How is everyone? I haven’t checked in with you all like this in quite some time! Wondering what I’ve been up to? Even if you answered “no, not really” I’m still going to tell you.
First things first, I’m doubling down on my dislike of winter. Less hours with sunlight, still feeling cold despite five layers of clothing, wintry weather…not my favorite. But despite all of these annoyances, I hated this past winter a little less than usual (don’t get it twisted, I’m still more than relieved it’s officially spring where I live!). Why? I challenged my fitness in ways that I haven’t in roughly five years and emerged on the other side thinking, “ok, Tasha’s back.”
After about a year of gentle prodding from my gym coaches and buddies, I decided to try out this Hyrox thing. I had even brought it up at our FB Team weekly content creator meetings and we all decided it was a good idea for me to join in on this collective millennial midlife crisis moment. With the team’s blessing, I vowed to make it happen. I just needed a partner. Because I refused to have my first attempt at this event be filled with solo suffering.
In steps my friend, Kelsey (pictured above!). Kelsey and I met during a half marathon training team last fall and discovered that we had a mutual love for absurdly hard fitness challenges. Well, for me the half marathon distance is absurd enough but she actually enjoys marathons (why?). Anyways, I brought up the competition, asked if she’d be my partner, and she said “yes!” Let that sink in. I only had to ask. No pleading or convincing. So if you wanted to question my mental state for signing up for this event, you need to question hers as well.
Let me rewind just a bit to give you some more background information as to why even attempting this event was a big deal for me. Right before I joined Fitness Blender, I was teaching, coaching, and personal training (plus doing my own goal-focused training - why?) for double digit hours a week. I had that kind of “peak fitness” where I could do just about anything but I was running on fumes and honestly, unhealthy in many ways (all of them). Those fumes ran out at the end of 2020. After years of feeling required to teach and complete the most grueling of workouts with barely any recovery, the act of exerting myself beyond a certain physical limit was initially impossible (major burnout) but also incredibly unappealing (major major burnout…”major” written two times in a row scientifically demonstrates severity). Just to be clear, I absolutely LOVED in-person training. I had just reached a point where I couldn’t be healthy while helping people. Fitness Blender gave me the opportunity of a lifetime - to reach, educate, and inspire many people while allowing myself to heal from years of exhaustion. I could go into way more detail here, but just know that there’s no timeline for this kind of healing. My multi-year journey included many instances of asking myself, “are you ready for some more challenging training for yourself?” and fully respecting the answer of “no” many times over. I just continued moving with no expectations.
Ok, we’ll fast forward back to present times. I signed up for the event and felt genuine excitement to train super hard for the first time in nearly five years. Now I’m not saying that I don’t work hard while coaching you through our workouts together. Trust me, I feel every bit of difficulty during those routines lol. But remember, I’m talking throughout most of these workouts so I do reserve my “next-level” gear for solo training sessions. This winter, I felt safe enough (nervous system NOT in constant fight or flight) to push to that next-level gear in my training sessions and finally started craving these once familiar and beloved intensities. My “in the zone” stare returned, I challenged myself with my signature “wonder what will happen if I make this harder?” attitude, and I spent a lot of time on the floor trying to summon more oxygen while questioning many life decisions (oddly enough, it was usually the decision to do this event). I LOVE training and I LOVE that unstoppable (not perfect) feeling. And even though I made Kelsey do an inordinate amount of broad jump burpees and wall balls during competition, a part of my brain turned back on midway through the torture and I declared, “yep, I’m back.”
Moral of this long story: Movement can be a constant even if it evolves, transforms, and maybe takes a bit of a backseat during different stages of life. I truly hope that our Fitness Blender workouts, mental health content, physical therapy routines, etc. can provide a constant for you. I hope we can provide a sense of comfort and/or a source of challenge for you, depending on whatever you need at the moment.
After so many phases of training and healing, the concept of “health” is something that has definitely evolved for me and it’s a topic that a few of us content creators explore in our next Trainer Talk podcast episode. Stay tuned for episode 7! I’m moderating this one and it honestly makes me chuckle to know that I’ve been trusted with the responsibility of focusing for more than five minutes.
Well, I’ve babbled enough for now. It’s time to hear time you! Anyone else getting their spark back for something that was once draining? Maybe you want some hybrid training tips from Fitness Blender? And before you ask, yes! I’m training for another competition, haha. Been hybrid training in some way for years - it’s my jam.
Creator Check-In! What Have I Been Up To?
Hello Fitness Blender Family!
How is everyone? I haven’t checked in with you all like this in quite some time! Wondering what I’ve been up to? Even if you answered “no, not really” I’m still going to tell you.
First things first, I’m doubling down on my dislike of winter. Less hours with sunlight, still feeling cold despite five layers of clothing, wintry weather…not my favorite. But despite all of these annoyances, I hated this past winter a little less than usual (don’t get it twisted, I’m still more than relieved it’s officially spring where I live!). Why? I challenged my fitness in ways that I haven’t in roughly five years and emerged on the other side thinking, “ok, Tasha’s back.”
After about a year of gentle prodding from my gym coaches and buddies, I decided to try out this Hyrox thing. I had even brought it up at our FB Team weekly content creator meetings and we all decided it was a good idea for me to join in on this collective millennial midlife crisis moment. With the team’s blessing, I vowed to make it happen. I just needed a partner. Because I refused to have my first attempt at this event be filled with solo suffering.
In steps my friend, Kelsey (pictured above!). Kelsey and I met during a half marathon training team last fall and discovered that we had a mutual love for absurdly hard fitness challenges. Well, for me the half marathon distance is absurd enough but she actually enjoys marathons (why?). Anyways, I brought up the competition, asked if she’d be my partner, and she said “yes!” Let that sink in. I only had to ask. No pleading or convincing. So if you wanted to question my mental state for signing up for this event, you need to question hers as well.
Let me rewind just a bit to give you some more background information as to why even attempting this event was a big deal for me. Right before I joined Fitness Blender, I was teaching, coaching, and personal training (plus doing my own goal-focused training - why?) for double digit hours a week. I had that kind of “peak fitness” where I could do just about anything but I was running on fumes and honestly, unhealthy in many ways (all of them). Those fumes ran out at the end of 2020. After years of feeling required to teach and complete the most grueling of workouts with barely any recovery, the act of exerting myself beyond a certain physical limit was initially impossible (major burnout) but also incredibly unappealing (major major burnout…”major” written two times in a row scientifically demonstrates severity). Just to be clear, I absolutely LOVED in-person training. I had just reached a point where I couldn’t be healthy while helping people. Fitness Blender gave me the opportunity of a lifetime - to reach, educate, and inspire many people while allowing myself to heal from years of exhaustion. I could go into way more detail here, but just know that there’s no timeline for this kind of healing. My multi-year journey included many instances of asking myself, “are you ready for some more challenging training for yourself?” and fully respecting the answer of “no” many times over. I just continued moving with no expectations.
Ok, we’ll fast forward back to present times. I signed up for the event and felt genuine excitement to train super hard for the first time in nearly five years. Now I’m not saying that I don’t work hard while coaching you through our workouts together. Trust me, I feel every bit of difficulty during those routines lol. But remember, I’m talking throughout most of these workouts so I do reserve my “next-level” gear for solo training sessions. This winter, I felt safe enough (nervous system NOT in constant fight or flight) to push to that next-level gear in my training sessions and finally started craving these once familiar and beloved intensities. My “in the zone” stare returned, I challenged myself with my signature “wonder what will happen if I make this harder?” attitude, and I spent a lot of time on the floor trying to summon more oxygen while questioning many life decisions (oddly enough, it was usually the decision to do this event). I LOVE training and I LOVE that unstoppable (not perfect) feeling. And even though I made Kelsey do an inordinate amount of broad jump burpees and wall balls during competition, a part of my brain turned back on midway through the torture and I declared, “yep, I’m back.”
Moral of this long story: Movement can be a constant even if it evolves, transforms, and maybe takes a bit of a backseat during different stages of life. I truly hope that our Fitness Blender workouts, mental health content, physical therapy routines, etc. can provide a constant for you. I hope we can provide a sense of comfort and/or a source of challenge for you, depending on whatever you need at the moment.
After so many phases of training and healing, the concept of “health” is something that has definitely evolved for me and it’s a topic that a few of us content creators explore in our next Trainer Talk podcast episode. Stay tuned for episode 7! I’m moderating this one and it honestly makes me chuckle to know that I’ve been trusted with the responsibility of focusing for more than five minutes.
Well, I’ve babbled enough for now. It’s time to hear time you! Anyone else getting their spark back for something that was once draining? Maybe you want some hybrid training tips from Fitness Blender? And before you ask, yes! I’m training for another competition, haha. Been hybrid training in some way for years - it’s my jam.
See you on the screen!
-Tasha