It can be hard to check your ego at the door, especially when you're at the top of your game. But ego-checking was essential when celebrity trainer and fitness evangelist Ron "Boss" Everline decided to train with top athletes in different parts of the fitness world. Learning skills, tackling new challenges, and, yes, getting humbled were all part of the drill.
Here, Everline, whose coaching roster includes the likes of Kevin Hart, goes head to head with top CrossFit star Brooke Wells in a workout of the day (WOD). Even though Everline has never set foot in Wells' gym, she doesn't take it easy on him with seven rounds of handstand push-ups, power cleans, squats, and toes-to-bar.
"Brooke is absolutely a beast," Everline said afterward. "I expected it to be hard. I didn't expect anything else. She's 100 percent at the top of her class for a reason."
Everline is a master motivator. The philosophy guiding his coaching program, Just Train, is: "Just train the mind. The body will follow." A CrossFit newbie, Everline was nervous going in here. Not only was he doing it for the first time, but he was working out with one of the sport's top competitors. But the mental toughness Everline has built in his own training allowed him to tackle the challenge with grit and determination.
Everline's journeys to other athletes' turfs shows the power of stepping out of your comfort zone. Struggling can humble you, but when you finally succeed, it gives you new confidence, too. When you train at a high level in any part of the fitness world, you gain the strength and mental fortitude to survive unfamiliar challenges.
Wells and Everline's workout also shows the power of collaboration. It's easy to surround yourself with people just like you, but you won't always learn something new. But when you join forces with someone a little different, you'll learn new things, find new motivation, and make your world bigger.
"It's cool to work out with another person in the fitness world that's really good at what they do," Wells says. "[Everline] never thought about quitting one time."
If your own training needs a shot of motivation, there's nothing like seeing this otherwise self-assured athlete take on an excruciating challenge and fight through with the sheer force of will. Motivation is contagious, and you'll be fired up to go crush your own workout. What new challenge will you take on?