My First Week of Body Beast

Never did I think I would be doing a workout program called Body Beast and liking it!!  Just the name intimidated me or at least it did for a long time.  As many of you know I am a cardio girl - I keep saying that but now I am thinking not so much anymore.  Don't get me wrong I love a good sweat but since doing the 21 Day Fix Extreme I have come to really enjoy lifting weights.  I realized that adding that strength component into my fitness routine helped me see definition that I had been craving for so long but was impossible to get with just cardio.  Plus I have come to learn there are so many incredible benefits that are gained from adding weights into your workouts.

Here are some interesting tidbits about women and lifting weights:

1. Strength training helps you lose belly fat more than cardio.  Weight lifting burns exclusively fat while cardio burns fat and muscle.

2. The more muscle you have the more calories you will burn!

3. Your bones will strengthen and as we get older this will help reduce our risk for osteoporosis.

4. You will ease joint pain as the muscles around your joints get stronger.

5. Your cardio performance will actually improve as your arms and legs become stronger.

6. You will drop a size as you become leaner and more toned.

My curiosity about Body Beast was getting the best of me so why not check out? My husband and I decided to start this week by just "checking out" a couple of the workouts and see what we thought and we are now fully in!!  We liked it and I am excited to have a new program, a new schedule to follow and change is a great motivator!  My husband and I are committed to do this program for 90 days!!!

We are following the Lean schedule because our goals are ripped NOT big!  We aren't using super heavy weights because quite frankly we won't be able to lift them (LOL) and we want to be able to increase our weights throughout the workout without risking injury. The idea of this program is each set you start with a light weight, more reps and you do 3 reps increasing your weight each time while decreasing reps.

The workouts this week varied from 35-50 minutes. Besides the weights you need a bench or stability  ball.   Day 1 was chest and triceps,  I was super sore in my triceps for a few days but heck that is one of my weak spots so it felt good to work those muscles and toned tris look GREAT in tank tops.

Legs was Day 2 and after doing 21 Day Fix Extreme leg day was doable.  Day 3 was back to upper body focusing on biceps and back and my biceps are still feeling this workout 3 days later!  And than came CARDIO day - my body rejoiced at moving and jumping!!  I LOVE T25 for cardio so I am going to substitute the Beast Cardio for T25 on some of the cardio days but that is just a personal choice.  And finally we ended this week with shoulders which was by far the most challenging working out for me.  I struggle with lots of shoulder work so I just lowered my weights and even did one set of exercises with no weights.

REST Day today (Yeah!) and Sunday it is back to chest and triceps!

What I LOVE is everything is modifiable.  I am only using 5, 8, 10, 12 or 15 pounds weights and for the majority of the exercises I am in the 8-10 pound range.    I love that it's a program that my husband and I can do together each morning - love that time spent together!

I was so worried about this being a "hard core" weight lifting program and it certainly could be if you are lifting super heavy, and following the Bulk up schedule BUT we are following the lean schedule and eating healthy.  First week, I feel GREAT and I am even adding some CIZE in the mix because really who doesn't like to dance! :)

Keep following me every week and see where our BEAST journey takes us!!  :)

My Wantable Fitness Box Review

For weeks I kept seeing these ads for "wantable fitness" boxes on facebook. You know the ads that pop into your news feed and are so targeted just for you it's almost weird.  One day I decided to click on it and take a look, I mean the words "fitness", "clothes" and "picked just for you" definitely had me intrigued.  You own personal stylist will pick out fitness clothes just for you based on a profile you fill out and they will send you 5 items and you have 5 days to try them on in the comfort of your own home and keep what you like, return what you don't in a pre-paid postage envelope they provide for you.  It sounded very intriguing!  I googled recent reviews of Wantable fitness boxes and read some favorable reviews plus the idea of new different fitness clothes that I didn't have to go look for sounded like a win to me.  Everyone wears Lululemon, Lorna Jane or Nike's - I loved the idea of something different and unique.  Plus I had tried Fabletics and Stitch Fix before so why not give it a go.  The only thing I had to lose was a $20.00 stylist fee and if I did keep anything that fee would go toward my purchase.

I filled out my profile and selected my price points (I went with the least expensive) and signed up.  Today my box arrived at the doorstep.  The box was impressive and as I opened it I loved the quote across the packaging, "the difference between try and triumph is a little UMP".   There were a very colorful pair of workout capris, a black pair of running shorts, a lightly patterned sports bra, a hot pink looser fitting tank top and a color block tank top with sports bra built in.  I liked what I saw especially the capris, I love loud patterned workout pants - not so much for working out but for running errands and more of my "looking cute" and "going out" workout clothes.  But the true test was the fit so I off I went to try everything on in the comfort of my own home.

First the capris and sports bra.  The capris are made by Prismsport (not a brand I have heard of) and they are soft and hit a great place on my hips.  I hate workout pants that hit in the muffin top area and actually emphasize that area.  Let's face it the mid-section is one of the more difficult parts of the body - no need to emphasis that. I love the pattern and they aren't something I've seen on anyone else before.

  

The sports bra is by Climawear and I loved the fabric but as I jumped up and down I didn't feel the support.  I may not have much but I still need to protect. :)

 

Shorts are my number one go to workout clothes and probably what I am most picky about.  It's actually hard to find the "perfect short" - not super short but not that in between length.   There is nothing worse then spending a workout pulling down your shorts as they creep up.  The black running shorts are by Cory Vines and unfortunately are that awkward length.  My favorite workout shorts are Lululemon so I'll be sticking with those.

 

Lastly were two tanks, a looser fit hot pink tank by Prismsport and a color block built in sports bra tank by Rese.  I loved the looser fit tank.  Nice soft fabric and it hits in the perfect place.  I actually could see wearing it out and about when I am running errands as well as working out.  The color block tank, not so much.  I am not a big fan of built in sports bra tanks, the material tends to be to thick for me and hot as I workout. 

What am I keeping?  I am pretty certain I will keep the capris and possibly the pink tank top though I am going to give myself a day to think about it.  My overall impression was good and I would think about doing it again but not every month just when I am feeling the need for a little fitness clothes update.  It is fun to try new brands and styles and get out of always going for the same old colors and styles.  The price points were good ranging from $34.00 (the sports bra) to $82.00 (the capris) and remember your 20.00 stylist fee goes toward your purchase and if you keep 3 or 4 items you get an additional 20% off and if you keep all 5 you same 30%.

And let's face it getting a box full of hand picked clothes for you is a pretty fun concept even if not all of them were a go.  It's like taking a stack into a dressing room to try on and just finding one or two items that works but without the hassle of going to a store or two and dealing with all the hassle of trying them on.

Wantables also does regular clothes boxes as well as accessory, makeup and intimate boxes if you are curious and want to try something new.