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Being Relentless (& a CrossFit L-2 Review)

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Very blurry picture of my CF-L2 Training Group (can you find me?!)

What is Relentlessness?

The word relentless as defined by Merriam-Webster:

adjective: showing or promising no abatement of severity, intensity, strength, or pace: unrelenting.
This is a notion we all should look to and chase after as it comes to our passions, goals, desires, dreams, wishes, etc. It is a word to describe the full-blown pursuit and commitment to whatever it is we are being relentless about. It is scary and fulfilling all at the same time. It’s that feeling of persistent commitment that keeps you up at night (for the right reasons) and drives you to be better.
 
Here’s the thing, for most of us, it’s anything but easy. I’m not sure I’ve ever even thought to apply the word relentless to my work or goals until I attended the CrossFit L-2 Seminar in August this year. It opened my eyes and my thoughts to what could be possible if we were all relentless in all that we did.

CrossFit L-2 Trainer Course

What does CrossFit have to do with being relentless anyway?! Great question.
Well, if you don’t know, I’ve been coaching CrossFit for almost 4 years now. I’ve always loved to teach others and help others succeed so it was an easy YES when the owners of the CrossFit gym I was at asked if I would become a coach for them.

 

Many people say if it’s not a HECK YES it’s a HECK NO, and in this case, it was a HECK YES. 
I digress. Fast forward 4 years and I find myself attending the 2nd level of CrossFit training (you must pass your L-1 first in order to attend). I wasn’t sure what to expect and it was completely different than what I had anticipated. They were relentless in their pursuit of making us better coaches.
 
The entire first day was focused on what we as coaches could SEE athletes doing right and wrong. It was definitely a test in my grit because in my small group I found myself more often than not in the center. Why? Well because my technique & mobility are anything but optimal, so I was an easy person to practice coaching on I suppose.
 Putting my pride aside (any ounce of an ego I had walking in was stripped away by 9:01 am) I tried my best to learn from the trainers and other coaches in attendance. I left the first day discouraged and worried I wasn’t good enough. Once again, putting my pride aside, I did learn a thing or two. While there are so many nuances to coaching I think the biggest two things I learned from Day 1 were:
 1. Care about your athletes (duh), and
 2. Be relentless.
 While the first one is a no-brainer for me since I’m in a profession where caring makes all the difference, it was that second one that stuck with me the most (and still does).

Be Relentless

As you can read above, being relentless means to not give up but not only to not give up but to not give up the intensity at which you are pursuing something.

Sure this can become negative, but in this context, I mean it in the best way possible. After reading Girl, Wash Your Face and then participating in the CF L-2 this summer, I knew that someone somewhere wanted me to listen up and shape up, or else be comfortable watching others succeed while I sat back sipping my coffee wondering when I’d get my chance.

You only get a chance if you make it happen, end of story. 

I realized that in both my coaching and my business I had stopped being relentless. I’ll be the first to admit it. I was becoming complacent with being OKAY, with doing no harm, and with just meeting the standards of requirements for both jobs.

Some people might be okay with this, but holy cow, I was anything but okay. I left that first day feeling completely drained and if you know me it takes ALOT for me to be drained. I did some self-reflecting and realized I had two options:

  1. Continue as is and produce the same results as I had been seeing (aka mediocrity), OR…
  2. Be (even more) relentless.

Be (Even More) Relentless

This may not come as a shock to you but I’m taking the second approach. Be relentless in all that I do.  It is scary, fun, and incredibly tiring all at the same time. I’m hoping that not only I benefit from it but all those around me benefit as well. Being relentless means you are willing to fail in the pursuit of doing what it is you want to do.
Well, I want to be a great coach and also run a kick-a$$ business. I want to help people get pull-ups, push-ups, PRs, and long-term health/fitness. I want to teach people how to eat healthy without obsessing over every last macro. I want to inspire RDs to take the road less traveled. And I want to grow the Sassy Nutrition brand into something that makes a bigger impact than just what you put on your table at night.
The cold hard truth?! I only get there by being relentless, hence the 100 Day challenge I committed to on this blog and on my Instagram page.

Is it working?!

Yes.

Day 1 back from my CF L-2 I practiced the notion of being relentless. Sure, I was nervous and still questioned if I was good enough to be that relentless. Here’s the thing, people noticed. I’m getting far more thank yous both on the coaching front and on the business front. By me being so worried that I was going to do harm and not know what I was doing, I was actually making minimal impact. That isn’t my intention AT ALL.

Here’s a confession for you, I had thoughts about skipping out on day 2 of my CF L-2. I’m not a quitter so of course, I went back. I almost let the defeat of that day tell me I wasn’t good enough. However, I picked myself up and decided I wanted to pursue that relentlessness in my coaching and in my business.

What happened?! I crushed the practical (and the exam) and even better I was able to apply that relentlessness to all of you. It made me realized that all this second guessing myself and all this worry if I’m going to push too hard on others is not helping anyone, and I need to put myself out there to see results.

Moral of the story?! BE RELENTLESS

Phew, ok that’s all for the day. I look forward to some of your thoughts on this concept of being relentless.
So let me ask you, what area of your life could use some relentlessness!?
Share with me so we can help each other out.
xoxo,
Sassy

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