Train like a Beast, Look like a Beauty

After my boyfriend did a full round of Body Beast, a Beachbody fitness program dedicated to building muscle through weightlifting, I decided to give it a go! It is hosted by The Beast, Sagi Kalev, an ex-Iranian army officer turned bodybuilder who has stayed healthy by avoiding steroids to "get huge". The program is marketed and geared towards men who want to bulk up and build muscle, with comments about needing bigger shirts and getting huge.

When I had a gym membership, weight lifting was ALWAYS my favorite activity. In the past, the boy and I have done weight lifting together as it's a workout we both enjoy. After doing a Cardio/Weight loss program, I thought it would be nice to try something different that I know I would like. No, my goal is not to 'get huge', but I do love the look of muscle. Weight lifting for women makes you strong and lean, since we don't have the testosterone levels to 'get huge.' So in theory, Body Beast will help me get stronger and leaner...and let me tell you, it has done just that!

I actually enjoy the program, and I am in love with it so far!! I think The Beast is hilarious, and keeps me laughing throughout my workouts. His instructions on proper lifting technique are great and the modifications for exercises using less equipment (stability ball instead of bench) are displayed well. My only criticism is I wish it was tailored a little more to women. I understand why it's not, but it would have been nice to have a woman in the background as well.

I chose to do the Lean Beast over the Huge Beast due to my previous shoulder injury. I have strained muscles in my back, neck and shoulder, and didn't want to over-do it and risk injuring myself again. There is nothing worse than an injury to slow down your fitness routine! The program is 12 weeks long, which seems like a long time but is necessary. Each calendar has 3 segments: Build, Bulk, and Beast. Being in week 5, I have finished the Build phase and started Bulk. I already like Bulk better because the workouts are shorter. They averaged 50 minutes in Build but about 40 in Bulk. Some of that time is changing weights around. Bulk has workouts for each body part: Chest, Legs, Back, Shoulders, Abs, Arms plus Cardio. I initially thought the Cardio wouldn't be terrible after doing the 21 Day Fix & 21 Day Fix Extreme since this is a bodybuilding program, but it's actually a killer workout. You only do it once a week, so it has to be. Workouts are scheduled for 6 days a week with one rest day.

As for results, I have noticed huge changes already. My weight hasn't really changed, but my arms are way more defined. My legs have always been semi-muscular from being a dancer, but I have noticed that they are much leaner. My abs are also becoming more defined. For the first couple weeks, my shoulder was killing me with certain workouts and I debated stopping. I needed to kick my ego to the side, so I went out and bought 3lb weights. It was funny using 3lb weights when the Beast is using 50 lbs, but it was what I needed to do the workouts safely and prevent injury. Now, I can use WAY heavier weights for my shoulder and back exercises, and I can tell this strength training has done amazing things for strengthening my injury. 

March vs. July

As for the eating plan, I love my 21 Day Fix containers. I used the Body Beast calculations and it said I needed to eat 2100 calories/day vs. my normal 1400. I trust him...but I wasn't comfortable eating that much in a day, so I just decided to go up a calorie bracket using my 21 Day Fix program. Some may give me heck for this and say I'm not doing it properly...but I found it worked well for me so I just kept up with it and have still had fantastic results thus far. 

My daily #BodyBeast setup!

As a coach, I would not recommend this program for everyone. You should have some fitness knowledge and feel comfortable with using different equipment. That being said, you do need equipment for this program. Since my boyfriend is big into weight lifting, we already had most of it. I use 3, 6, 8, 10 and 15 pound weights depending on the exercise. We do have a stability ball and a workout bench as well. Since he lifts heavier weights (and we live in a 760 sq. foot condo) we bought him a set of power blocks so he can do his workouts. Ladies, if you are ready to try a tough program that will strengthen and lean you out, this is it. The best part about this program is that it is a workout that the boy and I can complete together, however, right now we are in different phases of the program so we generally don't. But it's nice to have that option for a date night activity! So it's a great option for couples to do together! 

Ladies and gents, time to get into #beastmode. Interested? Send me a message or apply on my link above!

Victoria

The Real Cost of Fitness

I frequently have people telling me that Shakeology & Beachbody programs are quite expensive. While the term "expensive" is fairly relative, I totally get it and I 100% felt the same way at first. With the results I got from the 21 Day Fix, I would pay double for the health and happiness I got after my first 2 rounds. In case you need more perspective though here you go....

The 21 Day Fix Challenge Pack: $176 (which is the full set of video DVD's + the charts that tell you what workouts to do each day + the nutrition guide + a recipe book + your first month's Shakeology.) With this program, you never need to pay for the workouts again. More Shakeology sells for $150 or $120 (CAD) a bag depending on what type of account you have. Shakeology replaces 1 meal a day so subtract that from your monthly food budget (roughly $4-5/day). You also no longer will need extra supplements other than your daily multivitamin (which I get cheap at Costco) because Shakeology has got it all...so subtract those too. So your ongoing cost with this fitness option is either $150 or $120 minus the money you would have spent each day on that meal and extra supplements. Your overall monthly food & vitamin budget actually drops! Become a coach and share this greatness with others and you can cover that cost PLUS make some money if you want to. 


Now let's compare to other popular monthly fitness expenditures:
- Barre Classes: $150-$200/mo (does not replace any of your meals or supplements, your food and vitamin budget remains the same)
- Yoga Membership: $110-$175/mo (does not replace any of your meals or supplements, your food and vitamin budget remains the same)
- Crossfit Gym Membership: $100-150/mo (does not replace any of your meals or supplements, your food and vitamin budget remains the same)

So you can see that Beachbody's fitness programs AND Shakeology actually cost less each month and help you save money from your grocery bill each month than the other popular workout memberships. It also helps you save time since you can do them from your home. Plus, I feel amazing. I'm in the best shape of my life, saving money on a gym membership I never used, helping others achieve their goals and making money at the same time. 

No more excuses. Invest in yourself. You're worth it! 

Why did I become a Beachbody Coach?

I've had lots of friends and family members ask me 'Why' I became a Beachbody coach...and there are a couple different answers to that question. I thought I would lay it out here and maybe that will help others with their thoughts and feelings on becoming a coach.

1. This program works. I've had a gym membership for 5+ years and was very inconsistent with going. Sometimes it would be 3x per week, sometimes 3x per month and sometimes 3x per 6 months. I hated having to leave the house to workout...especially in -30 degree winter days. I also hated when it was busy and I couldn't use the equipment I wanted to...I would usually just get frustrated and leave. It was a fairly cheap membership (~$30/month) but still...I didn't want to be paying for something I wasn't using. I had trialed monthly yoga memberships at a couple different studios, but found I didn't love it enough to do solely as my main workout regime (not to mention, it's SO expensive.) 

My best friend recommended that I try the 21 Day Fix. She had been on it and had been achieving awesome results, so I decided to give it a go. I bit the bullet and ordered the challenge pack with the Chocolate Shakeology, not really sure how I felt about it. My coach assured me to try it and if I didn't like it, we'd return it. Well thank goodness, I LOVED it!! After 2 rounds of the Fix I was down 7 pounds and 10 inches...10 INCHES!!! That's almost 1 foot gone from my entire body!! That's crazy right?? Yes it's crazy but it's REAL and I've even lost more. This program is so manageable and easy to follow. 

I found that when people asked me about my little color coded 'preschool containers' (yes, someone said that to me) I was excited to tell them about it and tell them about my results. I talked back and forth with my coach about becoming a coach, and it has been one of the best decisions I've made. As a nurse, I LOVE being able to help others and this is another way I can do that without being directly at your bedside. I love being a personal motivator and cheerleader to help women achieve their goals and getting messages from them about their weight/inches lost and how happy they are is the ONLY satisfaction I need to continue as a coach. 



2. Who doesn't love a little extra money? As much as I'd like to say I don't...I do. This business is giving me the opportunity to potentially work less hours in the hospital working the dreaded 12 hour shift work, and more hours helping people in other ways. As a coach there are so many benefits (like discounted Shakeology) that it seemed like a no-brainer to sign up! The perks you get:

• You receive a 25% commission on anything somebody buys from Beachbody through you.
• You receive a 25% discount on all Beachbody products including merchandise & supplements.
• You get paid on a weekly basis, every Thursday morning.
• Beachbody takes care of everything with customer service, shipping, and distribution. You don't handle inventory at all.
• Access to an entire team of experts on health and fitness.
• Access to marketing materials and guidance on how to build your business.
• A whole successful team of coaches who will share everything to help you succeed.

3. After starting my nursing career in Cardiac Surgery, I have seen what disease can do to a person. It was dreadful to see the condition some of my patients were in either pre or post surgery and I often thought to myself "I'd rather be dead than in their shoes." How HORRIBLE is that? I know it's horrible and no matter what, I still performed my duties to the best of my ability to help others while in the hospital either prepping or recovering from their surgery. In doing so, I made it a focus to help my patients focus on their health going forward and on disease prevention.

Beachbody gives me that EXACT opportunity. If I can be a mentor to ANYONE to help them avoid complications from dreadful diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, etc (I could list forever), that is exactly what I'll do. Nursing isn't all about starting IV's, giving medications, and changing diapers...in fact that's a very small aspect of my line of work. Health promotion and disease prevention is a crucial and integral part of any nurses' duties, no matter what age group you work with. I want to help others focus on JUST that... and for this reason I think nurses make AMAZING Beachbody coaches. We have all seen many terrible things no matter how long or short our career has been, that I believe it is motivation to help change others opinions on health and fitness.

To be honest, I sat down to write this not exactly sure what I would say...and it came flooding out so passionately and with ease. For this reason, I KNOW that deciding to become a Beachbody coach was an amazing decision in my life...what about you??

Please contact me with any questions...I'd love to chat!

xo, Victoria 

4 HEALTHY & DELICIOUS way to make 21 DAY FIX APPROVED Chicken!!

Chicken is a great way to add protein into your diet, but yes, it can get very repetitive and boring if made the same way all the time. I thought I'd share 4 of my favorite ways to make chicken to help you spice up your 21 Day Fix meal plan!

Mexican!
I love anything and EVERYTHING Mexican...so this is a go to for me! I cook my chicken accordingly and in the last 5 minutes of cook time, I add 2tbsps of FRESH salsa and 1/3 cup of shredded cheddar/Monterrey Jack cheese.

• 1 red, 1/2 green, 1 blue

Marinade

My favorite marinade for my chicken! I let it marinade in the fridge for 4-6 hours then toss it on the BBQ, yum!

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup dijon mustard (we prefer grainy, but whatever you like - PS: FREE FOOD)
• 1 tbsp maple syrup (I cut this wayyy down, but still use a little for some sweetness)
• 2 tbsps red wine vinegar
• 6 tbsps extra virgin olive oil

• 1 red, 2tsps 

Hummus Crusted

This is a new one I just made last week and I'm SO obsessed. One pot meal = amazing. I layered my favorite Le Creuset dish with onions, zucchini and carrots; then layed the fresh chicken on top (4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.) I covered each breast with 1/3 cup of hummus and a little cayenne pepper for some heat! Bake at 400 for 30 minutes...heaven!

• 1 red, 2 green (I took lots of veggies), 1 blue

Chicken Salad

Chicken salad is one of my favorite things to eat, so I knew I needed to find a 21 Day Fix approved recipe I could eat! 

• 2/3 cup of precooked chicken, diced
• 2 tbsps greek yogurt
• 2 small green onions, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1/2 apple, diced
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Gluten free tortilla

Mix it all together and wrap it up in a tortilla with some lettuce (I prefer Spinach!) Since I'm celiac, mine is gluten free, but whichever works for you!

• 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 green, 1/2 purple

If you have any other recipes, please share them in the comment section below! I love trying out new stuff!!

xo, Victoria

Autumn Calabrese on 'Progress…Not Perfection'

Click the link below to read about Autumn's take on 'Progress, not perfection'...such a great reminder!

CLICK HERE for "Progress...not perfection!" By: Autumn Calabrese