them and still get your money back if you're not happy. That's how much faith that Beachbody has in the products that they put out.
Another thing: maybe it might take a couple months of saving to get yourself signed up- that is fine! Maybe you can sell a few things- my husband and I sell stuff on Facebook and eBay all the time to make room for our fun purchases. Or maybe you can say “Let's invest in ourselves this year for Christmas. Let's not get each other gifts, let's get each other a challenge pack.” It'll be a gift that lasts a lot longer.
If you still can’t swing it to continue Shakeology monthly even after looking at your budget or selling things- I totally understand! You could drink half a shake a day (your bag will then last 2 months) or split a serving with your spouse every day. You're still going to get those extra nutrients; maybe not a full dose but it's still going to make a difference in your day. We drink half a shake a day too: you my husband and I are not at the point where we can afford two bags a month but we've still seen changes in our health and our lives just from drinking half a shake a day. What I’m trying to say is that if you make your health a priority, then you'll find a way to make it work.

Now, onto some things people think about becoming a coach and why they wouldn’t be able to do it or be good at it. People always say: “I don't have the time” and I did not think that I had the time either. Even as a stay-at-home mom I was busy doing other things, but how much time do you spend watching TV a day? I know most people now have a DVR, so what you can do is DVR your favorite show ahead of time and then fast forward through the commercials. Your hour-long show just turned into 40 minutes and you now have time to fit in that half an hour workout, especially if you watch more than one show a night! Half an hour is such a small percentage of your day, but it's going to give you so much more energy and it’s going to make you feel so much better.
Another thing I hear a lot is “I don't have the time to be a coach.” Well, you can dedicate as much time or as little time as you want into being a coach, especially for those Beachbody coaches that work full-time and have family events too. That is not my situation since I'm stay-at-home mom, so I have a little more time during the day to reach out to people. The most successful coaches use something called a “Power Hour” and that is where you set your focus for one hour to do the things for your business like inviting people everyday and spending time catching up with people. Let’s be honest: everyone scrolls on Facebook!! I scroll on Facebook; you use Facebook during your lunch hour; you log on after you get home from work or before bed. Why not take that time scrolling on Facebook and instead of just mindless scrolling, focus on connecting with people and having conversations. It's not posting sales on your wall and selling to people all the time. It's just building relationships and with that, an opportunity to present Beachbody to them should come about naturally in your conversation. If you're posting about what you're doing for your health and fitness to your wall daily, people are going to see it and they might ask you about it or a chance for you to you invite them to your accountability group or to the coaching opportunity might come about naturally as you are talking.
Another excuse I had before signing up as a coach was that being a coach scared me! I was not at my goal weight or body; I was not a picture of health. I thought, “I'm not perfect. No one is going to want to look at me as an example to follow.”  But honestly what I’ve found is that is the opposite! Almost every day I get a message saying “the fact that you're posting every day about your workout inspires me.” Perfection does not inspire people- it doesn't! When you see those “perfect” people in the magazines or on TV, that doesn't really inspire you. It almost makes you feel bad about yourself because you're not that perfect.
Guess what? I have stretch marks and I still have areas on my body I'm not happy with or would like to change but I work out everyday, I share my struggles, and the fact that I'm not feeling it someday and don't want to work out but I choose to press play and I choose to post about it, that's all I'm doing! As a coach, I’m trying to show people that I take that one extra step of SHARING and that is what gives other people motivation to try and what inspires them. A sales pitch or an advertisement does not inspire people; being relatable and being honest is what it takes to be a coach.
Still another objection I had is “What will people think of me?” I didn't really want to put myself out there. I got to the point where holding back/not sharing as much or being honest in my posts was affecting my relationships. So many of our relationships now are cultivated through social media because we do not live close to a lot of our friends and family. My best friend lives in Wisconsin so obviously I don't see her very often at all but I share on social media with her and I message her daily, so if I wasn't being truthful in what I posted online our friendship wouldn't be real. I got to a point where I stopped caring what other people thought about me because I can't control what anyone thinks about me; all I can control is myself and my reactions to people. If they don't like what I post, then they are free to unfriend me, unfollow me, block me, whatever. I don't need their negative energy bringing me down anyways! I'm going to share who I am and if you like that, that's awesome and you are the kind of person that I want in my life being friends with me. I got past being embarrassed and being scared or knowing what to post as a coach. I just post who I am and the people who identify with that are the people that I’m going to want to partner with me in accountability groups and to be on my team as coaches. You’ve heard of the idea that “like attracts like”: you put out there who you are and the people that want to follow you will follow you!

Those are a lot of hesitations that I had before I started as a coach and now that I'm on the other side, I wanted to tell you that you're not the only person with objections: I get messages with them all the time. Those are just my experience having overcome those objections and I hope this has helped you realized that you don't have to be perfect and you don't have to know everything. We have trainings available and however you much time and energy you want to devote to this business to creating financial freedom for your family, or just saving $20something a month on your Shakeology and working on yourself and you may be referring a friend once in awhile that's totally fine! Being a coach on whatever level you choose is fine with me. I hope this post helps with some of the objections you may be having right now and if you have any questions, please let me know!

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Get your workout in: Your body will thank you!

I just finished my workout and it completely changed how I feel today.

Wednesday morning at my MOTS meetings is my usual cheat meal and there's always a lot of yummy goodness happening. I was running out the door this morning and didn’t even stop to make my shake. This afternoon I was sitting on the couch, eating Halloween candy with Addison, and yawning and feeling blah! I was seriously planning: “Ok, if I lay down now what time do I need to set my alarm for so I can wake up and not be totally groggy and still go to church tonight with Addie.” I was planning to skip my workout, and actually some Wednesdays I do skip my workout (but never my shake in the morning like I did today). I like to have my workout schedule planned for 7 days but if life happens and I miss a day, then that’s ok.
            But then I got a Facebook notification: Kelly posted a picture of her Shakeology. Tabitha posted that she worked out during both of her kids’ naps. It hit me: If I have a group of women that are looking to me for support and accountability and as an example to help them learn new habits and get healthy and just feel better overall…then I need to live up to what I am asking them to do!!
I can’t imagine having to get all dressed up in gym clothes and drive to the Y (which is half an hour away), and paying those huge membership fees, and making sure someone is watching Addie… just all sorts of stuff to deal with! I'm so glad that I can work out in my sports bra and shorts in my living room whenever I want. If I need to take a break to look Addie’s painting or help her use the bathroom, I can. A lot of my workouts have pauses to help her, and that’s totally cool because let’s be honest: I'm a mom first.
Working out at home and having the support online has made all the difference for me. Even right now, Addie is bringing a pile of books into the living room and wants me to read to her. So my window of “free time” is over. My workout has not only burned calories but also changed my mood, WOKE me up, and given me energy!


Moral of the story: get your workout in and your body will thank you!

Sunday, December 6, 2015

2 years into my fitness journey: How all I wanted to do was prove him wrong.

I want to take you on a journey, so stay with me: Timehop showed me the post below from 2 years ago. It took a crazy decision to sign up for a Warrior Dash 5k and knowing I had 7.5 months to get ready for it to start my health and fitness journey. And I actually only signed up for it because my husband didn't think I could complete the race. I wanted to prove him wrong.



You see, the picture on the left was taken in Oct/Nov 2013 and when I saw it on my dads camera, I knew I needed to make a change. I was busting out of all of my clothes and felt terrible about myself. I wanted to hide from the camera and put on a fake smile IF one was pointed at me. I didn't know what to do. So then comes me signing up for the Warrior Dash. I did a Jillian Michaels 30 day DVD for just over 5 months. There were three 10 day cycles. It took me about 2 months to master each cycle. It was half an hour a day and I could barely get through that. I changed nothing about the rest of my physical activity, slept in late every day, and didn't change what I ate. It took 4 months to lose 5 pounds.

My friend Toni knew I was trying to get ready for this race and was there online everyday to give me encouragement and tough love. I also saw her posts about getting so much done, having energy, and loving life. Oh and she had 2 kids and a newborn at that time. Honestly, I wanted to punch her in the face and unfollow her posts. But her daily posts got inside of me and I began to think "maybe I should try what she's doing". So when she approached me about trying Shakeology and learning portion control with a new workout program called the 21 Day Fix, I asked a TON of questions but finally jumped in. What did I have to lose? At first I just added Shakeology to my day; I still didn't change my food, and I continued with my Jillian Michaels DVD. I lost 5 more pounds in half the time as before- 2 more months! Then on April 20, 2013 Corey and I began the 21 Day Fix and I lost more than 5 pounds in only 3 weeks!! Seems like the combo of Shakeology, proper nutrition/portion sizes, and a top notch workout really was the key!

Since then, we have continued to lose pounds/inches, workout 5-7 days a week, drink Shakeology daily, and eat clean/portioned most of the time while doing many other Beachbody programs.

I've also now got a fully normal thyroid- bye bye hypothyroidism and daily Synthroid! I don't suffer from hypoglycemia-no more shaky, dizzy, nauseous, or fainting episodes. I have more energy then my daughter. My smile for pictures is real, not fake. When people ask me how I'm doing, I honestly tell them that I'm doing amazing and that I love my life and I'm so excited about my future. I still have some complaints or crappy days, who doesn't?! But I am filled with this OVERPOWERING JOY knowing that I am living the life God meant for me, that I am taking care of this amazing body He blessed me with, and incredibly honored to share this health and business opportunity with others. 🙌🏻

Oh, and that race I signed up for? I finished it! (Take that, Corey! 😘) And I did another one just like it 2 weeks later without walking at all. This summer, I did a 5k without walking, and ran the entire 10k Pumpkin Run this fall.

In junior high, I had to have a friend run into the locker room to get my rescue inhaler because I couldn't breathe and had to stop in the middle of the mile run. Never did I think my life's journey would have gone this way. 2 years ago if you would have told me where I'd be now, I would have laughed.

It all started with a decision to change and a commitment to stay the course. This is my new reality- the picture on the right. I didn't think it was possible, but my coach and best friend Toni did. If you don't think these kinds of changes are possible for you, I'm telling you right now that THEY ARE!! I will believe in you, even if you don't. You've gotta be the one to decide though, to commit to seeing it through. If you want any of this for yourself, please like/comment/message/carrier pigeon/smoke signal/let me know!! ❤️

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

How accountability helps you battle excuses and reach your goals: It's made all the difference in my life.

I wanted to share some thoughts I had as I was training for a 10K in October 2015. I mostly signed up for that race because it was a challenge and a goal to work towards. I had been trying to run with a friend but she was out of town so instead I was just going to do my workout at home because that’s easier for me and there are no excuses to not work out at home. But I really needed to get running!! That's the thing: going out in running clothes, putting your shoes on, and going out by yourself is hard because there are so many excuses not to and no one's there to push you on and there's no accountability.
The great thing about the way that I've changed my life in the last year and a half is I have had accountability. I haven't worked out with a person in my living room (besides my husband or daughter) but I have had accountability in my private groups on Facebook and that's been the key. You can have all the tools you need or the willpower but a lot of times that's not going to get you all the way there. What's going to get you there is knowing that someone is going to keep you accountable and that's really what I do as a coach.
I provide accountability for people, listen to their needs, their goals, and their frustrations. I give them suggestions and match them up with something that I think that they can succeed at. And then I am there every single day: checking in, posting, and giving support. It made all the difference for me when I was starting out because I knew that if I didn't work out or if I didn't check in that my coach Toni was going to be there and she was going to ask how I was doing.
During my 10K training I told my coach and I told my husband: “Today I'm going running. If you don't hear from me in 45 minutes: I’m either dead on the side of the road (kidding!) OR I was lazy and I didn't do it." ;) And then, because I knew they were going to be checking in on me, I went out and did what I needed to do. If you are someone that needs that kind of accountability, I would love to be your accountability partner. You can work out in your home! That way you don't have to get dressed up or even put shoes on. You don't have to find someone to watch your kids or pay the daycare center at the gym; you can do it right at home. Those excuses are taken care of and I'm going to be there to check in on you. I will support you if your husband or family doesn’t support you, or if they don't want to try your new recipes, or if they don't want to work out with you. You will know that there's a group of ladies on Facebook that would love to support you and be with you every step of the way.

If you need that same kind of accountability and that I needed when I first started out, and still needed when I did my longest run ever, let me know and I would love to help you.

Monday, November 9, 2015

A playground epiphany

I was at the playground earlier with Addie and I got to thinking about what my life was like before I got in shape- before I joined Team Beachbody as a coach. Even though she wasn’t that old at the time (about a year or year and a half), the playground almost seemed to be a punishment for me because I couldn't do anything with her. I didn't have enough energy to run and play and chase and climb with her. Yes, she's having fun without me, but don't you hate it when your kids say “Mommy come down the slide with me” or “Mommy can you lift me up? I can't reach the monkey bars.” If you're stuck on the bench because you can't fit in the swing, or you can’t run around the playground with your kids…that was my life before I got healthy and got the wake-up call that I needed. I have a little girl to keep up with and set a good example for!

I asked Addie a question of “Is it more fun when mommy plays with you at the playground or when mommy watches you?” What do you think she said? Of COURSE she said it’s more fun when I play with her!!

I do still get tired and need breaks, so I’ll tell her to just give me a minute. Right away I see that she'll get deflated because I didn't have enough energy for her. I just need a minute or two to catch up, but if that's your life every day and you don't have the energy to keep up with your kids, and you see that you don't see that little glimmer in their eyes when you're chasing them or you're going down the slide after them and stuff like that… If my wake-up call is the same as your wake-up call then here it is: I'm reading it for you!!

If you want accountability and encouragement while you are making healthy changes in your life, or if you’d like to see what Beachbody Coaching is all about: how just getting more fit changed my life in other ways, how it pays my bills while I provide support for other people changing their lives, I’d love to share this opportunity with you.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

All about Cize: Shaun T can teach anyone to dance- for real!

My last blog entry was about my Cize transformation but I wanted to give a little more background information on what Cize is about as a program. Shaun T is famous for creating programs like Insanity and T25, but his background is also in choreography and dance. His first program through Beachbody was actually Hip Hop Abs. I tried one of those workouts earlier this year when it was released as part of the member library for Beachbody On Demand and couldn’t even get through a 20-minute routine. I have NO coordination and NO dance background. I LOVE music though, so I’ve always struggled with wanting to dance but not knowing how or not feeling confident enough to just let loose, be goofy, and have fun.
When I first heard about Cize I was intrigued but didn’t think that it was for me because it was a dancing program. Beachbody gave a sample workout on Beachbody On Demand before the entire program was released and I had fun doing it, but still didn’t think I would buy the program. It wasn’t until the program was released and I saw how much FUN everyone was having that I decided to buy it myself. Most workouts can be fun, or we do them because we know how good we feel for exercising, but Cize is so different. You are HAVING FUN the WHOLE TIME dancing and not even realizing that time is passing, you are sweating, and the calories are getting torched.
Shaun builds each routine step by step and breaks everything down into simple movements that you already do every day. He says “you move everyday, I’m just putting it to a rhythm.” And he is so right. When you get a move or short sequence done, you add to it and before you know it you are ready to “Cize it up” at the end to a complete dance routine. A really awesome feature of the workouts is that once the routine is over, it goes to a screen where you can pick from the cooldown, 8 count abs routine, or “Cize it up” again. Some of the routines are so great that I kept doing the routine over and over again.
The entire program has 6 routines on 3 discs, plus a short (but effective!) ab workout. They range from 30-50 minutes and features the following songs:
1.     "Hands in the Air" by Timbaland. (It introduces you to the first 8 moves you'll be using for the whole program.)
2.     "Treasure" by Bruno Mars
3.     "Lose My Breath" by Destiny's Child (I loved this routine and would do the “Cize it up” chapter over and over again.)
4.     "Problem" by Ariana Grande
5.     "Pass That Dutch" by Missy Elliot
6.     "Chandelier" by Sia. (This was the last routine in the whole program and really took the emotion and moves to another level where you really were feeling it.)
You can choose from a beginner calendar that takes 6 weeks (1 routine a week) or an advanced calendar for 4 weeks. I felt like a beginner but did the advanced calendar instead because I did not think doing 1 routine for an entire week would hold my interest. Overall I had a great time doing the program. It is completely based on your effort, so beginners to experts can have fun and get their heart rate up at the same time.

            Wow….all of this information and I just realized I didn’t touch on the 2nd half of the program: the nutrition!! I LOVE the nutrition guide for Cize. It is based off the color-coded portion control containers from the 21 Day Fix, but you can still use the nutrition guide even if you don’t have the containers. The “Eat Up!” guide gives you a food directory so you can eat WHAT you want, but it just shows you HOW MUCH you need. The best part of the book is the meal builder. It gives examples of simple, staple meals, and all the ways you can customize and mix it up. There are pages like eggs every day, oatmeal bowl, yogurt parfait, Shakeology bar, salad bowl, wrap it up, simply grilled, Asian stir fry, healthy pasta, and snacks on the go. For the wrap it up meal you have steps to follow for each category/container of food: pick your wrap, pick your protein, add your veggies, add an “extra”, add dressing, and (optional) add flavor. You’d think a wrap was easy to make, or maybe so easy you get stuck and don’t know how to make it interesting. My family doesn’t really eat from recipes of stuff but we do basics like every Thursday we have a big salad for our meal. So on Thursdays we go to the salad bowl page and can make a different one each time.

            The Cize kit also comes with a get started guide, a weekend survival guide, and (if you order through a coach like me!) a free bonus workout called “Hold Your Own” that gives you some moves you can use when you’re out no matter what song is playing.

You can see my whole YouTube playlist of Cize routine progressions here: bit.ly/kboecizevids

Here is my before/after of the Full Out routine: