We close the gym for the week. September 7 through 13, no classes, no training, none of the usual routine. In its place: five days, three focuses a day. Something to think about, something to move through, something to sit with. All of it free, all of it from wherever you are.
How the week runs
Every day has the same three parts. Follow all of it or pick the one you need.
MindA conversation with our owners, our coaches, and specialists who work with athletes.
BodyA workout you can do at home or outside, no equipment needed. The week builds to Wednesday and comes back down.
SoulA short set of questions worth answering honestly, on paper, for nobody but you.
1
Monday
September 7
Mind
Why we do this week
Robert and Lauren on what mental health week is, why it lands in September, and what to expect over the next five days.
Body
Yoga and stretch, outdoors
Easy start
Soul
Where you actually are
Start the week by checking in honestly.
How am I really doing right now, mentally, physically, emotionally?
What am I carrying that I haven't said out loud to anyone?
What area of my life brings me the most joy right now? The most stress?
What's one thing I've been putting off that would actually fill me back up?
Am I showing up for myself the way I show up for everyone else?
2
Tuesday
September 8
Mind
What stress does to the body
Dr. Andrea Espinoza, a pulmonologist and lifestyle medicine specialist here in Metairie, on why sleep quietly decides what you eat the next day, and why the way of eating that works for someone else probably is not yours.
Body
Total body, at home
Building
Soul
Sleep and fuel
She named sleep as the thing she would have fixed sooner. Start there.
How did I sleep this week, and what did it change about how I ate the next day?
Am I eating in a way that suits my body, or following a plan that worked for someone else?
Which meals do I skip, and what am I usually doing instead of eating them?
Do I treat sleep as part of training, or as whatever is left over at the end of the day?
She said she wishes she had started sooner. What is mine, the thing I already know I need to change?
3
Wednesday
September 9
Mind
Performance anxiety and a full plate
Coach Sara Powers, who has coached at Ellevate for three years and holds a bachelor's in psychology from UNO, on where performance anxiety actually comes from, why burnout is rarely about workload, and what to do when your plate is already full.
Body
Cardio, sprints, conditioning
Peak
Soul
Pressure
She said burnout is rarely the workload by itself. Sit with that one.
Whose judgment am I actually performing for? What would change if I stopped?
What can I control in the next rep, the next hour? Name one cue I trust.
Is what is driving me right now fear, or something I genuinely value?
When did I last take feedback as criticism instead of as information?
Where is the support missing, and who have I not asked?
Where could rest actually fit this week, if I let it?
4
Thursday
September 10
Mind
Fueling, without the noise
Tavis Piatolly, a New Orleans sports dietitian who spent seven seasons as team dietitian for the Saints and fourteen years with Tulane Athletics, on why what you eat should change with what you are asking your body to do that day.
Body
Total body, at home
Coming down
Soul
Fuel and demand
His point was that the day should decide the plate, not the other way around.
Do I eat differently on a hard day than on a rest day, or roughly the same either way?
What am I asking my body to do this week, and am I fuelling it for that?
Where did my ideas about eating come from? Someone who knows me, or an algorithm?
When the week gets busy, which meal is the first to go?
Do I feed myself like someone I am taking care of?
5
Friday
September 11
Mind
Our coaches, in their own words
Five of us, on camera, answering the same questions we have been asking everyone else all week. What taking care of your mental health actually looks like day to day, how we reset when it gets to be too much, and the times training carried us through something hard.
Body
Yoga and stretch
Close it out easy
Soul
Who you lean on
Who in my life models the balance I want? What do they actually do?
When I'm overwhelmed, what's my go-to, and is it helping, or just getting me through?
What's one reset habit I've seen work for someone else that I could try?
Who could I lean on that I haven't reached out to lately?
If a coach asked how I take care of my mental health, what would my honest answer be?
If you need more than a week
Our coaches are coaches. We are not therapists or clinicians, and nothing here is treatment. What we can do is point you toward someone who is. Ask any coach on the floor, or call the gym and we'll help you find a starting place.
