For many of you, you turn on the TV, open up a magazine or hop online and you might find me and Chris giving tips and tricks on how to stay fit and healthy. But fitness has been a staple in both of our families for generations, and will continue to be for many more generations to come!

In fact, some of Chris? and my biggest fitness inspiration comes from two of our own family members: my brother and sister-in-law, G-mo and Kristen. They. Are. Machines.? I joke (but am totally serious) that I want to be like them some day. Their dedication, determination, work ethic, and drive makes them unstoppable?and makes everyone around them push harder. They truly set the bar that we strive to live up to.

On Saturday, we spent Chris? birthday attending a CrossFit competition where Kristen and Mo (short for ?G-mo?, which is actually nicknamed from ?Grant??long story) won, alongside their teammates, yet another competition, holding their first place spot in the series. It was quite the victory ? so cool to see my big bro breaking through his limits and doing things he always dreamed of ?:-). A HUGE congratulations to them!!

For those of you that aren?t familiar with CrossFit, it is a mish-mash of every style of fitness all wrapped up into one. Workouts can range from Olympic weightlifting to gymnastics, from endurance training to powerlifting. CrossFit challenges all aspects of fitness. It is truly a general physical preparedness program. It prepares us for life by mimicking movements we experience in our everyday routines. It?s awesome. And to top it off ? it?s FAST and FUN, and provides an incredible community environment for success.

Now don?t let these pictures scare you! These are the top 1% of CrossFit atheltes. Walk into ANY CrossFit Box (that?s what they call their gyms) and you?ll be greeted with friendly faces ? soccer moms, business men, and people just like you who are tired of their mundane and ineffective fitness routines. They are people that simply want more for their lives and are looking to challenge themselves to become better people, physically and mentally.

Each day, CrossFit creates a WOD – Workout of the Day! It may be exercises you’ve done before or something totally new. One thing for sure, you will know that there are people all across the world working out and challenging themselves with the same WOD. ?It’s that challenge of taking things to the next level, that can help you break through a plateau, and that helps you to grow mentally and physically as you try to stretch yourself. This can be motivating as you create a support system to align with your new fitness and weight loss goals. You can learn more about WOD and locate a CrossFit Box near you by visiting CrossFit.com.

Chris and I are blessed ?to have family like my brother and his wife setting the bar for our family and making us proud. While we ourselves strive to be extremely fit, we too, look to others to inspire us and as a support for a healthy lifestyle. We’re very blessed to find that in our own family. Thanks Mo and Kristen for being so inspirational!