I never thought yoga would do this for me...

            Happy Friday everybody, I wanted to share that no matter what my step meter says with zero intensity minutes measured all week ;) that I have been working out every day. This has been my first week of the 3-Week Yoga Retreat that I've been doing online from Beachbody on Demand and it's been amazing.

            Most people know that yoga can help you relax and increase flexibility- within the first four days this week I was already getting deeper into stretches and felt so much more flexible. The direction given by the trainers is so precise that I have made little adjustments to poses that I have been doing wrong for years. I've been getting deeper stretches; I've been feeling less pressure in my lower back as I'm learning to even breathe more correctly in order to support my lower back. I have always suffered from low back problems until I found PiYo but this yoga retreat has been amazing for my back: it hasn't even been cracking at all in the morning or feeling tight at all.

            Another thing I know people don't like to talk about, but yoga has helped my digestion amazing even more than the added bonus than having my daily Shakeology with the digestive enzymes and probiotics and all that good stuff. I did some Googling and I didn't realize that so many yoga poses with the twisting and the concentration on your core and your breathing really help loosen up your intestines and get everything moving so there's no stagnation or no uncomfortable feelings or anything like that.

            I have also noticed since I wear a Garmin Vivofit all the time is that my sleep graphs in the morning have been really different: it seems like there's a lot more dark blue (deep sleep) on my graphs every morning as opposed to light blue (light sleep). I am a numbers nerd, so I went through the 9 nights that I have been doing the Yoga Retreat so far and then I did the same number of nights before I started. I wrote down the amount of deep sleep and total sleep that my Garmin has telling me I've been getting.

            I had been averaging 9 hours and 15 minutes of sleep in the 9 nights leading up to my yoga program and I was spending 23% percent of that in deep sleep (2 hours, 11 minutes) each night. Since I started the Yoga Retreat, I've actually only been averaging 9 hours of sleep a night (I had bible study, girls night, and have been up late watching the Cubs in the playoffs). So I’ve actually been getting less sleep per night then before the yoga program but I have been spending 29% of my night in deep sleep, which works out to 2 hours and 45 minutes. This means I've been getting less sleep overall but I have been getting half an hour more of deep sleep at night!!

            Deep sleep is so important to your physical health, your mental health, and to your whole body because that's when your body regenerates. Deep sleep is when things get moved from short-term to long-term memory; it's when your muscles rebuild themselves; it's really where you just get reset for the next day. The fact that I have been sleeping less but been getting more deep sleep has been such an added gift that this program has given me…in addition to the better digestion, in addition to the less tightness in my lower back, in addition to the increased flexibility, in addition to not just the less tightness in my back but I feel taller and lengthened.  That is an amazing benefit of yoga: you feel just stretched out and you don't feel as so compressed and tense.

            Oh, and more deep sleep means that I have had more energy during the day it's just one of the greatest things that I think Beachbody has come out with because anyone can do this! The fact that it is free is totally amazing. If you want to try this yoga program, it takes 21 days and no more than 30 minutes a day (the weekends are actually shorter)- it's totally free with your trial of Beachbody on Demand. If you have never tried yoga before, you should give it a try! It's going to help you sleep better; it's going to help you de-stress; it's going to help your energy, your digestion…everything! It's not got some of the Eastern religion connotations or weird music to it, it's just stripped down simple basic yoga and it's going to make you feel great.

            I had been looking for a low-impact program to continue on from Country Heat and this program fit the bill for me. If you want to learn more about it or if you want to keep following my journey please stay tuned and make sure you are following my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/boeknowscleanliving

Country Heat: a simple, fun cardio dance workout with fool-proof nutrition tools

Here is my 30 day Country Heat transformation!! I found myself really enjoying the dances (especially those on disc 2) despite not being very coordinated or really a country music listener. Every day the 30 minutes flew by with constant movement and fun songs.

I love Autumn's training and teaching style and really loved the move breakdowns. This was a walk-through speed without the music so you weren't trying to figure out the moves DURING the workout itself.

I did not miss a workout OR a Shakeology, and was more mindful of my portions, waited a while before wanting 2nds or dessert (and almost all of the time ended up not being hungry enough after waiting), and really felt some changes in my core/waist. 

I have gained weight this year due to removing my Mirena in the spring (sorry if that's TMI for you, but I'm being honest) and have struggled seeing that number on the scale increase EVEN THOUGH I know that it's just a number. Doing this low impact cardio workout gave me the results I was hoping for. 

This picture may "only" show a 2 pound weight loss but to me it feels like a lot more. I feel shrunken, not starved. Does that even make sense?? lol. I feel so much leaner in my entire torso, and even see more muscle tone in my legs. To achieve that without using weights or killing my hips, knees, and back is amazing.

The picture here also shows more than my stats. It shows a 30 day commitment: to myself, and to my challengers. I don't invite people to my accountability groups to sell them something and leave them to fend for themselves. This stuff changed my LIFE- why wouldn't I want to share my experience with others?! I am there every single day, doing the same things that I ask my challengers to. We've formed a support system and are there for each other every single day.

ANYONE can benefit from improving their nutrition, and the tools in this program make these changes with no guesswork or confusion. I believe this fitness program is the MOST ACCESSIBLE to anyone, regardless of injury or current fitness level. What do YOU have to lose by giving it a try? If this looks fun to you, please reach out to me.

TGIF! Thinking ahead and preparing for Friday night temptations

I know it's Friday evening right now and maybe you're thinking about going out to eat, football games or unwinding after a long week. What you're probably NOT thinking about is making sure you get your workout in! 

The great thing is...my challengers THOUGHT AHEAD! They drank their Shakeology to keep cravings in check for Friday night happy hour. They logged their workouts early before work and before excuses could set in. 

I am so proud of each person in my group that is putting in the hard work to improve their health. It's so much easier to do when you know you're not alone. That's why I love hosting private accountability groups.

Keep it up, everyone! 1 week left in the month!

What is Country Heat?

I'm on a live EXCLUSIVE team call with Autumn Calabrese right now (with our CEO coming later) and hearing the details about the newest workout program Country Heat and I am getting really excited about its release next week!! 

💥 30 minutes a day
💥 30 day program
💥 no weights
💥 no impact
💥 modifier
💥 portion control
💥 cardio dancing set to country music (NOT twangy like dancing)

Results from the test groups had people losing 60 lbs in 90 days- that's 20 pounds a month WITHOUT TOUCHING A WEIGHT!! 😮

Interested yet??!  Let me know if you want to be the FIRST to get in on this release!!

Country Line Dancing workout: Country Heat coming soon!!

$5 was just donated on my behalf to help fight the Canadian wildfires thanks to Beachbody. How?? All I did was log onto Beachbody on Demand to try a brand new workout from the upcoming program Country Heat.

If you think that face looks familiar, it is!! Autumn Calabrese created the 21 Day Fix and those revolutionary portion control containers, as well as Hammer & Chisel. Now she's back teaching country-inspired dances in a really easy to follow and fun format. I was sweating and had my heart rate up even though I still have 2 left feet. 💃


If you'd like to try this workout for free today, comment below. Or if you'd like more information about the program before it releases in July, comment below as well!

All about Cize: Shaun T can teach anyone to dance- for real!

My last blog entry was about my Cize transformation but I wanted to give a little more background information on what Cize is about as a program. Shaun T is famous for creating programs like Insanity and T25, but his background is also in choreography and dance. His first program through Beachbody was actually Hip Hop Abs. I tried one of those workouts earlier this year when it was released as part of the member library for Beachbody On Demand and couldn’t even get through a 20-minute routine. I have NO coordination and NO dance background. I LOVE music though, so I’ve always struggled with wanting to dance but not knowing how or not feeling confident enough to just let loose, be goofy, and have fun.

When I first heard about Cize I was intrigued but didn’t think that it was for me because it was a dancing program. Beachbody gave a sample workout on Beachbody On Demand before the entire program was released and I had fun doing it, but still didn’t think I would buy the program. It wasn’t until the program was released and I saw how much FUN everyone was having that I decided to buy it myself. Most workouts can be fun, or we do them because we know how good we feel for exercising, but Cize is so different. You are HAVING FUN the WHOLE TIME dancing and not even realizing that time is passing, you are sweating, and the calories are getting torched.

Shaun builds each routine step by step and breaks everything down into simple movements that you already do every day. He says “you move everyday, I’m just putting it to a rhythm.” And he is so right. When you get a move or short sequence done, you add to it and before you know it you are ready to “Cize it up” at the end to a complete dance routine. A really awesome feature of the workouts is that once the routine is over, it goes to a screen where you can pick from the cooldown, 8 count abs routine, or “Cize it up” again. Some of the routines are so great that I kept doing the routine over and over again.

The entire program has 6 routines on 3 discs, plus a short (but effective!) ab workout. They range from 30-50 minutes and features the following songs:

1.     "Hands in the Air" by Timbaland. (It introduces you to the first 8 moves you'll be using for the whole program.)

2.     "Treasure" by Bruno Mars

3.     "Lose My Breath" by Destiny's Child (I loved this routine and would do the “Cize it up” chapter over and over again.)

4.     "Problem" by Ariana Grande

5.     "Pass That Dutch" by Missy Elliot

6.     "Chandelier" by Sia. (This was the last routine in the whole program and really took the emotion and moves to another level where you really were feeling it.)

You can choose from a beginner calendar that takes 6 weeks (1 routine a week) or an advanced calendar for 4 weeks. I felt like a beginner but did the advanced calendar instead because I did not think doing 1 routine for an entire week would hold my interest. Overall I had a great time doing the program. It is completely based on your effort, so beginners to experts can have fun and get their heart rate up at the same time.

            Wow….all of this information and I just realized I didn’t touch on the 2^nd half of the program: the nutrition!! I LOVE the nutrition guide for Cize. It is based off the color-coded portion control containers from the 21 Day Fix, but you can still use the nutrition guide even if you don’t have the containers. The “Eat Up!” guide gives you a food directory so you can eat WHAT you want, but it just shows you HOW MUCH you need. The best part of the book is the meal builder. It gives examples of simple, staple meals, and all the ways you can customize and mix it up. There are pages like eggs every day, oatmeal bowl, yogurt parfait, Shakeology bar, salad bowl, wrap it up, simply grilled, Asian stir fry, healthy pasta, and snacks on the go. For the wrap it up meal you have steps to follow for each category/container of food: pick your wrap, pick your protein, add your veggies, add an “extra”, add dressing, and (optional) add flavor. You’d think a wrap was easy to make, or maybe so easy you get stuck and don’t know how to make it interesting. My family doesn’t really eat from recipes of stuff but we do basics like every Thursday we have a big salad for our meal. So on Thursdays we go to the salad bowl page and can make a different one each time.

            The Cize kit also comes with a get started guide, a weekend survival guide, and (if you order through a coach like me!) a free bonus workout called “Hold Your Own” that gives you some moves you can use when you’re out no matter what song is playing.

You can see my whole YouTube playlist of Cize routine progressions here: bit.ly/kboecizevids

Here is my before/after of the Full Out routine:



Coming soon from Shaun T: CIZE

Have you heard about CIZE? It is the newest Beachbody workout from Shaun T, the creator of T25 and Insanity. Cize is being called "the end of exercize". It's being released at Summit in Nashville in mid July 2015...so possibly 1 in more week!

Now, you need to know one little piece of info. It's a dance program. I know. I know. You CAN'T dance. Guess what...neither can I! I'm serious. Shaun T will TEACH you how to dance step by step and you will definitely have fun doing it. And the best part is that you are doing this at HOME so no one's going to see you do it but you! PHEW! Cize is a 4 week program and you'll be burning fat and calories while you are mastering everyday moves Shaun T has turned into choreography routines.

I had the opportunity to sample a complete workout from this program from Beachbody On Demand and I had fun! Don't judge, but here's my video trying out Cize.

 

What do you think? If it looks like fun, click here to be added to my mailing list to be the first to know when Cize is released in July! http://www.cizetbb.com/?referringRepId=352740

What is PiYo?

Summer 2014:

          After 3 rounds of the 21 Day Fix I was looking for something new to try and the buzz around PiYo was huge. The Pilates Fix workout is one of my favorites from the 21 Day Fix so I wanted to see what Chalene Johnson had cooked up in her brand new program that was inspired by pilates and yoga. I decided to give it a whirl and FELL IN LOVE. No jumping or impacts, no weight or equipment, and no holding stiff poses like regular yoga and pilates.

          The workouts range from 20-50 minutes and get your heart rate right into that medium fat burning, sweaty range without leaving you out of breath (except for those power sections!) I should add that around this time I also bought a Garmin Vivofit band and heart rate monitor so I was able to see my heart rate and calorie burn for each workout.

          It's hard to explain, but your muscles get so warm from these workouts, it's the energized high from a good workout while also being incredibly relaxing because it's pilates and yoga. I think that's why I love it so much. The program calendar felt a bit long to me at 8 weeks but I think that is because I got spoiled by the short calendar of the 21 Day Fix.

          I was totally floored by my results from PiYo. It just shaved inches off of my trouble areas! All but 1.5" I lost were from my hips and thighs- but don't let that fool you into thinking I didn't see results in my upper body. I saw increased muscle definition all over and for the first time really saw biceps start to come out. Those tricep push-ups are no joke! Don't be fooled into thinking you need anything more than your body weight to sculpt your body!

          Another thing it did was really help get rid of my back pain. I've always suffered from sciatic pain and working out started to help that, but the increased flexibility and low impact of PiYo really diminished my pain and strengthened the supporting muscles for my back. I seriously cannot say enough positive things about PiYo. I think it's my soulmate workout program!