Welcome to the Becoming Relentless Challenge!
First of all, I want to congratulate you on taking the first steps towards building a fitter, healthier, more focused, and more mentally-resilient you. I’m going to use this manual to take you through the process for how the next six weeks are going to work. We’ll cover not only the nuts and bolts but also some of the thoughts behind the “why” of all of this.
My goal for this manual is for you to both have a clear idea of what’s coming up and also what makes it important.
Relentless Rules
First things first, let’s lay down some basic ground rules. I’m not going to stress about putting a bunch of rules in your way, but there are some things I want to touch on. Let’s get them out of the way right now.
Please read carefully.
1. Be Respectful. We’re all here to get fit and make improvements to our lives. That process may include some conversations that open people up to sensitive topics. Don’t be a jerk, and remember, just because something isn’t hard or sensitive for you doesn’t mean it isn’t difficult for someone else.
2. Use your real, full names in the slack group. As coaches and as challenge members, it’s hard to get to know the real YOU behind an internet handle. This is a closed group and program, so use real names (first and last), please. If you want to use a common shortening of a name like “Mike” for “Michael” or “Liz” for “Elizabeth”, that’s fine. We’re trying to avoid things like “KettlebellWarrior37”.
3. Use a real profile pic. Just like the names, it’s better if we know who we’re dealing with versus a picture of your favorite Marvel hero or your cat. While both of those are awesome, save that info for your intro in the Shake Bar.
4. Don’t break confidentiality. This is a space where people are learning, growing, and changing. It’s hard to do that if you’re worried that someone is sharing your stuff. So don’t do that. The things talked about in here stay in here.
5. Self-govern. We’re doing a lot of things in this program with each other, the coaches, and your Squad Leaders on the honor system. That means that it’s important to be honest, not just for fair play but also to help you get the most out of the program. As a great mentor of mine told me “All progress starts with the truth”.
If you do see someone get out of their integrity, try to approach them first through direct message to see if they rectify the behavior. If that doesn’t work, message a coach and we’ll handle it. Don’t publicly put someone on blast. That almost never turns out to the positive.
The 4 Elemental S’s
A while back I created a simple daily system for making small improvements in a few key areas of my life that would add up to be big changes. I wanted a system that would address multiple areas beyond just fitness or nutrition, be simple and easy to follow, and have a lifetime approach.
I developed the 4 Elemental S’s, and I’ve gone on to integrate them into our clients’ lives here at Relentless, too. This Challenge will utilize the 4 Elemental S system to move you, day-by-day, on the path towards your goals. In a nutshell, here’s your 4 Elemental S’s that we’ll be addressing:
* Supply – Your quality nutrition. You literally are and are fueled by what you eat. One of the simplest ways to make a change in everything else you do is simply by improving your nutrition.
I’ve compiled a basic Nutrition Guide for you here. If you need a different nutrition format, we can do that, we’ll simply make adjustments to your definition of a “Compliant Meal”, regarding your scoring.
* Sharpen – Your physical development. The next step in overall improvement in your game is through making strides, pun intended, in your movement. Strength training, aerobic work, mobility, yoga, pilates, whatever, moving your body in an effective, progressive, and safe way will help not only your health and appearance, but your mood, function, and vitality as well.
We will be delivering weekly workout programs. These programs will have beginner and advanced versions, can be done in-home or at a gym. We will also include 10:00 “Quick Workouts” for if you are on the go and can’t fit in a full workout. Building and keeping a strong exercise habit is key to maximizing your progress, so we’re going to to make that as simple as possible.
* Study – Building your brain power through mental exercise, be it learning a new skill or practice or through reading. Humans are naturally curious, growing creatures and even a small daily practice of reading or learning will add up to big results in the long-term.
* Soul – Working on yourself. As Socrates said, “An unexamined life is not worth living”. Too many people are just bumbling through their life, living in their zone of comfort, and quietly miserable. That’s no way to live! For this “S”, we’ll focus on taking time to work on your inner self through brief weekly exercises, taking time for self-care, and focusing on improvement.
Slack Troubleshooting
We will utilize a few pieces of online software for this Challenge, primarily Slack, CoachCatalyst, and Zoom, with Slack being the primary interaction component. If this is your first time using slack, refer to this link for all your slack-related questions:
Slack Channels
Once you get into Slack, you’ll find a number of “channels”, which are basically like chat rooms. Each group (Squad) will have its own channel, and there are also larger, community channels. I’m going to go through the primary channels we’ll be using here to give you the lay of the land, so to speak.
01-shake-bar
This channel is where we introduce ourselves, talk about the daily wins and losses, ask for and give help and support, and keep the mood strong. This is where you’d post anything related to the challenge, banter, etc that isn’t specifically covered in one of the other channels.
02-supply
The first component of our 4 Elemental S’s is Supply. This refers to the quality of your nutrition and how you’re fueling your body. Giving your body the resources it needs to repair, move, and operate in a healthy way is a foundational piece of building the body you want and feeling your best. This channel is used for nutrition questions, recipe sharing, helpful articles, etc.
For more information regarding nutrition, check out our Quickstart Nutrition Guide here.
03-sharpen
The next Elemental S we’ll cover is Sharpen, which covers the training of your physical body. In this channel we’ll address questions regarding strength, conditioning, mobility, and other questions of the physical. It’s also where you’ll see workouts posted, training videos, and the like.
04-study
The third Elemental S is Study. To study means to strengthen your mental muscle by learning new things. The Relentless Family believes strongly that if you’re not actively seeking out new things to learn and improve then you’re at best stagnant and at worst getting left behind in life.
Humans are naturally curious, information-seeking beings and to deny that leads to depression, weakness, and lack of satisfaction. This channel will be pretty open to a wide variety of topics from book recommendations and reviews, discussions on skills and ideas, and ways to improve your learning experience.
05-soul
The final Elemental S is “Soul”. Now, that may or may not include some spiritual belief. We’re not here to judge, preach, or push you in any particular direction there. Your path is your path.
Instead, what we’re talking about is your ability to take care of your internal self. We’ll be talking about introspection, recognizing responses and habits, stress reduction, mental focus, achieving “flow” states, and things of that nature. Basically, if it deals with improving your inner self, it’ll come up here.
06-leaderboard
This is where you get to see the results of your work and how it’s stacking up to other squads!
Each squad will be rated by their score and it’ll be posted in here. Updates will happen on a weekly basis.
Each week is an opportunity for both bragging rights as well as prizes for the leading teams, in addition to your overall success.
Here’s where the rubber meets the road and the accountability really takes place.
Please refer to the Scoring section of this document later on for how the points actually stack up.
07-support
If you have questions or need one-on-one coaching, reach out to us via the support channel, or DM a coach directly.
Squads
We’ll be placing all full members into squads, which are our groups of three that you’ll be scored with and leaning on for this challenge. While everyone in the Challenge, both members and coaches, will be happy to support you in your journey, this is your crew for the Challenge.
If you would like to be in a squad with someone in particular, please DM a coach, or perhaps you already put it on your application. We’ll do our best to accommodate your placement wish.
Each member of your squad will take a turn as “Squad Leader” for two weeks and be responsible for filling out the score form and sending it in. As a group, you can decide on the order for the two week blocks, but that needs to be submitted to the staff during week one (you all get a point for doing it, and another point for each successful submission!) so we know who is responsible.
During those two weeks, you will be responsible for tallying your squads score (by counting the proof pics) and keeping the team focused and driven.
Note: You may not know or see eye-to-eye with your squadmates initially. That’s part of the game.
What matters is that all members of the squad are pulling towards a common goal and all can provide equal value to the greater good.
Scoring
Here’s how you score points for your team, in six categories:
*Watching the Weekly Videos
-Watch the video so you know your assignments for the week (3 points)
Proof: Pic of the screen while it’s playing.
Possible points per squad per week: 9 (3 points per video x 3 members)
*Special Assignments/Coach Catalyst
Proof: Post numbers or a pic of the screen, where appropriate.
-Read this Quickstart Manual (post pic, 1 point/squad member)
-Enter Week 1, Week 3, and Week 6 measurements in Coach Catalyst under “Data” section: Weight, Waist at Navel in Inches (1 point each, each time/squad member)
-Enter Week 1, Week 3, and Week 6 progress pictures in Coach Catalyst under “Data” section: Front and Side (1 point each, each time/squad member)
-Post goals for the six weeks in your Squad channel (1 point/squad member)
-Submit your squad’s order of leadership in Week 1 (3 points/squad)
-Submit your squad’s total points each week (1 point/week/squad)
-Post 3-week and 6-week Reflections in your Squad channel (1 point each/squad member)
-Coach Catalyst: You will have a program going in Coach Catalyst where you, individually, will earn points for your squad by doing your “habits of the day”. If you score a 100% for the week, that’s worth 7 points. 80%-99% is 5 points. 50-79% is worth 3 points. 1-49% is a 1 point score. All per member.
Possible points per squad per week: Variable, depending on which week.
*Supply
-Compliant meal: 1 point per member
Reminder: Her’s our basic nutrition guide which contains definition of a “Compliant Meal”.
Proof: plate pic
Maximum possible points per squad per week: 63 (3 meals per day x 7 days x 3 members)
*Sharpen
-Completed workout: 1 point per member, up to 5/week
Proof: Sweaty Selfie
Maximum possible points per squad per week: 15 (5 workouts x 3 members)
*Study
-Completed Assignment: 3 points per member
Proof: pic of completed assignment
Possible points per squad per week: 9 (3 points per assignment x 3 members)
*Soul
-Completed Assignment: 3 points per member
Proof: pic or video
Maximum possible points per squad per week: 9 (3 points per op x 3 members)
Each Squad Leader will be responsible for tracking his squad’s scores.
We’ll be using the honor system throughout, so the entire process depends on the integrity and goodwill of each and every one of you in the group.
Take note here that we are rewarding based on your activities and actions. It doesn’t matter if you’re the best athlete in the group or the worst. It doesn’t matter if you’re the quickest reader and learner or the slowest. What matters is that you show up, do the things you need to do, and you’ll earn your progress. There’s nothing like the satisfaction that comes from seeing the results of honest effort, and this program will bring that.
Putting It All Together
Here is how the Relentless Team Challenge experience will work when all these parts are put together:
1. Each week there will be a video posted detailing the coming week, the challenges, and Q&A. At some point, these may become live options, but at first for the ease of scheduling we’ll record them and post them. Make sure to watch these as they’ll set up your week and they are worth points.
2. Over the next week, you and your squadmates will work to complete all assignments:
* Intro Videos
* Supply – Nutrition
* Sharpen – Training and Exercise
* Study – Mindset and Learning
* Soul – Self care and Exploration
* Special Assignments (measurements, progress pictures, Coach Catalyst, etc)
3. You and the rest of your squad will post up proof pics within your channel.
4. Your squad leader will track your squad’s points for the week and submit the tracking form.
5. The coaches will update the leaderboard and keep a running tally of your progress.
This will build, week to week, as you continue to make progress and see the results that come from consistency.
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If you have any questions, or if there are details you think we’ve missed or done a poor job explaining, please reach out via the support channel.
Once again, welcome to Relentless.
I can’t wait to start on this journey with you!