Super Strawberry Shakeology Recipe

I just got my box of new Strawberry Shakeology yesterday. I couldn't wait to try it out but I drink a R&R Vanilla after my workout each day.So, I decided to drink a second shake for lunch today! I got to make it just the way I like it and I  enjoyed every.last.drop.

Here's the recipe for my Super Strawberry Shakeology:

Ingredients:

• 1 scoop/packet Strawberry Shakeology
• 12oz unsweetened almond milk
• 12 frozen strawberries

Directions:

1. Add almond milk to blender.
2. Add Strawberry Shakeology to the almond milk.
3. Add the frozen strawberries into the mix.
4. Shake well.
5. Blend until creamy.
6. Try not to get brain freeze from drinking it too fast!

What is the 21 Day Fix?

What if I told you that I could provide you with a 21 day workout program, a simple, portion controlled eating plan that told you exactly what to eat, AND you could lose 10-15 pounds in just 21 days?

Would you be interested? Would you want to ask a few questions? Would you say "Kell Bell - that's TOTALLY impossible and just not healthy...".

Well, guess what? It's coming. It's possible. It's easy to follow. It's NOT a quick fix all-juice detox program that leaves you hungry all the time.

Mark your calendars my friends. FEBRUARY 3, 2014. That's the day that Beachbody's newest program, "The 21 Day Fix" is going to be released via Beachbody coaches.

Wanna know a little more about the program? Watch this video:




So - what do ya think? Pretty awesomer right?

I'm sure you all wanna know - WHO IS THIS TRAINER? She's new to Beachbody. She's not Tony, Shaun T or Chalene. Why should we trust her? Well, here it is:

Autumn is a REAL person. She is a celebrity fitness trainer and national-level bikini competitor. A rising star in the fitness community, she's made a name for herself by helping people lose weight and get fit through simple portion control and consistent exercise.

Autumn holds personal training certificates from the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and the American Fitness Professionals & Associates (AFPA). Her supportive, motivating style has made her a highly sought-after expert among celebrities and the fitness industry.

Best part - she's a MOM to a cutie pie named Dom! Yes. She's had a baby. 

Tell me about this portion control.

Alright. One of my favorite parts about this program is that there is NO CALORIE COUNTING. It's SIMPLE. As you can see in the picture below, this program comes with containers that you fill with clean, nutritious food. In Autumn's words "if it fits in the container, you can eat it". How's that for simple! *disclaimer* double chocolate cake is not on the approved food list to shove as much as you can in the container - haha!

What about the workouts? How long are they? Will I be doing the same thing every day? Are they designed for beginners? What about advanced moves?

Ohhh - another great questions! There are 7 different workouts in the program. A different workout each day. Best part??? Each workout is 30 minutes long! EVERYONE has 30 minutes to workout! There are beginner versions of each workout and also advanced versions. This workout will have you schweating like a pig! Wait - we don't sweat, we SPARKLE! haha!

I'm sure by now, you only have one more question - "How do I get in on this program???"

That's my favorite question yet! The steps are simple.

1. Create a free account with me as your coach. Then, I will send you the official details during the week of January 27th when they are released to me
2. Fill out the application below to be considered for my EXCLUSIVE TEST GROUP for the 21 day fix! Why join a test group? It's a few little things called accountability, motivation, support,and guidance. The group is full of people, just like you, all completing the same program and working towards the same goal!

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P90X3 Meal Plan Examples

The other day, one of my P90X3 test group participants messaged me on Facebook. He said "Hey coach - I just can't get this eating thing down. The nutrition guide looks like a foreign language. Is there any way you can help me?". 

My response - OF COURSE I will help! That's one of the things that I LOVE about my job (both of them actually)! I love teaching people how to do something for themselves and seeing the light bulb come on!

I knew this plan would be a little different than plans I usually make. I'm a 155 pound woman. My test group participant is a 255 pound man. That's a 100 pound difference and he's a guy!

With P90X3, there are 6 different eating plans to choose from. Tony and his team give you a formula to figure out what plan you need to follow. 


Here's the formula:

1. What is your gender? 

• Female - add one
• Male - add two
• My score is 1 so far and my test group participants score is 2.

2. What's your weight?

• 130 lbs or less - add 1
• 131-160 lbs - add 2
• 161-180 lbs - add 3
• 181-200 lbs - add 4
• 201 - 220 lbs - add 5
• 221lbs and up - add 6
• My score is now 3 and my test group participant is 8.

3. What's your activity level (outside of X3)?

• Slacker (desk job) - subtract 1
• Moderate (server at a resturant) - add 0
• Hardcore (construction worker) - add 1
• I'm a teacher who sits and plays instruments most of the day. I subtracted 1. I'm not sure what my test group participant is, so I scored him as a slacker by subtracting 1. My score is now 2 and his score is 7.

4. Modifiers...

• Wanna lose weight - add 0
• Wanna maintain weight - add 1
• Wanna gain weight - add 2
• We both want to lose some weight, so I added 0 to both of our scores. I ended up at 2 and he ended up at 7.

Disclaimer:

I am a nursing mom. My score is a 2 and that equates to 1,500 calories a day or plan A. That's not enough so I upped my score to a 3. That put me right at 1,800 calories a day, plan B, and I'm comfortable with that. My test group participant ended up in group F, which is roughly around 3,000 calories a day.

For each group, Tony recommends 5 meals a day. Breakfast, AM snack, lunch, PM snack, and dinner. This follows the clean eating lifestyle very nicely. It's not too much of a reach for me - BONUS!

The beauty of this meal plan is its simplicity. In the guide book, Tony gives you lists of carbs, proteins and fats. They are listed in hierarchy form. the ones at the top of the list are the healthiest and the ones at the bottom of the list, while still healthy, they shouldn't be eaten as often.

In the guide book, Tony gives you two ways to measure your food:

1. Get a food scale and weight it out. I tend to use this way. It just works for me.
2. Measure out your food by being an intuitive eater. This takes some time and practice but once you get it - you've got it! The way an intuitive eater measures their food is based on their hand. A few examples: 1 palm, 1/2 palm, fist, fingertip, thumb. It's very easy to do if you are out of the house and without your food scale!

So, based on the meal plan allowed and the foods that Tony suggests in the guide book (which by the way are all clean foods), here's what I came up with for MY (plan B) meal plan for the week. I don't mind variety so I usually eat the same breakfast, lunch, and snacks all week. I will cook 2-3 dinners in mass quantity and have them to reheat. It's just easier that way with two little kids, a full time job AND a part time job!

My P90X3 meal plan (Plan B):

Breakfast: 

• 2 scoops R&R, 1 scoop vanilla shakeology, 8 oz water, 4 oz unsweetened almond milk, ice to taste (2p, 2c, 1f)
• 1 small gala apple (1c)

AM Snack:

• 1 large gala or honeycrisp apple (2c0
• 12 dry roasted almonds (2f) - I roast my own almonds each week.

Lunch:

• 2 oz ground turkey breast (cooked) (1p)
• 2/3 cup cooked Quinoa (2c)
• 1/3 black beans (1c)
• 2T fresh parmesan cheese (1f)

PM Snack:

• 3/4 cup plain 0% Greek yogurt (1p)
• 1 1/4 cup raw blackberries (1c)
• 1/2 large banana (1c)

Dinner:

• 4 oz diced grilled chicken breast (2p)
• Unlimited lettuce (1c)
• 2 cups diced veggies (carrots, squash, mushrooms, radishes, cauliflower, etc) (2c)
• 1/8 medium avocado, diced (1f)
• 1 Tbsp X3 dressing (1f)

If I get hungry in the evenings, I have been having a cup or two of Yogi Green Tea infused with Blueberries. It's WONDERFUL!

Now for my test group participant's meal plan. He's on plan F, which is roughly 3,000 calories a day. I only had a few minutes so I made him one day's worth to get him started. Here's what it looks like:

P90X3 Plan F:

Breakfast:

• An omelet made with 5 egg whites, 2 egg yolks, 1 cup spinach and two medium sweet peppers, diced (1p, 2f, 1 1/2 c)
• 1 cup cooked oatmeal (the real stuff, not the minute oats) topped with 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (3c) 
• 1 scoop shakeology, 8-12 ounces of water, 8 frozen strawberries, ice to taste (2p, 1/2c)

AM Snack:

• 1 large apple (2c)
• 3 tsp natural, no salt added Peanut Butter (2f)
• 8 small whole grain crackers (1c)

Lunch:

• 1 large whole grain hamburger bun (3c)
• 4oz ground turkey breast + 2 oz 95% lean beef made into a burger (3p)
• 1oz slice cheddar cheese (1f)
• Stone ground mustard, yellow mustard, hotsauce to top the cheeseburger as needed (free foods)
• Unlimited lettuce (1c)
• 3 cups diced cukes, mushrooms, tomatoes, and peppers (1c)
• 1 Tbsp X3 dressing (1f)

PM Snack:

• 4 Tbsp plain hummus (2c)
• 2 fist fulls of baby carrots (1c)
• 2 Sargento low fat string cheese sticks (1p) - around 100 calories combined

Dinner:

• 6 oz boneless, skinless cooked chicken breast (3p)
• 1 1/3 cup cooked whole wheat pasta (4c)
• 4 medium tomatoes, diced mushrooms and onions, Italian herbs, 1 tsp EVOO (1c, 1f)  - sautee all the ingredients and then puree to make a clean, no sugar added, spaghetti sauce
• 4T fresh grated parm cheese to top the pasta (2f)

PHEW - that's a lot of food! Most people think that if they eat that much, they won't lose weight. The problem is that most people don't eat ENOUGH to lose weight!

If you don't eat enough, your body goes into starvation mode and hangs onto each and every ounce you eat. When you eat enough good, clean, healthy food, your body stops holding onto everything and starts clearing the junk out!

So trust me - FOLLOW THE PLAN! It works!

If you need help with your meal plan for P90X3, PLEASE don't hesitate to shoot me an email or comment here. I'm NOT a nutritionist but I do know how to follow these meal guides pretty well. I can take some of the guess work out for you!

I hope this helps you on your journey of healthy eating and fitness with P90X3!

<3,

Kell

Strawberry Vanilla Shakeology

I'm always on the lookout for new Shakeology recipes. I came across this one on the Teambeachbody.com homepage today and I can't wait for my Strawberry Shakeology to come so I can try it out!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1/2 scoop vanilla shakeology
• 1/2 scoop strawberry shakeology
• Ice to taste
• Water as needed to thin

Directions:

1. Pour almond milk into a blender.
2. Add both types of shakeology.
3. Top with ice.
4. Blend.
5. Add water if needed.

I can't wait to try this recipe!

<3,

Kell

P90X3 Review The Challenge Day 4

I'm gonna have to admit something. This workout scared me. I briefly looked at it in the P90X3 Fitness Guide, cause all the workouts and specific moves are listed in there, and my arms, shoulders and back hurt just looking at the pages.

The length of this workout is just like the others in X3, 30 minutes top to bottom. 

In my honest opinion, I think the title of this workout says it all. The Challenge. When a test group participant of mine posted about a pair of new cross trainers she got and how she couldn't wait to try them out for our next workout, another coach in our group said, and I quote, "you won't be using those much tomorrow...". We were all kinda confused. Then we did the workout.

Oh. Yeah. It doesn't matter what you have on your feet.

So - here's the breakdown of "The Challenge". It's pull-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, push-ups, rinse and repeat a million times. Seriously. It's all you do for a full half hour.

For these workouts you don't need much equipment. Having a chin-up bar is pretty much required. Except I don't have one! So, my modification is that I take a resistance band and wrap it around a support in my basement ceiling. Like this:

One thing to remember when using the resistance bands for pull-ups and chin-ups: make sure to take a short pause at the bottom of the exercise. Don't just pull down and immediately release. Pull down and hold for a second or two. Then contract back up. We are doing this to work our muscles - right?

The workout starts with warming up your shoulders, back, biceps and triceps really well. Lots of arm rotations and stretching. Then, Tony has you pick two numbers. The first number is for how many pull-ups you will do each set and the second number is for how many push-ups you do each set. They chose crazy numbers like 40/20. HAHA! Not this girl! I decided on 20/10. I was sufficiently challenged!


The actual workout goes like this:

1. Wide Pull-Up - These pull-ups are your standard pull-ups. Your hands should be at LEAST shoulder width apart. I take mine just a hair wider. I used my red (light) resistance band for this set. It was too easy. Remember, I'm a band director during the day so my shoulders and back are VERY strong from conducting all the time. A light resistance band might be perfect for you.
2. Standard Push-Up - These are great push-ups to start with. Your hands should be under your elbows. Modified is on your knees, regular is on your toes, advanced is balancing on one foot. Make sure to tighten your tush when you do a push-up. That helps to keep your core active and it keeps your body aligned. Lower your body down, preferably until your chest grazes the floor. Push back up, engaging your back, triceps and shoulders. The goal is to go as low as you can without resting on the floor. It's not about speed, it's about form. I did all ten on my toes.
3. Wide Pull-Up - This is a repeat of exercise 1. I used the yellow (medium) resistance band this time. MUCH better!
4. Standard Push-Up - Repeat of the second exercise. I did them all on my toes again - go me!
5. Chin-Up - Your basic chin-up requires your palms to be facing you. Your hands should be closer together than shoulder width. If you want a challenge, have your pinkies touching. OUCH. Using the chin-up bar, you will literally pull yourself up. Using the bands, you will pull down while keeping your hands as close together as you can. If you want more of a challenge with the resistance band, back up more or use a heavier band.
6. Military Push-Up - These are my arch nemesis. They mostly work your triceps and my triceps are MUSH! You want your hands to be as close to your pecs as you can get them. Keep your upper arms TOUCHING your body as you go down and push back up. Your triceps should be BURNING when you are done with this exercise. Not gonna lie - I did them ALL modified on my knees. Like I said before, my triceps are mush. My goal by the end of P90X3 is to do 10 of these on my toes!
7. Chin-Up - Repeat of exercise #5.
8. Military Push-Up - Repeat of exercise #6.
9. Close Grip Pull-Up - These pull-ups are very similar to the chin-ups except they are done in pull-up style, with your palms facing away from you. They are the absolute hardest pull-ups you will do during this workout. The closer you have your hands together, the harder the exercise is. Want a big challenge? Have your thumbs touch.
10. Wide Push-Up - Tony claims these are the easiest push-ups. I think he's on crack. No push-up is easy for me. However, these ARE slightly easier than the other ones. When you set them up, you want your hands wider than your elbows. Remember, this is NOT about speed. It's about form. Go down slowly. Squeeze your bum. Keep your back flat. Beginner is on your knees or maybe even on a wall
11. Close Grip Pull-Up - See exercise #9 - well do that one AGAIN!
12. Wide Push-Up - You guessed it! #10 again!
13. Vaulter Pull-Up (right hand facing forward) - These pull-ups are KILLER! Your arms are already toast and Tony just pushes you a bit further. When doing these, you will have your right hand holding the bar or band with your palm facing AWAY from you. Your left hand will be palm FACING you. Pull-down or pull-up depending on your equipment. At this point in your workout, it's REALLY important that you make sure to pause after you've pulled down. Get those muscles nice and tired!
14. Staggered Push-Up (right hand forward) - Tony just doesn't quit. He's laughing at this point. You are crying. It's ok. We've all done it. I paused the DVD, stretched for a second while cursing him out, then pushed play again! Ok - the actual exercise. Your right hand will be out in front of you, almost in a wide push-up position. Your left arm will be in a military push-up position (very close to your chest). Down and up you go! Remember, form is key!
15. Vaulter Pu;;-Up (left hand facing forward) - See exercise #13? Switch your hands around.
16. Staggered Push-Up (left hand forward) - See exercise #14? Again, switch your hands around.
17. The Burnout - Tony seemed to misjudge just exactly how much time the 16 sets of alternating pull-ups and push-ups were going to take. Since he had 2 and a half minutes to kill, he gives you one last workout. Three standard pull-ups followed by three standard push-ups. Do as many as you can, with proper form, in 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Yeah. I was not saying very nice things to Tony at the end of this workout.

The Challenge is literally that - a challenge. You MUST push yourself to your limits and then push just a little bit further. Next time, I will be doing 25 pull-downs (with my resistance band) followed by 12 push-ups. I will make every possible effort to do as many push-ups on my toes. If that means pausing the DVD, then so be it. I will pause the DVD. My thoughts on X3 so far is that you will only get the results that you PUSH yourself to get. Stay in your comfort zone and nothing will change. Push yourself further than you have before and you will be amazed at the results.

<3,

Kell

P90X3 Review Agility X and Yoga X days 2 and 3

I am in LOVE! P90X3 just might be my new soul mate workout. No offense Chalene and CLX, but this workout is AMAZING!

Yesterday I did Agility X. I was pretty sure I was gonna hate it because I despise cardio. Well, this workout has ZERO weights in it. I hate things without weights, or so I thought!

This fun little workouts has something else instead of free weights or bands. It has these two little pieces of tape, 4 feet long each, placed on the floor. For beginners, they should be 3 foot lengths apart, intermediate should be 4 foot lengths apart, and advanced should be 5 foot lengths apart. On each end of the tape, you need to place a big X and in the middle there needs to be an X. These X's give your eyes a reference point to land. I absolutely needed them!

Agility X was an absolute sports training routine. We zigged zagged, shuffled, jumped (forwards and back), lunged, cross lunged, and more. By the end I was DRIPPING with sweat and I was in love. I can't wait to push myself even harder next time!

Here's the workouts:

1. Explode and Hold - this workout is a great way to start. It takes a lot of energy and an extreme amount of focus so you don't fall over when you land one-footed!
2. Y Lunges - these are lunges. I loved them! The key to this movement is to make sure you are stepping out far enough and keeping your knee above your ankle. If you can remember to do that, you won't have any problems with your knees.
3. Joel Jump Squats - nothing like a little squat action to get your heart pumping! These were fun!
4.  Toe Tap Skater - These little beauties work your outer thigh to the MAX! You stand on the middle X of your left tape with your left leg. Then you squat down and tap your right toe to the back X on the right tape. Raise up on your left leg and squat back down, tapping your right toe on the middle X on the right tape. Last, squat down and tap your right heel to the front X on the right tape. Repeat a bazillion times and then switch legs! FEEL THE BURN!
5. Near and Farrs - Stand on the outside of your left tape with both feet. let's. Jump on one leg to the inside of the right tape. Lift right leg and land on left leg on the inside of the left tape. Jump to the OUTSIDE of the right tape with the right foot. Reverse to get back to the other side. This one has the ring of "in, in, out, in, in, out" if you were saying it in your head.
6. Ring around the Posey - Run in circles on the outside of the tape, always facing forward!
7. Scissor Kick Jumps  - Take those Near and Farrs, but instead of jumping, do them scissor kick style. Get those legs up as high as you can!
8. 8 Sprint 3 - the definition in the X3 book is this: "Starting behind the tape, begin to run in a figure-8 pattern either facing the tape, facing the front of the room, or running either side while grapevining in the middle". It's hard to explain and fun to execute!
9. Plyo V Lunge - these just might be my favorite. Why? Cause they BURN your outer thighs and that's where I need a burn! They are just like the Y lunges, but instead of lunging to the right wihthyour right leg, you lunge to the right with your left leg. 
10. High Step Shuffle  - This one is tricky. I have balance issues. HA! You start on the outside of the right tape in the back corner. Face the tape. High knees to the opposite end of the tape (front of right tape), then grapevine in front of the tape to the other end (back of the tape, in between the two strips), then high knees again to the front of the tape on the outside of the left tape. When you get there, grapevine BACK down the middle and high knees again on the outside of the right tape. You are essentially making a figure 8 all while facing one direction. Challenging and fun!
11. Gump Jump Push-Ups - Get into a push-up position with your legs on the back right X. Your hands should be at or near the front left X. Push-up and jump your legts to the back left X. Adjust your arms over to the front right X. Rinse and repeat as many times as you can with good form!
12. Tap that Line - To the right of the tape, turn and face the line. Begin to tap the line with your toes while moving completely around the tape. You will only use ONE tape strip for this.
13. Jump Knee Jump - This one was hard for me. I'm not very good at jumps. Stand to the left of your tape, facing the tape. Power jump over the first line to the middle and then power jump again to the outside of the other tape line. Sprint BACKWARDS to your starting position. To modify, don't do two successive jumps but pause in a squat in the middle. That's what I did!
14. Triangle Lunges - Start between your two tape strips at the back X. Lunge forward with your left leg to the front X of your left tape. Side lunge with your right leg to the front X on your right tape. Lunge back to starting position with your left leg. Do this for 30 seconds and then switch to the opposite leg.
15. Squat Jump Lunge - Squat jump in between the two tape lines. When you come back down, turn and lung out to the left, crossing your front leg over the left tape line. Come back to the middle and squat jump again. Turn to the right and lunge out to the right with the opposite leg, crossing your front leg over the right tape line. To get the plyo effect, jump between each move (advanced version). To modify, do a regular squat instead of a squat jump in the middle!
16. 3.4 run - CRAZY. That's what this move is. Plain.Old.Crazy. Tony makes you think like you can keep up. Then he goes all cray cray and it's total madness. But it's a madness that I WILL conquer!
17. Long Jump Sprint - This is one that surprised me. I actually enjoyed it. See, when I set my tape up, I set up the tape about 6 inches to the left of a seam in our carpet. So while doing these long jumps, I kept challenging myself to try to jump out to the seam. I *almost* was able to get my heels over the line! I will do it next week! So - how to do this move. Stand to the side of the left tape, facing the tape. Squat down and, without propelling yourself with your arms, jump as far as you can forward. Try to at least clear the second tape line. If you can't do that, try to get your toes to the second tape line. Whatever you do, try to push yourself. What helped me was that Tony was standing beside his crew and he was pushing them to go further. If a 55 year old man can jump further than a 25 year old man, something just isn't right. HAHA! Tony CRUSHED them!
18. Plyo Line Push-Ups - Not gonna lie. I modified the HECK out of these. The instructions are: "In plank position, with your hands on the line, begin to walk the line in plank, or explode up in a lateral plyo push-up, on cue." What does that mean? It means to "walk" left and right on the line in a plank position. Don't let your butt go up or down. You should be straight as a board. Flexing your bum will help keep you flat. To take it a step further, instead of just walking, do pushups as you walk. To go for the advanced move, you should add in a "jump" to the push-up, essentially pushing yourself off the ground as you come up. Thanks but no. I'm not ready for that. To make this move a beginner move, you can do everything on your knees or just hold in plank. Plank can either be on your knees or toes, with straight arms or on your elbows. Whatever works for you.

Agility X is all about "doing your best, and forgetting the rest", as Tony would say. It's about pushing yourself past your limits but not necessarily to where you are hurting yourself. That's never good. Each time you do the workout, try to do one thing in the harder version. Remember, the workout doesn't get easier, YOU GET BETTER! Best part about my workout? My son wanted his own set of tape lines! We had so much fun chasing each other around during the moves. He was even trying to do the walking plyo push-ups with me! Love that kid!

As for X3 Yoga, it is pure HEAVEN! The one thing I couldn't tolerate about P90X the original was the 90 minute yoga dvd. It was just too much for me. A 30 minute version is perfection. Literal perfection. If you think that doing X3 Yoga

is going to be easy or a rest day, you have another thing coming. This routine is HARD. It's a challenge in balance, control, core strength, and pushing yourself past your limits. Just watch Ted. I kinda wanna be Ted when I grow up. He's pretty cool...

All in all, I've really enjoyed this program so far. I got a little behind because of personal reasons. I didn't do my workout on Thursday. So, I made that my rest day, and I will continue on. I will be all caught back up by Monday :) 

I will blog later today about how the Challenge goes. I'm gonna be honest. I'm scared...

Happy Friday everyone!!!

<3,

Kell

P90X3 Day 1

1.6.14. The first Monday of 2014. I'm in Western PA and I got the call this morning (I'm a teacher) that we have a 2 hour delay due to snow and debris on the road. An extra 2 hours to sleep. 

NOPE! 

I got out of bed at 4:55am and got to work. I was too excited NOT to! 

Today is my official Day 1 of P90X3. I am so excited to start this program. It's EXACTLY what I need. My body is craving something new and so is my mind. Heck, I've been craving this for a long time. 

In fact, I let myself go over the past 7 weeks. Really let myself go. Like, gained 12 pounds, let myself go. Yes - I am the typical American statistic. I gained the holiday weight. And I feel like a stuffed sausage in my clothes. Heck - I look like a stuffed sausage. Give me 4 weeks. I will look much different!

Could it have been prevented? Yup! Do I know how to prevent it? Yup! Did I follow my own advice and that little voice in my head saying "Kelly, don't eat that..."? Nope! Am I UTTERLY EMBARRASSED about my before pics now? You better believe it. 

But guess what? I'm gonna show them to you! I MUST show them to you so I can be accountable. 

So - here goes nothing:

So - to the main point of this blog post - P90X3 DAY 1!

Just as stated, the clock started at 30:00.  The warm up took us to 26:26 and it warmed me up nicely. 

During the meat of the program, 26:26 - 1:10, Dreya is the modifier. Some things can be modified even more than she modifies, so use your judgement and modify as needed. There is NO SHAME in modifying. I'm still recovering from the FLU so I modified quite a bit this morning. 

One thing I MUST recommend is that you print out the X3 worksheets. They are easy to fill in and it's so cool to see your progress over 4 weeks. I fill mine out like this:

I fill it in with rep numbers when we aren't given specific reps. If I can't remember the exact reps but need to remember to count next time, I put a "?" beside the number of reps I thought I did. My hope is to do more reps by the end of the 4 weeks. When weights are involved, I put a little arrow off to the right if I need to up the weights next time. If the weight was challenging enough, I either put a check mark beside the weight or leave it blank. Like my "OUCHES"? Haha - that's when something is challenging!

The workouts today were as follows:

1. Push-up/Side Arm Balance - this one was tricky and requires some serious balance! I'm not so good at it right now.
2. Crescent Chair - at first this doesn't seem rough, but my quads were burning at the end!
3. Pull Knee Pull - I do this pull-up with resistance bands. I don't have a chin up bar nor do I have a place to put one. I have two holes drilled into our basement rafters and I have a resistance band strung through each hole and doubled up. I put my hand through the loop and pull down. I followed Dreya on this one. Someday I WILL do a pull up!
4. Flip Flop Crunch - my abs are not my strong point. These were kinda rough for me!
5. Crawly Plyo Push-Up - These were nuts! Fun and hard but NUTS! For modifications, don't jump switch your knees. To even further modify, do the push-ups on your knees and bring your knee up to your elbow while doing the push up. Much more manageable for a beginner.
6. Releve-Plie, weighted - I used 15 pounds and will go up to 20 next time. This is a balance challenge. I will not wobble in 4 weeks!
7. Boat Plow - I love these! They stretch my back and neck while working my abs!
8. Balance Arch Press - These are a balance challenge. I used 12 pounds and will go up to 15 next time. I always forget how strong my shoulders are from conducting!
9.  3 Hop Press - These kill me. I really have to focus on the squat part of this little move or I don't get a good workout. Anytime you squat, make sure to keep your knees BEHIND your toes! If you don't, you WILL have knee problems!
10. Glamour Hammer - Hammer curls are my favorite. I used 10 pounds and it was plenty. I will do another week at 10, maybe another 2 weeks. All in all, I did 17 reps with my arms. One rep is a front hammer and a side hammer. So, essentially, I did 34 curls on each side. OUCH!
11. Branon Boat - Ever done Banana Boats in P90X? Well these are the distant cousin. You go into boat and then raise and lower your legs 4 times. Then you hold your legs stationary and raise and lower your upper half 4 times. Repeat all this for 60 seconds. YIKES!
12. Flying Warrior - I loved this move. I used 8 pounds and it was PLENTY. In fact, I was completely fatigued by the end. It takes balance and focus. Don't get upset if you have to put your foot down, I did!
13. Squat Rockers - Can we talk about Quad Burn? This does the job. I used 15 pounds and I had to take a 5 second rest. I love exercises that work my lower body. I will use 15 pounds again next time.
14.  Side Raise Punch - These are very hard for me. I have ZERO tricep muscles. Plus, I did the entire first set wrong, so I had to redo it! I used 5 pounds and could have easily followed Dreya and used no weights.
15. Warrior Squat Moon - I have a feeling that I'm eventually going to love this move. Eventually. Right now I feel like a doofus trying to balance and maintain proper form. I hope I'm not the only doofus out there :)
16. Cooldown - 1:10 marks your cool down. It wasn't quite enough for me so I did a runners lunge and some extra stretching.

Now it's on to drink my breakfast - R&R Vanilla Shakeology! Fits perfectly into my X3 meal plan! Oh yeah - here's what Plan B looks like for this week:

I have to say, I could have upped my weights more today. I will remember to do that next time. I enjoyed the program and am looking forward to doing Agility X tomorrow! Check back for my day 2 review!

Oh yeah, as I was getting ready to publish this post, we got the call that school's CANCELLED! Woot Woot!

<3,

Kell