Lululemon Find.

May 31, 2013May 31, 20132 Comments

Happy Friday! I stopped by Lululemon yesterday and was desperately in need of a new sports bra. Unless you have a problem area you won’t understand my excitement in finding this new gem. I usually am a fan of the tata-tamer bra but have lost some inches in the last year everywhere, it doesn’t quite fit the same way that it used too. The size I had was too big and the size down was just a bit too small. I branched out and found this one (pictured above). It’s tight enough and is a simply pull over bra. I recommend for those in need of a new sports bra!

Learn To Love Kale…Your Body Will Thank You.

December 20, 2012December 20, 2012Leave a comment

I can’t tell you how many times I hear people say, “Oh that’s too healthy!” I am baffled because on the contrary I bet if you were to ask these same people how satisfied they are with their bodies- they would probably be on the lower side on the scale from 1-10. I think in any aspect of life, sometimes you have to train your body to learn to love certain things. It’s not like I wake up every single day of my life excited to workout (let’s get real). Sometimes I am so sore or just tired that I would rather not- but I know when I finish a great workout I never wanted to start it is the best feeling in the world. Where am I going with this? If you would have told me 4 years ago I would love Kale I would have told you that you were NUTS! In the last 8 months (hard to believe) I have been a part of a workout community that has changed my body in ways I never knew were possible. With that said, protien is extremely important in the recovery process because it supplies your body with structural components known as amino acids, which are vital to improving your body composition. As a vegetarian people always ask the common question, “How do you get your protein?” I have never once heard of a protein deficiency- but with that said it is important to have a well balanced diet w/ or w/o meat. And don’t be fooled, if you aren’t eating sustainable meat, chances are your source/benefits of protein might be in question as well.

When I find new products I sometimes become obsessed and them stop using them months down the road. I love new (I need to work on this!) I just bought this protein powder again and am ready to tackle the necessities that go with compeleting a great workout. It’s a new year and I can’t wait to see my body change even more. If you hate kale you can always add to any smoothie. The smoothie can include anything- I usually add kale, raspberries, strawberries, a banana and a little orange juice. If it’s too tart I will add a drop of agave just for a natural sweet. Don’t knock it before you try it.

Why Kale?

-Most highly nutritious vegetable

– Excellent source of Vitamin C, B6 and Manganese

-Great source of dietary fiber

-Anti Cancer Properties

Any favorite non dairy protein powders you recommend?

What I love about Me: Brian Nunez.

September 13, 2012September 13, 2012Leave a comment

{Tell us something you love about yourself.}

I love my compassion for others and my relentless pursuit on making a difference in
people’s lives. Little did I know at the age of 5 I was on to something that lead me to
where I am today. I vividly remember sitting my mom down in my room and telling
her that I wanted her to write down an idea I had. I wanted to start a “Helping Club”.
Not the type most would assume, I wasn’t interested with helping kids with homework
or sports, I honestly had a vision of me being someone grown ups called when they
needed help with something, they were sad, needed to be cheered up and could
make them laugh (that was the extent of helping as a 5 year old in my head). God
bless my mother for entertaining the idea and telling me it was great. It just took 20
years later for it to come to fruition.

{What is your favorite physical feature?}

I really like my smile and my teeth. I like the fact that I have never had braces and
there are some imperfections with two of my bottom front teeth. They are a little
crossed, not anything major but enough to make me have to put in more effort when I
floss them. I think that is one of the first things I notice with people is there smile and
their teeth. You don’t have to have perfect teeth to have a beautiful smile.

{What is something you used to dislike about yourself that you have now come to appreciate?}

One of the things I used to not like about myself was that I was always too worried
about trying something new. I was afraid of looking stupid because I wasn’t
good at it. After many years of playing it safe and doing what I was always good at
it, in 2011 this inspired me to theme my year, “The year of the Challenge”. I made
a promise that I would challenge myself to do all things I wasn’t good at
and go all in. This ranged from business, fitness, and personal life. I was a college Football
player and 100m sprinter who would run the Boston Marathon and Big Sur Marathon
two weeks apart and then signed up for an Ironman. I would start my own company which
is now FNS Training Center. I would do seminars and public speaking to fitness
professionals from around the country and share my ideas and philosophies. Having
been fed up with playing it safe on so many levels, I appreciate that this has inspired
me to become who I am today. I had reached my threshold safety and knew that
wasn’t going to get me anywhere. What I appreciate most is that, this wasn’t and
isn’t always easy for me and I now can relate to so many people who are in that
same zone. Those who are so close to jumping but afraid of what they think is looking
stupid. I can connect and relate and that is what I appreciate.

{What is your proudest accomplishment?}

Creating a company, Fitness Never Sleeps, and taking the risk to create something
so different in the industry. From playing it safe to going all in, this has been a vision
and goal of mine for the last 5 years. There are many things that I am proud of from
living abroad, playing college football, doing an ironman and winning competitions,
but creating a philosophy and then a brick and mortar version of making that come to
life is something that takes the cake. What makes it that much greater are the people that I get to coach and the coaches I am surrounded by. I was very particular what type of coach and leaders I wanted to surround myself with and I am equally proud that I have the best group of coaches I have ever worked with.

{Tell us about your style. What type of outfit do you feel the most like yourself in?}

Many might think it is hard to dress down from wearing lululemon to work everyday
but my favorite thing to wear is just board shorts and sandals. When I have to go out
outside of work and wear what I call “normal people clothes” jeans are like wearing a
suit to me and usually with some Chuck Taylor’s and a t-shirt. I am waiting for the day
Under Armour makes a tuxedo then my wardrobe will be complete.

{List your top three favorite things to do?}
1. Working out (FNS, hikes, and going on runs).
2.Coaching both physically and mentally.
3. Traveling around the world or to new cities.

{What makes you the happiest?}

There are many many things that make me happy, but what makes me happiest
where I feel in my total state of bliss would have to be waking up early Sunday
morning taking my dog, Buddy, out for a walk and coming back to have a cup
of coffee and breakfast with my wife watching a movie. With a great crazy work
schedule between the both of us, I cherish the moments where I can sit next to my
wife with my dog on my lap and relax.

{How do you find your motivation to workout?}

My motivation comes from a few different forms of inspiration everyday. First, is that
I am self motivated to never settle or be mediocre. That doesn’t mean I can lift the
most weight, run the fastest, or jump the highest. I pride myself on being consistent.
Getting in some type of workout everyday, whether it be 20 minutes or 2 hours. I
constantly remind myself, “this is what you do”, “You can’t slack off and coach without
leading by example”, it’s the accountability of what I do that helps me stay motivated.
Each year I set a new theme for myself, and every year when it comes to my fitness
goals I want to be in better shape than I was the previous year. Continuing to set
the bar high for myself and do things that are a challenge for me as well. Lastly,
inspiration from my fellow athletes at FNS when I am working in the trenches with
them seeing the unbelievable amount of work ethic they have in every class. From
Julie Grosso being told she would never walk again to watching her box jump and
Monica Ishak with a long history of back problems to overcoming them setting PR’s
in class. That inspires me and constantly reminds me that there are no excuses, no
complaining, others have had far worse days and have overcome them.

{How do you maintain a healthy lifestyle between work, family, and social life?}

Balance, like most people is I what I am striving for the most. What this really comes
down to for me is priorities. There are three main priorities in my life right now. First my family, second is my work and working with others and third is me time. I couldn’t do much of what I do on a daily basis without the support and encouragement of my wife Parisa. We make sure that that we spend quality time together. Finding a work/life balance is part of that, which includes not getting on the computer when I get home from work and putting my phone away so that I can give my attention to our marriage and life outside of our careers. This is always a work in progress and with her help she reminds me of our pact. With a baby on the way and having a company in its infancy stage it will be like raising two kids. Much like I have done with my business, surrounding myself with supportive, hard working, and a caring staff is important to me. I found that over the years the more I stay true to what I want and need and stand for that the more I can authentically give to others. For me, Compromising giving to myself comprises giving to others. It’s important to me that I find alone time which allows me to clear my head and focus on what I need to continue to be successful.

{What are your main goals you are reaching towards in the next month, 6 months and year ?}

In the next 6 months I want be holding a beautiful healthy baby girl as I am
explaining to her what we are doing at FNS expanding the facility to double our size. I
want her to be raised by a village and have the love of everyone around her as we do
everyday. Raising a baby will not just be a 6 month goal but for the rest of my life, but I
want to be able to balance all these things while still continuing to grow FNS. For FNS
the main goal we are shooting for is to grow our culture and share our message with
the world, but it starts with our immediate community first. We set our GOal Big for 400
athletes by the end of our first year. We are currently at 280 athletes and plan to reach
400 by years end with the help of our athletes now. Since completing the Ironman this
year, most of my focus and attention will be on growing this community. I will continue
to do races and be involved with community races, but I will get ready for my next big
event next year hopefully in our expanded facility.

What I love about Me: Megan Wirth

September 11, 2012September 11, 20121 Comment

{Tell us something you love about yourself.}

My attitude to win. Ever since I was a young chap on the softball field, it has been drilled into me that winning is the most desirable end point anyone could ever work towards. Although “winning” looks different for me now than it did when I was whipping the softball around the field years ago, my desire to work hard, to achieve the biggest and scariest things, and to play with the seemingly insurmountable odds is something that I absolutely love about myself. Although success in every situation isn’t always achieved in the way I visualize it, I do know that I bring everything I’ve got up to the plate for that burning desire to win is fueling me at the core.

{What is your favorite physical feature?}

I really love my nose, and my nose ring (although not biologically natural). Those two things, remind me of one of my earliest memories of hard work and accomplishment. When I was fourteen, I begged my parents to get my nose pierced, and after a indomitable effort by my parents, we struck a deal: if I was able to pitch a perfect game against the next team we played against, I would be able to get my adorned piercing. Well, I learned at a very early age that we should all be so very careful what we put out in the universe because the next game, I came collecting after a perfect game against Oak Grove’s Varsity softball team (as a sophomore).

{What is something you used to dislike about yourself that you have now come to appreciate?}

Many would think that my sixty extra pounds I used to carry would be the “something” I would dislike about myself, however, my weight never affected me when I was growing up and it wasn’t until I allowed others words, approval, and actions affect me that I began to loathe the way I looked. Over the years, I have been in this dynamic struggle with approval: both with myself and others. From letting people in too soon, or not letting anyone really in at all, I have never been consistent with my own self in the sense of my own voice, feelings, and personally when in different relationships. Some can divert it back to self esteem issues due to my weight, but the confidence I have lacked in the past in my relationships is something that I used to literally hate about myself. From being taken advantage of to not putting even a morsel of myself into different relationships and becoming completely detached from the people around me, I have realized that my lack of a backbone has played a huge role in my own self-image. However, by recognizing that weakness and really learning through the trials and tribulations, I can now look back on the silent, closed off, and vulnerable person I once was and realize that the emptiness of a true self-esteem and self-image has aided me to grow into a woman who prides herself on her ability to take a stand for her word, her wants, her needs, and goes at it with both feet in the water in any given situation.

{What is your proudest accomplishment?}

Winning the 2005 CCS Championship at Archbishop Mitty. That season, we were a team filled of “nobody’s”, underclassman, and a brand new coach. However, unbenounced to everyone else, we did it seamlessly and with only one loss the entire season. Personally, I was a sophomore who pitched nearly every game that season and my record was fifteen wins and no losses as a pitcher with a batting average above three hundred for the entire season. After striking the last batter out that game and realizing what had just happened, everything went silent, and for that one moment, I was basking in a moment of glory, shock, and euphoria. For that split second (which was broken by my catcher running to me and picking me up in joy): nothing mattered. I realized what hard work, motivation, perseverance, and dedication to something bigger than yourself looks like because that moment (that entire season) embodied every single aspect of those attributes. That was the moment I was able to put actions to the word accountability, could put a promise to the word commitment, and started a relationship with my personal best.

{Tell us about your style. What type of outfit do you feel the most like yourself in?}

Although the majority of the time you’ll see my in my lululemon attire (wunder under crops, power y tank in some kind of vibrant color), Rainbow sandals, and a messy bun, my ultimate favorite look is as follows: colorful shorts, loose and flowy top accented by a colorful bando or bra, wedges, and a thick, beady necklace with my hair down and curly. This is my favorite (and often seen) outfit if I am not rocking the everyday workout look .

{List your top three favorite things to do?}
1. Workout (whether this is running, FNS, walking, yoga)
2. Vision boarding and goal coaching
3. Crossing a finish line at a race

{What makes you the happiest?}

I am happiest when visualizing my future. Yes, time is of the essence and the present (for lack of a better cliche) is a gift, but I love seeing and knowing where I am going. With the amount that I vision board, revisit my goals, and check in with myself, I get butterflies knowing that everything the universe is giving me right now are all stepping stones, hurdles, and circles of fire to get me to wherever I am meant to be. I get wrapped up thinking about my babies running around my home with my handsome husband walking through the door after his long day at work. I get exhausted thinking about the amount of meetings I have in hopes to make a difference with my life’s work. I find myself at peace knowing that everything is happening for a reason and I am the luckiest girl alive.

{How do you find your motivation to workout?}

My motivation is not gripped by the version of myself that was once sixty pounds heavier, but liberated from the chains of excuses I had for eighteen years of never really having a grasp of my health. On July 6, 2006, I was given a choice of leading the life I was, or taking on a new lifestyle that would make such drastic but positive changes. On July 6, 2006, tapped into that relationship with my personal best, with the power of commitment, and realized I was worth my best health and no one was going to get me there, but myself. So, my motivation lies vested in that promise to myself six years ago: to never go back and that I was and still AM worth it.

{How do you maintain a healthy lifestyle between work, school, family, social life etc.?}

Piggy-backing off of the last question regarding my motivation to workout, I find myself maintaining this lifestyle because, I want to. Anybody has the power of choice and if you want ANYTHING badly enough, you WILL get it and you WILL achieve it. Has this been easy? No. Have there been more instances of struggle and hard work than smooth sailing? Absolutely. However, this lifestyle, as crazy as it comes across, has given me a life I didn’t have for eighteen years. That’s enough to keep me on the path of no return, and for me, makes everything justifiable because at the end of the day, all we have is ourselves and without our health, what’s left?

{What is your main goal you are reaching towards in the next 6 months?}

In six months I want to be teaching yoga to children in local elementary schools. On August 20th, I start a whole new chapter of my life with the non profit Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative, where I will be going into local elementary schools and bringing health and fitness into little girl’s lives, that may otherwise never have that kind of opportunity. This is the power of one’s lifework. I want to be held accountable that with every day I make myself better, I am bettering the lives of those around me (whether less fortunate or not). We are a part of a society where the power of plenty surmount anything, and who would I be if I held onto all of my vigor for life and never attempted to share it with those around me. So for the next sixth months, I am going to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity I have with bringing health and fitness in children, continue to undergo yoga teacher training, make the necessary connections, but most of all, live each day creating and following through with my lifework.

5 Things Making Me :)

August 9, 2012August 9, 20123 Comments

Do you ever feel like when things are going great, they are realllllly great?! I have to say there are no complaints in my life at the moment. In the last couple of days I met with some girls from the gym who helped inspire me to come up with realistic goals that can be accomplished, but will require effort in the mean time. After all, if it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you. This week I signed up for my first half marathon that will take place on September 16. I am sooo excited for this (and nervous) as this is something I have wanted to complete for a while. Now is the time to just DO IT! This is one of the 9 goals that will be checked off the list. The following week I am heading to New York City. I traveled there twice last year, and I think it might be my favorite big city of all time. It will be a week long vacation to see some best friends. I can’t wait!

The last picture above is my current state of health and fitness due to the extreme hard work I have been dedicating at FNS from April to Now (August). I am not one for putting pictures like this up to get attention, but I am beyond amazed at the results and personal fulfillment this has brought to my life. Stepping outside your comfort zone is never easy, but I have come to the realization that you never learn from anything when it is easy. This class has not only brought results to my body, but allowed me to realize I can do anything I put my heart and effort into! Every time I struggle to get up in the morning at 6 AM, I am reminded that everyone else has to get up as well- and once I finish I feel 100 times better than when I got there. This class has defined a whole new appreciation for discipline, habit and results. I can’t wait to see what I will look like in 3 more months. Thank you to the coaches who inspire me everyday to believe in myself.