Wednesday, July 22, 2009

INSANITY - The Journey :)

Tony Horton always talks about Variety. I am a fan of variety and keeping it new. Its why I love the monthly subscription to One on One with Tony Horton workouts. Always something new! And typically, if its a workout dvd, all my "newness" is centered around Tony's wide range and variety of workouts. I love him, I love his style, he makes me laugh, and I truly believe he's the best at what he does. :) He's taught me what I know about fitness and training people, and, well, the list goes on. I think you get the picture. I am Tony Horton's #1 fan. (and am in good company with many thousands of others claiming the same title :) )

Tony is the first to say "Change it up!" So to you fellow #1 TH Fans, know that its not a lack of loyalty to Tony to change over for the next 60 days, if you're feeling that way. :) We'll forever be Tony fans, but I gotta say, I am a new FAN of Shaun T. I like his style of training, the music in the dvd's that seemingly was written perfectly to every move in the workout, and I'm a fan of feeling like I'm in training for an athletic event. I'm a runner, and want to try a triathlon for fun, and I believe this is an EXCELLENT training program for an event such as that!

I'll log my journey as often as I can, so feel free to follow along either on facebook or here on my blog (http://www.traciplus7.blogspot.com/)


So after Day's one (fit test, which is a workout in itself!) and Two (Plyo-Cardio) here is what I've come up with in the way of coaching tips: :)

1. NOURISHMENT. I need to eat something (good carb) in the two hours before this workout. I used to workout on an empty stomach in the morning or evening; I cannot do that with this workout if I want clean form and to finish strong.

2. LIQUID. I drink about 12oz of water with 1/2 - 3/4 serving of Recovery Formula throughout the workout. Water just doesnt do it. With 25 minutes to go in my workout, where it doesnt get easier, but harder; I NEED the Recovery Formula. This also helps with soreness in the following days.

3. CLEAN FORM (deep squats, high knees, tight core, knees over the ankles in the jump-squats) is FAR MORE IMPORTANT than speed or numbers. Tony taught me this, and its true in anything you do. Sloppy/tired moves might bring higher numbers, but especially with this intense, non stop workout I NEED to concentrate on executing clean form. If a mirror is available - work out in front of one. Once you've viewed yourself doing the clean moves, then you get the FEEL of what the move should feel like, and then you need the mirror less.

4. ATTITUDE. Tony always says "you're stronger than you think". This is so true, and you prove that when you do something hard. I dont care if you're doing INSANITY, Turbo Jam, Hip Hop Abs, or Power90; dont be afraid to push yourself within the boundaries of safety. I think you'll find yourself pleasantly surprised with what you can do, and get a healthy dose of self esteem when you stop telling yourself you CAN'T, and find out what you truly CAN do! :) Its liberating!

5. ACCOUNTABILITY. I'm going through this with friends. First thing I did is ask my friend Jason to be my INSANITY buddy. :) I have since found that other friends like Nina and Judy and Marc and JD are doing it also! All the better - the more the merrier! We ARE striving for a REVOLUTION!, afterall! :)

6. SLEEP. I am asking a lot from my body with these workouts. We all are as we do our own workout program. Our bodies recover as we sleep, so be sure to get AT LEAST 7 hours!!!!

7. SUPPLEMENTS. I am finding that I am RELYING on my supplements to do just that; supplement my nutrition plan so my body is getting everything it needs to get through my workouts strong, and have enough energy to spare to last me from sun up to sun down! :) I am supplementing my healthy diet with:

Shakeology
Peak Health Multivitamin
P90X protein bars
Omega 3
Joint Supplement (like oil to my tin man joints! Darn getting old and arthritis!!!)
Calcium Magnesium

So there you have it. Just typing about it makes me excited for my journey, so I think I'll go log my workout into WOWY! :)

I hope my synopsis will be helpful for you; no matter which program you have.

And as always, if you'd like to be coached by a coach on my team, we're here to help!

Please reach out today!!


TOGETHER....we're BETTER!!!!
TRACI :)

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Living a Healthy Lifestyle

Magazines everywhere call us to live a healthy lifestyle. News articles and programs tell us how obese we are as a country (over 200,000 adults in the US are overweight or obese), and the health and wellness industry claim over $80 billion in revenue in the US alone. And yet....clearly its not providing lasting results and long term lifestyle changes because the obesity rates continue to climb despite the money we're spending to combat it.

I read an article on MSNBC.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25464987) that talks about New York law requiring restaurants to show their customers the nutritional facts of everything on their menus. While for some, the response to this is "FINALLY!!! It's about time!"; to most, its shocking and rattling the patterns of guiltless (and up to this point, uninformed!) eating. When in the world did we ever get to the place where we eat whatever, and however much we want without ever wondering if we SHOULD be eating it all? There is a definite shift happening, and if you read the above article, you'll see that many arent all that happy to be in the midst of the shift.

What Beachbody calls a Revolution is just that; but on such a deeper level than many think. Dictionary.com defines revolution as "a sudden, complete or marked change in something". The Beachbody Revolution is a COMPLETE change alright! People all over our country (and even beyond our borders) are learning how to change how they eat and view food, change from being inactive & complacent to living more active engaged, but also, and perhaps more importantly, change from living isolated from person to person contact (twitter, facebook, texting, emailing) to the accountability that comes from reconnecting socially & personally to another person; their Beachbody Coach and the Beachbody Community. Longterm change requires people linking together and saying unilaterally: "We're instigating change, and we're in this TOGETHER!" And as pastor and author Rick Warren states in his New York Times Best Seller "Purpose Driven Life" "We're better TOGETHER!!"

You see, making life changes and new choices is ENTIRELY possible by attaching meaning and accountability when you DECIDE>COMMIT>SUCCEED (Beachbody's catch phrase), and tie it tightly together with the strings of accountability. And there are hundreds of thousands of customers (and coaches) who are determined to do just that: SUCCEED...TOGETHER.

Are YOU reading this and your internal bells are going off? Do you feel energized and hopeful that your time has come? Have you had a diagnosis or pre-diagnosis of diabetes, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure? Has your doctor told you that you need to lose weight? Did you go to put on your clothes this morning and find they are just too snug?

WONT YOU JOIN OUR REVOLUTION? Together we're better, and
we are waiting for YOU!!

Email me if you'd like to join my Team Beachbody Revolution Team. :)
I've got a team of coaches waiting to link arms to help you in your PERSONAL REVOLUTION! :)
Wanting all God's best for you!!

TRACI +7 :)
ABSoluteFitness@roadrunner.com