What does real performance actually look like as you get older?

In this episode of The FitZen Project, Rachel sits down with nationally recognized performance coach, entrepreneur, and founder of the Chris Ryan Fitness app, Chris Ryan, for a conversation that goes far beyond workouts and aesthetics. Together, they unpack the intersection of fitness, leadership, longevity, parenting, entrepreneurship, and the energy it takes to truly show up in life.

Chris shares his journey from Division I track athlete to NBC’s STRONG trainer and connected fitness pioneer with MIRROR (lululemon Studio), while also diving into the mindset shifts that separate sustainable health from hustle culture extremes.

This conversation explores:

• Why health directly impacts leadership and executive presence
• The connection between fitness, confidence, and career growth
• Building strength and longevity without obsessive dieting
• Why mobility and recovery matter more than most people realize
• Parenting, presence, and creating healthy family culture
• How successful leaders prioritize themselves without guilt
• The role of discipline, consistency, and energy management
• Why “being in the business of yourself” changes everything

Chris also opens up about balancing ambition with family life as a husband, father of three, entrepreneur, and coach — proving that high performance doesn’t have to come at the expense of connection.

Whether you’re a corporate leader, entrepreneur, parent, athlete, or simply someone trying to feel better in your body and life, this episode is a reminder that your health isn’t separate from your success — it’s carrying it.

Connect with Chris:
Website: ChrisRyanFitness.com
Instagram: @ChrisRyanFitness

If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who needs the reminder that taking care of themselves is not selfish — it’s leadership.

And remember:
You are your most important project.

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Website: fitzenyoga.com

Music provided by: Purple Planet Music: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

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What if the thing keeping you stuck… is everything you keep trying to add?

In this powerful conversation, Rachel sits down with author, inventor, Ironman athlete, military veteran, and storyteller Scott Lackey to unpack what it really means to wake up to your life instead of slowly giving pieces of yourself away.

This conversation goes deep into self-awareness, identity, resilience, failure, personal reinvention, and the uncomfortable truth that sometimes peace comes through subtraction—not addition.

Scott shares the story behind his upcoming book Wake Up to Die Again, including the lightning strike moments that changed his life forever—from business success and devastating loss to discovering the difference between ownership vs stewardship, surrender vs control, and external achievement vs internal peace.

Together, Rachel and Scott explore:

✨ Why authenticity is becoming a survival skill
✨ The danger of constantly chasing “the next thing”
✨ How failure teaches what success never can
✨ The question that changed Scott’s life: What are you willing to sacrifice?
✨ Stewardship vs ownership in business, parenting, relationships, and identity
✨ The two voices in your head—and which one wins
✨ How self-awareness requires radical honesty
✨ Why subtraction may be the fastest path to peace
✨ What it means to “wake up to die again” vs waking up fully alive

This is one of those conversations that will likely stop you in your tracks and make you ask yourself harder questions.

And honestly? That’s the point.

If you’ve been feeling stuck, chasing, disconnected, over-performing, or quietly craving something more aligned… this one’s for you.

Support the show

Sign up for the FitZen Newsletter!

Get your FREE Guide: FitZen to Prioritize

Join the FitZen Revolution Waitlist!

Instagram: thefitzenproject

Website: fitzenyoga.com

Music provided by: Purple Planet Music: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

Follow my Blog on Substack!

💖 Love the Show? Help me Keep the Magic Going!
If The FitZen Project has ever made you laugh, cry, or feel a little more connected—consider supporting the podcast!

Your support helps me:

• Bring on more incredible guests
• Share powerful stories of healing, humor, and heart
• Keep the podcast ad-free and community-focused

🎧 Become a supporter today and help me keep the soul in storytelling.
Every dollar, share, and kind word means the world. Thank you for being part of the FitZen journey. 💫

What if the problem isn’t that you’re broken… but that you’ve been living inside inherited patterns you never consciously chose?

In this powerful conversation, I sit down with psychiatrist and author Dr. Meher Chahal, author of Unlicensed Medicine, to explore healing beyond conventional frameworks.

We talk about trauma, identity, inherited emotional patterns, nervous system awareness, self-leadership, and the tension so many high-achievers feel when they’ve done everything “right”… yet still feel disconnected.

This conversation bridges science and self-awareness, medicine and meaning, structure and something deeper.

If you’ve ever questioned why success doesn’t automatically equal peace… this one’s for you.

In this episode, we explore:

✨ Trauma and inherited emotional programming
✨ Nervous system awareness and healing
✨ Identity, conditioning, and subconscious patterns
✨ The gap between achievement and fulfillment
✨ Conventional psychiatry vs deeper healing conversations
✨ Self-awareness as a path to transformation
✨ What it really means to “come home” to yourself

Healing isn’t linear.
Self-leadership isn’t passive.
And sometimes the most important medicine isn’t what comes in a prescription bottle.

🎙 Love this episode?
Subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs this conversation.

Support the show

Sign up for the FitZen Newsletter!

Get your FREE Guide: FitZen to Prioritize

Join the FitZen Revolution Waitlist!

Instagram: thefitzenproject

Website: fitzenyoga.com

Music provided by: Purple Planet Music: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

Follow my Blog on Substack!

💖 Love the Show? Help me Keep the Magic Going!
If The FitZen Project has ever made you laugh, cry, or feel a little more connected—consider supporting the podcast!

Your support helps me:

• Bring on more incredible guests
• Share powerful stories of healing, humor, and heart
• Keep the podcast ad-free and community-focused

🎧 Become a supporter today and help me keep the soul in storytelling.
Every dollar, share, and kind word means the world. Thank you for being part of the FitZen journey. 💫