I was the girl in the back of the gym smoking pot. But when my boys were born, I wanted to be an active mom but I couldn’t run around the block without gasping for air. So I ran a 5K. You would’ve thought I won an Olympic gold medal by how I felt. Me? The ex-pack-a-day-smoker ran a 5K? Me? Who was suicidal in her late 20s with an addiction that landed her in a mental institution? I ran a 5K? No way! And if I did that, what else could I do?

That began my fitness journey. I went from 5Ks to half marathons to triathlons to marathons and even 3 Ironman triathlons (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run).
Though I started my career on Wall Street and Silicon Valley, I became a preschool teacher when my kids were born. But that job interfered with my desire to be a super present mom. I quit and became a blogger writing about my journey from the couch to Ironman. In 2015 I needed to make some cash to pay for my kid’s music lessons and I asked their elementary school principal if I could do a little run club after school and I’d donate a percentage of my profits to the PTA. She said yes. And so I started.

I had NO IDEA what would come next.

I took the kids to race a 5k just like I had done. They felt the same empowerment I did. And I knew I had the opportunity to give children confidence through running. I focused on creating a series of games and drills that children loved, but that were difficult enough so they felt empowered by completing it. After three years of trial and error, the EmpowerFit Curriculum was born and local schools were calling me to bring EmpowerFit to their schools.

In 2018, I began to teach moms from across the country to start their own independent business to bring EmpowerFit to their communities. As of May 2023, we are present in close to 200 communities, across 41 states, and have worked with over 10,000 children.

Prior to 2023, the only way to offer EmpowerFit to your community was if you were a mom and wanted to start a business. This year, in addition to our Elite program for moms where we teach them business basics, mindset and the EmpowerFit curriculum, I launched the EmpowerFit Certification. A shorter program so that anyone interested in the topic could learn the games and teach them in gyms, rec centers, schools etc.

About the book: Empowered By Discomfort Every once in a while, a book comes along that changes your mindset at such a fundamental level that nothing is the same after it. That’s what Empowered by Discomfort by Cristina M. Ramirez does. After her husband asked to be taken off life support, Cristina had to recreate life as a widowed single mom of two teenage boys. The tools she used to get through the worst year of her life, were the same she had been using to coach her clients for years.

This Amazon best seller is easy to read, will move you emotionally, and give you a specific method to face any challenge with confidence.

Story angles Cristina can speak to –

CHILDREN

• How to build confident children by allowing them to fail.
• It’s a myth that the teen years are terrible, most parents can love having a teen in the house.
• What is a growth mindset and how you can help your child have one.
• The biggest mistake parents make with children and sports.
• How not giving yourself permission to follow your own dreams will ruin the relationship with your child.
• Why it’s not selfish for a mom to think of her own dreams.
• Why the trophy culture ruins a child
• How to empower your young child without creating a little monster

MONEY

• Why your bank account is a reflection of your thoughts
• How to harness your 5 superpowers to change your financial future
• The most powerful 2 step exercise you can do to change your money mindset

CAREER

• How the words you use at work will predict your future career path
• 3 mindset shifts to set you up for a promotion
• Using the power wheel to advance your career

HEALTH/GRIEF

• Health starts in your head
• Release stress by welcoming discomfort
• There is life after death of a loved one
• There is life after addiction
• 3 gentle mantras to ease a grief wave

BUSINESS

• How empowering your team with a growth mindset will increase your bottom line.
• 3 things all great leaders do.
• 3 small shifts that help you retain your employees

What your REAL company culture is beyond your mission statement.

Website www.cristinamramirez.com