Greetings and salutations! As you know, variety is the spice of life. I consider myself a P90X/Tony Horton girl through and through, but sometimes you just have to go a little out of your comfort zone and see what else is out there. You know, push yourself in new ways, just to see what the 'ol body can do. Well let me tell you, Shaun T's new program, "Insanity," does JUST that!
I received a preview copy of one of the DVDs (Plyometric Cardio Circuit) that will be part of the full Insanity package about five weeks ago, and have done the 42 minute workout on five different occassions. It's SERIOUS cardio, and a butt-kicking good time! I found myself, more than once, asking myself (while gasping for air), "Is this guy crazy?" Obviously, Insanity lives up to it's name.
So, for those of you who want to dig a little deeper and see how fit you REALLY are, you might just give Insanity 60 days of your time. Don't be shocked...there's no Hip Hop Abs here, it's pure cardio drills where you keep up a high intensity for a longer time with a short rest period. Shaun T has simply pushed interval training to a new level.
Scheduled to be released in July, once released, you will be able to order it here. If you'd like a heads up on the release date, just send me an e-mail through my coaching page, and I'll let you know when it's available. Once you're ready for some Insanity, you might want a little support, so go ahead and sign up for my fitness crew and I can help you on those days when you, too, think Shaun T. might just be a little insane...
Greetings and Salutations everyone! I've gotten a ton of comments lately about how motivational others find me because of my personal commitment to my P90X workouts. Yeah, it's true that I have pushed play every day for almost 90 days, but let's be honest here. I had to make some serious changes in my life in order to make that happen. I haven't always been the most health-conscious, fitness oriented person...in fact, my family is shocked that I lasted one week with Tony Horton and his "Bring it!" madness. They all figured that I'd stick with it for awhile, get frustrated, and plop my butt back on the sofa. Part of the challenge for me was in proving them wrong, but more importantly it was about ditching the excuses that I would have made in the past.
However, along the way something life changing happened...I fell in love with exercise, my gains in strength, and more importantly, I fell in love with myself again. I found my niche, that product or exercise regimen that works for me, and because I found that 'something' that I truly enjoy, I'm inspired and motivated to do it again, and again, and again, day after day.
We can all make excuses that prevent us from making change in our lives. We're too tired, the kids have baseball practice, we have dinner to cook for the family, we work too many hours, "The Biggest Loser" is on, blah, blah, blah. I made those same excuses...but they certainly didn't help me in feeling better physically and mentally, and they certainly didn't make me a healthier person. I finally made the commitment to work out because I want to feel less tired at the end of the day, I want to feel good in my own skin, and because I want to be the healthiest version of myself for both myself AND my family. Guess what? Working out actually works! Sometimes it would be easier to fall back into that rut where my excuses run my life, but I'm not willing to jeapordize the good work that I've done on me. I've invested too much in my self, committed that sweat equity into myself, and you what what else? I deserve it! I deserve the opportunity to invest in myself. I think you do, too.
I've included a little video that highlights many of the programs available through Beachbody. For those of you who say time is of the essence, check out 10-Minute trainer or Slim in 6. Want to punch and kick your stress away? Turbo Jam might be the ticket for you. Want to include some serious strength training? ChaLean Extreme or P90X may be a perfect fit. Just find something that you like and enjoy, so that you can commit to doing it every day. If you have any questions about any of the products available through Beachbody, just send me a message through my coaching page. Otherwise, find an activity that gets your heart rate up and get moving, today! Don't put it off until tomorrow or next week...because if you do, you may never start. Today's the day...so get to it!
You can also sign up to be part of my fitness team here (just click the little "Join") tab at the top of the page). It's FREE, and you'll get some messages from me from time to time to keep you on top of your game. If you need help with fitness or nutrition questions, I'm there. Oh, and did I say already that it was FREE?! Plus, if you ever desire that motivational kick in the pants, I'd be more than happy to do the kicking when needed!
Greetings and Salutations my friends! I had the opportunity today to travel to Atlanta for a Beachbody business meeting that had Tony Horton (fitness trainer extraordinaire for those of you who may not recognize him) as a special guest speaker. In one word, I'd categorize his talk with us as simply inspirational.
Tony is all about getting people healthier. You see, we have a HUGE epidemic in our country called obesity. Sadly, it's only getting BIGGER (Georgia, the state where the business meeting was held holds the current record--along with three other states--as having the highest rate of obesity in the U.S. at over 30% of the state's population), and the only way we can reverse this trend is to get people off their butts and moving again. The consequences of not making changes can be catestrophic...diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, heck, even death.
So here's a little tidbit that Tony said several times (he would call them "little nuggets") that I thought was really key: "If you worked out today, you're already healthier than you were yesterday." Think about it...just one workout improves your health. Imagine if you string 7 of those in a row? How about 14? 21? 90? How about a lifetime? Imagine the benefits you'd reap from a lifetime of exercise. Think the trend towards obesity might shift? Think we might be able to reap some benefits as a nation?
I know, I know, you have kids to take to baseball, after school piano practice, dinner to cook for the family, dogs to walk, and "Dancing with the Stars" is back on, so I know that's a priority as well. BUT, shouldn't you be a priority somewhere in that 24-hour day? Isn't there 60 minutes, 45 minutes, 30 minutes, heck even 10 minutes that you could give just to yourself and your own health?
There are all kids of programs that you can do right from the comfort of your own home (or those that take place outside as well if you prefer), that run the gamut of time required from 10 minutes (Tony Horton's 10 minute trainer), 30-45 minutes (Chalene Johnson's Turbo Jam), as well as longer, more intense programs such as P90X and ChaLean Extreme). Heck, you can even put the kids in a stroller, or put the dog on a leash and go for a walk...it doesn't matter to me as long as you make the committment to do SOMETHING for yourself that makes you healthier today than you were yesterday.
As Tony Horton always says, "Do your best, and forget the rest." It's important folks to take that time out for you, and for you only. Those people in your life really would like for you to be there for as long as possible, and if you can put a little sweat equity into yourself, the benefits will be well worth it. If you have questions about these workout programs, or want some fitness support, let me know.
I'm off to workout...I want to be healthier than I was yesterday.
Greetings and salutations my friends! I've gotten some recent e-mails and messages through Facebook about, you guessed it, that number on the scales: Why is it going up, why have I plateaued, why isn't it dropping as quickly as it should?. Let me tell you...I understand your pain, but we need to look at a few things here.
That number on the scale isn't the end all be all to weight loss. In fact, that number on the scale can oftentimes do more to hurt your efforts at weight loss than it can to help. Oh sure, when the numbers drop each week, we're elated and it helps boost our motivation. But what happens when it doesn't work that way? After a week of busting our butts, do we simply quit when we don't lose a number on the scale? I know of more than one person who simply gave up exercising and eating right after 2, 3, 4, 8 weeks because they didn't meet the 'magic number' that they had in their head. Come on now...you and I both know that there's more to being healthy than a scale, and is that scale SO powerful that it's going to allow you to quit and not meet your goals?
My advice is to ditch the scale. Put it in the linen closet, put it somewhere out of reach so you're not tempted to just take a peak. Instead, look at the other fantastic ways your body is showing you that you're making strides towards your goals. Do your clothes fit loser? Do you look more toned in the mirror? Have you lost the double chin? Do your biceps no longer wave in the breeze when your hands are in the air? How about that muffin top? Gone yet? Take pictures of yourself every 30 days and put them side by side. What changes do you see? If you've been taking your fitness and nutrition seriously, I know without a doubt that you will see progress.
When I first started my cycle of P90X in April, I was elated with the scale. I dropped about 10 pounds that first 30 days, but when I compared my day 1 to day 30 pictures, I wasn't as elated; I really didn't look that different. At day 60, I only lost another 4 pounds, and I'll be honest, got a little discouraged, but when I looked at my side by side pictures from day 30 to 60, the difference was HUGE! The layer of blubber from my middle was gone, the muffin top missing, and arms with definition. HUGE changes, not on the scale, but in inches and pant's sizes (even though I weigh more now than I did when I met my husband, I'm a full pant's size smaller!). Even yesterday, as I was walking the dogs and got caught in a rainstorm, I ran home 3/4 of a mile. Not ONCE did my shorts ride up my inner thighs! Now THAT is progress.
It's time to get to work...keep working hard at it, push the play button (on an exercise DVD, silly), go for a run, push the kids in the stroller, do something to get your body moving and your heartrate up. But do NOT get yourself stuck in the rut of staring at the scale. Need some help? Just join my fitness team here with a free account and I'll be more than happy to help you along the way. If you need me to come over and throw out your scale, I'll be more than happy to do that for you as well!
Hi Everyone! Not only do I bring literary enrichment to the minds of 14-year olds (my full-time gig is an 8th grade lit. teacher), I also help individuals meet their fitness and nutrition goals. I'm an ACE certified personal trainer and Beachbody Coach. To make lifelong changes, it's important that individuals invest in themselves, and the currency used is what I call, "Sweat Equity."
