Name: Shondelle Solomon Miles
Age: 40 and Fabulous
Occupation: Owner of CrossFit 954/Coach

There are two main criteria for being chosen as a "Fashlete":

1. The individual is committed to health and fitness in a way that has changed her life in significant ways. You can't help but look at her and say: "Oh WOW".

2. The individual uses her knowledge and experience to help others do the same. She will look right back at you and say: "Now let me show you how." 

As long as I've known Shondelle, she has always had that "Oh WOW" factor. She attacks life with an intense energy, often with her two young kids in tow. She loves life and wants you to love it too. Since graduating from Columbia University in 1996, it has been Shondelle’s personal and professional mission to improve and transform lives via the vehicle of health and fitness.

 

Shondelle opened Synergize!, a multifaceted small-group personal training center after graduating with her Masters in Sports Medicine from University of Miami. Additional certifications have followed and she has no doubt become an expert in body fat loss and weight management for men and women.

BUT… being an expert is not enough. Some of the best coaches are the ones who seek out experiences in which they do not necessarily excel. A true leader will face her own fears in order to become stronger both mentally and physically. And once the fear is conquered, she will lead others down their own dark and daunting paths until they too find the first break of light.

It was in the face of one such challenge that I met Shondelle for the first time. I was a skrawny endurance athlete, and Shondelle was a woman who had neglected her own fitness as a result of pouring herself into the work of helping others. We both knew we could be better, but we needed something to seriously kick our asses. Enter CrossFit.

Shondelle likens her first CrossFit experience to that of discovering Gatorade in the middle of a dessert.

"CrossFit re-awakened the athlete in me. It reinvigorated my passion for fitness. I couldn't believe I could work out, do something different every day AND do so in a fun and competitive environment! YURICA! I had hit the jackpot with this one!"

As CrossFit grows in popularity, so does the backlash against it, mostly in regards to the high intensity and risk of injury.

Based on her knowledge of physical training and the “Yurika!” moment she experienced during her first WOD, Shondelle knew that this was the right path in spite of the naysayers. The shift from “typical training center” to CrossFit Affiliate was a gradual one. Over the course of a year, Shondelle got rid of her Elliptical machines and treadmills and replaced them with wall balls, kettlebells, rowers and barbells.

It was a risk, no doubt. Shondelle had an established business and a loyal clientele who trusted her current training regime. In spite of the looming fear of losing clients and income, she was ready for a change. Shondelle was on a mission to redefine the definition of fitness for herself and her clients and wasn't going to let her fear stand in her way.

“One thing I know for sure is that as long as I'm alive, I will always feel fear; it never ceases to exist. Yet, as time passes and with more life experience, I'm simply learning to act in spite of my fears. As Susan Jeffers says: “Feel the fear and do it anyway”. The truth is nothing I fear will probably kill me, and most often everything will work out in my favor.”

Shondelle’s personal transformation was not just reflected in the physical changes of her gym. She developed her own coaching principles and incorporated the CrossFit methodology in order to help her clients mentally adapt to CrossFit workouts. The intensity of CrossFit can be intimidating, but Shondelle succeeded in implementing the new program without scaring off her core clients and welcoming many new members at the same time. The results speak for themselves...

 

Q. How did you help clients adapt to the CrossFit mindset? 

A. I just yelled at them. No.... just kidding. I made a gradual transition to CrossFit, so they had time to assess whether they were OK with the CrossFit methodology or not. In the beginning, because I was SO obsessed with CrossFit I wanted everyone else to be.  I couldn't understand why anyone would not want to squat 200lbs and complete Fran in under 3 minutes. Like really. Then one day I had an epiphany: “Shondelle, CrossFit is YOUR passion, not necessarily everyone else's, so take it down a notch!”. Once I shifted my perspective and became a little less 'intense' with my approach, my clients adapted much easier.

Shondelles’s Coaching Principles

1.Get comfortable with being uncomfortable, because challenge creates change.

2. Progress not perfection. Simply do better today than you did yesterday and that's enough.

3. You can do SO much more than you think you can, so stop thinking and do! Make the effort and surprise yourself. It’s SO much more fun!

For the members that stayed, and for those that have joined the CrossFit 954 family since, the emphasis on fat loss and weight management are still a main point of focus. “Body transformation” has been Shondelle's passion since she graduated college.

“I really wanted to learn as much as possible about the body and how to make it healthy and fit. I wanted to be GREAT at it. I attended every seminar, workshop, certification that I possibly could. At that time I didn't REALLY understand how much went into fat loss, transformation etc., but as  time passed I became obsessed with it. Almost 20 years later, my thirst to change lives via health and fitness has changed, but not waned. Now, my new obsession is getting into the psychology of transformation and what variables create LASTING change. I know how to change bodies (the exercise and nutrition stuff, the icing on the cake I call it). Now I'm on a quest to learn how to change the mind in order to create lasting success and transformation."

Q. What are some of the methodologies of CrossFit that are "game changers" when it comes to fat loss/weight management?

A1. INTENSITY

The body changes when it must. Intensity creates an environment of urgency. It's as if the body says, “Ok, if I don't make these muscles stronger and this heart and lungs more efficient,this is going to kill me”.

One of my favorite quotes is “If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you” and that's EXACTLY what CrossFit is about. People want change but they don't want to do the work required to change. CrossFit demands that you do the work on a consistent basis.  I've changed my body more in one year of CrossFit than 15 years of running on a treadmill and doing leg presses and chest flies because of the INTENSITY.

A2. COMMUNITY

I believe community is the foundation of Crossfit. I think peer support, camaraderie and empathy are critical components for anyone endeavoring to lose weight or change their body in any way. There is comfort in knowing that “you are not alone”. When life gets hard, which it will, we all need the encouragement and reminder to keep going, take another step...do one more rep.

The group workout environment of CrossFit, unlike any other methodology I know of, not only allows this but applauds it, and its one of the many components that I attribute to its massive appeal and success.

Q. What are some consistent traits or behaviors that you believe lead to success/weight loss? 

A. In other words what variables separate those who achieve success and MAINTAIN it, from those who don't? We have more information on diet and exercise than ever before and still people are not getting healthier or fitter. WHY? I am intrigued by that question. If I was writing a book on transformation today, and based on my experience thus far I would say what's required for success is:

 

Often times its the clients who come to me when they get a scare at the doctor, or their spouse is threatening to leave them, or the birth of a first child, that tend to be the most driven and consistent. I'm not saying everyone has to have a 'rock bottom' or some pivotal life moment, but there is usually some internal motivation that they believe will result in a desired feeling or outcome (more joy, more confidence, more self esteem, more opportunity, more sex etc).

I do believe that those people who seek transformation out of obligation, or without some internally driven compass, will usually give up when the going gets tough...and the going always gets tough. I always ask my clients during their initial assessment WHY they want to achieve their goals and on a scale of 1-10 how committed are they to achieving that goal. Not always, but most of the time, based on their responses I can predict their degree of success.

And then there are people like myself, and perhaps lots of former athletes that are simply a little sadistic and  enjoy challenging our bodies because that's how we are wired and we are excel in athletics. These are the CrossFit competitors and the ones that thrive on being at the top of the leader board, but we are definitely not the majority.

Q. Do you believe that being physically fit is an essential component to a getting the most out of your life?

A. Screaming YES from the rooftop! There is no dispute that being fit enhances your QUALITY of life, and obviously you cannot get the most out of life if you aren't doing the things you want and enjoy doing. After all what the point in living a long life, if you can't live the life you want to live!

I have a client name Cherri. She is 66 years old and never worked out in her life prior to CF, but joined CrossFit because her grandson invited her hiking in Germany and she REALLY wanted to go and participate, rather than be left in the hotel room until they returned from their adventures. Thanks to CrossFit and her improved fitness, within a 4 month span she was able to take that trip and participate in all of her grandson's outdoor adventures. 3 years later, she is still doing CrossFit 3x a week so that she can have the strength and energy to play with her 6 young grandchildren.

To me, health and fitness is the foundation of everything, nothing is more valuable. The healthier and fitter you are the better you feel (and look of course). The better you feel, the more confident and energetic you are. With confidence and energy, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

As our Fashlete of the Month Shondelle is receiving a customized sterling silver charm with the words of her choice.

"The words I choose are: Be Present. Why? Because like so many others who are constantly on the go it’s so easy to lose touch with THE MOMENT...THE NOW. I 'm usually stressing over the past or anxious about the future, instead of enjoying how great things are right NOW. So my intention going forward is to simply BE PRESENT and appreciate all that comes with that: the good, the bad and everything in between."

 

Shondelle, we are so proud to have you as part of the Fashletics family. We hope this charm will serve as a daily reminder to be proud of the present moment, wherever you may be. You have already and will continue to make a hugely positive impact on the lives of others.

For more information on Shondelle and CrossFit 954, click here. If you have questions (or props!) for Shondelle please leave them in the comments below!