Sneak Peek: Shift Shop Speed 25

Good afternoon, all!  Thank you for stopping by and checking out my Speed 25 preview!  After I complete the workout, I will come back and add my thoughts about the intensity of the workout and how effective I felt it was.  Without further ado...

Today's Workout:  Speed 25 (You will do this every other day for the first week of the three-week program, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.)

Rule of the Day:  Try before you modify.  (Make sure that you attempt to do the move full-out before you use the modifications.  You may be surprised at what you can do.)

Equipment:  2 agility markers, one in the front of your workout space and one about 2-3 paces behind it (You can purchase these from Beachbody, you can use something similar or really anything to mark your place, or you can use nothing and just visualize that they are there.)

Total Workout Time: 25 minutes, plus the 3 minute (or so) cooldown

Set up:  Each move is 60 seconds.  You will be shown the move, complete the move, and then have a brief rest time while the next move is explained and shown.  There are 15 moves total.

Exercises:
There is no specific warm-up in the workout, but the moves start out with less intensity and then grow through the workout. 

Jump Rope:  a basic jump rope move.  You are moving forward and back from one marker to the other.  Your knees are high and you are turning your wrists like you are turning a jump rope. 

Skip Combo:  Imagine skipping forward and back.  You will start in a down position, touching the floor like you are getting ready to go into a sprint.  You will propel yourself forward with your arms and a skip to the front marker.  Then you will tap the marker and go back into your "get set" position and skip backward.

Ali Shuffle:  For this move, you will turn to the side.  Starting at the back marker, you will shuffle your feet forward and back quickly while moving yourself up to the front marker.  Tap the marker with your foot and shuffle back.

Quick Jack Taps:  This is like a regular jumping jack except your knees stay bent in a low almost squat position.  Stay low throughout the entire move.  When Chris says "shift," you will reach down and tap the marker, then back up into the jack position, never straightening your legs.  I would imagine this will be a quad burner!

High-Knee Run:  Similar to Jump Rope, except your will pump your arms like you are running.  Knees are high and you move up from one marker and then back.

Bear Crawl:  You will start in a low position on the floor on your hands and knees and stay in that low position the entire move.  Crawl up to the front marker, tap it, and then crawl back.  Make sure to keep your knees as close to the ground as you can and keep your back flat.

Lateral Slide:  Just as the move implies, you will be sliding from side to side.  Turn to the side, start at the back marker, stay low and slide up to the front marker.  Return to start and repeat for the remainder of the move.

Mountain Climbers:  You are down on the floor in a typical mountain climber stance, back flat, wrists/elbows/shoulders in line and you are going to drive your knees in towards the marker as fast as you can with correct form.

***You are halfway done!***

Butt Kicks:  You will start with your hands on your glutes and try to kick your foot up to touch your hand with every movement.  You will alternate literally kicking yourself in the butt while you move forward and back between the markers.

Shop Hops:  In a squat position (which you will stay in for the whole move) you will stay on the balls of your feet and bounce quickly up and down.  When Chris says "shift," you will reach down and tap the marker, then immediately come back up and continue to bounce.

Fence Jumps:  Think of this move as watching someone get over a hurdle, but instead of moving forward, you will be moving side to side.  Turn to the side and hop up, swinging your arms as you do to help propel you up.  Go to one marker and come back to the other.

Burpees:  This is a typical burpee:  you will go down to the ground, shoot your legs out (make sure to keep your back in line and flat), jump your feet back in, and then stand up.  Chris shows you a way to ramp up the move by adding a push-up when you are down on the ground and then a jump at the top.

Swing Jumps:  Start with your feet together and keep them together throughout the movement.  You will jump diagonally up to the front marker and then back to the rear marker.

Catcher's Crawl:  You will get into a low squat, keeping your chest up and staying low the entire move.  You will put your hands down to the ground and jump your feet up to meet them.  Do that twice to get you to the first marker, then two times back to get you to the back marker.

Crab Creeper:  Turn to the side and sit down on the ground.  You will go up into a bridge position, with your heels on the ground and hands on the ground.  Step your foot out and hand out at the same time to move your forward, then move up the other hand and foot to meet it and move you along.  Tap the front marker and move back to the back.

***You are done!  You made it!!!***

Cool down:  The cool down is not a part of the workout, so it is not included in the 25 minutes.  This does not mean that you don't have to do the cool down.  You do!  It is so important to stretch and feel like you're heartrate is coming back to the normal before you do anything else.  The cool down consists of breathing and stretching, as most cool downs do.

I am not going to review this workout yet, as I have not done it.  However, from the looks of it, it seems as if all muscles (especially the legs!) will be worked and I will be feeling it after and the following day.  Once I complete the workout, I will come back and give you my thoughts and add some pictures.

Thank you for checking out the sneak peek of Shift Shop Speed 25.  If you are interested in trying Shift Shop or any of Beachbody's amazing at-home programs, contact me!

Fit Friday: Shift Shop!

I love when new workout programs come out!  It gives me a chance to change up my routine, meet a new trainer, and have a new challenge.  Today I am going to talk to you about Beachbody's newest program, Shift Shop.

This program came out about a month ago.  I have yet to do it, but I am going to start next Monday!  I have previewed the first two workouts, plus the stretch and abs workouts, and I can already tell I am going to love it.  I have seen some amazing results from this program so I am very excited!  I am going to tell you all about the program below; plus, I will be doing a sneak peek on Saturday in my reviews for the first week of workouts!

Check out the details of Shift Shop below!

About the Program:
Shift Shop is designed with the idea that there will be a "shift" each week.  That means the workouts will increase in intensity as the weeks go on.  The program is 3 weeks long and you build up the duration of the workouts each week as well.  Each week you will do a Speed workout and a Strength workout alternately Monday-Saturday and then Sunday you can do Mobility (stretch) or have a rest day.  The times of the workouts are the duration; however, the cool down is not included in the time of the workout.  The first week, the workouts are 25 minutes, the second week they are 35 minutes, and in the last week, they are 45 minutes long.  Two days a week you can also add in the ab workout, which is 15 minutes long, but that is optional.

The Speed workouts utilize agility markers that, if you purchase the DVDs, will come with the program.  If you have Beachbody on Demand and will be streaming the workouts, you can print your own agility markers, or just use something else that you already have to mark your focus spots.  Depending on the workout, they will be placed front to back, side to side, or you will use all four. The Strength workouts require dumbbells.

This may change in the future workouts, but in the ones that I previewed (Speed and Strength 25), each move was 1 minute with a break in between moves while Chris explains what is coming next.

There are also two deluxe workouts, Speed and Strength 50.  These can be added into the calendar in the second round of the program.

There is a modifier in every workout.  The trainer teaches the move and then walks the room, encouraging and correcting people's form.  

About the Meal Plan:
There is a meal plan included with the program, as well as a recipe book which has 81 recipes that you can use during the 3 week period (and beyond, of course).  The meal plan is very specific and gives you guidelines to follow depending on your starting weight, your goals, and which week you're on.  The idea is to use the container system that was first introduced with 21 Day Fix; however, it is not necessary to have the containers in order to follow the meal plan.  There are recipes that have measurements for you to follow.

About the Trainer:
Chris Downing is Beachbody's newest trainer.  He is a certified personal trainer and has been working in the fitness industry for years.  I don't know much about him, but from what I have seen in his interviews, he seems very down-to-earth and to really care about people and their goals to get and stay healthy.

From the workouts I have previewed, Chris is very personable and seems to have a good rapport with those in the cast.  He makes jokes, but is not overly goofy (like Tony, in my opinion) and he is highly motivating and encouraging.  As I said above, he goes around the cast to point out corrections of form.  He also pushes them to go lower, faster, and harder.  He is motivating when people in the cast are visibly struggling.  He explains the moves very well before starting and demonstrates them for you while you take a break, giving you enough time to take a break, catch your breath, and get ready for the next move.

First Thoughts:
Since I haven't tried this program yet, I am not going to give a full review.  I will, however, tell you my first thoughts.  The program seems great.  As I said before, I have seen amazing results and, considering it is only 3 weeks long, they are impressive.  I think this workout is going to push and challenge me, which is what I'm looking for.  I like the idea of ramping up, but I am not sure how I am going to like a 50 minute workout.  I have gotten very used to my 30 minutes every morning, but since it's only a week, I am going to do it!  I am not a fan of the agility markers, because it makes it seem like another gimmick that is being used to sell workout programs.  I do like the fact that you don't need them to complete the workouts and that you can print out a free version from Beachbody on Demand.  I am also not used to breaks, so think I am going to like having a little respite in between moves if I need to wipe the sweat or get a swig of water.  I don't like the effects that they added into the videos where Chris "pauses" mid-move and they freeze the action.  I think it's hokey and unnecessary, but that's minor.  I also am not a fan of workouts that say they're 25 minutes, but really end up being 30 minutes with the cool down.  I like the cool down to be a part of the workout because if not, it makes it seem like it's optional.  It's not.  You need to cool down just as you need to warm up.

The meal plan doesn't seem so great.  I have nothing wrong with the recipes, except for the fact that if you ate what's in the meal plan you would get really sick of eggs really fast.  I like the amount of recipes that you are given and the fact that the meal plan is really laid out for you, week by week, day by day.  The meal plan is extremely restrictive.  You will be eating no carbs (yellow containers) in the final week.  I believe that any time you remove something from your diet, your body is missing something and if and when you start to eat that food group again, you will not be able to maintain your body weight.  If you want great results in a super short amount of time or you are training for something specific, I would say to follow the meal plan.  If not, I would stick to a clean eating meal plan.  I will not be following the Shift Shop meal plan, but I will be following a clean diet meal plan by using the same recipes I always make, with some new ones from the recipe book added in.

The trainer seems just my style.  I like his attitude, I like how positive he is, and he is obviously fit and knows what he is doing.  Chris is personable and motivating.  He will push you but he is proud of you when you're done.  You can feel that he wants you to succeed.  He's no Shaun T. (who is?!), but he does a great job and comes pretty close.  I am excited to try out this workout and do a full review when I'm done!

If you're interested in trying Shift Shop or any of Beachbody's programs, you can start a free trial of Beachbody on Demand for 14 days.  You can also purchase the DVDs.  Let me know how I can help!

Thing Thursday: Workout Mat Review

Hello, my fit friends!  I hope you're having a fantastic day!  Today I am going to tell you all about the mats that I have down in my workout room. 

The mats are Gold's Gym High Impact Flooring Puzzle Mat and they can be found here.  They are about $15 for a pack of 6.  Now, on to the review!

Quality:  ****1/2
I have two sets of these mats, one of which I have had for about 5 years.  They have held up very well.  Some of the rubber pieces have peeled up from wear over the years, but it is minor.  Sometimes the "puzzle" pieces are cut slightly off, so they don't line up exactly.  With some adjusting, you can get them to line up, it just may take a little time and effort.  Overall, I would say these are high-quality mats and would stand up to just about any activity.

Effectiveness:  (Are these good as mats?) ****
These mats are decent thickness, but I wouldn't recommend using just one layer on a concrete floor, such as ours.  We have two layers and that is the right amount of thickness, but if it were any thinner, I would imagine you would feel the floor every time you land from a jump or had to go down to the floor for an exercise.  The pieces may separate where they join together when you are jumping around, especially if you are doing a sliding or dragging motion.  We have solved this problem by putting duct tape on the underside of the seams, as you can see in the picture.  This has stopped the movement of the pieces and keeps them together.  Yes, these are effective mats, because they provide protection from the hard floor.  I took off a star for the fact that they may move around and may not be thick enough if you are on a very hard surface.

Look:  ***
I have given "Look" three stars, because they're nothing special to look at.  You can see that some of the pieces don't fit evenly and this can give them a "cheap" look.  Also, you would have to have these in a place that you could keep them out all the time, because it would be a pain to put them down and then take them apart and put them away whenever you wanted them out of the room.  They cannot be easily stored once they are taken apart.

Overall: ****
I would recommend these mats if you are looking for an inexpensive way to cover your workout room floor.  They offer additional protection when you are doing movements on the floor or high-intensity movements, such as jumps.  They are not too expensive and they do last.  With a little preparation (taping the seams) they will last even longer and save you some trouble later when they come apart.  I have used these mats both on a carpeted surface and on a concrete floor.  They do protect the carpeting from pulling and getting matted.  They don't offer a lot of protection from a very hard surface because they are not that thick.  You can definitely double them and that works.  I have used other mats, such as yoga style mats, and they do not work for the types of exercises I do.  They are not thick enough and they damage very easily.  If you are looking for mats that will last and you have the space to leave them out all the time, I would recommend these for sure.

Let me know if you check out these mats!  They are on sale at Wal-Mart right now.  If you have any questions, let me know!

Tasty Tuesday Recipe: California Benedict

Good morning!  I decided since I have been doing lunch and dinner recipes lately, it was time for breakfast!  I had this meal out at a delicious little local restaurant that has amazing food, and I was thinking of how simple it would be to make it at home.  I haven't made it yet, but I will definitely be trying it out! 

California Benedict

1 serving

Picture credit:  www.cakenknife.com  When I make it myself, I'll add my own picture.  :)

2 eggs

1 whole wheat English muffin

2 slices of tomato

spinach leaves

1/4 avocado

2 T Hollandaise sauce (see below)

Toast your English muffin.  While it is toasting, poach (or fry) the eggs.  Top each English muffin half with 1 slice of tomato.  Slice the avocado and divide evenly among the muffin halves.  Top each half with a poached egg, a few spinach leaves, and 1 T of Hollandaise sauce.  Top with a dash of pepper.  Serve with fruit and enjoy!

• You can find the link for Healthy Hollandaise Sauce here.  There is also a different recipe in the Fixate cookbook, if you have that.
• You can also put a slice of turkey bacon on each or split one piece between the two halves, if desired.

Tasty Tuesday Recipe: Asian Chicken Salad

Hi, there!  Welcome to today's recipe.  I decided to try this for the first time because I bought some edamame and wanted a simple and quick way to use it in a salad.  So, without further ado, you get the recipe for my Asian chicken salad!

Asian Chicken Salad

1 serving

2 cups Romaine lettuce

1/2 carrot, shredded

1/4 c edamame, cooked and shelled

1/2 Mandarin oranges

1-2 t slivered (or sliced) almonds

3-4 oz. chicken tenders, cooked and chopped

Chinese five spice (optional)

Dressing

3 servings, 2 T each

2 T orange juice (about half an orange)

2 T rice wine vinegar

1 T tamari or low-sodium soy sauce

1/2 T sesame oil

1/2 T honey

1/2 ginger

Tear lettuce and add to salad bowl.  Add remaining ingredients (if using Chinese five spice, add to chicken while cooking).  Whisk together ingredients for dressing in a bowl.  Top salad with 2 T of dressing.  Enjoy!

**Chinese five spice is in interesting flavor--it can be very potent, so don't add too much.  It's a mix of ground black pepper, cloves, fennel, star anise, and cinnamon.**

**If you don't have a 1/2 T measuring spoon, use 1 1/2 t (1 T=3 t).**

Tasty Tuesday Recipe: Chicken Quesadilla

What's up? Welcome to another Tasty Tuesday! Each week I am going to bring you a simple, delicious, and nutritious recipe that you can make today! Since I just made guacamole for a snack, how about staying on the Mexican theme and trying out some quesadillas? Here we go!

Chicken Quesadilla

1 serving

3-4 oz. chicken (I usually use 2 tenders)

(To taste:) chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, cumin

1/4 c cheese of your choice

1 whole-wheat flour tortilla

1/4 avocado

2 T salsa

Spray a medium pan with non-stick cooking spray and heat to medium. Add chicken tenders and cook until done, about 4 minutes per side. While cooking, blend spices in a small bowl, add more or less depending on spice preference. Sprinkle on top of chicken while still cookin. Remove chicken from pan and dice or shred. Wipe pan and reduce head to medium-low. Sprinkle 2 T cheese (I use cheddar or pepper jack usually) on one side of tortilla. Add chicken and top with remaining 2 T cheese. Fold tortilla over and add back to pan. Toast on one side for about 2 minutes, then flip. Tortilla should be crispy brown and cheese should be melted. Cut up 1/4 avocado and mix with salsa (you can also cut up 5 grape tomatoes and add to avocado with a squeeze of lime juice). Cut quesadilla into quarters and enjoy! 

I typically add some veggies (carrot sticks, bell pepper strips, cucumber) to my meal and a fruit to get a complete, balanced meal. You can easily change out the meat to anything you want or use no meat at all!

Saturday Snack: Guacamole

Guacamole is a simple and delicious way to get in some healthy fats and enjoy a delicious snack.  It's filling and can be eaten in so many ways!  Check below for the recipe and some tasty ways to enjoy your homemade guacamole!

Guacamole

16 2 T servings

 

2 ripe avocados 

1/4 c chopped red onion

2 plum tomatoes, diced

1/2 t sea salt

1/2 t cumin

lime juice, to taste

1 t finely chopped jalapeno (optional)

In a bowl, mash avocado into small chunks.  Add onion, tomato, jalapeno, salt, cumin, and lime juice.  That's it--you're done!  Check out some ways to enjoy below!

• with tortilla chips:  cut whole wheat tortilla into triangles, spray with non-stick spray, bake at 350 for 6 minutes, turn over and cook for another 6 minutes, until crispy.
• with vegetables:  carrots, bell pepper, tomato
• with a quesadilla--recipe to come for next week's Tasty Tuesday!
• in a taco salad:  4 oz. ground turkey meat, lettuce, 2 T cheese, salsa, 2 T guacamole, 1/2 c black beans
• on top of tacos, fajitas, enchiladas--any Mexican food you make! 

What ways do you like to eat your guacamole?  Share your ideas with me!

Workout Wednesday BONUS Move: Glute Press

Welcome to today's Workout Wednesday BONUS move!  If you've visited my Facebook page Fit Teach Kate then you saw the first installment of today's booty-blasting workout.  If not, here's a quick rundown:

Glute Bridge:  Start by laying flat on the floor, feet down, knees bent and squeeze your knees together.  Press your hips as high up into the air as you can, then lower down.  That's 1 rep.  Repeat for 16 and do 3 sets. 

You can also add a pulse at the top, continuing to squeeze your glutes up and knees together. 

For an additional challenge, with your hips still up and your glutes squeezed, open and close your knees.

Bonus Move:  Glute Press:  Start on your hands and knees, back flat and head in line with your spine.  Lift one knee up, pressing the heel back and up to the ceiling, repeat for 8 reps, then do the other leg for 8 reps.  You can also pulse after your 8th rep for 16 counts to further work the glutes.  Just make sure to do the same thing on both sides--you don't want to be lopsided! 

For a challenge, you can add a resistance band around your feet and do the same move--it will definitely be harder!

Check out the video below:

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed today's workout and I will see you next week for another installment of Workout Wednesday!

Tasty Tuesday Recipe: Avocado Bacon Egg Salad

Hello, there!  Welcome to this week's recipe.  Eggs are a cheap, simple way to add protein to your diet.  They cook up super quick and can be made in so many ways.  They are tasty, too!  Today I have decided to make an egg salad and put a little twist on it.  You can easily make this recipe for as many servings as you want--just double the recipe for 2 and so on.  I hope you enjoy!

Avocado Bacon Egg Salad
1 serving

2 hard-boiled eggs

1 T olive oil mayo

1/2 t Dijon mustard

dash paprika

dill, to taste

1 slice turkey bacon, cooked

1/4 avocado, cubed

In a bowl, mash together eggs, mayo, mustard, paprika, and dill.  Add avocado and mash.  Add turkey bacon and fold into mixture.  To make a sandwich, use 1-2 slices of whole wheat bread.  You can also add lettuce and tomato if making a sandwich.  Serve with veggies (carrots, cucumber, bell pepper) or a salad.

This recipe was modified from a recipe that I found online to make it healthful.