Above: Susie and Robyn are personal trainers at Elite Fitness for Women!

The greatest part of my job is connecting with different athletes in my community. With a range of gym-goers, yogis, runners and sports fanatics, a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm is waiting to be discovered.

Many active people decide to take their passion for fitness and sport to the next level by making it their profession. Personal trainers, fitness class leaders and yoga instructors are just a few that come to mind. Besides being an expert in their chosen industry, these individuals are keen in finding the perfect garment to play hard and sweat hard in.

As a community leader, I love listening to what instructors in my store as well as at the studios have to say:

"I wish you carried those crops all year around – they're great for outdoor and indoor training with my clients."

"This pocket would be better for running if it was lower on the jacket."

"I love the higher neck on this top when I teach spin! Does it come in more colours?"

We know it's not always a lovefest with our garments. We also know that we can’t get better without our athletes' positive and constructive feedback. Our research and development team members help us everyday in creating components for people to live a longer, healthier and more fun life.

Besides helping bring design feedback to life, our R&D team partnerships allow for instructors to broaden their health and fitness community through in store classes and demonstrations.

You might see them teaching at your nearest lululemon's Sunday morning yoga class. You might see them sweating hard while they lead you into the 59th minute of your hardcore spin class. You may even see them looking back at you in the mirror everyday! If you're interested in becoming part of our R&D team, visit your local store or click here for more information.

This Sunday, a group of elementary school students that I coach participated in a city wide 5k race in Washington, DC among various elementary schools. The race was part of a program called Girls on the Run, in which girls learn about wellness and healthy lifestyles through running.

The Girls on the Run race was quite a contrast to a typical race in which most of the participants are adults. There was no nervous pacing or tense faces near the start. Perhaps unlike adults, the girls were in blissful ignorance of trying to achieve a personal best time, run perfect splits, or use the race to test their fitness. The girls were running for pure enjoyment. They treated the race like play. The girls could not wait to get to the line. Instead of the nervous pacing before the race, the girls were greeting each other and decorating their hair with ribbons and colored hairspray.

As I watched the girls finish the race, I saw looks of enjoyment and happiness. The students were waving to their parents and smiling. Not one of the girls asked me what their finishing time was. They were just proud to have finished a 5k, time had no meaning to them. Post-race they were more concerned with cheering for their friends that were finishing, grabbing snacks, and having a good time. Even the winner, one of my own athletes, was just excited to have been out there.

All of my girls had stellar races. It made me think that if adult runners took a more playful attitude towards racing, just like the girls, and took the unnecessary pressure off, they would probably have much faster, stronger races.