This business of strength and resistance training is life changing. I don’t know what’s happening over here – it’s like I’ve worked years on my inner strength, and am now in deep learning about physical strength, building muscle. I love every minute of it.

And, I have been blessed with two hype men who have been with me since the beginning of the journey, Tyler and Joe. Tyler you know as my beloved son, one of my greatest teachers, committed to physical health. When Tyler kicked me into LifeTime to get strong, he insisted I work with a trainer to learn the ropes. In comes Joe, the trainer I was assigned to. I have learned so much from these two strong young men, so incredibly blessed.

First, Joe. He’s adorable. I showed up at our intake session and could barely talk in my flabby body. He took over. Setup a schedule, 2 times a week, and I was going to learn the weight machines. He wanted me to walk with confidence around that 3rd floor of LifeTime Southdale, hold my head high, like I knew what I was doing. Joe completely knew I had no idea what was going on, or how long this was going take. What has me laughing is that I actually thought I’d see results quickly, not the case. But Joe never let me feel discouraged.

Then there’s Tyler. He was a member at LifeTime River North at the time. He would coach me from afar, an excellent text coach, always telling me to “lift heavy”.

Between the two of them, I had a team of hype men. Two young men who never miss a beat. I’ve had 20+ years of coaching training, top coaching programs, hired executive coaches at Fortune 200 companies. They don’t have anything on Tyler and Joe. We don’t need coaches who drown you in listening and inquiry, project their intelligence, think from the neck up, analyze what’s not working, strategize. We need hype men that tell you to get after it, inspire you to work your ass off, and celebrate your successes. Let me give you a run down of texts from them, and tell me you don’t feel encouraged!

Tyler’s Texts

Crush it, Be a Good Weapon, Pressure is a Privilege Mom, Fuel up, Get to the gym, The In-body doesn’t dictate our happiness, Keep doing what feels good, Keep crushing it, Great shred, Get to the gym, Great protein choice, Get after it, Way to get after it, get after it, Way to get after it, Crush it, and crush it…

Joe’s Texts

So freaking proud of you, proud of you as always, show off your guns, another reason you are an amazing soul, champion with a heart of gold, look at you go, I am so freaking proud of you, so proud of you per usual, so freaking proud

Who wouldn’t keep going with this? And, yes I do text them just to be reminded of these things. We need hype men, we all need a Tyler and Joe. And, I’m freaking proud of the way I’m crushing it, I’ve lost 15 pounds of fat. No room for whining in any of this. Such a huge learning for someone who has over practiced empathy. It has made me wonder, does empathy prepare us to get after it in this crazy world? We all need to be strong, and fierce.

This is what I also know. I’m single, and I am clear I want a hype man as a partner. There would be a required interview with Tyler and Joe to see if you pass the test. And I know, they would kick my ass if I settled for anything less than being with a true hype man. My promise, to start, I’ll lift heavy 3-4 times a week, I will have failure, I hope you fail, and we can figure this out.

And again, I don’t know exactly what’s happening over here, but it’s life changing. Strength and resistance training is real. Get in there, get started, find your practice, light that fire. Give it time, burn that fat, and most importantly, find your hype men, I wouldn’t be where I am with out them. Thank you Tyler and Joe! So blessed and grateful.

Yours in Crushing It,

Jill