motivation Archives

The Only Decision is Action

July 29, 2021 by Maria Sogard Leave a Comment

We’ve been going through a special marketing case study program the last few months and working to further develop our core messaging and deliver more impact, content and resources to our community.

Through the process, we’ve been writing. A lot. We’ve been asking a lot of questions. We’ve been peeling back the many layers of what it means to run a true wellness community and sharing from the depths of our souls the power of self care as a daily habit.

We’ve also been hitting the live videos more than usual on our social feeds, sharing more about the challenges we find are common among the women in our community when it comes to working out.

As we scour our last 45 days of social posts, we are identifying a major underlying theme that ties all of them together:

THE ONLY DECISION IS ACTION

Think about this for a moment. As you go through your day, any time you said YES to something, but didn’t actually do the thing you said yes to in that moment, you didn’t really decide anything. Did you?

Many of us can fall into this trap and say, oh yes, I’ll do that later. I can get to that tomorrow. Yes I’d love to take a trip to the mountains.

But when later comes and you don’t do the thing. Tomorrow comes and you don’t take action. Or months pass and you haven’t booked that trip to the mountains…all you have here is a case of inaction.

Often times we are jealous or judge others for success, accolades and the fun they are having, all the while we aren’t even working at ALL on getting to that level in our own lives. We aren’t respecting all the hard work, failures, lessons learned and grit that went into achieving that level of success.

The only real decisions you make in your life is what you do in the present moment. Present moment action is when you are – in the moment – doing exactly what you have set out to do.

It can at times be scary, and also liberating! When you start doing more and more present moment action you can find yourself in a flow, continuously doing exactly what you want to be doing while you are doing it.

We get it though, there’s A LOT on your plate right now. But if you look at what you’ve put on your plate with a discerning eye:

// is your to do list lining up with your personal prioritities?
// are there more things to do than there is during your waking hours?
// is there a possiblity you are setting yourself up for failure by adding too much?
// have you blocked out any free time to be in the moment?
// are you afraid of what’ll happen if you cut your list down?

When you approach your day with a personal reset on what your priorities and goals are, and work to take action on what’s important to you in the moment, you’ll find that when your head hits your pillow at the end of the day that you’ve put yourself in a stronger position at the end of the day from the moment you woke up.

You can find strength and personal empowerment in your days if you choose to do more of what you love, more of what fills your cup, and take action in the present moment as much as possible.

BOTTOM LINE: ARE YOU GUILTY OF NOT TAKING ACTION?

If you’e been putting off starting a workout program or routine and saying you’ll start next Monday, or in the fall, or at the start of the New Year than we challenge you to start today.

Just 5 minutes. 5 minutes of action today trumps all the other possibilities listed.

You can only take action today, who knows what lies ahead? All you have ultimate control over is what you choose to do today. We encourage you to choose YOU and get in self care on the most important day of your life: after all, it is called the present because it truly is a gift.

The VFit #CRUSADE

April 13, 2021 by Maria Sogard Leave a Comment

Crusade – what a powerful word, movement, mission, whatever you may call it – that word packs some heat!

What follows is a heartfelt message from VFit Studio owner and founder, Rachele Jaegers:

This word represents a calling that was so electrically delivered to me from the universe over the past few weeks.

I eagerly invite you to click play on the message above and listen to my 10 minute call to action. I personally invite YOU to join this #CRUSADE we are on at VFit.

I simply cannot keep quiet any longer – there are some truths that must be brought to light now more importantly than ever as we shift back into a new season of life.

Please do not be so rushed to get back to “normal” that you find yourself in a place where your health and well being takes a back seat.

We have a duty to come out of this pandemic with the drive and dedication to take control of our physical and mental well being.

#CRUSADE – Coming out a year of a pandemic I feel rocked to my core to use our voice, our team, our passion to make a positive impact on the culture of health care.

I invite you to take a second to read out loud this powerful quote. Heck, stick it on a post it on your mirror like so many of us have done. This quote sums up about your personal ability to take control of your health:

“I make my health and well being a priority.”

We are more fired up than ever to empower the world that self care is not selfish, it is critical care.

We must stand together motivated, united and with the common value system that each one of us have so much control over our own health and well being.

You can not pass the power that you hold over your own health and well being to anyone else.

If this past year has taught us anything, it’s that self care is critical care – and it takes WORK to maintain.

As a collective we fear that so many have given up in their quest to put in the WORK to take care of their mind, body and spirit.

Yes it takes WORK to live a healthy lifestyle- a lot of work. But it’s the most important work that you will ever be charged with doing.

Don’t you teach your kids that anything worthwhile takes hard work, resilience and diligence. These very lessons are also the core of “health care”.

You can outsource much of your life, but getting in exercise – as our trainers like to continually remind and thank our members about – is NOT one of them.

You are in charge of your own workouts.

You are in charge of your own food.

You are in charge of what you allow into your mind, who you choose to engage with, what you watch on TV.

You are in charge of prioritizing sleep. You are in charge of what you feed your body.

You are in charge of so much more than we are at times left to believe.

So today we stand together at VFit ready to take on this #CRUSADE and we need as many to stand up and speak up.

DO NOT feel shamed for sharing your sweaty selfies, DO NOT worry what other’s think when you get excited and passionate about your fit fam. DO NOT downplay just how much effort and self respect goes into taking care of yourself.

To live to your fullest purpose and potential, it is not merely an option to take care of yourself, it is critical and needs to be a non-negotiable priority in your life.

It is never too late to take control of your own personal health and change that narrative in your head if you are not currently make YOU a priority.

You are deserving of taking control of your health and well being, please don’t discount the power that you my friend hold so much of!

This is our mission and our own personal crusade this season here at VFit and we can’t wait to see who rallies to the mission.

Please feel free to share this blog/video, comment below or send us a message.

And if you want to join the VFit team, the most powerful and uplifting community around, check out our current membership options here.

Wellness Cafe – Break Up with Your Scale

February 8, 2021 by Maria Sogard Leave a Comment

Welcome to VFit Studio’s First Fridays Wellness Cafe series. Join VFit Studio wellness experts in an open forum discussion on topics related to fitness, nutrition, and healthy habits. This series will be led by VFit Studio Trainers Maria Sogard and Lauren Ferrara. Maria heads operations at VFit Studio and is a certified nutrition coach focused on clean eating and meal planning. Lauren is an avid marathoner and registered dietitian working closely with clients to learn intuitive eating and engage in a healthy relationship with food.

Welcome to VFit’s First Friday’s Wellness Cafe Series

With a stacked trainer team with a wide variety of expertise, it just makes sense to have collaborations as many of us have shared expertise and passion beyond leading VFit Studio online workouts.

It’s with this in mind that the VFit Studio First Friday’s Wellness Cafe came to life – with our first session held on Friday, February 5th.

Lauren is a seasoned dietician and I’ve been working with clients the last year as a nutrition coach and we have so much we want to share and be a resource for our members.

Up above we’ve shared the full recording of our first session. Below are our talking points and some brief questions and answers we fielded from our first session.

To begin – we’re all members of an active online community like VFit Studio to become better versions of ourselves and our dedication comes through on that cause with every check in we make.

You can get all the check ins in the world, but if you aren’t balancing your 7 pillars of wellness, your mind, body, and spirt will be off balance.

VFit Studio’s 7 pillars of wellness: you can learn more about each pillar and our core philosophies here in depth with a special blog post covering all 7 pillars.

We wanted to created a forum where we can help address the food pillar and nutrition in a special monthly series to help serve as resource for members.

Together, Lauren and I want to help the team look at food as fuel, and to help transition that mindset about ‘good’ versus ‘bad’ food, to how the food makes us feel.

Let go of that idea of diets and restriction, it’s proven again and again those simply are not sustainable and often cause more harm than good in the long term.

Are you viewing your food as fuel and helping your body build muscle mass and have sustained energy stores?

It’s important to be mindful of what you choose to eat, how your body will use that fuel, and how that will impact not just your workouts, but your energy level, your sleep, your mood, etc.

We want you to feel comfortable and enjoy having your cake and eating it too, while being mindful of the balance of what food you choose to eat throughout each day.

One classic nutrition rule of thumb is to work on the 80/20 rule, or another ratio that may fit better with your lifestyle and objectives. Basically, you work to eat well and heathfully 80% of the time, and let yourself induldge and have – and enjoy with no guilt – the other 20% of the time. Now this scale may be different numbers for some but the key takeaway here is that you eat well mos tof the time, and when you don’t, you enjoy it, but then you move on! You don’t let one cookie turn into 10, or cookies for dinner every day of the week. But eat that cookie if that’s what you want and let yourself enjoy it. If you are just starting out trying to eat more healthfully you can work in a ratio that is more reasonable to start and then slowly build on the healtheir number until you feel you’ve found balance and your body is performing how you want it to.

Looking at the ‘classic numbers’ related to your body like BMI and the scale are doing yourself a disserve. BMI does not take into account a whole host of factors including muscle mass (bmi doesn’t acct for muscle vs fat), genetics, sex, etc.

And the scale … now that’s the BIG ONE. Here’s where Lauren comes in and gives a talk that every person needs to listen in (or read) and let sink in:

Break Up with Your Scale

From Lauren:

“I have a Health at Every Size, Intuitive Eating, anti-diet (not anti-health), body diverse, body positive – approach to wellness. There are no strict food rules, beauty ideals, or extreme measures. I focus on self-acceptance, self- compassion, nourishing and moving in ways that creates a better life for yourself.

How often do you weigh yourself? Do you rely on the scale to dictate your body’s needs? Does it dictate your food choices or how much you exercise? Does it dictate your mood? How you feel about yourself? What benefits does the scale bring you?

When you treat your body like a problem, you carry blame and shame, which results in avoiding behaviors instead of approaching positive changes. It’s not your body that needs to get rid of the weight, it’s your mind. One of the first steps is to get rid of dieter’s tools that are not serving you.

False measurements of health such as ideal body weight and BMI have led us to believe that we need to be a certain number of pounds to be healthy, and that a lower weight equals health, which simply isn’t true. You may think you’ll feel better when you lose the weight or look differently, but where did you get that idea? Studies have shown that improvements in psychological well-being associated with weight loss are just as temporary as the pounds lost and regained (which they will for 95% of people). The good feelings diminish with regained weight and existing issues of self-worth return.

A focus on weight loss and dieting only keep you stuck in the belief that your weight is a measure of who you are. Your weight, your body, is not you – and your worth is not tied to your weight.

True health means nourishing your body, moving it in ways that you enjoy, speaking kindly to yourself, getting sleep, having social connections, and so much more. It is not punishing yourself with extreme diets or exercise to fit into an unrealistic ideal.

What happens on the scale?

In one moment, hopes and desperation combine to form a daily drama that will ultimately shape what mood you’ll be in for the day.

Ironically, a good or bad scale number can both trigger overeating.

The scale ritual sabotages mind and body efforts; one moment devalue days, weeks, and even months of progress. Focusing on the scale or your weight immediately introduces an external factor, creating a wedge between your inner wisdom and eating choices.

What if you were feeling your best, but the number didn’t reflect what you thought it should – would you stop all of your positive behaviors?

The scale does not reflect body composition, genetics, body type, activity level or your overall well-being. Deifying the scale to give you the power to feel good or bad about yourself is falling prey to the influence of false facts. Water, hormones, and diet all cause daily fluctuations.

Weighing in on the scale only serves to keep you focused on your weight; it doesn’t help with the process of getting back in touch with your intuitive eating, what feels good to you, and what matters in life more than how much you weigh.

Take away tip: Get rid of dieter’s tools such fitness trackers and apps that count calorie counters, points, or macros.

What of this information resonates with you? What can you do?

Detox yourself from dieting and appearance focused influences that don’t make you feel good or don’t help you cultivate a better life. Break up with your old ways and set up a clean slate.
Lauren Ferrara – registered dietician

1. Break up with your scale – Write a note and paste it on there “I love myself more than you.”

2. TOSS IT.”

At the end of the First Friday’s Wellness Cafe, we took up a few questions from those in attendance and have shared some brief answers here. It is recommended that you consult with your doctor, a registered dietitian, or certified nutrition coach before making drastic changes to your eating behavior.

If you’d like to learn more about the First Friday’s Wellness Cafe series, you you can email Maria directly. VFit Studio runs wellness resets focused on the 7 pillars of wellness each quarter, with group nutrition coaching sessions led by Maria beforehand. Lauren is available for one-on-one nutriton sessions and you can book a complimentary 15 minute discovery call with her here, as space allows.

Questions & Answers

What is Intermitent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern where you cycle between periods of eating and fasting. There may be some benefits to this eating style, and works well for some people, but ultimatey it restricts your eating window so you have to see if it is a good fit for you.

What is protein and how much should you have?

Protein is involved in almost every structural and functional component of the body. Protein can be found in meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, seeds, soy, and beans. The recommended dietary allowance for protein is 0.5-0.7 grams/pound of body weight for recreational exercisers and up to 0.7-0.8 g/pound for athletes. Adequate protein is consumed in most American diets, but vegetarian or vegan diets may need some more support to make sure enough protein is consumed from non-meat sources. Protein supplements are also available, but natural sources are preferred.

What is collagen and should I be having it?

Collagen is a protein full of the amino acids which helps maintain and repair your skin, tendons, bones, and joints. Production slows down as we age, resulting in loss of skin elasticity, dry skin, wrinkles, less flexible tendons and joints. Collagen can be found in powdered form or bone broth so explore what works for you. It can be a good addition to any diet to help with muscle recovery and increased protein intake, but like all supplements, it may not be for everyone.

12 Lessons Learned from 2020

January 7, 2021 by Maria Sogard 2 Comments

Above: VFit Studio Founder and Trainer Rachele Jaegers

The year 2020 has come to a close.

Start your 80s era slow cap as we usher in a brand new year together.

While many want to push 2020 as far out of memory as possible, it is through our toughest times that we grow and learn the most.

We are here today to to look back at the last year , sharing our top 12 lessons of 2020.

There was a lot of good and light that came from the darkness, silver linings, and strength. We encourage you to take some time to reflect on your own lessons and just how far you have come.

You can read the highlights below, or press play on this workout replay of willPower with Rachele, where each lesson is woven into a 30 minute workout:

Replay of Willpower weaving in the top 12 lessons of 2020

Lesson #1: Dream Big

Right now you have opportunity in front of you in the form of a blank slate of a year. If 2020 taught us anything, it is that we can’t predict what may be coming, and to focus on what you can control.

Your dreams are all yours for the chasing.

Go forward and let yourself have those big dreams.

Find something that lights you up and try to soak some of that joy in as often as possible. Do your best to not let the past get you down and not to feel like all is lost.

Keep your faith and hope, and always remember: dreams are for everyone.

Lesson #2: Chase More Sunrises and Sunset

This lesson was personally experienced while I was at a retreat in February with my Todd Durkin Mastermind group. There was a special ‘optional workout’ each morning and the second morning’s workout happened to be a beach sunrise workout.

While it sounded amazing, the ocean is magical, it was also my first time away from my husband and 3 kids – I ad the opportunity to sleep in.

BEEP – the alarm chimes off at 6 am and with blackout curtains doing their thing, there was that voice inside my head that said, “why don’t you sleep in a bit?”.

Thankfully, I didn’t. In my gut I knew that it was going to be a magical workout full of energy, laughter, grit, sweat and the beautiful sun rising over Coronado toward the Pacific Ocean. I can still vividly remember that morning and just how magical the experience was.

At VFit, we always say, “If you beat the sun up, you have already won the day.”

If you aren’t a morning person “yet”, you can start slow and gradually start waking up 5 min earlier each day to create that earlier morning routine. Talk to yourself as if you ARE a morning person.

There’s magical peace in the quiet of the mornings. The early mornings are often the only part of your day you have full control over.

On the flip side, as the days come to a close at sunset, don’t forget to look out, take a deep breath in and look at the sun setting. Some of the most magical painted skies come at sunset and it is an opportunity to honor the day and your 100% record of making it through.

Lesson #3: Be the Coffee Bean

From the book The Coffee Bean by Damon West & Jon Gordon, this lesson we shared all year long at VFit.

The world is a pot of boiling water. Right now the water is boiling and as hot as can be.

In life, you can be three things: an egg, carrot, or coffee bean.

2020 taught us just how needed more coffee beans are in the world.

In the boiling water of life, the carrot gets soft, loses hope and structure.

The eggs harden and gets tougher, loses hope and becomes pessimistic.

The coffee bean, however, when it hits the water, it changes the water.

Even if you are walking into store with mask on, smile! People can feel your energy and one thing we can not lose grip on is hope and faith.

While there is much we can’t control, we will always control our thoughts, reactions and how we treat others. Be the coffee bean!

Lesson #4: Serve More

As humans we have service in our hearts.

When March hit last year and the world around us crumbled, we rose to the occasion and found an opportunity to serve more.

VFit had been open for over 4 years and knew that we could offer help so many were in need of. We pride ourselves on our community, so we opened our doors FREE TO ALL for an entire month with the VFITSTRONG initiative.

Overnight we doubled our class schedule, attendance nearly tripled to our classes, we added kids classes, cooking classes, Spanish, happy hours – we were doing everything in our power to bring light, love, sweat, smiles and shine to others.

Our VFITSTRONG mission tested every system we had built the past 4 years to the max. We could have easily crumbled had it gone wrong, but we didn’t even have time to “what if” ourselves.

Sleep was scarce, fear was high, trainers were working overtime, we were vulnerable, but we were called to serve and lead with our hearts!

We wanted to help create a sense of stability, community and sanity to a world that was just flipped upside down.

While this month of trying to navigate our own home lives being flipped upside down and opening our virtual doors to all, was one of the toughest months of 2020, we wouldn’t take it back for the world.

We stayed true to our mission of purpose, impact, change lives, save lives.

It may not always be at the perfect time, but find ways in your day to open your heart and serve others.

Lesson #5: Ask for Help

A tough lesson, but one we will all need to learn. You may have a hard time with this one too, but the thing is, if you don’t ask for help, no one knows you need it.

In 2020, we learned to lean on others more than ever and often times in more creative ways than ever.

I would have never made it without the help from my spouse, family, in-laws, trainer team, and friends.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Think of a swinging pendulum and don’t try to balance everything all at once. Work to be vulnerable and ask for help when you need it. Others want to serve as well, so you’ll be doing both sides a favor.

Lesson #6: Get Busy Living

It can be so easy to get caught up in fear, anxiety, and paranoia, that we can forget all the parts of our life we do have control over.

Do your best to connect with family and friends more personally. Do things that light you up – whether it’s dancing more, snuggling your pet, or diving into a hobby and passion of yours.

Say yes more and do what feeds your soul. Take the trip down the street, hike that mountain, swim in the lake, unplug more.

You don’t need to travel the world to get busy living. It is about being present and connecting more.

Lesson #7: Who Matters Most

Who are those people that truly matter the most to you? With quarantine, many restrictions and cancellations placed through the pandemic, we all found ourselves at home more.

Some suddenly had more family time than they knew they could handle and others are still counting down the minutes until they can hug their loved ones again.

In 2020, we were shown just who matters most in our life.

Or, perhaps in this last year you discovered that there were those around you that were casting a dark shadow and changing your thought process. You were able to let them go.

Find who matters most in your life and protect your space like it’s gold, because it is. You have the ultimate control over the energy you let in. Your life will be a reflection of the people you are surrounded by.

Lesson #8: Daily Habits Define Your Days

When the world was spinning out of control last year, it was easy to go into spring break mode, let loose and give up on many of life’s daily tasks and activities.

While that’s okay in small spurts, it clearly is not sustainable in maintaining a high quality of life.

Having structure is important.

Ask any VFitter and they will all be singing praises of gratitude for the structure, stability and support of the daily habits we continued to keep in place.

Some days it took every ounce of our energy to just show up, but those times when it is the hardest to show up and you still do – those are the times that build your resilence.

When we lose structure of our strong but powerful daily habits, we start to let our days control us and suddenly a whole month or year may fly by and you can’t remember a second of it.

Habits aren’t always the most fun word in the dictionary, but create good strong ones and you’ll have a lot more time to have fun and thrive in life.

Hone in on your daily habits to help you maintain structure and control.

Lesson #9: The Stick

We all carry ‘the stick’ around with us. The stick is what we use to beat ourselves up with and judge ourselves. Have you ever noticed that the voice in your head is harsher to yourself than you are to everyone else around you?

Stop beating yourself up with the stick.

Instead turn that stick into a back scratcher!

Use it to celebrate a win or compliment and change that mindset.

Same tool, two very different uses, choose wisely.

Lesson #10: Unplug to Recharge

Last year we were all pushed to our max. Oftentimes, this happened over and over and over again.

How do you recharge and get inspired? There were so many times in 2020 when I personally didn’t have inspiration or motivation to get it all done and keep serving with my many hats.

In 2020 I found the best inspiration come back to me when I finally stepped away to unplug. It is now on my 2021 goal sheet to take one weekend a month to fully unplug.

You don’t have to read everything out there and look for outside inspiration all the time.

Your true inspiration is from within.

Quiet your soul and dig into the whispers.

Lesson #11: Simplify to Amplify

2020 taught us, we can’t do it all!

You do not have to recreate the wheel in everything you do. Last year taught us all that there is a simpler life – because so much was taken off our plates.

Less commuting, being away from home, travel, etc. Getting in quality time with your family and things that feed your soul sometimes means simplifying your life and daily calendar.

Be intentional with what you choose to add back in and be sure to keep some of that quiet that 2020 brought to us.

Lesson #12: Community Matters

I am an only child and have worked hard my whole life to build strong communities.

Community is what gets you through.

We all had a story to write last year. We all made it. Don’t compare your story to anyone other persons’ story.

Make sure you are part of a community that TRULY wants the best for you and in the toughest of days they will pull you up.

You also have to lean into it as well and give to your community. Be a team player, share your lessons learned, reach out and offer a helping hand, don’t be afraid to speak up.

Without my family community and the VFit community I am not sure what 2020 would have looked like for me and I am thankful I don’t have to find out.

As human beings we need other’s, make sure to build strong communities in your life.

So that’s a wrap on 2020 – Those are my top lessons. Do you have any you would like to share with us? Let us know and comment below.

And always if you are looking for that team that truly wants the best for you, is there to lift you up, make you smile and keep pushing you forward in your health and wellbeing journey, we have room for more at VFit.

Check out our team options here.

Mastering Your Morning Routine

November 20, 2020 by Maria Sogard 1 Comment

This is the ONE thing that usually separates those that are hitting their goals from those that fall short: the morning routine.

As Rachele shares, “When these are not strong, I can feel the difference the rest of the day.”

We are all given the same 24 hours in the day, but it’s the habits and actions you choose to fill your day that separates many from the life they are living from the life they WISH they were living. Dial in your habits, and live a life more in line with what you envision for yourself.

Below, Rachele breaks down her top 7 healthy habits that have worked for her that can work for you as well and go on to live a life worth telling a story about:

1) Your morning routine starts the night before. How are you setting yourself up for a strong start? Workout clothes out, lunches packed, alarm set, water out, etc,. get yourself prepped for the day ahead the night before.

2) DO NOT hit snooze! Sleep up to the last second you can

3) When that alarm goes off, wake up with purpose and tell yourself a power mantra or statement before you even stand up. My go to “ I have purpose today!”

4) Chug a glass of water. It’s like your insides being hit by the sprinklers and it wakes everything up!

5) Stay off all electronics the first 30 minutes you are up. It’s amazing the difference when you don’t rush right to texts, emails and social media! You went all night, you can go 30 more minutes I promise

6) Give yourself the gift of 5-10 minutes of inspirational reading or journaling. This was a life changer for me when I started working on this daily.

7) Move your body at least 5 minutes. Once you do at least 5 minutes of movement your mind will think clearer, act clearer and most important be more present. Of course a full workout is amazing in the mornings but at least get some movement in.

A strong morning routine is one of the most powerful habits you can build. Be proud of being a work in progress, it’s a beautiful thing!

VFit turned 5! A Recap of our 5 Day VFitFest……

October 29, 2020 by Maria Sogard Leave a Comment

5 years ago, VFit opened our Virtual doors and we’ve never looked back.

Spreading passion for fitness and well being is our life mission.

Making fitness fun, accessible, and effective – in 30 minutes or less is our expertise.

In honor of VFit turning 5, we held a special 5 day VFitFest online fitness festival with special party classes, passports, and a 90 minute Fit Fest. We also raised over $2,000 for our charity of choice for VFitFest – Susan G Komen, for breast cancer research.

We loaded up above and beyond our regular packed 80+ class per week schedule with special VFitFest party classes during the 5 days and included special Passports for members and guests to fill out with an added challenge to take 5 classes over the 5 days, with one being a special VFitFest class.

We want to get to relive VFitFest over and over again! And also we want to make sure to share these special videos of our VFitFest classes down below. Here’s our FULL lineup we had for the 5 days of VFitFest

ABCS

Join Bridget for a special ABCs where we’ll focus on that strength building using body weight all around the theme of 5! Maybe there will be a bonus 5 minute reward at the end!

CANDLELIGHT VINYASA YOGA AND YIN & UNWIND

Dance flow yoga w/ music! Join Lindsay M for flow yoga with a spice of dance and music! We’ll dance, flow, breathe, sweat and celebrate VFit turning 5!

Yin & Unwind – During the 2nd half of our Friday happy hour, we’ll slow it down and do a heart opening/gratitude themed Yin & Unwind. Then end with a relaxing 5 minute Savasana

CARDIO SHRED

5 Alive Cardio Blast! Join Maria for 5, 5 min cardio blast mini workouts during Cardio Shred. You’ll always be able to squeeze in at least 5 minutes to workout a day, take this class and learn some great 5 minute cardio workouts you can do and take with you everywhere.

CARDIO SHRED EXPRESS

There is no other way to celebrate birthdays around Vfit than with burpees! Join Lauren for a special EMOM Cardio Shred Express with 5 cardio moves every minute! Lots of sweat and smiles packed into this 15 min cardio workout to celebrate Vfit’s 5th Birthday!

SHRED & STRETCH

Join Maria for a special interval of cardio madness with Shred & Stretch. Take on 5 cardio moves a minute for 20 minutes. Your reward? 10 glorious minutes of stretching recovery for the end of class!

WILLPOWER

In honor of this big milestone week at VFit, join Rachele for a FULL hour long version of willPower. The willPower Method® was the VERY first format VFit Owner, Rachele, became certified in nearly 10 years ago and to this day is still one of her favorite fitness formats.

Come let your mind and body flow together in this special hour long class where will will combine cardio and flexible strength components of willPower.

YIN & UNWIND

Special birthday week yin. As we celebrate turning 5, Shari will be guiding the team through five, 5 minute calming techniques followed by a 5 minute savasana.

Repeat After Me “I DESERVE THIS!” -What is Your Fresh Pot of Coffee?

September 4, 2020 by Maria Sogard 4 Comments

We talk a lot about habits, especially morning rituals. What we do each day to start it off on the right foot.

Getting up early is my saving grace. The quiet of the morning is one of the most magical times of the day and sets the tone for the day.

I’ve felt very on top of my morning game for years now. It’s my time to shine.

That is … until I had two good friends, who also happen to be VFit trainers over last month.

What follows is a simple story about how my morning coffee ritual brought me to one of the most powerful mantra’s I now repeat several times a day and how my support system gave me a very powerful lesson.

My morning ritual actually begins the night before: I lay out my workout clothes, get my water cup out and set my coffee maker up to brew a fresh pot of coffee as soon as I am up at 5:30am. I always brew a near full pot of coffee as a security blanket (I’ve got 3 young kids and a puppy, you NEVER know how nightime will go!), but there is almost always at least 1/2 pot left by day’s end.

VFit Trainer Janelle – thank you for this lesson!

So there I am, hanging out with VFit trainers Janelle and Lauren a few weeks ago, chatting with them in the kitchen as I get my “stuff’ set for the next morning.

I skipped the getting the fresh pot of coffee ready part and they asked me why?

I replied, “Oh there is enough old coffee left, I’ll just reheat it in the morning, it’s easier and that way I don’t waste anything.”

To which they both gasped and asked, “Does it taste good reheated?!?”

We all know the answer to that, no way! It tastes like burnt day old coffee.

“WHY ARE YOU DOING?!” asked Janelle.

“You deserve a fresh cup of yummy hot coffee EVERY DAY! You do everything for everyone,” added Lauren. “

“Rachele, YOU DESERVE IT”, they both shouted at me.

VFit Trainer Lauren – I’ll always remember this morning thank you!

It sounded amazing to have a fresh, hot cup of coffee each day! Extra work, yes. Maybe a bit extravagant since I already had coffee in the house that I already made, ableit very old, but still – it was there.

And so for the next few minutes my good friends gave me a very powerful lesson that I’ll never forget.

YOU deserve fresh coffee if it makes you happy.

Now I know what you are all thinking! Buy a keurig, make less coffee each day, what on earth does coffee have to do with a fitness blog, I can go on!

But I share, because this lesson really hit me hard.

By changing the script in my head from “this is more work”, “it’s easier if I just….”, to “I DESERVE THIS!” changed my entire outlook from that day forward.

Say it! Say those 3 power words next time something feels like a chore or like you aren’t worth the extra effort.

I promise it will empower you and take you from a feeling of “I have to”, to “I get to”. And when something feels like a reward, you will do what it takes to keep those rewards coming, because you do deserve it!

For you, maybe it’s something like taking a daily shower, getting outside on a walk every day, or taking time out of the day to exercise.

What is your ‘fresh pot of coffee’ that you deserve that you’ve been neglecting?

Even if it’s a little extra time and effort, if it’s something that fills you up and will make you feel good – give yourself the license and grace to do it for yourself.

Then savor it. Enjoy it. Know you deserve it and are worthy of it.

What is your ‘fresh pot of coffee’ you’ll give yourself today?

Share below in comments once you do it and let us know how it feels.

What is YOUR Zihuantanejo?

February 21, 2020 by Rachele at VFit Studio 4 Comments

Always take the trip, a reminder I was in need of. It isn’t easy to step away from the hustle of everyday life, but we must remember to always take the trip!

Sometimes that may be simply unplugging down the street from your house, maybe that will be a cruise through the Mediterranean, or going away to a retreat that lights you up.

Earlier this month was an experience of a lifetime when I stepped away from work and family to attend a 3 day Mastermind Retreat in Coronado, CA.

I was in the company of 100 passion driven Fit Pro’s and there was some serious magic to take away from this experience.

Last year, I made the decision to up-level my professional career and joined a Mastermind Group, under one of the most influential mentor’s out there – Todd Durkin. And I finally I had the opportunity to come together with this group in real life. I had to take the trip!

“The only person who can put limits on you, is you!”

It has taken some time to process this experience. I was surrounded by some of the most heart centered, passionate and down right purpose driven people on the planet.

I am excited to share some of my top takeaways from this retreat in hopes that it inspires even one person to keep growing outside your comfort zone.

In no particular order, my top inspo bombs from the TD 2020 Beach Retreat:

Lesson 1: “Being Uncomfortable Pushes You to Be Better.”

It is one of my favorite quotes to remind myself of. And as much as we know this concept to be true, it takes A LOT of effort to keep pushing outside your comfort zone.

Heading off to this retreat was WAY outside my comfort zone. I was leaving all 3 kids for the first time, travelling alone and spending the weekend with people I had never met before.

Getting outside my comfort zone is what got me to SHOW UP!

Lesson 2 : “Success is small wins each day.”

I always say, “beat the sun up and you already won the day”. Meaning that when you wake up and start your day with purpose and a workout, you tend to do better at life.

Look at any successful mentor out there (and I don’t measure success by money in the bank, but rather purpose, impact and happiness), and they all have a strong morning routine, which includes some form of movement to get your mind up and ready for the day.

This was proven to me again by my fellow masterminder’s.

Here we were on “retreat” and yet 90%+ of us CHOSE to wake up before the sun was up each morning to get in a killer workout together.

Rise and shine, literally! Above is a picture of our day 2 workout watching the sun rise over Coronado Bay…. more to come on that magical morning in #7.

Lesson 3 – “If you are not growing, you are dying.”

Humans are the most complex species on earth. It is our innate desire to continue to grow and flourish, yet we tend to be our own worst enemy when it comes to letting fear, comfort and doubt take the wheel.

Investing in yourself to be around the right people and events is always a good idea!

Most of your personal and professional growth will happen outside of your “office”.

It is through the people and experiences that we put ourselves out there for, that we grow the most toward our full potential and purpose.

Lesson 4 – “What is your Zihuantanejo?”

One thing that I loved most about this Retreat was there was an overall “theme” and that was “What is your Zihuantanejo?”

Now just like most of you reading this, I had no idea what the heck that meant at first, but as we dove into the meat of the retreat this concept was the heart of everything.

Yes, Zihuantanejo is a place in Mexico, but what it symbolizes is so much more. The value of this concept is to center your life, work and the things you are “doing”; around creating experiences that light you up from the inside.

You know…….those moments where you heart is literally smiling!? We ALL need to focus more on creating lives filled with THESE kind of moments.

The tragedy of Kobe Bryant, his daughter and the others aboard that tragic helicopter flight are a prime example that nothing in life in more important than right now and who you spend you time with.

As a mom of 3 young kids, trying to run a business is quite the juggling act most days. This theme was a HUGE reminder of the truly important things in life and where to place more of my time and energy.

Lesson 5 – “Be the Coffee Bean.”

Damon West, Author of “The Change Agent” and co-author of “The Coffee Bean” hung out with our group for a day and also gave one of THE most powerful presentations I have ever heard.

Damon grew up in a nice middle class family, was a star quarterback, who had everything going for him, when he let addiction take over his life and landed himself with a life sentence in prison.

I’ll let you read the story or listen to his podcast with Todd Durkin, but Damon is an incredible person and has one of the most powerful lessons to share.

I have been sharing the “coffee bean theory” left and right with my members, kids and anyone who wants to listen!

You have 3 choices in life: be a carrot, be an egg, or be a coffee bean.

When placed in a pot of boiling water, aka “the world”, a carrot will become soft and weak. The carrot lets the hot water break it down and take it’s strength and grit away. Don’t be a carrot!

What happens to an egg when it is placed in this same pot? It becomes hard (and stinky as my kids reminded me!). The egg lets that hot water harden its shell and insides. The world has way too many eggs. Angry, resentful and negative people. Don’t be the egg!

Be the coffee bean! Be that bean who when placed in a pot of water, changes the water into coffee! The coffee bean doesn’t let that water change it, IT changes the water.

We have the power to change our surroundings and make a positive impact in this world.

Smile more at strangers, walk into a room ready to light it up, laugh more, live more, compliment more. Be the coffee bean!

Lesson 6 – “The power of a team”.

That is what a mastermind is. A TEAM!

It is the belief that being part of a team with others of like minded values, passion and purpose; brings more value to your life than any one person can do alone.

I found my people this weekend! People who believe in lifting each other up, not climbing on top of each other to get to the top.

People who believe so deeply that we are on the FRONT lines of healthcare and that is is going to take all of us working together , to have a chance at changing this world for the better.

Each one of us wake in the morning driven to spread positive IMPACT around us. Let me tell you, being in the company of such passionate, fun and amazing people was a true honor.

Lesson 7: “Regret and excuses take a lot more time and energy, than ACTION does.”

I talked above about the importance of a strong morning routine. Does that mean it is easy to bounce out of bed each day? No way!

The second day at retreat, I didn’t want to wake up and work out. I was tired…. I didn’t have my kids…. We had blackout curtains in the room…. I had every excuse in my head why I could miss this workout. It was optional after all.

But I know better! As usual, I had already put out my workout clothes the night before. I couldn’t let them go home fresh!

I knew if I missed that workout, I would spend FAR more time regretting it, than if I just got my tired booty out of bed and in action.

How often do you get to workout on THE BEACH with a bunch of other amazing, driven and FIT beasts?!?!

I’m never one to sugar coat that being healthy and feeling good takes effort. “You aren’t always going to feel like it, but you must always be disciplined.” I tell my team that ALL the time.

I am so glad I woke up and went to that workout! We ran on the beach, there was so much laughter and bonding, I taught a segment of the workout to a group of peers (back to getting uncomfortable!), we watched the sun rise over the day and we laughed some more.

THAT workout was a highlight of my weekend and PURE MAGIC! So many “aha” moments were had during that beach workout. Much more magic than any sleep would have been.

Lesson 8 – “Polar Bear Plunge” – the power of a motivated LEADER

This picture above SAYS it all – united and stronger together! Let fear fuel you and rely on the power of a team to push you outside your comfort zone.

It was actually really cold in San Diego this day, and if you have ever been in the Pacific Ocean in CA, it’s pretty dang cold in general.

I had told myself I wasn’t getting in the water. Thank goodness my heart knew better and I put my swim suit on “just in case”.

But when our fearless leader, Todd Durkin led us through a sunset pep talk and encouraged us to link arms, to go run into that water together and to release anything that is holding us back – you bet we knew we had to take this once in a lifetime opportunity!

That is what a good leader does. They motivate, inspire and push you to be a better version of yourself. And it was 100% worth the plunge!

Being around some of the best leaders out there over the course of the weekend was infectious. From that “plunge”, I came out of the water a stronger leader myself.

Lesson 9 – “Chase more sunrises and sunsets.”

This one needs no further explanation.

It’s simple – you either can get busy living or get busy dying.

Go out there and chase as many sunrises and sunsets as you possibly can!

In health,

Rachele, VFit Owner

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 3 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