CrossFit Founder Lauren Jenai Advice for Achieving the ‘New You’ In 2022

Like many of us, CrossFit co-founder Lauren Jenai reassessed many aspects of her life during the pandemic, including her approach to health and wellness. At CrossFit, health and fitness were very intense, with hard workouts and a “blood, sweat and tears” level of fitness with stringent eating protocols. “It takes discipline and hard work,” says Jenai, who sold her share of the company to her ex-husband during their divorce. She felt pressure to maintain her physical appearance in a positive way. “Now I’m 50 years old and I have four kids, and I’ve really released that pressure from myself,” she says.

A More Forgiving Wellness Philosophy

Now her attitude is, “Okay, I had a pint of ice cream; it was good. Do I want to do that every day? No. But really, it’s important to take all the judgment and stress out of your nutrition routines.” The key is to consistently eat in a way that you not only enjoy food, but don’t have any guilt or shame over it.

Her philosophy toward exercise is similar; it’s okay to miss a day as long as you remain consistently active in whatever it is that you love doing. Jenai trains in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is serious about the sport. “But I don’t have to win every competition today. I don’t have to be best at this moment.”

Embracing this more forgiving approach to wellness has been a revelation. “In the past it’s been really stressful when I’d fall off the wagon, so to speak in, in terms of eating. Now I just think, Yes, I had pizza. It’s okay. And literally taking the drama and stress and guilty feelings out of the process, you tend to make better decisions overall, over the long term.” This philosophy has also proven beneficial for her mental health. “There’s so much in the world to stress about, food should not be one of those things.”

Steps For Achieving The “New You” In 2022

Know What you Want
The most important factor in achieving your health and wellness goals in the new year, Jenai advises, is to know what you want. Be honest and aware of what your goals are. “I think that’s where a lot of people fail,” she says. “People say ‘I want to lose 20 pounds.’ Well, maybe you actually don’t want to lose 20 pounds; maybe you want to lose some body fat and gain some muscle.”

Set Realistic Goals to Stay Motivated

It’s important to make sure the goals you set are for you and not for somebody else, because you’re not going to achieve something that you don’t want for yourself. And your wellness goals need to be realistic. “If your goal is to become an Olympic athlete and you’re 65 years old, that’s probably not going to happen,” laughs Jenai.

Small, Incremental Steps; Make It Doable

After setting realistic goals, you need to decide what can you do today that takes you a little bit closer to that goal, and practice that. For some people, these may be very small baby steps at first. Say you want to drink less in 2022 because you started drinking too much during Covid. You don’t have to quit cold turkey. “Maybe instead of starting drinking at noon, push it back to 5:00 pm,” Jenai jokes. “Not three bottles of wine every night but taper down.” Many people fail at their goals because they start feeling deprived.

Feel Good About Yourself

It’s hard; make it easy. Make it doable. “Celebrate the little things, and those days where you just don’t feel on and maybe you just laid in bed and didn’t do anything productive, don’t beat yourself up for it. You need the rest.” It’s really an attitude shift. When you’re critical of yourself, you’re sending your body messages that are negative and self-loathing. The important thing is to change that internal dialog to feel good about yourself. “Over time it programs your brain to not be self-defeating in your behavior, but self-celebrating instead,” Jenai says.

Reassessed Priorities

Jenai has made other life changes amidst the pandemic, taking incremental steps to get where she wants to be. She has taken on more household duties for which she used to rely on paid help. “I find myself super busy because now I have taken on the job of landscaper and general contractor,” she says, laughing. Her two daughters have enrolled in high school, and Jenai continues to homeschool her two younger sons.

Manifest

Her new fitness app, Manifest, is on hiatus. The concept, which was about to launch when the pandemic hit, was eerily prescient – it’s remote, but you are in virtual contact with a live facilitator to monitor your progress. “With the Covid situation, launching a new concept and company, I decided to put any development of Manifest on the back burner until 2022.” bemanifest.com