Things I Thought I Would Never Do: Chalk It Up To The Holly Rilinger Effect.

Two weeks ago, I gripped onto muddy ropes to scale steep terrain on Mt Nevis, ran into the ocean with clothes on twice, sweat through intense boot camp sessions followed by truly mind-altering yoga, ate healthy (on vacation no less!), vowed to create a vision board (and not just on Pinterest, but a real life cut-out-images-from-magazines-and-post-on-my-wall vision board) and put real thought to 1, 5 and 10 year goals. No, I wasn’t kidnapped by aliens who sucked out out my risk-avoiding, marshmallow-craving, to-do-list making, mach-speed thinking brain and replaced it with a new one. Rather, I was at Destination Training Camp in Nevis, and these out-of-character activities can be attributed to  “The Holly Rilinger Effect”.

How did I get here? In August 2011, Holly taught my first Flywheel class. 45 minutes later, I was smitten. Her genuine positivity and inspiring words turned a workout into a therapy session. I knew instantly that the more time I could spend around Holly, the happier and healthier I would be. I began to schedule my life around her classes (this may sound weird, but I know about 30 other women who would confess to the same behavior) and signed up for her outdoor Training Camp. I would skip home from Chelsea Piers after every session- and I am not the happy-go-lucky-skipping kind. With a move out of the city on the horizon, I decided to treat myself to Destination Training Camp- 5 days soaking up Holly’s infectious energy was just what I needed to look forward to in order to stay sane during a stressful life change.

I convinced my friend Sarah to join me for the trip (wasn’t that hard- dragged her to one of Holly's Flywheel classes and she totally got it), and before either of us knew it, November 13 had arrived. Suitcases full of Lululemon in tow, armed with bottles of Advil and about a dozen Sparkly Soul headbands between us, we arrived at Nisbet Plantation.

 Of course, there were amazing and challenging workouts- to be expected. However, there was so much more than that.

There was the yoga class where the teacher said something that I hope to never forget- worrying is guaranteed to not at all affect the outcome of the situation you are worrying about, so don’t.

There was the moment I noticed that eating healthy is just as easy as eating badly- it is about making the decision to feed your body well, and then doing it. Because there is no other option if you think about it. 

There was the moment I had the choice to turn around when the hike on Mt. Nevis got especially treacherous, but opted to push on, faking confidence in my strength and ability until I realized I didn’t have to fake it, because I had it.

There were hundreds of personal stories shared between 11 people who went from total strangers to one another’s personal cheerleading squads, dance partners and drinking buddies in a matter of hours.

All of this, my friends, is “The Holly Rilinger Effect".  Defined arms, toned calves and the early signs of a six-pack just happen to be bonuses.

Oh- and a little inside scoop: Holly is planning another Destination Training Camp for February 2013. Sign up for her newsletter to stay in the loop as details are available.