Maria Sogard, Author at VFit Studio

10 Lessons Learned from the BIGGEST Challenge Ever Thrown At VFit

February 5, 2020 by Maria Sogard Leave a Comment

Watch the full REPLAY of Rachele’s inspo talk where she goes through the top 10 lessons learned from VFit Studio running it’s biggest challenge to date.

VFit’s Weekly Inspo

Last year, VFit Studio embarked on it’s biggest challenge we’ve ever run. We had all 8 VFit trainers lead our teammates through a 6 month LONG challenge, focused on goal setting.

The goal of this challenge was to get each member to hit a consistent class total for six straight months – from July to December.

A SIX MONTH fitness challenge that over half our studio signed up for and took part of. We had never heard of such a program, but felt it was important to find ways to work more closely with our members and help them stay consistent through the second half of the year.

As a recap, we came to find 10 top learnings from the challenge.

By sharing these lessons, we believe you can gain some added inspiration in your life and they can easily translate to all areas of life.

We have them summed up below, or you can hit play and watch the REPLAY of Rachele leading her talk.

1) The best inspiration and ideas come from when you step away from your “normal.”

True creativity comes from stepping away. Getting yourself out in nature with some fresh air and scenery. Whether its at a retreat or convention, or perhaps by water. Getting out of your norm can foster new ideas and innovation.

For us, four members of the VFit Trainer team were attending the fitness industry’s largest convention last June called IDEA WORLD and were all sitting around a fountain brainstorming about ideas to help members stay consistent with their workouts all year long. That’s when we created the #6monthsmatters challenge. Six months – from July through December – of consistent workouts, accountability, coaching and team building.

2) Embrace the power of a mastermind.

Create an environment where people are encouraged and feel empowered to share ideas and contribute. Gone are the days when one person has to have all the ideas.

The biggest ideas come from a collective. It took all 8 VFit Studio trainers working together to come up with the complete six month program.

By including all members of our trainer team with idea sharing, our ideas built off of one another and the end result was a program unlike anything any one of us singly would have dreamed up on our own.

3) RISK in going big.

Six months is a long time. This was far longer than any other wellness program we had created in our studio. Before the six month challenge, the next longest program we had spanned just one month. This was FIVE more months of teamwork, programming, consistency.

Would members get discouraged? How would we keep them motivated? What if one of our own VFit trainers fell off the wagon?

But, the risk of NOT pushing our team to do this was an even greater risk. The upside was just too incredible for us not to go for it. The fact that we could truly change some lives and habits was a risk we had to take.

4) Power of being part of a team.

People are okay with letting ourselves down at times. But put us on a team, there’s no way we would want to let an entire team down.

Having a team to compete with and where your goals and stats were public was huge reason why this program was successful for six straight months.

Members could have individual goals, but it took everyone holding up to their personal goal to advance together with the full team in tact.

5) The beauty of written goals.

Putting your goal on paper and out into the world is HUGE. Doing so, you have a tangible number to strive for and track.

We used goal setting as a major theme that held the entire of the challenge together. Each member committed to a personal class goal at the start of the challenge that they commited to hitting each of the six months of the challenge.

Miss a month? You were out of the challenge. Simple as that.

We had these goals literally ON OUR BACKS with team shirts that members wore with their class goal on the back. The goals were also on made public (to those in the challenge, that is) on a google drive that was shared by all members of the challenge. If you didn’t hit your goal, everyone on your team saw it. Talk about accountability.

6) Coaching to success.

We set each team up with a VFit trainer to serve as a coach each month. This extra bit of coaching from a VFit trainer helped the team stay connected, motivated, and loaded up with fresh inspiration.

Beyond being led by a coach, many teams had natural leaders arise in the team.

Do not underestimate the power of a coach. It’s always a good idea to have a coach to help push you and keep you accountable.

“You won’t always be motivated, but you must always be disciplined,” and good coaches help teach you the art of discipline and building healthy habits.

7) A shiny trophy at the end.

When was the last time you earned yourself a trophy? For most adults, it hasn’t been since we were children.

A fun part of this challenge was putting in some serious effort and EARNING a very real trophy at the end for all that completed the full challenge.

Who doesn’t love a fun prize or earning a trophy for hard work?

There was so much pride shared by our members once they received their trophy mugs. This was priceless. With every sip they take all year long, they will forever remember their six month commitment.

8) Building a community.

Why not have every person in the challenge (127 total members) be in one large supergroup? While we considered this, what really made this challenge special is breaking down the members into small groups.

With a smaller group of about 15 members, teams formed new bonds getting to know members and seeing themselves in some of the obstacles they had in reaching their goals. We had members bond over being new moms, rennovating homes, getting the flu. You name it, there were so many shared experiences for our members. Yet, through it all they forged through all six months and made it to the end of the chalelnge.

9) A few who didn’t meet their goal, silently faded out.

As a society, we put so much pressure to be perfect and when we don’t achieve this we feel shame. This perfection or failure black and white way to view the world is limiting.

We don’t believe this is how shit should be, but unfortunately that kind of fixed mindset is something many of us grew up with .

Sometimes, when you set high goals for yourself, you may not always reach them. Especially when a long time frame is in from of you.

But, reaching and stretching yourself is ALWAYS better than not trying at all.

Life is about improving yourself and focusing on incremental changes each and every day. We believe in working to adopt a growth mindset where you stretch and evolve and work to increase the size of your comfort zone.

We are so proud of the few members who may not have finished the challenge, but they have recommitted to VFit and their health and they believe they are ALWAYS worthy of another comeback.

If you fall down 99 times, the only number that matters is that you get up 100.

10) Heather’s Story – better late than never.

We call it “Heather’s story”, but this is a story that will resonate with all of us at one time or another in life.

Heather was 5 1/2 months into the 6 month challenge, on a team that had not lost a single teammate, she was 4 classes away from earning her trophy and crossing the finish life, when life rocked her world upside down.

She is a mom to 4 young kids, and her youngest baby was sent down 6 hours from home, to CHLA, where she ended up spending 2 weeks in the hospital with him (he is doing great now, thankfully).

During this time, her husband was travelling back and forth, as they were trying to keep a sense of normal going for the other 3 kids, and it truly became impossible for her to get her final few classes in. She did try logging in a few times from the hospital even!

So instead of skirting out quietly and ending the challenge for herself, Heather opened up to her team, asked for forgiveness and admitted that she was not going to make it – feeling she let them all down.

Her team was SO supportive of her and only cared that her baby and family were going to be ok and get through this tough experience. They were there to cheer her on and push her back up when she needed it most.

Heather didn’t get her final classes in by the deadline, but the trainers agreed to give her 2 more weeks to complete the mission and earn her trophy. That was enough to FIRE her up, so that when she got back home and into her “normal” again, she had the support to get back at it and she EARNED that mug in 4 days.

Sometimes you need to rely on our team and others to push you up and believe in you, when you don’t have it in you at the moment. We will all fall on tough times and letting others help you is so critical.

Heather may have earned that trophy 2 weeks late, but still earned it. She didn’t give up and so we didn’t give up on her.

In health,

Rachele & Maria

Don’t Wish For It, Work For It

January 13, 2020 by Maria Sogard 2 Comments

VFit’s Weekly Inspo

At the VFit Studio, we like to set a studio-wide intention for the year. With so many of our members working towards becoming a better version of themselves each time they log in and focus on self care, we chose this mantra for 2020:

DON’T WISH FOR IT, WORK FOR IT

Now that’s powerful!

It’s a little bit of tough love, and a bit of a dare.

Today we are releasing the latest tool to help YOU work for reaching your fitness goals.

Are you willing to WORK for your goals?

Goals, goals, goals … everyone has them, right?

There are no shortage of goals to be set and there are no shortage of tools and resources out there to help you achieve those goals.

But how many actually hit their goals consistently? Sadly, over 50% of people give up on their goals because they forget to set the most important part – the foundation.

What is the secret to those that continue to achieve success?

We believe that people spend too much time in the “wishing” stage of setting goals, and they are forgetting the part that matters most – ACTION!

We are here today to share a very simple, yet life changing approach to making your goals a reality. A tool that will take your goals from wishes to reality.

There is study after study about how much more likely you are to achieve your goals if you WRITE them down – like 7 times more likely!

I don’t know about you, but if the simple act of writing my goal down will make me 7 times more likely to achieve it, I am going to arm myself with those odds no doubt.

Then, if you SHARE your written goals with others and build in accountability, your success rate jumps up to 95%!

It really is that simple! Of course next comes the actual work that you will need to put in to reach that goal, but setting a strong foundation for which this goal actually has a shot of becoming successful is a KEY STEP!

Want to work out more this year? Let’s start with this goal. Just thinking and saying you want to exercise more is not a goal, it is a wish.

We are now going to turn it into a goal.

How many times do you want to workout this year? 150? Perfect, that is a substantial and powerful amount of exercise.

So write that out. “I WILL workout 150 times this year”.

Then under that line, write 5 action steps you WILL take over the year that will get you to this goal.

We like to reverse engineer our goals, but you can work through in whatever direction feels comfortable to you.

150 workouts a year sounds like a lot, especially if you are starting from 50 or less, but watch just how DOABLE it is.

150 workouts a year means just 2-3 workouts a week, 12-13 workouts per month. EVERYONE has that it them and deserves to hit that goal.

Then you stick that written statement and action you wrote down and put it somewhere you will see EVERY DARN DAY and you commit to reading what you WROTE! Every. Single. Day.

But since we are human and we tend to be our own worst enemy, you need to take this a step further. YOU NEED to tell others about this goal you set.

We tend to be ok letting ourselves down, but I promise you, you aren’t the type of person who will want to let others down.

By telling your goals to your family, your fit tribe, your co-workers, kids, boss and anyone else, you are now making them part of your team.

And THEY ALL want you to succeed, and if they don’t, that is a whole nother blog on who you are surrounding yourself with.

I know that if I tell my family it is important to me that I get in 2-3 workouts a week, and to please help keep me accountable to that, they will! Same goes to my fellow VFit members, they want the best for me, now I owe it to all of us to make it happen.

Goal setting is a skill, it is something that takes time and focus and practice.

The number one reason I see many short change themselves in life, is that they aren’t setting any tangible goals and they have no action plan on how to achieve the goal.

If you know anything about VFit values, you know the number that we track and that matters most is how many times you SHOWED UP! No heart rate, calorie, or pant size number matter more than that stat.

Because we love you and we want to give you every opportunity to put what we are sharing into action, we have created a WORKPAGE Goal Sheet just for YOU!

Simply download this one page worksheet and state your Annual Workout Goal on the top. Then think through 5 action steps you can take each day/week/month to get you to this goal.

Below the action steps, we have a grid for you to fill in monthly with the number of workouts you showed up for.

Put this simple piece of paper in a place you will look at DAILY, and watch the magic start to add up.

But don’t forget, to make your chance of success shoot up to 95%, you can’t keep this to yourself.

Share with your friends, fam and the VFit team. We would love nothing more than to see what stats you are aiming for and then we vow to do our share of the job to help keep you accountable and on-track.

We believe if everyone embraces the motto of Don’t Wish for It, Work for it, then you are unstoppable. You will work to build in more healthy habits and create less space for the ones that are deterring you from reaching their goals.

We hope you enjoy this free download and really put it to use. Whether it becomes your inspiration to join us for a free week of classes, or helps towards reaching another fitness/life goal, we hope this concept is one that you work to embrace in your own lives.

Goal + Action = Success

In health,

Rachele & Maria

VFit’s 5 Tips for Not Starting Over – We call it YANGO

December 26, 2019 by Maria Sogard Leave a Comment

VFit’s Weekly Inspo

As fitness professionals, we hear it all the time. Especially this time of year as people look back on the year and begin making their own wish list of what the year ahead should look like.

How do you stay so fit? How do you make the time? How do you get it all in?

While being healthy does take time and energy (but so does the alternative), the answer is easier than you would think! We’ve even made an acrostic which you can use so you too will always remember these five simple tips for not starting over – YANGO.

YANGO may sound familiar if you’ve been following our studio over the last year, it’s what our members have been declaring during a special fitness challenge we run each quarter. It initially was a play on words to represent how the fitness challenge worked, a cross between Yatzee and Bingo.

Yango has been by far the most successful challenge we’ve ever run, and we run A LOT, so we were ready to take the name up a level and have created an acronym so you too will not need to keep starting over and over when it comes to your health and fitness.

Y – A – N – G – O

Letter by letter, here our VFit’s 5 tips for not starting over:

Y – YEARLONG – Your health should never be a seasonal sport! Your self care needs to be center stage all year long and made a priority.

Once you let self care slip as things get ‘too busy’ that’s where people start falling off. And once you stop working out and taking care of yourself, it’s twice, if not three times harder to start back up again.

Our tip? Find a fitness solution that works for you all year long.

A – ACTION – Wishing you were fit and active, but not setting goals or taking any action gets you nowhere. You have to take that initial step, however small it may be, and keep moving forward with your workouts and self care.

There’s no, ‘waiting until Monday’, or until I have the time/space/clothes (we hear it all), or the New Year here. We are talking, if you want to take care of yourself, start today and DO something now.

Create an action plan and prioritize your day so you can take action each and every day.

Our tip? Each week set aside 5 minutes to prioritize and schedule your workouts and self care for the week. Like any important meeting or event, when it is on the schedule, you are far more likely to make it a priority.

N – NON – NEGOTIABLE – Your self care needs to be non-negotiable. Period! Self care is often the first thing to go when people get busy or overwhelmed. Then guess what? People get more stressed out and more overwhelmed when they start skimping out on self care to get other things done.

If it’s important to you, and it should be since you only are granted this ONE body to live in, you need to make self care non-negotiable and make it happen in your life.

Our tip? Write out your commitment, on paper and place it somewhere you’ll see every day. Even better, tell your friends and family how important this commitment it to you. We are willing to bet, they want you to be healthy and happy and will be more than eager to help keep you accountable and on top of your commitment.

G – GOAL – Setting up personal goals to reach for will help you stay motivated and on track. Goal setting is an important part of success and we recommend setting goals on a weekly, quarterly, and annual basis.

Goal planning is a skill and one you can develop the more you practice. Set realistic, but also challenging enough goals, they give you something to aim high for.

THE most important part of goal setting is creating your action plan. A goal without a plan is nothing more than a wish. Take time on working through how you will plan to reach your goals. Share your goals with others to build in accountability.

Our tip? Write your goals down and share them with others who are there to lift you up and cheer you on. Being part of positive communities is a huge tip to reaching your goals. Soon you’ll realize it is so much more fun to climb to the top together and that you don’t have to go at your goals alone.

O – OUTSIDE – Get outside of your comfort zone. The more you can push yourself beyond your little zone you’ve set for yourself, you’ll stretch and grow as a person and build more inner and outer strength. Comfort zones become a personal cell and can really limit you if you let them.

Soon you’ll start to experience that what was once so uncomfortable and scary, soon becomes your norm and then it’s time to step up your game again and again.

Our tip? Do one thing each day that scares you. It can be as small as closing your eyes and balancing, to asking for a raise or saying no to something that no longer serves you. Much of life happens outside your comfort zone, go and enjoy it!

There you have it, VFit’s 5 tips for not starting over – YANGO. If the mindset we shared here strikes a core with what you need more of in your own life, we sincerely invite you to put all 5 tips together into practice with the VFit team and kick of the New Year with our January round of, you guessed it, YANGO.

YANGO is a 20 day fitness challenge VFit runs on a quarterly basis and comes with a class pass to attend UNLIMITED VFit classes throughout Yango. To kick off 2020, we’ve opened up to the public. For more information, click here.

In health,
Rachele, Maria, and the VFit Trainer Team

P.S. If you’d like to start the next decade, 2020 with a surefire item to add to next year’s “Greatest Hits List,” we present to you our January round of YANGO!

Kick off the new decade with 20 days marking off 20 fitness challenges, ranging from 1 to 30 minutes.

By January 20th, if you’ve marked off a fitness challenge from our challenge board each day, we guarantee you’ll set the tone for a strong year!

The buy in is only $20 and includes a 20 day unlimited class pass to the VFit Studio, our online private Facebook support group for daily check ins, trainer support, and the YANGO playing card. Trust us, this will be one of your greatest hits for 2020, we guarantee it! Learn more and sign up for YANGO today!

Be Proud of Being a Work in Progress

December 9, 2019 by Maria Sogard Leave a Comment

VFit’s Weekly Inspo

We have made it! Each of us reading this has a 100% record of making it to today, the final stretch of 2019. So let us start with a big ol congrats, that is a big deal.

It’s an incredibly exciting time. To think, in just three weeks we enter a whole new decade!

And it is this time of year that we start seeing a lot trending over New Year’s resolutions, ‘fresh starts’ people are looking to put in place, and a focus on all the things your need to “resolve” or “fix.”

But, we are here to hit you with a fresh spin on a New Year and an opportunity to create something truly meaningful in your life.

As all of the excitement for the start of 2020 nears, may we suggest you take a moment and consider the following?

Be Proud of Being a Work in Progress

So often, we are working hard to seek a final destination or end result. If you are constantly working towards something, you more often than not are under appreciating the journey and the ACTUAL moments making up your life – the PROGRESS part.

People apologize for being a work in progress, when really they should be celebrating.

The fact that you CAN and DO work on yourself is a beautiful thing. To NOT be a work in progress is something to apologize over.

Today we are sharing a very simple yet powerful exercise for you to do between now and December 31st. This simple exercise will help you enjoy the journey you have taken this year and ALL that you have to reflect and be filled with joy over.

Sitting still and taking a break to be in the moment can be uncomfortable at times. As you practice this, it gets easier. If you find this exercise a challenge, you don’t need to do it all at once. There is no one that will be grading you and there are NO wrong answers.

We need these pauses in life to appreciate what is going on around us, to see just how far we have come, and have a better appreciation for what greatness we do have in our lives.

With most of the year end reviews we see out there, many of them focus on the negative.

I wish I had taken more trips. I didn’t have enough time to finish up a project. I didn’t run that race. I should have lost 5 more pounds.

This is NOT the place you should go to when thinking back about the past year. There is so much good to be found in the course of a year and we have a powerful exercise to share:

We like to call this exercise “Creating Your 2019 Greatest Hits.”

Watch VFit owner Rachele share how she does her own personal 2019 Greatest Hits List

Here’s how it works: (you can also click play on the video above, where Rachele breaks down how to create your own list).

//Download the template we have created for you to use here, or jot down your own. We want you to get an actual pen out and write this list. Writing it out is proven to activate a deeper part of your brain than simply typing. We want you to get the most out of the time you are about to spend creating your “Greatest Hits List”.

//Take some time to sit down and give some true effort to this past year, looking back at it month by month. This very well can be one of the most powerful exercises you do all year, but like anything, you will only get out the effort you put in.

Look back at pictures, read old e-mails, notes you wrote, social media posts, journals and calendars.

//For each month, reflect and write down 5 things that took course over the month that bring a smile and pride to your heart as you take a flash back on the year.

THOSE are the moments that most define you and where we want you putting your focus on to attract more of that going into the New Year.

It could be a trip, reaching an accomplishment, making a new friend, starting a new project, changing jobs, attending a conference. You name it.

Some months may be hard to fill in and you’ll really need to dig deep – others you may find you hit 5 and want to keep on going.

Likely, once you start this exercise, you’ll find it gets easier and easier to see the positive that happened each month and you’ll soon train your brain to look for these opportunities.

You will no longer need to RESOLVE to change or fix things, but by changing the way your brain sees life, you will in turn bring MORE of this into 2020.

Throughout this process some of the tougher times are going to come up. We don’t want you to ignore them, to bottle away the hurt/frustration/pain, but rather to know those too were part of your story. But, the story you want to write and document forever are the positive markers that got you to where you are today.

Once your 2019 Greatest Hits list is done, read it over. Your mouth will hurt from smiling so much. You will have 60 reflections of pride and joy to look back over!

You will see that even through the toughest of days/weeks/months, that you are still standing here and you are a “work in progress” and that my friend is a BEAUTIFUL thing.

Maybe even print and hang your list up somewhere in your house to admire each day.

Once you have done this exercise on your own, maybe try it with your family, work team, significant other, or friend.

It’s from HERE that you should start thinking about 2020. Look at all that you accomplished and what an incredible starting point for growth you have going into this new decade!

Completing your “2019 Greatest Hits List” will set yourself on a trajectory to get more out of the year to come.

Instead of resolving to change, set intentions on the year to come to build off all the good stuff you did this past year and continue to be a work in progress, and don’t you ever apologize about that.

We believe this idea of gratitude is an important part of overall wellness and have it as one of our key health foundations at VFit! You can’t out exercise or out eat an ungrateful mind. Just as important as sleep and water also are, gratitude is a critical part of living a well balanced life.

Your body hears everything your mind says. If you are too critical about yourself, it can really dampen your progress and even deteriorate your health, making you sick.

We hope that after going through this exercise, you celebrate where you are today, with all of your scars and flaws. That is who you are, and what makes you unique.

There is no set ideal or perfect point you’ll hit in life. 99.9% of life is in the journey you live on a daily basis. Life is about all the moments that make up the journey.

Looking forward to 2020, we sincerely hope that you continue to find more good and gratitude out of each of your days and months. Using this mindset of being proud to be a work in progress is a powerful way to find more acceptance through the year. This will also lead to you taking action and using discipline to get the most out of the year, and in turn this very special LIFE, you have been gifted.

Live a life worth telling a story about. We can’t wait for you to write your 2019 Greatest Hit’s story!

In health,
Rachele, Maria, and the VFit Trainer Team

P.S. If you’d like to start the next decade, 2020 with a surefire item to add to next year’s “Greatest Hits List,” we present to you our January round of YANGO!

Kick off the new decade with 20 days marking off 20 fitness challenges, ranging from 1 to 30 minutes.

By January 20th, if you’ve marked off a fitness challenge from our challenge board each day, we guarantee you’ll set the tone for a strong year!

How I Messed Up My First Webinar

November 15, 2019 by Maria Sogard Leave a Comment

VFit’s Weekly Inspo

Have you ever have one of those nightmares where you wake up and panic that what you dreamed about actually happened?

Well, that was US yesterday! We had our first live webinar and I made a huge mistake.

Here’s what happened …

While we are an online fitness studio and live stream our classes with a two way interactive platform, I’ll admit it, we are NOT a tech company. Through growing the business I’ve had my share of learning, but at the core, we are fitness professionals and we are just using technology to make our workouts LIVE and to interact with our team.

And that we truly are the MASTERS at, as you can see by our packed classes and healthy, is having happy and healthy members.

But, we are always reaching for more because we know that there are SO many others out there in need of a solution just like VFit, but they have no idea about the magic we have waiting to change their lives.

In wanting to spread our message, I hired out a marketing coach who suggested a webinar to share one of our founding principals about FUNctional Fitness. It was a great idea and how much different could it be than hosting live fitness classes, which we do ALL DAY, EVERY DAY?!?!

While I had never done an actual webinar, we use ZOOM all the time for classes and I know the material inside and out of what the webinar was going to cover, since it was all about sharing our FUNctional Fitness Plan. A plan that I created, and that I personally live and teach by to keep myself healthy, injury free, and still in love with fitness.

It totally made sense to get out of my comfort zone and say yes to hosting my first webinar.

Everything was going smoothly. We worked hard on marketing materials, email and social media posts, and got well over 50 people signed up, which was far passed our goal! Everything was going great and on track.

Then …

About an hour beforehand …

I wanted to test it all out. I hopped into the meeting room with Maria and was surprised to see it wasn’t set up the way our classes are set up. ………..

I couldn’t see her, I couldn’t read her face for reactions, or tell if she was following along with the content, and it felt really impersonal. It wasn’t what I had envisioned and what I was comfortable with!

For the next 50 minutes I played around with every setting I could find to try and make the change to what I was familiar with.

I firmly believe the personal aspect of SEEING the faces on the other side of the screen, much like how we run the VFit Studio classes, is what sets us apart and make it the magical platform that VFit has come to be. I had assumed the webinar would run the same way, so this was unexpected.

I tried and tried and then 10 minutes before the webinar, I hit the WRONG button and accidentally deleted all 50 participants!!!!! There was no UNDO button! Gone like the wind they went!

NO ONE who had signed up for access to the webinar was able to login.

My heart sank, but the webinar was set to start.

What did I do?

I took my training for life and inner strength that our workouts have given me and I delivered the best webinar possible to those that made it in from a link we were quickly able to get out on FB. Thankfully 10 lucky beings were able to hack in and let me deliver the magic I had planned.

I so passionately believe in the content and what I was covering, I knew wholeheartedly that I had the opportunity to change at least one person’s life by continuing on and presenting the plan. I also knew I could share the replay with anyone who was not able to sign in.

What I didn’t do?

I didn’t panic, I didn’t give up. I didn’t cancel the whole event and reschedule. I didn’t yell or blame others. I don’t think I even threw out a swear word!

I took a moment to collect myself, to focus on my breathing and slow down – a practice I’ve learned extensively about through our Yin series at VFit and Mindful Moments.

I had to focus on the overall mission at hand.

I focused on the present. And the present moment was all about delivering the world’s best fitness webinar about our fitness plan I so passionately care about and want to share with others!

When we talk about exercise and self care, people first think of looking good, getting strong, maybe losing some weight, but I know there’s a MUCH deeper factor that we are uniquely bringing to this world at VFit.

The outside changes you make through fitness are icing on the cake and bonus’s pouring over from all of the inner personal growth that happens when you consistently take care of yourself and focus on all of the areas of fitness that our VFit values cover.

It’s because I follow this plan, and the emphasis on all four areas: cardio/HIIT, strength, balance/mobility, and stretching/recovery, that I was able to handle this fiasco with ease and dare I say grace. If you happened to catch it live (and some still made it in!), I bet you couldn’t even tell!

If you missed it, like many did, we have the full replay here.

And I’d like to close with a sincere heartfelt invitation to join our studio next week for a fully 100% free no strings attached week of classes – for FREE!

If you were one of the ones who were not able to make it into the webinar, let my team and I more than make it up to you! We are focusing on using this plan and will pair up each person who is on their free week with a VFit trainer to help you set up your classes based on this fitness plan.

You can use this link to claim a free week for yourself, and share it with anyone else in your life who you think would benefit from our approach to fitness. We have 25 of these passes available and they are valid from 11/18-11/24 for UNLIMITED VFit Classes and a VFit Trainer to help you set up the perfect fitness plan.

There is no need to wait for a perfect week to try VFit! VFit works for the 99% of your life that is busy and perfectly IMPERFECT!

Grab a pass today at https://thevfitstudio.com/functional-fit-plan/ and we will SEE you at the VFit Studio all next week! I promise our classes run as smooth as can be and we have hosted well over 100,000 visits to our classes.

In health,
Rachele

4 Years Celebrated with a Record Breaking Week

October 28, 2019 by Maria Sogard Leave a Comment

4 years of VFit celebrated with a 90 minute Fit Fest on October 26th, raising money for the Susan G Komen Foundation to raise awareness for breast cancer research

VFit’s Weekly Inspo

VFit is the ultimate start up story. We began four years ago by forging our own path in online fitness.

What makes us a start up? We started!

We had an idea for a need that was not being met out there and we crafted to the best of our ability a platform to deliver this idea to the world.

With that first week, we started something that had never been done before: an online fitness studio that maintains the personal connection of a real life gym by using a two way platform to connect trainers with members across the country.

Did we have a Business Plan? Nope!

Did we have investors and funding on hand to get up and running? Nope!

Did we have an idea and a whole lot of passion? You bet!

And that purpose and passion has been the fuel we place our feet on the ground with each morning, knowing that what we are doing is making a difference in so many lives, our own included!

When VFit opened, we started with 0 members, a free week of classes, 15 classes on the schedule and ended week 1 with 65 check in’s.

Fast forward through the journey and we now have close to 300 active members, 60+ classes a week and nearly 1,000 check in’s a week.

Our platform isn’t built on the fanciest lighting, clothes, or equipment.

We are a platform built on REAL lives. On taking every barrier away as to why you can’t make exercise consistent in your life, and delivering it to our team in a way that is fun, effective, relateable and uplifting.

Each class is a personalized workout, handwritten by our world class trainer team.

A full array of classes, many VFit exclusives, that pack functional fitness in for our members – in 30 minutes or less.

We’ve been celebrating all month long as VFit turns 4 because this is a HUGE milestone.

On Saturday, October 26th, we threw the ultimate birthday party called Fit Fest.

From owner Rachele moments after Fit Fest was over:

It’s hard to sum up what today’s party meant, but it was amazing! 86 rockstars coming together to sweat and smile and raise some money.
At the end, the kids started singing VFit happy birthday! VFit is such a big part of our kids lives.
They are often there watching (or joining) us in action as we show up to take care of ourselves. I’ve watched babies turn to toddlers, kids turn to teenagers, babies in the tummy to the real world and beyond.
I’m so proud to have a platform where we can be the real life super heroes for our kids. Where they want to take care of themselves, and be active, and exercise because they see mom or grandma or auntie loving it so much.
And the fact I’m probably MOST proud of… that in the 4 years of VFit we have never asked our team to track a calorie, a pound, an inch or a heart rate.
Sure some do this on their own, but to this day, THE only number VFit tracks is how many times you SHOW UP! Because at the end of the day, that’s the number that matters.
Rachele Jaegers, VFit owner

VFit has run 364 days a year since we opened our online doors four years ago.

In that time, VFit has made some serious IMPACT.

In just four years, nearly 5,000 VFit classes have been held online.

In just four years, 111,000 personal visits have been made to VFit’s live online classes.

That’s 111,000 times a mood was improved and a VFit member became healthier and happier! We may not be brain surgeons, but we sure are fighting for health on the front lines.

4 years ago when we created VFit, we had no idea what we were doing or where it would go. What VFit has become to so many of us is way beyond our wildest dreams.

VFit has truly become a way of live for hundreds. Simply the word ‘VFit’ means something.

VFit means taking your self care personally.

VFit means making your self care a priority.

VFit means taking on a no excuses mindset and finding a way to fit it in.

VFit is real life.

VFit means not waiting for the perfect conditions because there is NO perfect.

And VFit means, that’s okay!

VFit’s mission is “To break the barriers of time and space, making self care attainable for any person willing to commit to workout and improve their wellness.”

What better way to do that than to deliver world class workouts directly to our members? We strip away every barrier there is to fitness so that it only comes down to YOU.

Your will to step into class and take time out of your day for self care.

Last week, we broke a VFit Studio record with 909 check ins.

Imagine that … 909 times VFit delivered on our mission to improve wellness and making self care attainable for ANY person willing to commit to workout and improve their wellness.

This number far surpasses our first MONTH of check ins when we started out just 4 years ago. And we know this number is set to continue to grow as we spread our mission with the world.

Can’t stop, won’t stop. That’s a big motto around here, and we’ve only just begun.

Thank you all for being part of this MAGIC!! Here is to living your dream, reaching for the stars and surrounding yourself with the most incredible team to take the journey with!

In health,

Rachele, Maria, and the VFit Team

Take 10 – Notice Your Thoughts and Spaces Between Your Thoughts

October 14, 2019 by Maria Sogard Leave a Comment

There may never be ‘that perfect time’ for you take for yourself. You have to find those moments, steal them from the day, and give yourself clarity in thoughts and mind. In just 10 minutes with this guided meditation with Trainer Shari, you’ll be refreshed, rejuvenated, and at peace with a focus on taking you away to your own beach paradise.

From Shari:

“Positive thinking is a powerful tool.

Every time we have a positive thought, we build stronger neural connections to more positive thoughts. The reverse is also true—negative thoughts lead to more negative thoughts.

The cool facts is that we can control our thoughts.

Try this 10ish minute mindfulness activity to retrain your way of thinking.”

Where will you take 10?

About Shari

Shari is VFit’s resident miracle worker from Texas! She leads an “Unwind” class, unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. But don’t let her zen like ways fool you. She can deliver just as Yang of a high intensity class and leave your muscles “good” sore for days to come.

“Born and raised in Texas, I was a competitive gymnast in grade school and went on to be a competitive twirler in High School.

I attended college at The University of Texas in Austin, majoring in English and Kinesiology.

Having always had a love for physical fitness, I taught group fitness throughout college, and upon graduating was hired to teach public school.With the demands of a new job and a new husband, exercise became my time to unwind.

With my 3 children now in school, I returned to my first career as a group exercise instructor.

Yoga is one of my favorite styles to teach because it has something for everyone. It is healing and strengthening all in one. It truly is the complete package.

When not in the gym teaching, I enjoying spending time outdoors hiking and exploring with my husband and 3 children.

We are avid travelers who enjoy each new adventure that we encounter. All three of my children are very active in competitive sports.”

Favorite Fitness Quote: “Fitness is a journey not a destination”

Credentials:

RYT 500 Yoga Therapist
ACSM CPT
Senior Fit Specialist

Mobility Specialist

Yin Yoga Specialist

From Passion to Business – 10 Lessons I’ve Learned from my Journey

October 3, 2019 by Maria Sogard 1 Comment

VFit’s Weekly Inspo

Taking my passion for wellness and building a business has been an incredible journey over the past four years. One that has transpired into something so much more than I ever expected.

I recently accepted the opportunity to speak to a local group of Lady Bosses about my experience building VFit and the lessons I’ve learned along the way. While this kind of speaking engagement is a bit out of my comfort zone, I know that when we push ourselves beyond our comfort level, that’s where all the growth happens, so I had to say YES!

You can watch the full talk (link here) and of course we will outline the key highlights below. If you do watch the video, you can print and use this PDF to print notes.

This top 10 lessons list can translate to each of you for any task or dream you are working towards. In building a business from my true passion in life, I have learned to adapt and grow, learn from my mistakes, and continue to challenge myself each and every day.

Lesson 1: When opportunity knocks, be prepared to open the door.

Action is the foundational key to all success.

We each have a deep desire to do more of what we love, so when the universe brings new opportunities to you, you have to go for it.

Listen for those knocks in life. Sometimes they are so quiet, other times they are pounding you over the head. And sometimes those knocks come when it is time to close one door and open another.

While you may not always feel you are ready, the more you can say yes to what you know you truly want to do, you’ll bring more of that into your life and get closer to living the life of your dreams.

Lesson 2: NOT KNOWING what you are getting into is sometimes better than over analyzing every detail.

The key to success is to start before you are ready.

You’ll never know all the answers! None of us do. Think about it, having a child, getting married. Prep all you want and can, each and every experience will be unique and challenge you to grow from.

I joke often that I thank my lucky stars I had NO idea what I was getting into. But there is so much truth in that. I had a 2 ½ year old and 6 month baby when I started VFit. And a few years later another baby blessing was delivered to us!

If I knew all this journey would have entailed, I probably would have gotten overwhelmed and not have taken that first step.

You will always be learning and evolving, don’t be afraid to just take ACTION. Get out of your own mind of being perfect. Perfection will hold you back from greatness.

Fear of the unknown can paralyze you and you have to just take that leap of faith and learn as you go.

Lesson 3: There is no greater power than that of a well-connected TEAM.

The dream is in the team.

If you take one tip, take this one! Do not go it alone.

Your actual professional team, your family team, your friend team, your customer team! Have as many teams in your life as you can.

Heck, I consider my housekeeper my teammate because she saves my sanity every 2 weeks by helping unload some of my house work.

There’s so much more you can do and create with a team alongside you. Finding a group that shares your mission and vision is the key to success. Each person brings their own unique skills and expertise.

You learn from each other, support each other through the tough times and as the next lesson states………..

Lesson 4: You can’t do EVERYTHING. Know where you bring the most and least value – outsource as needed.

The steps you take don’t have to be big, they just have to move you in the right direction.

Find your lane and what you know you have locked down and work to find help in areas that are weighing you down.

While you should know how to do everything in your business to some extent, you can’t do everything for the long term.

I know we can’t afford to outsource or bring on help for all tasks, but if one is seriously draining your time/energy, work hard to shift that task off your plate.

While it may be a challenge initially to lean on others and take those steps, once you leave yourself free to do what you are good at and save the rest for others who can help, you’ll have more focus and energy to move your project along in the right direction.

Lesson 5: Have open lines of COMMUNICATION with your clients/team, be willing to ask questions and make changes.

Choose change before change chooses you.

COMMUNICATE and do it often. Most misunderstandings are simply a lack of communication both in personal and professional life.

It is important to focus on communication, to listen, be proactive, and when necessary, reactive when things do not work out as planned.

Your clients and team like to be heard. Their input is valuable and you should treat it like gold.

You need to be observant, analyze the results, and be quick to adapt when needed.

Lesson 6: Have SYSTEMS in place!!

This one isn’t as fun, but it is necessary. Have systems, automate some tasks, have funnels, get some structure in your life.

By definition, a system is: ‘a set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network’ and ‘a set of principles or procedures according to which something is done; an organized scheme or method.

Systems are meant to make getting things done possible in an efficient, and repeatable way.

DECISION FATIGUE is a real syndrome. Having to make thousands of decisions in a day, no matter how big or small, can be overwhelming. And that often time leads to burn out and falling back on less than desirable choices or habits.

Lesson 7: Know your CORE values – live, sleep, and breathe them in everything you offer.

Fit is not a destination, it’s a way of life.

To enjoy the journey and to attract the type of people you want to be around, you can not waiver on this one! And it’s tough in the big ol world of business and opinions.

Hold true to what you believe in in everything you do with your project.

Live, breathe, and dream with your core values and you will feel good laying your head to bed each night.

Sometimes that takes making the tougher decision or taking the road less travelled.

Keep in mind that what grows from your passion will be reflected in how you do each and every step along the way. What is important to you? Walk the walk, be a living example of what you wish to achieve, and it will fall in line with your core values.

Lesson 8: You can’t be EVERYONE’S cup of tea and you don’t want to be.

Always being comfortable won’t get you to where you want to be, real change happens when you let yourself be uncomfortable.

Learn to be okay with negative feedback. You cannot please everyone, that is not your goal.

Hold true to your true focus and mission, find your target, and keep steadfast faith that if you do your best, you’ll reach those you are looking to serve with a high quality solution that you 100% stand behind.

Lesson 9: Fill YOUR tank as often as needed. Invest in yourself.

Make yourself a priority. At the end of the day, you are your longest commitment.

You cannot pour from an empty cup. Be mindful that you need to continue your own self care and remain strong as a leader in whatever you do.

Continue to take time to learn from mentors, be inspired, continue education, take breaks and vacations. Know when you are neglecting yourself and dial back in to what’s important to you.

It is not the quantity of time, but the quality of that time you put in.

Lesson 10: Be willing to work hard and not afraid to SUCCEED. There is no such thing as failure.

Don’t be upset by the result you didn’t get with the work you didn’t do.

There will be challenges along the way, fall forward and lean into mistakes as you take them as opportunities to learn and grow.

Even the greatest of basketball players Michael Jordan missed half the shots he took! But you have to take the shots. The only failure in this life is not doing what you are meant to do, not taking the risk, and not serving your purpose.

You cannot succeed if you do not start!

In health,

Rachele, Maria, and the VFit Team

No One is Above You, We Are All Just on Different Places on the Same Track

September 16, 2019 by Maria Sogard Leave a Comment

VFit’s Weekly Inspo

Happy #nevermissamonday team!

There are times when you hear or see something, and it just really STRIKES you. It totally alters the way you’ve viewed or felt about something, forever.

We are here today to share an inspirational quote that we hope lifts YOU up like it did for us the first time we heard it:

“No one is above you, we are all just on different places on the same track”

We first heard this quote at the IDEA WORLD fitness convention in Anaheim, California this past June. The presenter, Trina Gray, was giving an inspirational talk about pushing outside of your comfort zone and had this as one of her slides.

Here was this person who WE personally put on a pedestal, talking to us about how no, there’s no such thing as a pedestal. NO ONE wants to be put on a pedestal.

We are all moving along on the same ol’ track, just some of us have done a few more rounds because they have already found their passion, direction, and committed to their life purpose.

Woa!!!

We admit, just last year we were at the very same conference, and we were TERRIFIED to talk to some of the fitness professionals we admired. We maybe went up to them for a quick thank you and to snap a pic, but we didn’t dare engage in conversation with them by asking them questions or sharing our story with them.

Once we heard this quote above … that all shifted. We embraced this idea of the same track, and we sought out the industry icons and had THE most transformative experience of our lives.

It changed us from putting others “above” us and brought us up to a much higher and more fulfilling level, where we were not just worshipping and admiring our industry icons, but suddenly we were believing in ourselves and knowing we are right along there with them, just a bit behind on the very same track.

They say you should surround yourself with people you want to be in this life. If you want to be an author, find a way to surround yourself with others who already write! Looking to get into a fitness career? Find a way to get yourself in a position to be surrounded by other fitness professionals. Looking to switch careers, or stop being a stay at home parent and go back to the workforce? Find a way to surround yourself with those that are already rocking it at the kind of positions you wish you had.

By no longer looking UP to those you admire, but looking at them on the same course as you, you’ll find yourself less afraid to reach out to them and learn from them. You’d be surprised! Even the most successful people in your dream profession, may be surprisingly responsive to help guide you.

Every good “pro” has coaches and trainers of their own for different areas of life.

Likely there’s plenty of ways to sync up with those you wish to be more like. Today more than ever, you can easily seek out ways to learn more about what is sparking a fire within you by doing a bit of the following:

// follow your icons on social media and engage with them! Don’t just read and follow, be actively involved and part of their community. They are sharing because they care and when you respond, believe me, they are inviting you into the tribe.

// research and subscribe to podcasts related to your field of interest

// look into books and magazines that cover the topic

// sign up for a new course, conference or training. Some of THE best motivation and inspiration will come from getting face to face with those you look up to.

Everything you need to do what you want out of your life is within you. You have to have to believe in yourself and take one step at a time.

You can ADD IN more of the good, more of what you want out of this life, and guess what? You’ll soon find more of this goodness crowding out the less desirable stuff that may be holding you back.

You’ll soon find you stop numbingly trolling the internet and social feeds and instead, focus your time and efforts to learn more about what it is you actually want to do! And you get involved! There is nothing more powerful than being PART of a team.

Each minute you spend on your passion, you are getting yourself around the track of life and getting yourself closer to your goal.

Do you have someone you perhaps put on a pedestal? We challenge you THIS WEEK to do an action item mentioned above to help you connect with them, or the industry/profession they represent, and do a hot lap around the track of success!

Think about that for a moment. Think of something in your life that you admire, whether you know them personally, or they are an author or speaker you value. Do you hold them up on a pedestal? We used to too, until there was this quote, and it hasn’t left our side since…

It’s easy to look up to successful people and think IT comes easy to them. That they just magically got to where they are and that you’ll never make it there yourself. But that’s simply not the way to look at it.

That successful speaker you admire, whose podcasts you have memorized, and whose Facebook page you have as a favorite? They are on the SAME TRACK as you. They may have gone around it a few more times since they found their passion, focused, and put all their effort into becoming an expert in their field and living their life mission, but they really are on the same track as you.

What separates you from those on the track ahead of you?

Commitment. Focus. Determination. Confidence. Passion. Resilience.

These are the six character traits that shoots you around the track more times. Whether it is completing a major life transition like leaving a job to explore new opportunities, moving, or starting a new exercise program, you need to have the strength of character – and support – to get yourself around the track.

At VFit, we believe that honing into strong core values, and surrounding yourself with a community who holds these values and standards themselves as well, will elevate your wellness. Together we all find ourselves doing more and more laps around the track of life together.

As you go around the track, sometimes, you may stumble. It happens, but it’s all about what you do after you stumble that determines what’s next on your path. If you just stop, then you stop short of getting around the track and reaching your goals.

You fall down, but if you continue to get up, dust yourself off, and lean into mistakes and stumbles, you can take each as a learning and growth opportunity and continue towards the kind of life you deserve to live. One FULL of energy and adventures and that has you so excited to get out bed in the morning to start all over again!

So today, stop looking UP at people and start looking ahead!

In health,

Rachele, Maria, and the VFit Team

Run the Day or the Day Will Run You

August 19, 2019 by Maria Sogard Leave a Comment

VFit’s Weekly Inspo

At VFit, we believe there’s two ways to live your life.

One is being REACTIVE.

We have all been reactive at times, it happens to us ALL! But if you find that more of your time is spent being reactive, it’s time to change the script in your mind.

Letting situations outside of you control, run your emotions, mood and actions. Being reactive leads to high levels of stress, regret and takes A LOT of energy to live in that state. It is exhausting to constantly be reacting to people and situations when life doesn’t go as planned……. Which if you are living in the same world we are, happens EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Spending time around reactive people is quite exhausting as well, and can leave you in that state of being.

Being reactive takes so much time and energy, that most living this way become stuck and can never quite move forward toward their true life potential. Being reactive runs your tank down to empty and leaves very little energy left to chase dreams.

But good news if you are currently finding yourself stuck in this “world” – YOU CAN CHANGE! Like anything, having the will, commitment and discipline to better yourself, can change your relationship with your own thoughts and actions.

At VFit, we work really dang hard to spread the tools to the world, so that we can all live a PROACTIVE life!

We have a big saying at the end of our classes that we tell ourselves and our members, “By taking this time to exercise and take care of yourself for 15-30 short minutes, you now RUN the day, the day doesn’t need to run you!”.

Self-care is not a luxury only reserved for those with excess time, money and means. It is critical care that each and every person deserves and needs!

By taking the 15-60 minutes a day to care for YOU, you give yourself the power and control to run your days, not have your days run you!

For us, exercise and slowing down are the 2 best ways to set ourselves us to be PROACTIVE.

They may be on the yin and yang side of the spectrum, but both forms of self-care are incredibly powerful.

You know that feeling after a great workout? The one where endorphins are rushing through your entire body and you feel on top of the world? Like you can go out and accomplish anything you set your mind to? Because you can!

Through the act of showing up, working hard, and filling your body with fresh blood/oxygen, you empowered your entire day! YOU are unstoppable.

I can’t tell you how many times I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off, reacting at my kids, getting nothing productive done, stressing out over my to-do list and then I stop, log into my workout and BAM – I turn into a patient, productivity machine!

That time I just spent on ME, actually created more productivity, happiness and life in my days!

My workout didn’t “take up” my precious time, it got me in alignment to enjoy and be more present in my day.

Another surefire way to turn from REACTIVE to PROACTIVE, is to actually slow down and tune in! To journal, to stretch, to meditate or take some conscious rest.

In this high tech and fast world, many wear being “busy” as a badge of honor. But it really isn’t about the quantity of things you have on your plate, but the quality of how you fill those minutes in life.

If meditating and slowing down are foreign concepts to you. Guess what? That right there is where you need to start if you are going to lead a more proactive life and be led by your dreams.

Even taking just 5 to 10 minutes to slow down each day can have a significant impact on your mind, body, and spirit. From our VFit Take 10 blog by Trainer Shari, to our 15 minute Stretch it Out EXPRESS series, to our nightly Unwind classes and various yoga formats we offer – these are all tools that will help you slow down, tune in, and settle with your own thoughts.

These days with media coming at you from every direction, from your phone, computer and car radio, it’s so easy to get distracted and zone out.

We challenge you this week to take at the minimum five minutes and instead of zone out, zone IN. To see just how powerful a 5 minute break in your day can be for you to listen to your heart and find what may lead you to a more proactive life.

In health,

PS If the sound of adding more mindfulness is appealing, or even the opposite, if it’s TERRIFYING to you, we encourage you to sign up for our September program called Mindful Moments brought to you by VFit trainers Steff and Shari. This program will run the full month and help you each day to create more space for you.