Let's be honest...you might live under a rock if you have never heard of P90X. This is the "original" workout that came out 10 years ago. P90X3 came out last year and was extremely popular since the program was condensed into 30 minute workouts. P90X2 is like the step brother of the P90X family that was shipped off to military school for kicking too much ass. This program is the real deal from a butt kicking standpoint. P90X2 is geared more towards sports performance and is more of an elite training for athletes, which is one reason why I wanted to try it! I still play quite a bit of volleyball and at a fairly competitive level so for me, it was mainly to improve my performance on the court. Move faster, jump higher, and be in better physical shape to avoid injury. There is no strict calendar to follow, which makes P90X2 very unique when comparing it to other programs. It is broken up into 3 phases and although each phase has a recommended schedule for each week, they don't say to do each week for a given period of time. You are the judge of when you're ready to move on to the next phase. Each phase helps prepare you for the next group of workouts which is really nice. I started this workout after completing 2 rounds of P90X3, followed by a "rest" phase where I did PiYo. So I was in decent "P90X shape" coming into this workout. By that I mean, Tony makes you do a lot of pull-ups and push-ups along with quite a bit of balance work... just to give you an idea of where I was at with my workouts before starting.
Phase 1 - Foundation This Phase is geared towards teaching you most of the moves. The warm-ups stay pretty much the same in all the workouts so you quickly learn all the moves you'll be doing during that part of the workout. One thing that I really enjoyed about this program was that the warm-up was very comprehensive, so you do a lot of moves to get warm, then you stretch, and you foam roll in nearly all the warm-ups. The foam rolling piece is nice because normally I'm too lazy to do that...so it forces you to spend some time improving the quality of your muscles not just size and endurance. There are 6 workouts that you use in Phase 1, plus a bonus 7th workout Ab Ripper that you add on a couple of days. The schedule is setup so that you workout hard 4 days a week. Those workouts include high intensity core work, plyometric work, total body strength and a balance and strength workout. In between those workouts you mix in yoga one day and the other two days you can either take as rest days or do the Recovery + Mobility workout, which is a fantastic workout and something I tried to do at least once a week. I really enjoyed this Phase and I ended up doing it for 4 weeks before moving on. Here is a little video of me me doing one of the moves in the Balance + Power workout. This will also give you an idea of the space you will need, which isn't much! Phase 2 - Strength Phase 2 is similar to Phase 1, so you will go hard 4 days a week, 1 yoga day, and 2 recovery days. The intense workouts in this phase were some of my favorites out of all of the X2 workouts. I used to be a gym guy before I moved into doing home workouts. I wasn't good at actually getting TO the gym, but I did enjoy throwing some weight around while I was there. A big piece of the Phase 2 workouts is using a lot of dumbbells, push-ups, and pull-ups. Stuff that most guys (and some ladies) like!!! The awesome part of this program, and what sets it apart from just lifting weights "normally", is that you are rarely standing on 2 feet when doing lifts, or when you are doing push-ups you are using stability balls or medicine balls to balance on. This really engages all those stabilizer muscles and core muscles. As you progress through each phase, you definitely notice your balance improves with the moves that you are doing. I never upped my weight all that much but I did notice that I did more reps and my balance was much better. Phase 3 - Performance Once again, this phase is 4 days of hard workouts, 1 yoga day, and 2 rest or recovery workout days. The 4 days that you are "on" you use just 2 workouts, P.A.P Upper and P.A.P. Lower. P.A.P. stands for Post-Activation Potentiation. If you want to look into what that means exactly, here is a link to an article on the topic, Post-Activation Potentiation. To summarize: the goal of this type of training is to improve your explosive power as your muscles fatigue. My real life application of this is playing volleyball. This type of training will help me to be able to jump as high in my last game of the night as I was able to jump in my first game. If I'm being honest, this was my least favorite Phase. After the 2nd week, I found myself bored with the workouts and the schedule. I did 3 full weeks following the X2 schedule but in the 4th week I ended up switching to using P90X3's Complex Upper and Lower workouts which are also based on PAP training. This gave me a little more variety, which was nice. Overall Review Overall I really enjoyed this program, especially the first 2 phases and all the different workouts and moves. I definitely saw my strength and balance improve. I loved the complex nature of all the moves and it really challenged me. The only downside was the workouts did get a little long. For the person that just wants to get in and get it done, this wouldn't be the best workout for you. For someone that is transitioning from working out at the gym, I think it would be great from a timing standpoint. I would say this program is geared more towards strength and improving muscle endurance. My goal going into it was to actually put on some weight, which I was able to do without gaining any body fat. I don't know if I would recommend it to the person that wants to lose a lot of weight. It is probably better suited for the person that wants to drop some body fat % points, get a little stronger, improve muscle quality and improve sports performance. No matter where you are with your fitness, this program WILL challenge everyone. If you're more advanced, you will likely be able to move through the phases faster...but there is something for everyone with this program! My Results I'll start with my before and after pictures (before pictures are on the top, after on the bottom). I try to be as fair with this as possible, no flexing (except in the flexing ones), similar lighting, same time of day. When I started, my weight was the lowest it had been since right after college, 157 lbs. After finishing X2, I was up to 165 lbs!!! I personally see a difference in my back, shoulders and arms...and a little bit in my chest. If you're looking at the flexing pics, I definitely see more definition in my shoulders and back. Overall I'm pretty happy with my the changes! Some of the coolest numbers that I like to track are girth measurements and also the Fit Test numbers. I love that I basically maintained my waist measurement while adding 8 lbs. Based on the measurements, it seems my arms, thighs and butt got most of it. With the Fit Test, the before numbers were actually my after numbers after I completed my first round of P90X3. I set a goal at the beginning of X2 (with one of the Challenge Groups that I was running) that I wanted to be able to do 25 pull-ups and 100 push-ups without breaking. I fell a little short, but definitely saw some big gains in both of those areas. Another area that I didn't really notice getting stronger but based on the numbers from the "Ab In and Outs" my core strength/stamina definitely improved. The last thing that I want to point out is the cardiovascular work that these programs provide. So many people think they need to go pound the pavement or hop on an elliptical in order to work their heart. NOT TRUE. Before I started any P90X workouts my resting heart rate was 62 which is good, but you can see how much it improved. I will say X3 is a better cardio workout due to their being less breaks and shorter breaks. My heart rate maximizer numbers from a year ago were: Immediately after - 172 After 1 minute - 107, After 2 minutes - 107, After 3 minutes -79, After 4 minutes - 85. Basically what this test has you do is go all out with jumping jacks for 2 minutes to get your heart rate up then once you are done, you monitor how your heart rate recovers. The change here is crazy!!! After 2 minutes of basically sprinting, my heart is now able to recover to the point of my resting heart rate. If you want to live longer, your heart muscle needs to be stronger...and this workout definitely works that muscle too.
If this program sounds like something you are interested in trying out, I would love to chat with you.
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Hi there friends! If you follow us on Facebook, you might have seen that we got our Insanity Max:30 workout last night. We decided to give the first workout a shot and wanted to share this video with you of what a few of the moves look like...along with our review of this workout, Cardio Challenge. In the spirit of A Chipmunk Christmas we made the workout double time so Shaun T sounds like a chipmunk. We both are SUPER excited to continue with the other workouts in this program and plan on jumping in fully with our accountability group that starts on December 29th. We know we will need some support through this program, because if the first workout is any indication of the rest of them, it's something that will push you mentally and physically...EXACTLY what we need after the Holidays and getting over that post holiday slump!! You know what I'm talking about....right?? We only have 10 spots left so if you are interested in the group and want to take advantage of this deal, comment below or shoot us a message. We should also note that anyone who buys a Challenge Pack (Insanity Max:30 + Shakeology) before December 15th will get a $25 gift card from us to the retailer of their choosing!!! Shaun T hooked me on home workouts with Insanity and to this day, he's the ONLY ONE that can inspire me to do more than I think I can and push my body to its limits. My body wasn't the only thing that changed though....my MIND was stronger and it made me believe I could do anything...which also spilled over to the rest of my life. I love that the goal is to fail. I love that it pushes you right away and forces you to assess your own limits...and then INVITES you to shatter what you thought was your limit!! Eeek!! I can't wait!
**BONUS from us: anyone that orders a challenge pack THIS WEEK will also get a $25 gift card to either Amazon or iTunes! Who wants in?? Don't be shy! Beachbody's annual "Black Friday" sale is back. The great thing is that you don't have to wait until Friday to take advantage of these deals. Whether you are shopping for yourself or someone on your Christmas list, you will be able to find some equipment or program for just about anybody. The programs range from low intensity workouts like Slim Series and Hip Hop Abs to some of the most intense workouts like Insanity Asylum and P90X. If you aren't sure what program is right the fit feel free to send us a message. You can find the full list of sales and availability by clicking on any of the pictures. If you are anything like me, when I first was learning about nutrition and our body's metabolism I was trying to take in information from everywhere. It wasn't just good enough to know that eating green leafy veggies was healthy, I wanted to know why? I didn't want to just accept that High Intensity Interval Training was a better way to burn fat, I wanted to know why? I think the knowledge of knowing why is so important in making lasting changes to your lifestyle. You don't just have to take someone else's word for it, you understand the science behind it. If you guys are ok with it I would love to share some science with you from time to time, those of you that are like me trying to find your way with your fitness and health and want to go deeper you have us as a resource. So today wanted to share with you the concept of EPOC or Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption. EPOC, what is it and how does it affect weight loss? The main concept here revolves around creating an oxygen debt during exercise, that later needs to be repaid. Let's start by explaining how the debt is created in the first place and to understand that I'll briefly explain our body processes energy. Energy Transfer Systems Our body has three major systems that provide our cells (muscles) with energy. Let's use running as our activity of choice, specifically running as fast you can. ATP/PCr System When you start running the first system that kicks in is the ATP/PCr system. This system uses the energy in the bonds between Creatine and Phosphate in our cells. This system will provide roughly 10 seconds of energy. Glycolytic System After that, your body switches over to the Glycolytic System. This system uses glycogen stores in your muscle tissue and breaks that glycogen down into glucose. That glucose is then used to regenerate ATP (our cells energy source). This system has some byproducts, pyruvate and NADH. We eventually hit what is called the anaerobic threshold (AT), because ATP generation can't keep pace with energy expended, and we need to switch to the next system which requires oxygen. A person will usually be able to exercise intensely for about 80-90 seconds before this threshold is hit. You'll notice this when you are running when you have to make a more drastic slow down in your pace and you notice a little burning in your legs. Oxidative Phosphorylative System Once you hit that threshold your body then kicks into the third system the Oxidative Phosphorylative System. This system needs oxygen in order to function, hence oxidative in the title that means with oxygen. This system is the real powerhouse in energy transformation and supplies our cells with a bulk of the energy they need after that initial 90 seconds or so. Activities that do most of the work in this system would be considered aerobic activities because they are done WITH oxygen. Repaying your Debt Oxygen consumption doesn't immediately match up to energy demands when you begin an activity. As explained above it can take up to 2 minutes before your body kicks into that third stage of ATP generation. Prior to hitting your anaerobic threshold you are creating an oxygen deficit quickly. The rate slows as you get into the oxidative phorphorylative system but you never fully catch up. Therefore, the more intense your workout/activity, will result in a larger oxygen debt or deficit. This is where EPOC comes into play. After you are done working out your body needs additional oxygen to do 3 main tasks:*
Therefore, exercise intensity directly relates to longer excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). This is why we recommend the workouts that we do versus straight cardio or traditional weight lifting with longer breaks between sets. It is because of this that higher intensity workouts that involve some strength training is the best solution for fat loss. If your goal is something else, than there are other options out there. Just one specific example of how EPOC works, in one study an individual that did circuit weight training (bench, power clean, and squats), 10 reps, 4 sets of each and completed all of that in 31 minutes, had an elevated EPOC for the next 38 HOURS!!!! They actually stopped measuring at 38 hours so it actually could have been longer. This is where the magic happens when it comes to boosting metabolisms and fat loss. It's not what happens during the workout that really matters its what our bodies do to recover from that workout that really affects body composition. I'll end with a quote from Alan Aragon: "Caring how much fat is burned during training makes as much sense as caring how much muscle is built during training." *Information from The Essentials of Sport and Exercise Nutrition, Certification Manual 2nd Edition
These push-ups were the death of me for so long. I think the maximum that I was able to get weeks 1-4 was maybe 3 reps. I stuck with it. Laura suggested using two medicine balls, but I was stubborn to get it with only one. After 4 weeks of basically failing at this move, I was able to get 12 in a row!!! Just goes to show that if you are consistent with your actions to grow and improve, you will eventually. It may take a month, maybe a year, maybe multiple years, but you grow so much as person during that journey. If you can't tell I'm not only talking about doing push-ups, you can apply this to in area of your life where you want to achieve growth. We hope this video inspires you to keep working at something that you are struggling with right now. If we can help in any way, please comment below and we would love to chat. Well it's actually 7 rules...because I'm going to share a few more!! Try to drink enough water! There are SO many benefits to drinking water, but visually, this women's story is pretty stunning. She drank 3 liters of water every day for 4 weeks. Check out the difference! More here about her story! Basically I try to drink half my body weight in ounces....so if you weigh 200 lbs you should be drinking 100 ounces of water every day. Grab a gallon jug and try to drink the entire thing throughout the day. Set reminders in your phone, set small goals throughout the day...whatever you need to, just start guzzling!! Having a positive attitude no matter the situation. It's so easy to let life and your circumstances get to you...but you are NOT defined by your circumstances or what's happening to you right now. You get to make a choice about your attitude and how you're going to respond to crappy situations and cranky people...so make the choice. DECIDE to be happy. Stress less and SMILE more. Stress can have detrimental effects on your health if you let it linger. Stress free living looks different for each person...figure out what works for you and focus on finding PEACE somewhere! For me, prayer is where it's at. I trust that God is in control which takes all the stress off of me to figure things out. Lastly, just SMILE. It's amazing what it can do to change your outlook and the outlook and attitude of the people around you! I wanted to share a little bit of my experience and my transformation in the hopes that someone out there can relate and make a change for a healthier lifestyle too. I have always been super active with working out, playing volleyball and golf and other miscellaneous sports. Like most, I had my periods over the past 10-15 years where I didn't do as much but I always bounced back and got active again. My goal albeit a superficial one was always to get ripped, have a six pack and have big arms. How lame, right? I worked extremely hard at times in the gym to get to that perfect body but I never got there. I researched, I learned different lifts, I watched videos and talked to guys in the gym, but the progress was slow, if any. Why??? Although I was doing the physical stuff, I never fully embraced the lifestyle that would get me the results that I was hoping for. I was working hard in the gym but I was also working hard at the bar and fast food joints. On top of that, my mind was all about the physical, I could care less about my health, I just wanted abs!!! As you can see all of my "hard work" didn't lead to the abs that I had always wanted. The picture above was taken January 2013 before I really committed to the lifestyle of living a healthy life. My turning point was about 1 month prior to this picture when I had to go to the doctor for extreme back pain and she told me that based on my BMI I was obese. Part of me laughed it off, how could I be obese, I'm athletic? After really thinking about it I wasn't in a good place. I remember at night sitting on our couch eating my ice cream and my stomach would pop out of the bottom of my shirt. Yeah it was just Laura and I around but it was still embarrassing. So as the title of this post suggests, before I made any changes to my lifestyle I first had to change the way I looked at food and a healthy living and to some degree, exercise. I'll start with exercise because that is the easy one. Prior to all of this, even though I was working towards that 6 pack, kind of, I often justified my crappy food binges by saying I worked out or I will work out. Working out was a way to offset something. It was to burn calories. When I started looking at exercise as something that made me feel awesome, rather than something I needed to do to offset a cheeseburger or pizza I ate, my world changed!! (Yeah I would eat entire pizzas!!!) With food, I found out really fast what could happen when you ate right. The picture above is actually taken the morning of Day 2 of the Ultimate Rest, which is a 21 day cleanse that Beachbody sells. I remember this vividly because I burnt the crap out of my hand making chicken breast at 6:30 in the morning for Laura and I's salads that we were supposed to have for lunch that day. This program laid out exactly what I was going to eat daily, and after 18 days, (yeah I stopped 3 days short due to a work trip) I lost 15 lbs. I still didn't have my abs but I saw what eating the right foods could do and I felt incredible after that. I was ALL IN!!! My mindset shifted from needing to workout to counteract an unhealthy eating lifestyle to wanting to eat clean and workout because it made me feel awesome. I no longer was trying to play catch up. My goals changed from 6 pack abs to overall health. I won't lie and say I didn't want the abs still but that wasn't my focus. Low and behold, once my focus changed the abs came. It's amazing the correlation between your body getting stronger and your mind getting stronger...and for me my confidence. I was a new man inside and out!!! You've all heard the concept out there, what came first, the chicken or egg? That can be debated around and around. In the health and fitness world, what comes first: a healthy mind or healthy body?? Without a doubt, I can say your mind has to be right first. Without the right mindset you will likely be influenced by magazine covers and stay in a state of constant self doubt and insecurities. How do you change your mindset then? You need to forget what others think and learn to love yourself for where you are in that moment. You have to stop thinking that you are stuck the way you are and there's no changing that. Tear down the walls that you have built up that have stopped you from becoming the person you and I know you can be. The person you are right now is not the person you always have to be. You have to understand that being healthy and fit isn't for someone else out there, it can be yours too!
Here is a testimonial from one of our customers who saw AMAZING changes to her lifestyle with this program. We wanted to give you guys an idea of what this program is all about so you can see for yourself that it's not scary or difficult...plus if you purchase through us you'll get support and accountability to start and finish the program!
This testimonial is from our friend Nicole...over a 4 month period and a few rounds of the 21 Day Fix, she got some pretty awesome results....she went down 2 pant sizes and lost a total of 29 inches!! The best part is she learned how important proper nutrition really is: eating from all food groups and in the right quantity. Check out her answers below and let us know if you have any questions!! What did you think of the workouts? I loved them! I am currently doing the Piyo workouts and plan to move back to the 21 day fix program and workouts. I loved how they challenged me and I could physically see myself getting stronger (I even upped my weights towards the end). Were they challenging? Yes, I was just getting back into working out so they were a good workout for me. Did you find the modifiers helpful if you followed them? Yes, I always tried to do the workout without modification and then would switch to it when I needed. I still got a sweat on with doing the modifiers.
Did you feel like you got enough food using the containers?
Yes, there were some days when I thought "how am I am going to eat all this food?" It's definitely enough food to eat. Were you still able to enjoy meals out at restaurants? I did eat out a couple of times and was able to eat. I would keep my little book handy or if I knew which restaurant we were going to I would look up their menu and plan ahead what I would order. And NO, I didn't have to eat a salad every time I went out. I actually got to eat a burger (sans bun of course). Did the containers simplify your eating or your complicate your eating? A little of both. It was complicated in the beginning because prior to the plan, I never thought about what I was really eating. So that was more the education piece . But by the second week, I had all my meal plans ready and it became so much easier to pack my lunch. I knew what food went into what container.
Did these workouts and eating plan easily fit into your busy day?
Yes, there is work in the beginning and it was a little tough...but by the second week it was super easy. I still use the containers to pack my food or make my dinner. I don't have to guess on my portion size, it's right there for me. In that aspect it made my day easier. I take out the greek yogurt and pour it into the container. I take out the chicken and put it into the container. Also, the workouts were 30 min. Even if I had to wait until my kids went to bed, it would be 9 PM and I would be done by 9:35PM . I mean its ONLY 30 MINUTES, how easy is that!? I will say this, there were also times when I just didn't want to workout. I was tired, I worked a full day, I took care of 2 kids , I cooked dinner for everyone, I put the kids to bed. A typical day is exhausting...BUT to my surprise when I started to eat healthier and exercise more, I was not as exhausted at 9 pm as I was when I didn't workout. That was a huge wake up call. YES, it did take some time to get there but I pushed myself through and I got there. How has this program changed the way you eat food after you finished it? With any real lifestyle change you are going to have to do things differently so that was the biggest hurdle. I wanted to start eating better and I really needed to work on my portion sizes so this is what I had to do to get there. I make a meal plan now, I ACTUALLY research the food I make and put into my body...and the biggest change was paying attention to my portion sizes. After doing the 21 day fix I realized my portions were OUT OF CONTROL! Once I finished with the 21 day fix, I didn't focus so much on the exercise. I knew I needed to fix my eating so that is what I focused on. I still used the containers to help and the book that is provided in the 21 day fix program has a list of food groups and recipes that I still use. The 21 day fix book is my kitchen "bible" : ) We talk a lot about nutrition, changing habits, exercise, and recipes. So you might think we have always eaten healthy, or don't struggle with the same issues that you have. Wrong. As the picture above shows, I didn't always have a 6 pack and defined chest and arms. Believe it or not the picture on the left is actually after I had already lost 15 pounds. The first 15 pounds came off solely through nutrition and food using the Ultimate Reset, which is a 21 day program. Prior to the Ultimate Reset I was eating pretty crappy food, with some good stuff mixed in every once in a while. After the Reset, I flipped that, I was eating mainly good food, with a little bit of crappy food mixed into my diet. That change I made with my diet was by joining one of Laura's Challenge Groups. This group put the pressure on me to make good decisions DAILY, because I knew at the end of the day I would have to tell the group if I ate chicken strips and french fries. It was that pressure that helped me start making better decisions. Although kale and sweet potatoes can help you with a lot of things nutritionally, they don't help you build muscle. So the other piece of my transformation was doing a new program at the time called Focus T25. This program was created by Shaun T, the same guy that created Insanity. One of the main factors that helped me stay on track was that this program was only 25 minutes. YES...you can get results without working out for hours at the gym. When I started this program in June, 2012, I was working as a golf professional, so I was right in the heart of my busy season. I was working 50+ hours per week, sometimes up to 80 hours/week. So the time piece was crucial for me to still get my workouts in, on top of my day job. Coming home after a 12 hour work day that started at 6:00 a.m., I faced the same conflicting thoughts on whether to workout or not...that you probably battle! There were definitely some days where I missed workouts and also other days where I just wasn't motivated. The thing that got me to workout on on those days, was my commitment to the group I was a part of. Just like with my eating, I was being held accountable for my daily actions. The decision to do the workouts was already made for me. I didn't look at it as an option. I wanted to give this group all I had for 60 days and see what would happen to my body and how I felt. I focused on my nutrition with Shakeology and eating right. I did my workouts. I got results. It really is that simple. There isn't a magic pill or potion that I took to see the results I did. It came through those daily choices, and not viewing them as optional. In my mind, if I would have seen these choices as merely optional, then that would give me a way to get out of it with excuses or when I didn't feel like it. The combination of a workout program you can fit into your day (Focus T25), proper nutrition,(including Shakeology), and having people that will hold you accountable for the decisions you are making (Challenge Groups), I KNOW is the best way to see the results you are after and ingrain lasting healthy habits. If this combination sounds like something you want to try the Focus T25 and Shakeology bundle is on sale this month and we have a group starting August 18th!! There are plenty of other programs that are proven to be successful as well, and we would love to help you find the the one that best suits your ability and lifestyle. I've found personally that one of the quickest ways to feel better and lose weight is to cut out your simple carbohydrates. The two places that these sneak into your diet is in the form of sugar or processed grains. I have pretty much eliminated these from my diet and have seen some amazing changes. When I do eat them now, it's amazing how they make me feel. I usually end up getting a headache and feel an energy crash within about 2 hours. I'm not a trained nutritionist but I'm pretty certain this happens due to a massive spike in my blood sugar, which then causes spikes in insulin. In the long term, this can lead to what is called insulin resistance...which in a lot of people will lead to weight gain and possibly type 2 diabetes. So here are my top 5 tips for reducing your intake of sweets and those simple carbs that come in the form or pizza, pasta, and breads. 1. If you struggle with a sweet tooth, the first solution is to just flat out go cold turkey and get all things sweet out of the house or work setting. Knowing when these cravings typically come on is key to knowing when you need to distance yourself from sweets. Do you enjoy something sweet after meals or late at night? These two used to be my triggers and ice cream was my solution. Going cold turkey was my method when I first cut sweets out of my diet. Now I can regulate much better because I know to listen to my body. My sweets now are usually dark chocolate, so a much healthier alternative. If you are like me and struggle with the will power to say no, going cold turkey and eliminating these simple carbs from your pantry is probably the best way to avoid them. 2. If the cold turkey method isn't doable due to family or coworkers that aren't on the same journey as you then my second solution is to substitute. If you know you crave something sweet after a meal, and the candy dish at work is close by, bring a piece of fruit with you. Fruit is a great natural sugar, and although it still needs to be consumed in moderation, if the option is a chocolate chip cookie or an apple, well that this a pretty easy choice. I'm even a fan of dark chocolate, but make sure it is at least 70% cacao. 3. The substitution path also works great with your refined grains, pizza, pasta, white rice. Making substitutions to whole wheat pizza dough or a cauliflower crust, using whole wheat pasta, brown rice instead of white, or even better would be quinoa instead of rice. If you like your baked goods you can even go as far as using almond or coconut flour. These flours usually tend to be easier on a person's digestive system. 4. PLAN, duh you knew this one was going to be in here right. We talk about this so much....not because we can't think of better things but because we truly know this is the best way to stay on track and not be thrown off by temptations. When planning your day or week out, actually decide ahead of time where you will have that cookie or ice cream. Plan your meals out so that you don't get caught off guard. When we get caught off guard we usually resort to something easy and quick like a drive thru or picking up a pizza. This also goes for when you know you are going to be in tempting situations. If you are going out to eat with friends or happy hour with coworkers, do a little research beforehand! Pick out the dish you know you should get so that you aren't tempted to order other options when you scanning the menu for the first time in the restaurant. 5. Give in! Yeah you heard that right. I think one of the best ways to stay sane while living a healthier lifestyle is to indulge. By indulge, I don't mean that you should go on a massive sugar/carb binge. I mean go ahead and have something from time to time that would normally be a little off limits. You better make it GOOD too, don't just grab a Snickers bar, pick a nice dessert at a restaurant, go to Coldstone and get some ice cream, but keep it to the smallest size. The first half of a treat always tastes better than the second half anyways. If you don't believe me on that, consciously think about that next time you eat some sweats. Have some pizza, but go out for some nice fancy pizza, wood-fired, thin crust style pizza. If you are thinking, didn't he just say that we should go cold turkey? Then how does this fit in? The key here is making the decision to indulge a planned one and also one that is not convenient. So in order to get that ice you need to hop in the car, drive 2 miles, and wait in line to get it. If will power is an issue the key is to keep these things at an inconvenient distance from you. I hope you can put at least one of these strategies into place immediately if you are one to struggle with simple carbs. Honestly I believe if people were to greatly limit these types of food, we wouldn't have the obesity epidemic that we do in this country! So it's been over one month since we came home from this INCREDIBLE event in Las Vegas. Our heads are still swimming with all the awesomeness that took place while we were there. I have no idea where to even start...but the beginning sure seems like the best place, right?? This trip was VERY unlike the "typical" Vegas trip...this was definitely NOT a vacation. We definitely viewed it as more of a business trip than for pure enjoyment. We were running around from the moment we landed Wednesday night. Right after we checked in to our hotel (The Signature which is connected to the MGM) we took a road trip to Whole Foods to stock up on goodies for the week. For information on how all that went down and how to eat healthy while you travel head over to The Cook & The Coach Facebook page and look for our post on June 23 about it. THURSDAY Thursday morning we attended an awesome training event that was put on by Lindsay Matway who was the 2013 Top Coach. This event's them was SHINE! Lindsay invited a number of her top coaches to come and speak on different topics that have helped them grow their businesses...I LOVE learning from so many amazing people. We also were able to hear from Carl Daikeler, Beachbody's CEO. Even if you aren't a Beachbody coach I highly encourage you to search out some of his speeches. He has a great message for anyone that is looking to grow as a person either personally or professionally. One particular point that we took away from his speech was in regards to facing your fears and weaknesses, and instead of running from them, facing them head on. Rather than just being ok with a weakness or fear, find a way to grow so that you can overcome the things that are holding you back from everything you've ever wanted! Thursday afternoon we worked out live with Chalene Johnson and did her newest workout, PiYo with over 1,000 other coaches. After the workout we attended the opening session where we heard from Beachbody's executive team, fellow coaches and celebrity trainers. There were some big announcements about new products being released:
The last big announcement was that next year, Summit will be held in Nashville and not Vegas...which makes us very happy :) To end our Thursday night, we got all dressed up and attended the Sequins and Studs party. The party scene isn't really our favorite BUT Laura had earned tickets to the party by working hard in April and May.....PLUS we actually got to have a quick photo op with Chalene Johnson. She was running around photobombing people...so obviously we let her. And to cap off the night they had a huge fireworks show! FRIDAY Friday morning came pretty early...5:30 am to be exact...because we were up and waiting in line for the live T25 workout with Shaun T. It was totally worth it though. The more we're around this guy, the more we love him. His message is SO uplifting and positive. After we finished our workout we cleaned up, grabbed some breakfast and ran over for the general session to listen to Darren Hardy speak. You literally just go from one motivational speaker to the next...that was kind of the theme of the weekend! If you have never heard of Darren Hardy, we HIGHLY recommend you pick up his book The Compound Effect or go check out his website www.DarrenHardy.com.....his message applies to everyone and is applicable for any experience life throws at you! After lunch...guess what...we listened to MORE amazing people talk about what has made them successful in this business. The thing that seemed to be constantly repeating itself in almost every session (from Darren to Hardy to Carl Daikeler to a top coach) is you need to always be growing and working on YOURSELF and if you focus on helping others you in turn will help yourself. It is this constant cycle: Friday afternoon I was able to participate in a VIP area and workout with Tony Horton. There were thousands of people in the room we were in, but I was 1 of maybe 100 people that got a front and center spot. You better believe me that I brought it during that workout. I worked out like I was auditioning to be in the next P90X workout infomercial. I'm still waiting for my phone call, but it was an amazing experience. Later that afternoon we ended up running into Tony in the hotel of the lobby of our hotel and he was gracious enough to take the time to snap a photo of with us. I know he gets swarmed all the time especially at an event like this, so it meant a lot and spoke a lot to his character that he took the time to do that. The rest of our Friday evening was fairly low key unless you get excited about eating a 3 lb lobster and 26 oz New York Strip. That is what I did, unfortunately I had to split it with 2 others. Laura was invited to the Star Diamond Reception by her coach, Lacy Salander...so she was hob knobbing it with the who's who of the Beachbody world. Next year we will both be qualifying for that one. Saturday morning involved another early morning workout, but is was one like I have never seen or been a part of before. There were probably 8,000 coaches all packed into a parking lot outside. The energy was electric and an overall amazing experience. We got a 15 minute workout from multiple celebrity trainers including, Tony, Shaun, Chalene, Autumn, Rachel, and Dan. Needless to say it was a great workout. After the workout we attended our final general session in the MGM arena. This session was awesome for a couple of reasons. We were able to hear Diana Nyad speak. This woman...at the age of 64, swam from Cuba to the Florida Keys. Talk about a story about never giving up! She told bits and pieces about her life, how she got into swimming and then how that turned into long distance swimming. She also told her story about swimming the 110 miles form Cuba to Florida!!! She was quite the inspiration and encouraged us to set goals that are bigger than you can imagine, and then simple DOING the daily things it takes to reach those goals. Our day continued into the afternoon with more amazing trainings from some of the top coaches. We listened, we learned and we walked away from it all ready to go out and share that knowledge with our teams. Summit 2014 ended with a celebration of top coaches and customer success stories. It literally ended with a bang!!! Carl Daikeler, Beachbody CEO, got "fake" shot out cannon as part of the skit they put on for Top Coach Lindsay Matway. There were a couple of highlights that night, one being we got to hear from the Top 10 Beachbody Coaches from 2013. Each of the coaches was given a chance to speak for a few moments. We were amazed, but really we weren't at how most of the coaches referenced or thanked God for helping them get to where they were on that stage. It really just helps us solidify our belief that we are part of an organization that believes the basic Christian morals of loving others and doing whatever we can to help others. It's not about making a ton of money (even though it's possible)...it's not about status...it is all about growing as an individual yourself and then helping other people do the same. The other amazing part of the night came when they they awarded the winners of the Beachbody Challenge and these two lost over 400 lbs combined!!! One quote from the guy that won: "Before starting on my journey I was just waiting for the day I was going to die....now everyday I look forward to living!!!" THAT...my friends is what it's all about...and WHY we do what we do. This is not about selling...this business is about OTHERS and helping/inspiring other people.
So we will leave you with this final thought that we took away from our time down in Las Vegas; Are you making the most of this ONE, CRAZY, BEAUTIFUL life that we have to live?
Even if you were a band geek and never played a sport in your life...I'm sure you've heard the saying. Coaches, parents, teachers, and bosses have all been trying to get us to give 110%. Well let me just cut to the chase with this post and say, that saying is CRAP and a huge pet peeve of mine. When it comes to effort, you can't give more than you have. So why is this saying so popular and used so frequently? Should we change the saying?
I think the saying has caught on and is a piece of our mainstream culture now because it is more rewarding to think you're doing more than you are capable. So before I go any further I have a test for you, it's interactive so get ready to move a little. Alright I want you to raise your right hand as high you can. Stretch it out as high as you can. Hold it there for a second. Now raise it 1 inch higher. Did I just bust you, were you able to raise it that last inch? Did you just give just give 110% or were you just holding back a little bit? I think it is human nature to hold a little bit back. I'm not a trained psychologist and I couldn't find any studies out there in the Googleworld on the topic so I'll give my best shot and take it for what it's worth:
I think if we all gave 100% of our effort in everything we did, exercise, jobs, relationships, etc, then those around us would expect that from us all the time. So instead we hold a little back so on those "special occasions" we can give that little extra and receive the praise for giving "110%" because we exceeded our external expectations. Key word there, external. So I opened up another can of worms with that last statement so let me dive into that for a second. External Motivation vs Internal Motivation I believe that we have become a society that let's others dictate what is expected of us rather than determining what we are capable of. I feel like this could be another separate blog post so I will just touch briefly on this. In a society where value is placed on how we look, what we drive, the home we live in, the grades our kids get in school, and the food we eat, it is impossible to completely remove yourself from external judgment. Do we let that judgement dictate our behavior OR do we set our own expectations and judge ourselves internally on whether or not we meet those expectations. The exact same thing could be said for goals that we set for ourselves. So should we try to change this silly saying? I would argue 110% ;) that it should. So instead of saying I gave 110%, what if you switched it to "I just realized my potential." It doesn't quite have the same ring but maybe over time it will catch on. Next time you think about using the 110% phrase or hear someone else use it, think of this post and ask yourself if it really was 110% or did you just realize your potential and what you are TRULY capable of achieving. Are your expectations meeting your capabilities? Here's to learning what 100% feels and looks like! |
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