P90- This Could Be YOUR Beginning!

Many of you who hear the name "Beachbody" automatically think, "Ohhhh, P90X right? That's what Beachbody is?" And RIGHTLY so! Tony Horton's P90X series is one of the BEST in the entire world; and no, I do not think I am exaggerating. It truly is that incredible. P90X3 did absolute wonders for me, and I plan to go back to it many times in the future, probably with the help of the 21 Day Fix containers for my portion control!

So, yes, Tony Horton was one of the first trainers to ever jump on the Beachbody board with Beachbody's CEO Carl Dakeiler, way back in the day! Tony is an amazing person (I got to meet him at Coach Summit in 2014), and when he makes a program, he truly puts his heart and soul into every single move and video, even if he is cracking jokes to the guys about how whimpy they are! He knows what people NEED, and he knows what people want. P90X, P90X2, and P90X3 have all been breakthrough programs in themselves, but have you ever looked at them and thought to yourself, "That is WAY too intense for me!!!"?

Well, Tony heard those voices, and he actually LISTENED! He has created his newest program P90 just for those of you who have always wanted to try his programs, but wanted a way to ease into them without injury, failure, and to just know what to expect! It will still be 90 days of a top of the line program, with a multitude of exercises to get you in incredible shape, but will be without that "X" for that crazy extreme the other P90X videos have!

You may love P90 if...

-You are totally new to fitness and don't know where to begin
-You used to work out ALL of the time, but over time have gotten sidetracked and want a spot to begin again
-You have been injured in the past and want something that will push you, but keep you safe from further injury
-If you have always been a Tony Horton lover, but not able to handle his other series quite yet!
-If you have just finished P90X, P90X2, or P90X3, and want to maintain your results and check out some new moves!

P90 will still be incredibly effective without as much of the intensity, because similar to the other P90X programs, it will focus on sectional progression. Basically what that means, is that it will be cut down into different phases. Each phase will give you a period of time in which the moves are a little hard, then you begin to master them, then you have time to do them well and confidently. As soon as your body is used to them, it moves on to the next phase that is a little tougher, so your body never gets used to one spot and is always progressing, equaling intensified results!

You will get 10 workouts on 4 DVD's, all ranging from 25-45 minutes long! You will be able to do all of these workouts right in the comfort of your own home! The only space you will need is enough to step from side to side, so move the coffee table out of the middle of the living room floor with me and get to WORK! ;)

You will also receive...

*Super simple nutrition plan: no counting calories or cutting out food groups, just simple nutrition to maximize your results and burn fat throughout the day!

*4 Step Power Plan: Tony's "golden rules" for you to abide by on the first day that will maximize your results for the entirety of the program!

*Resistance Band: no need to go buy an entire gym for your house! This is ALL you need!

*6 Day Shred: a plan for the times that you need a QUICK FIX, faster than fast!

*Your 90 Day Workout Calendar: abide by this specific calendar for the program- it was made perfectly to give you the BEST results you can get!

Get the P90 Challenge Pack with Shakeology for an INCREDIBLE deal! No more $50/month gym memberships that you're barely going to use. Invest money in a program that works, that you will have forever, with the best trainer out there right there in your home helping you every step of the way. Also, a nutrient dense shake that will change you from the inside out in ways you could never imagine!

Want to join my next Fitness Support Group to have help, support, nutrition tips, fitness tips, and encouragement with a few other people along the way? Apply below!

 This could be YOUR beginning to fitness FOREVER!

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P90X3 Week 3, and a little something NEW!

"BY FAILING TO PREPARE, YOU ARE PREPARING TO FAIL!" -Benjamin Franklin

The Meal Plan

Image from declutterhome.com

I'm going to start off  by saying that this week has been FILLED with so many foodie temptations, and I have given in a few too many times. From my Pure Romance party, to nights out with friends, junk food has been slowly creeping back into my everyday routine and filling my fridge and pantries. Therefore, I took today to literally throw away ALL of the junk food that was in my house! If there wasn't much left, it was trashed. If there was, I distributed it to Stephen, his work, and other friends. But, I HAD to make sure it was gone. That's the first thing I do every time I decide that I need a fresh start- the bad must go out for the good to come in! Plus, I am the worst with food temptations and I have virtually no self control whatsoever, haha! So I know if it's in the house, no matter how good my intentions are, I will probably fail.

I am also usually a sucker for buying the super high sodium flavor packets for any recipe, so I'm going to try to turn a new leaf and really follow either the seasoning recipes from the 21 Day Fix meal plan book, or ones that I find online! I found this recipe for taco seasoning yesterday, and it was honestly delicious!

Taco Seasoning Recipe

1 tablespoon chili powder

½ teaspoon garlic powder

• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

*If you want it without any spice, remove the red pepper flakes!*

The Workouts

On my yoga day, (of all workouts days, right? lol) I really injured my neck. It was the rolling from boat to plow move that did it for me. I'm learning I just need to stay away from plow because that was not the first time I have hurt my neck from pulling it during that move! Anyway, it was pretty painful to do much, so I resorted to more weight lifting exercises (that didn't involve a ton of running and jumping around).

Image from howdoigetfit.com

I whipped out the one program I have yet to do more than a few workouts from, this week:
 BODY BEAST! (which is actually on a BIG sale right now). I have absolutely LOVED it so far. If you are like me, and more of a weight-lifting kinda gal or guy and not much of a cardio lover, you would definitely love this program.

If you check out these results, you can see that Body Beast + Shakeology does amazing things for men AND women!

Image from teambeachbody.com

My workout schedule for this week looked like this:

Monday: P90X3 Synergistics X & Dynamix X

Tuesday: P90X3 Yoga X and Cold Start

Wednesday: my rest day from neck injury

Thursday: Body Beast Back/Biceps

Friday: P90X Plyometrics X (an extra in the Body Beast program- I actually really loved it this time around!)

Saturday: Body Beast Abs/21 Day Fix Yoga

Sunday: Body Beast Shoulders/21 Day Fix 10 Minute Fix for Abs

I know my schedule was pretty all over the place, but I did really enjoy waking up each morning, sorting through my DVD's, and picking out the workout that I was really in the mood to do. I'm starting to rack up enough workouts to be able to do that, lol! And, honestly, nothing is better than rolling out of bed, heading downstairs, doing a little work, and getting an incredible workout on my living room floor with my own personal trainer. Next week, I just need to make sure I get a bit more cardio in there! Plyo and Synergistics were really the only ones with a cardio mix to them.

3 Day Refresh: Round 2!

Our wedding is three weeks out, so I'm going to start doing a bit of carb cutting, more intense workouts, and throwing in a 3 Day Refresh closer to the day! I'm actually doing a FREE 3-DAY REFRESH GIVEAWAY! So if you're interested in finding out more about that, GO TO MY FACEBOOK PAGE, follow the rules, and your name will be added to the pool of contestants! If you'd like to go ahead and purchase the Refresh yourself, read more about it HERE and purchase HERE.

The Business

In my business, I am more thankful than ever that I will get to have our wedding day off and week for the honeymoon to cruise through Jamaica and Haiti, without having to beg for the days off from my boss... because, well, I AM my own boss! We are having an upcoming 21 Day Smart Start for NEW Beachbody Coaches in just a couple of weeks! If you would like to start YOUR journey to financial, physical, and family FREEDOM, apply below and I will contact you right away!

With love,

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Why Women Should Lift Weights

When I first started my weight loss journey, I was similar to many women in the fact that I assumed lifting weights, especially heavy ones, would result in me getting bulky, broad, and a thick look that I didn't want. I wanted to get a lean, elongated, and a sexy sculpted body. What I didn't realize at the time, was that the exact thing that I thought would bring me away from the results I wanted, was the one thing that actually was going to get me there. 

Ladies: lifting HEAVY weights are the KEY to getting lean, sexy, sculpted bodies!!!

When I did my first round of P90X3, I shedded 8 inches of fat overall on my body, but gained a few pounds in lean muscle. I never lifted anything less than a 10 lb dumbbell, and that's what I used for the exercises that required a light weight. So many times when women begin to exercise, we gain a few pounds in the process and totally lose sight of the big picture: that weight is just a number! It is NOT the main source we should be looking at for our progress. Look in the mirror! Try on your old clothes! Take the measuring tape out! Weight gain can simply mean that we are putting on muscle- but that is GOOD, because although muscle weighs more than fat, muscle also SCORCHES fat! The more muscle you have, the more fat you are going to lose, because muscle burns significantly more calories than fat even at a resting state. Therefore, the more muscle you have, the more weight you are going to lose by doing virtually nothing. Will you gain a few more pounds? Maybe. But will you look a heck of a lot better? YES!

Here are some of the reasons why women will NEVER get bulky, or start to look "manly" from weightlifting:

1. Women naturally do not even possess the testosterone levels to gain muscle mass like men. Normal testosterone levels for men fall between 200-1200 ng/dl, while testosterone levels for women are typically between 15-70 ng/dl. Therefore, even if a man is at the lowest end of the testosterone level, and a woman is at the highest, the man would still have TWICE the amount of testosterone! Women do not contain the hormonal support to ever gain muscle like a man. If you ever see female bodybuilders that seem to possess similar muscle mass to men, it is because they are using outside testosterone injections or steroids- they are doing something to alter the natural state of their bodies and testosterone levels. 

2. Studies have SHOWN that men and women can train the exact same way- meaning, women MUST lift those HEAVY weights in order to achieve the sexy "toned" look that we want. Lifting heavy weights will give us the "V" shaped back (but not broad like a man's, because again, that is not possible for our bodies), the shapely legs and lifted booty, the tight, lean, sculpted arms, and of course that flat tummy we ALWAYS dream of! In reality, lifting light weights for a long period of time will just increase your muscle endurance, while lifting heavy weights will build your muscle strength- burning fat, increasing metabolism, and sculpting your muscles even more.

3. The word "toning" is actually a misconception. I still use the term, because I think of it in a different aspect than some, but here's the kicker: our muscles do not change. When some people say "tone your muscles," we are really just shedding the fat around them and making them protrude more. Now, we can build muscle and make them bigger, we can LOSE muscle, but we cannot "tone" it. The bigger we make our muscles, the leaner we will look. :)

4. Sometimes when women (or men) begin to train in weight lifting, they do get bigger and bulkier and blame it on lifting weights. This is simply because those people are gaining actual weight in fat by consuming too many calories. Along with weight lifting, we still need to be at a calorie deficit to lose weight. Do not think since you are lifting heavy weights, you also need to be consuming thousands of calories to make up for it and "feed your muscles." That's not the case. In fact, people can overeat on very healthy foods as well- healthy foods can still add up to a lot of calories! The main thing you want to make sure you are doing is feeding your body and muscles the proper nutrients it needs DIRECTLY after lifting weights, and that is protein! A simple protein shake (or for me, Shakeology) will do the trick. But other than that, I have lost the most weight and gained the most muscle from eating around a 1,500 calorie diet for my body and build. If I wanted to lose more weight, I would either have to create more of a calorie deficit in working out longer to burn more calories, or eating even less. 

Therefore, if you are getting bulky and thicker "from weightlifting," it's really that you are gaining weight in general.

Alright ladies, I hope this cleared the air on some of your weightlifting fears! So FEAR NOT those big weights! Get all up in the heavy weight zone at the gym and boot the guys out of the way! Doing a Beachbody program like me? Bring those heavy weights HOME! Don't spend money on the 3 lb'ers! Show those guys who's BOSS! ;)

With love,