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

HELP! I've started a new workout program and I'm GAINING weight!

{By Chalene Johnson via interview from http://www.sparkpeople.com}

Probably the most common question I get when I release a new exercise program is, "Help! I'm gaining weight! Am I doing something wrong?" This is a common phenomenon with any new exercise program, such as Turbo Kick, Turbo Jam, Hip Hop Hustle, or others! It's especially common (and temporary) with intense strength training programs like ChaLEAN Extreme or Tony Horton's P90X.

The motivation to start a new exercise program is almost always to lose weight. However, what most personal trainers know--and most at-home exercisers do not--is that a new exercise program often can cause an immediate (and temporary) increase on the scale. (Notice I didn't say weight gain! I'll explain.) This common increase in the scale is also the reason why perhaps millions of people start and then quickly quit their resolution to get fit.

The temporary weight gain explained:

When someone starts a new exercise program, they often experience muscle soreness. The more intense and "unfamiliar" the program, the more intense the muscle soreness. This soreness is most prevalent 24 to 48 hours after each workout. In the first few weeks of a new program, soreness is the body trying to "protect and defend" the effected or targeted tissue. Exercise physiologists refer to this as delayed-onset muscle soreness, or DOMS.

This type of soreness is thought to be caused by tissue breakdown or microscopic tears in muscle tissue. When this happens, the body protects the tissue. The muscle becomes inflamed and slightly swollen due to fluid retention. This temporary retention of fluid can result in a 3- to 4-pound weight gain within a few weeks of a new program. Keep in mind that muscle soreness is not necessarily a reflection of how hard you worked. In fact, some people feel no signs of muscle soreness, yet will experience the muscle protection mechanisms of water retention and slight swelling.

Most people are motivated enough to put up with this temporary muscle soreness. Yet, many, especially those who really need immediate weight loss to keep them motivated, become discouraged and quit!

When I worked with a group of 70 test participants during the development stages of ChaLEAN Extreme, this happened. Who was the most upset and discouraged? You guessed it... the women! I'm happy to report absolutely for every single woman (and man) in our group, the weight increase was temporary and never lasted more than two weeks before they started to see a major drop in the scale. However, these people had the advantage of working with someone who was able to explain to them why this was happening and assure them the weight would come off if they stuck to the nutrition plan and stayed true to the program.

If you follow a multi-phase exercise plan, such as ChaLEAN Extreme, keep in mind that when you start each phase, your body will be "in shock" again. Don't be surprised or discouraged if you experience a temporary gain on the scale the first week of each phase.
My own personal example of this is running 10Ks. I don't do it very often, maybe once or twice a year. Even though I run on a regular basis, when you run a race, you push much harder. It's natural for me to be insanely sore the next day. It’s also very common for me to see the scale jump 4 pounds the next day from forcing fluids post race and the resulting DOMS. Even though I know the cause of it, it's still a bummer. We're all human and hard work should mean results. Hard work equals results, but our bodies are amazing machines and they know how to protect us from hurting ourselves. Soreness forces you to give those muscles a break. Ultimately you will lose the weight and you will change your metabolism in the process.
The key is understanding that this is a normal and temporary and stick with the program!

When to be concerned: 

If you experience a significant weight gain (exceeding 5 pounds) that does not begin to decrease rapidly after the second week, guess what it is? I'll give you one hint... you put it in your mouth and chew it. You know it! Your food (or calorie-laden beverages). News flash, friends… exercise doesn't make you gain weight. Consuming more food than you burn makes you gain weight!

So if after two weeks you are not losing weight and have gained weight that's not coming off, it's time to take a close and honest look at your food intake. Start using SparkPeople's Nutrition Tracker regularly, and be honest.

Moral of the story: Be patient young grass hopper. You'll be lean and mean in no time!