In today’s episode of the Inspiration2Grow podcast I will be featuring the mindset and personal story of an extraordinary woman, Robin Arzon, who was recently featured on the cover of Women’s Health magazine in the November issue. She is a huge proponent of using movement and fitness to transform your life. She is the real deal and I would love to share some of her tips and ideas on how to embrace your true self, advocate for yourself and ignite your own superwoman strength.
If you have been following my podcast, you’ll know that I have fallen head-over-heals in love with spinning classes. And when I ran into Robin’s picture on the internet as a head trainer for Peloton and VP of Fitness Programming for the company, I knew instantly that she would be a great feature for my show. She is well known for her mental strength, which she gained through her fitness journey.
“I really used movement as a tool to unlock and empower, and that is how I became a wellness leader,” Robin Arzon.
Her accomplishments are quite wide-ranging – beginning with a successful career as a corporate litigator in New York, to a marathon runner whose passion for running, movement, health and fitness morphed into a full-blown pivot from working in the field of law to getting involved with Peloton as a full-time career. As one of the head instructors at Peloton she has worked hard and is very proud of the huge community she has created bringing people from around the world together in the name of fitness. More feathers in her cap include being a NYTimes best selling author with her book entitled “Shut Up and Run”. Her passion for running has seen her complete many different races over many different distances, even a 100-mile race. She is also head ambassador for the clothing line GSTQ.
A typical day for her begins with her own personal workout and includes – strength training. But other essentials elements of her morning routine are: meditating for 20 minutes after getting a solid 9 hours of sleep AND fuelling her body with the proper nutrients. For her, a smoothie packed with vitamins and plant-based fuel is her go-to. Not only does she emphasize the need to fuel our bodies with right foods, she also stresses the fact that we all need to hydrate our bodies for optimal performance.
“My life is a workout, but my own personal workout is critical, and that will usually involve something related to strength training. I’m always, always staying hydrated – you cannot hustle without the proper hydration, and in my opinion, with plain ole’ water, as optimally.” ~Robin Arzon
Another critical component of Robin’s ideal day and something we can all consider implementing in our lives is to nourish our souls by educating and diving into things we want to know more about. This could be through classes or reading, but for her, it creates mental grit in her every day.
“I want to go to bed prouder each night than when I woke up. I think our legacy is comprised of small decisions.” ~RA
She claims there is no such thing as work-life balance, but there are priorities as well as a strong work ethic that will get you there. Everyone needs a North Star, which is to do epic things in this world. We should listen to what our gut tells us, identify a standard for greatness that is both aspirational and achievable. Joy comes from finding what is valuable for you and your life and what can be achieved in this regard. It is worth getting uncomfortable and digging deep to achieve this.
One piece of advice Robin gives people who want to begin a fitness journey is to ‘trust the struggle’. You have to be brave enough to own your journey and it will require struggle. It’s great to have a mentor or to follow and admire someone else’s fitness path, but ultimately you will have to go it yourself. There is something unique and special about the journey you embark on. Trusting your struggle is incredibly important, according to Robin, just as being brave enough to actually have experiences where you fail. You will gain confidence, flex your bravery muscle, discover resilience you never knew you had, grow strong from the inside out.
I recently heard Robin’s response to the question: What’s the coolest thing you have ever done? And I want to share her answer with you…
Robin answered, “It’s not a day or an achievement; it’s a way of life. One of the coolest things I’ve ever done is learned how to become resilient and trust my hustle. I think that is everything from knowing that my bag is stocked with ROAR and I’m staying hydrated, but also trusting that I know how to prepare for small and big victories. I think that the iterative process to success is going to be challenging, but it’s knowing that you have the backbone and the processes and the things in your superhero toolkit to rise.”
The ‘Superhero Toolkit’ Robin is referring to here includes:
-> Daily movement
-> Visualization and creating/tweaking a visual board every 3 – 4 months
-> Breath work
-> Journalling
From the beginning her mission has been to “redefine, reform and rethink possibility through movement.” Believe it or not, Robin grew up in a family setting that didn’t place much emphasis on playing sports or being active. In fact, she thought physical activity and movement were rather scary as a young girl. She would tell herself things like, “I can’t throw a ball” or “I can’t get fit” and her message to everyone is:
We become the stories we tell ourselves. So, it’s crucial that we are aware of these stories running through our minds all the time AND the stories we are telling our children. Once we label ourselves or are labelled by others, we adopt a kind of identity around it.
For her, she told herself, “I’m not a runner” or “I’m not athletic” and so, she thought there was no way she could ever hit the streets for a jog or a run. Remember, back in the introduction …. Robin went on to become an ultramarathoner.
When it comes to movement and strength training, she encourages everyone to step out of any old identities which are holding you back, and adopt new ones along the lines of, “I can be a fit, strong woman” or “I am capable of lifting weights to tone my body”. In her words, get curious and uncomfortable about movement and exercise. Use movement as medicine for your body and mind. Find the courage to step out and do something different. Try to develop a stickiness to the habit of movement and fitness by starting small with just a 5- or 10-minute commitment. The hardest conversation always starts within yourself.
And, regarding the talks we have with ourselves, she emphasizes that we should prioritize these conversations to know your boundaries. We cannot set standards for ourselves or anyone else if we don’t know what are boundaries actually are. This goes back to the self-care in episode 30.
Establishing boundaries creates higher standards and holding ourselves to higher standards brings us more success.
It all goes back to basics and simplicity. Create consistent, non-negotiable everyday habits with yourself which are important to uphold. Eating and fuelling your body with healthy food, getting enough sleep, hydrating adequately every day, filling your own cup. The energy you gain from these actions is ultimately your currency.
For Robin, self-care is a prevention strategy. It is not something you turn to when you are already at your whit’s end. An analogy is; self-care is like an escape valve which allows that built-up pressure within to be released bit by bit before it explodes.
Nothing gets done well or intentionally if we don’t take care of ourselves. That applies to both the small, mundane every day things but also the larger aspects of our life. When we find ourselves in moment of crisis, it’s hard for us to make the right choices. That’s why we have to have our healthy, daily habits so dialed in that we are not setting ourselves up for failure or poor choices.
In regards to self-care, ask yourself, “How can I move my body to make me feel more powerful?”
Realizing she could be her own inner advocate was a very empowering moment for Robin. She came to know that she was the director of her life, which was terrifying and exciting at the same time. She began running as a means to deal with trauma but soon found out that it provided her with so much more. Fitness became one of those non-negotiables.
“When you go beyond your limits during workouts, it boosts your confidence. And the workout is so much more than the 20, 30 or 60 minutes you put into the workout — it’s how you are going to remember who you are in the other 23 hours in the day.”
Although Robin only found movement and fitness as a young adult after a very traumatic event in her life, dreaming big has accompanied her throughout her life. I’m a huge proponent of dreaming big and setting huge, scary goals for ourselves. So, her thoughts on dreams resonated with me so much.
Her favourite quote is: “Dream so big that it makes small minds uncomfortable.” And she continues by saying, “My dreams wake me up before my alarm clock goes off. I’m ready and so intoxicated by my dreams and the moment I don’t feel or think like this, then I know I have to dream bigger.”
I could go on forever about this amazing human. For Robin, leaving a good law career for a job in the wellness industry was a huge pivot but she knew and openly admits that “success wouldn’t be easy but I always wanted it more than I feared it.” This is the mindset of a wildly successful individual.
So, after so much inspiration from the perspective of Robin Arzon, I will close off today’s show with Robin’s top 5 tips on how to stay focused and motivated for your workouts:
1. Be realistic with your goals: Always write them down to get a clear picture of your workout and set the right routine.
2. Visualize your goals: Try to imagine the end-game result, and keep that vision to remain focused and make progress.
3. Meditation for the win: Take to meditating daily to calm yourself and ensure a great start to your day.
4. Fuel your body for success: Your body requires energy for your workouts, so consume the right foods to guarantee your body can perform optimally not only during the workout but throughout the entire day.
5. Allow enough time to rest: Pay attention to sleep and rest times so your body can recharge after each session
If you are ever short of motivation, let’s recharge your energy with some of Robin’s inspiring quotes:
Inspiration quotes by Robin Arzon:
1. Don’t dim your light.
2. Sweat transforms lives.
3. Survive or thrive.
4. You didn’t get up today to be mediocre.
5. Take your life and make it the best story in the world.
6. Are you giving yourself permission to win?
7. Limiting beliefs are loud. Make your hustle louder.
8. You are the director of your life and you don’t need any external validation EVER.
9. Don’t allow yourself to create negative ‘labels’ for yourself and your abilities.
10. Know the value and the standards you want to set and uphold for yourself.
11. We can either be a victim to the circumstance or be victorious no matter what the circumstance is.
12. Your dreams should wake you up before your alarm goes off each day.
13. I always believe that I wake up with an invisible crown on my head that says, “Chin up, crown on ALWAYS.”
14. Willpower is a muscle that fatigues, but it can also get stronger. If you’ve fallen off your game – in any area of life – the simplest way to get back on it is to surround yourself with inspiration.
I truly hope to have inspired you to grow.
Til next time,
Lisa xoxo
