Awesome Arms April

Here I sit. March 30th. The day before Easter. How did the March fly by so fast? Seriously. Time needs to slow down!

This past month has brought some serious challenges for my March Total Body Madness group. The ladies have ROCKED it and today they are doing 100 jumping jacks, 25 sumo burpees, and a 2 minute side plank  - PER SIDE!

We decided that for our next monthly challenge, we wanted to work on our arms. Short sleeve weather is just around the corner!

So, as we embark on the beginning of ANOTHER month - I ask you - are you ready to step up to the daily challenge? Are you ready to start making small changes that will lead to bigger changes?

Take 10 minutes a day. Do this challenge for yourself. Imagine how great you will feel on April 30th when you are FINISHED!

To join our CLOSED Facebook support group, do the following:

1. Add me as a friend on Facebook by clicking HERE.
2. Request to join the Awesome Arms April CLOSED facebook group by clicking HERE.

Here's our full workout calendar. Below the picture, you will find descriptions/demonstrations of each of the exercises. I hope to see you in our group!

How to do an Inchworm:

To make the exercise a little more difficult, hold the plank part of the inchworm for 10 seconds!

How to do a plank:

If you want to add a little extra to the plank portion of your workout, add in the hip dips like they do in this video!




How to do a Tricep Kickback:

This move can be done on a stability ball, bench, or even just leaning over while holding onto something. I recommend doing this move infront of a mirror to make sure that you aren't moving!




How to do a Tricep Dip:

This can easily be done with a chair instead of a bench.




How to do a Bicep AND a Hammer Curl:

Watch the entire video and she will demonstrate exactly how to do both of the types of curls we will be doing this month!




How to do an Upright Row:

The trainer in this video is using a bar, but you can easily substitute the bar for two dumbbells.




How to do a Push Up:

This video explains a push up nicely. She gives you many different levels of difficult. It's OK to do pushups on your knees or even on the wall!

Easter Baskets

According to the calendar, Spring is here. Punxatony Phil even said it would be here by now.

Well - they are both LIARS!

We got ANOTHER 4 inches of snow yesterday! Will this winter ever end?

With all the snow and cold weather, it's hard to believe that Easter is less than a week away. I actually kinda forgot about it this year. That's probably because I am not really thinking too far into the future, because if I do, I see work looming ahead.

So, while I was out grocery shopping on Sunday, I thought I better get on the ball with Easter basket goodies for my kids. Last year, it was junk food galore for my son. This year, it's a whole new ballgame!

Easter baskets don't NEED to be focused on candy. They need to be focused on seeing your child's eyes light up - or at least that's what it needs to be for me!

So, this year, my son is getting a Ninja Turtle, new pj's, glow sticks, eggs filled with quarters, and Brave. Of course, I bought him a chocolate bunny. Every child needs a chocolate bunny!

My daughter, she's a different story. She's only 9 months old. Her basket is mainly for her brother, so he doesn't ask questions. She's getting 2 fun pair of shoes, organic puffs, baby oatmeal, some baby food pouches, and a big bag of organic "cheerios". I refuse to buy cheerios because they are made with GMO's. I can't cut GMO's completely out of our lives, but I can seriously restrict them!

I can't wait to go to Michael's later this week and shop for an Easter Basket for my daughter. We have my hubby's old one for my son, but the daughter gets a new one!

I hope everyone has a great week and maybe Spring is showing up in your neck of the woods? I'm ready to shoot that dang groundhog!

<3,
Kell

Shakeology Recipes

People are ALWAYS asking me how I make my Shakeology. I hope you are ready for this answer! Ready? Here it is! 

I'M BORING! I make the same two shakes. I never deviate! It's either Chocolate Covered Strawberry or Chocolate Mocha.

With that being said, I have tried a few others here and there. But I always go back to my two trusted favs! I am just a creature of habit.

So, today, I want to share with you a few great resources from my Shakeology website. The following links will take you directly to PDF's of 30 day Shakeology Recipe Calendars. These little gems are awesome! If you get in a rut with your Shakeology, all you have to do is pick up a calendar and find a new recipe!



Chocolate Calendar #1

Chocolate Calendar #2

Chocolate Calendar #3

Tropical Strawberry

Greenberry Calendar #1

Greenberry Calendar #2

Greenberry Calendar #3

Holiday Recipes

Shakeology Dessert Recipes


Enjoy shaking up your Healthiest Meal of the Day!

<3,
Kell

Chicken Piccata

I haven't been the best about blogging lately. My maternity leave is almost up (I go back 2 weeks from today) and I have been trying to enjoy my munchkins as much as possible. 

So today, here's a nice easy recipe to enjoy with your family!

Total Time: 30 min.
Prep Time: 7 min.
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 (4-oz.) each raw chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
• 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• ½ cup low-sodium, organic vegetable broth
• 6 Tbsp. capers
• 1 (14-oz.) can quartered artichoke hearts, packed in water, drained
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms

Directions:
1. Place chicken in a resealable plastic bag. Add flour and seal. Shake to coat chicken.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add chicken, cook for 3 minutes on each side, or until browned.
4. Add garlic; cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until tender.
5. Add lemon juice, broth, capers, artichoke hearts, and mushrooms; cook, turning chicken halfway through, for 12 to 15 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in the middle.

Nutritional Information (per serving):

Calories: 240

Fat: 10g

Saturated Fat: 2g

Cholesterol: 73mg

Sodium: 560mg

Carbohydrate: 10g

Fiber: 2g

Sugar: 3g

Protein: 27g

Brown Rice, Black Beans, and FF Feta

I have been on a kick with finding new recipes lately. This has been a favorite of mine with the Body Beast program. It's not a recipe from any specific book, it's just one that I kinda threw together and it's awesome!

It is kinda carb heavy but I don't care. Some days a girl just needs her carbs!

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup cooked brown rice
• 1 cup cooked reduced sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 oz FF Feta

Directions

1. Cook rice according to the package.
2. Place black beans in a pot and add water to cover beans.
3. Heat beans while rice is cooking.
4. Drain beans again and add to rice.
5. Top with FF Feta. 
6. Enjoy!!!

Here are the stats for this recipe, as I made it, according to MFP. These stats will vary based on the specific brand of ingredients you use. 

Calories: 395

Carbs: 86

Fat: 3

Protein: 20

Calcium: 27

Fiber 14

If you choose to cut back the beans to 1/2 cup, your stats will look more like this:

Calories: 290

Carbs: 63

Fat: 3

Protein: 13

Calcium: 21

Fiber: 8

<3,

Kell

6 hour special!

You read that correctly!

I went to my wellness day at school today and offered the teachers and support staff a special on Shakeology HD and Challenge Packs.

I got home and realized that I need to offer that same special to YOU!

So here it is.

Ready???

Anyone who orders Shakeology before Midnight EST tonight will get a FREE Shakeology shaker cup and an extra packet of Shakeology (you choose the flavor!)

Anyone who orders a Challenge Pack before Midnight EST tonight will get a FREE second workout program! Yup! That's right! A whole second workout program!

In order to take advantage of these deals, you have to do a few things.

#1 - Everyone needs to go to my website by CLICKING HERE and sign up to have me as your free coach.

#2 - If you want the Shakeology offer, you need to order your shakeology CLICK HERE to go to my Shakeology Website, and place the order with Home Direct, aka, the monthly autoship program. This will also lock in your shakeology price for life as the price is set to go up on April 1st.

#3 - If you want the Challenge Pack offer, go to my website by CLICKING HERE and click on purchase a challenge pack on the right hand side of the screen. If you want help on deciding what program would best fit you, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE message me via Facebook (friend request me and then shoot me a message) and I will help you decide!

I will contact you later this weekend to get your free gifts sent!

<3,
Kell

Active Military become a Beachbody Coach for FREE

Yup - that's right! You read the title of this blog post correctly!

Beachbody appreciates the members of our Armed Forces and their families! They have a GREAT program for active military and/or their spouse!

Are you ready for this???

Here it comes!!!

If you or your spouse is Active Duty Military, you can be a Beachbody Coach FOR FREE!

Yup! You can start your very own business without any of the associated costs!!!


Ok - so what does it mean to be a Beachbody Coach for FREE?

First, you will get an automatic 25% off anything and everything Beachbody. Yup! That's 25% off of workout programs like P90X, Insanity, TurboFire, Brazil Butt Lift, Les Mills Combat, Slim in 6, and many more! The discount also covers the Beachbody supplements like Shakeology (healthiest meal of the day), Energy & Endurance, Results & Recovery, and much more. Isn't a 25% discount reason alone to sign up?

Second, for anyone wanting to own your own business - THIS IS YOUR CHANCE! By helping others find the right workout program and supporting them through their weight loss journey, you have the opportunity to make this a full or part time job! You can make as much money as you can imagine. It's all about how hard your work, and I can show you how to make it work for you! As long as you or your spouse are active military, you will not have to pay the sign up fee  ($39.95) or the $15.95 per month website fee! How awesome is that!

BTW - did you read the underlined word in that ^^^ paragraph? You need to know that you will NEVER be pressured to sell anything. You are doing your country and all of us living here a GREAT SERVICE that we can never say thank you enough for. So, this is a way. You can just be a coach, without paying the $39.95 sign up fee or the $15.95 monthly website fees, as long as you are active military. If you WANT to start actively coaching, that's great! But please please please know that you will never be pressured to do so!


You might not be wanting to coach for serious income, and that's ok! Some people, like me, started out coaching to cover their Beachbody expenses. Heck, you don't even have to do that! But if you want to actively coach, let me tell you, I have paid for my shakeology each month  and MORE! As an active military coach, you can too, only you get to do it for FREE (no business fees)!!!


Here's what you can expect when you become a FREE coach:

If you are looking to make a SERIOUS income in this business, check out the picture below. It shows how powerful it is to sign up with the RIGHT coach who has a duplicatable system.

*****VERY IMPORTANT*****

This is NOT a get rich quick scheme. You aren't going to retire overnight. But if you put in the HARD WORK that is necessary, you WILL see the fruits of your labor!


FAQ's

I have questions about being a FREE Beachbody Coach. Who can I talk to?

The first thing you should do is read THIS document that Team Beachbody has put together to answer any questions that you might have. If that doesn't answer your questions, please do not hesitate to shoot me an email or leave a comment here and I will get back to you ASAP!

How do I sign up to be a FREE Beachbody Coach?

To take advantage of this awesome offer, you need to follow these steps:

1. Contact me and I will send you the Military Application.
2. Complete the following on the application:
1. top of page 1, indicate the branch of service and your title
2. also on page 1, fill out the applicant info section, then sign and date the bottom.
3. make sure the information for your coach (me) is correct.
3. Email the completed document to Team Beachbody Coach Relations at coachrelations@teambeachbody.com. You will also need to include a copy of your most recent orders stating that you are on active duty. 

If you don't have PDF editing software, you can always edit the PDF for free at http://pdfescape.com. Editing the PDF online and then emailing it is the easiest way to go about signing up. You can also print it out, fill it out, scan it back into your computer and then email it. OR you could go the third route and print it out and fax it in. 

If you choose to fax it in, I will be happy to send you the Fax Cover Sheet too with the fax number on it.

So in the end, you can become a FREE Beachbody coach for a few reasons:

1. Save 25% on your own personal products.
2. Save 25% on your personal products and make enough money to cover your monthly expenses (Shakeology).
3. Save 25% on your personal products and eventually make as much money as you want. You will get out of this business what you put into it.

BUT let me remind you, ONE MORE TIME, that you do not have to actively coach. You are WELCOME to coach just for the discount. There's NOTHING wrong with that!

And I do not say this nearly enough to our military men and women, so let me take a minute right now.

THANK YOU

THANK YOU

THANK YOU

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for keeping me, my family, and my country safe. I appreciate you and your family's sacrifice more than you could ever know. 

Now let me say thank you by getting you 25% off any and all Beachbody products!


<3,
Kell

March Madness!

Can you believe that today is March 5? Doesn't it seem like we were JUST celebrating New Year's?  Seriously - time needs to SLOW DOWN!

Did you know that there's only 3 months until Summer? That means that you have around 90 days to get your bathing suit body. Are your arms, legs, and belly ready for the teeny tiny clothes that accompany summer? What about that bathing suit? If all you have left to do is get a spray tan so you're not so pasty, then you still have time.

But, if you still have your winter weight hanging around your mid section, you do realize that a quick spray tan isn't going  to make that go away - right? It's gonna take time. It's gonna take hard work. It's gonna take dedication.

Most of the time, when people decide to get healthy or do something about their weight, it ends up being a mad dash to change it right now. How many times have you said "Oh, I'll just not eat for a few days and then I"ll be good to go."? How did that work for you? Were you just a raging lunatic who ended up eating a TON of bad stuff? Yup, that's what I though.

Maybe you have even signed up for a gym membership - woo hoo! You get home from work each night, get everyone settled, put on your workout clothes, go BACK out into the cold (it's snowing at I type this), drive to the gym, spend a good hour doing your workout, then back out into the cold to drive home. If you are anything like me, that probably lasted for a week or two and now you're out 2 months gym membership (cause you have to cancel 30 days in advance), you haven't lost a pound, and  you're even more frustrated! Did you know that what the picture below says is TRUE? No wonder you got so frustrated so quickly at the gym!

Well, all that ^^^ right up there is said with experience. I have struggled with my weight my ENTIRE life. Especially since I've been married and had my babies. My hubs and I made time to go to the gym before our son was born and it wasn't too bad because we lived really close. Now, I want to spend my spare time with my family. I don't wanna work 8 hours a day and then be gone for another 2 working out!

I'm feeling froggy today, so let me remind you of what I looked like just 5 SHORT MONTHS ago. Yes, today marks my 5 month anniversary of my journey with getting healthy. When my good friend Bethany first gave me these pictures, I was devastated. I was embarrassed  I couldn't believe I looked the way I did.

See that shirt? It was a basic stretchy t-shirt from the Gap. It was an XXL. I was wearing an XXL, size 20 pants and I STILL had a muffin top. Honestly, I look at that picture and I don't even see my beautiful children. All I see is how unhappy I was with myself. How sad is that?

Well, I made the decision THEN to do a 90 day challenge. I wasn't putting it of anymore. I was SCARED TO DEATH that I was going to fail. I asked my coach what the failure rate was. She assured me that if I followed the plan and REALLY committed, I would succeed.

And - guess what - I DID! I now wear a size 8 pants and a size medium shirt! in 5 short months! I am still in disbelief. Here's that before shot with my most recent (I had just gotten out of the shower) "in progress" shot. I don't call them after shots because I'm not done yet ;)

Here's another one from a few days ago. I think this one shows off my arms nicely. Yes, there's still flab but it's quickly disappearing! This was after my Body Beast Build Back/Bis workout on Monday.

 And I thought the pics of me in this collage show off just how far I have come since that before pic. I can see the biggest difference in my arms and my waist in this pic. And Sagi looks pretty dang good too - yum!

Ok - so on to the point of this blog post!

I want YOU to have the same results as me! Don't shake your head no at me! You CAN do it! I believe in you!

I have 4 options for you this month:

1. Join my FREE 30 day March Total Body Madness group on FB for a free daily workout.
2. Join my March 11th, 90 day challenge group. For this group, you will need to commit to working out to a Beachbody program for 90 days, drink shakeology for 90 days, and eat clean for 90 days. *this is what I did*
3. Join my March 18th, 30 day Clean Eating/Shakeology challenge group. For this group, you will need to commit to eating clean and drinking shakeology for 30 days. It's a great way to start your fitness journey.
4. Join my April 1st, 90 day Challenge Group. It's just like the March 11th Challenge Group, but it's starting on April 1st! No, I'm NOT joking ;)

So, in order to participate in any of these groups, friend request me on FB (click here) and then shoot me a message. I will help you choose what group is best for you and what workout program will work best for you! 

Don't wait any longer! Summer is JUST around the corner!

<3,
Kell

Big Beachbody Changes

In the past few days, there have been A LOT of changes announced from Beachbody. In order to keep it all straight, I thought I'd write a blog post about it. I think that might be the only way I'm gonna make sense of it all myself!

Here are the big changes, in no particular order:

First order of business:

Two of Beachbody's Challenge Packs have been PERMANENTLY reduced in price. Slim in 6 and Hip Hop Abs are now available for $140. This is the lowest price of any Beachbody Challenge Pack - EVER!

Wait - WHAT'S A CHALLENGE PACK? 

Haven't I gone over that yet?

(this is a pic of a P90X Challenge pack which I talk about below - it is NOT on sale for $140)

Here's what each and every Challenge Pack includes:

1. your workout program
2. your first month supply of Shakeology HD
3. one month of free upgraded club membership to teambeachbody.com
4. FREE SHIPPING
5. access to your complimentary coach (ME!)
6. your price lock on the current Shakeology price for LIFE!
7. AND if you upgrade to a coach before April 1st, you lock in your Shakeology FOR LIFE at $89, plus there is no coach sign up fee!

That's a lot of stuff for $140 (Slim in 6 and Hip Hop Abs only for this price), considering Shakeology by itself is currently $120 and it's set to go up to $130 as of April 1st! That's like getting a workout program plus everything else for $10. I'll take it!


Second order of business:

The price of Chocolate and Greenberry Shakeology is currently $119.95 and the Vegan Chocolate and Tropical Strawberry are $129.95. Both includes free shipping when you place your order on HD (home direct - the monthly autoship option). As of April 1, the price for all flavors of Shakeology will be $129.95. 

But here's the good part:

If you get your Shakeology HD ordered BEFORE April 1, you will be locked in at the $119.95 price FOR LIFE. Yes - you read that correctly. As long as you don't cancel your HD order, you will get to keep the current price with FREE SHIPPING! Woot Woot! And as mentioned above, sign up as a coach before April 1st and you lock in the coach price of $89 for Shakeology FOR LIFE!

Not sure if Shakeology can be beneficial to you? Watch this video and see what Tony has to say! It is quite possibly the best Shakeology video EVER!

Even us, the coaches who get a 25% discount, are going to see our price for Shakeology increase. You better believe that I have mine and my husbands orders locked in! If you are interested in becoming a coach, now is the time to do it so you can also lock in your lower coach price!


Third order of business:

Beachbody has lowered the price of the P90X and P90X2 Challenge Packs by $25 JUST FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH. That means that if you order either of these two programs, you are getting a savings of $80! That's nuts!

Fourth order of business:

Beachbody is raising their shipping and handeling rates, effective Monday, March 4, 2013. This will NOT effect any order that is currently a HD order. It will also not efffect any HD orders that are ordered during the month of March. 

Here's the low down on the new shipping options and prices:

• "Smart Delivery"
  • Shipped in 5-7 Business Days
  • 9.25% of order with a $6.95 minimum.

• "Express Delivery"
  • Shipped in 4-5 Business Days
  • $5.00 more than "Smart Delivery."

• "Premium Delivery"
• Shipped in 2-3 Business Days
• $10.00 more than "Smart Delivery."

So I just gave you A LOT of info. Now what???

The very first thing you should do is friend me on FACEBOOK! Then you can shoot me a message and I can help you decide on a program that is best suited for you! You can also kik me at klevere623 or find me on IG @klevere623. 

If you know that you want to take advantage of any of the Challenge Pack offers, you can order directly through my website by clicking on any of the pictures in this blog post (or by clicking HERE). Just click on "Buy Challenge Pack" and put your order through. If you do that, please friend me on FB and shoot me a message letting me know what pack you ordered so I can add you to my March 11th 90 day challenge group! It's open to ANYONE who purchases ANY challenge pack!

What do you say? Let's do this TOGETHER!!!

<3,

Kell

March Total Body Madness

It's the first of the month. Do you know what that means?

YUP! It's time for a new monthly challenge!

 My Fab Ab Feb group was a huge success. By the end, everyone was able to do 100 sit ups/crunches! I'm so proud of all the participants! Way to rock it guys!

For March, I thought we could do more of a total body workout. I named the group March Total Body Madness and it is 100% FREE for ANYONE to join. So, what are you waiting for? Jump over to facebook and request to join the group! Here's the link to request to join the CLOSED facebook support group: March Total Body Madness

Here's the full schedule of our workouts:

As you can see, we are going to be doing a LOT of jumping jacks, sumo burpees, and side planks! Talk about a total body workout!

Oh Yeah Baby! It's gonna be a good month!

I wanted to make sure that everyone knows how to do these exercises, so here's some great videos that I found on youtube that demonstrate each move:

Jumping Jacks - If you don't know how to do these, you need to go back to gym class in 1st grade ;)

BUT there is a way to make them tougher, more challenging, and just basically take it up a notch. They are called Air Jacks and Chalene Johnson does them in her TurboFire videos all the time. Here's a video I found that someone posted about TF HIIT 15. At minute 1:35 you can see the difference between regular and air jacks. They might just kill you ;)




Sumo Burpees:




Side Plank:


So, let's get going and punch March in the face! BOOM!

<3,
Kell