Beachbody On Demand

This August will mark seven years (seven years!) since Zach and I started our first round of P90X. Not long after we started amassing a huge library of DVD workouts, and not long after that...we started wondering when in the world Beachbody would come up with a streaming service so we didn't need all these DVDs anymore.

It's finally here!

Beachbody on Demand (BOD) is like Netflix for fitness. There are hundreds of workouts on there, including all three P90X programs, INSANITY, Asylum, Brazil Butt Lift, ChaLEAN Extreme...the list goes on and on. It is pretty stinking cool.

BOD allows you to stream workouts to your computer, phone, tablet, or mobile device. If you travel a lot, or are someone who likes Beachbody programs but also likes the gym scene, this is FOR YOU! It's also for people who like variety in their fitness without shilling out a whole bunch of cash for a bunch of different workouts.

Plus, it's not just the workouts out there online; it's everything. Nutrition guides, fitness tests, calendar, program guide...the whole shebang.

After seven years, I still think the workouts that Beachbody produces are the best out there. They are comprehensive and demanding, and I like the fact that you don't have to think about it. Follow the schedule, pop in the DVD, work your tail off. The end! And now you can take that with you wherever you go.

Here's how to do it.

First, go to SmellsLikeFitness.com.

Click on "Join the Club." To access BOD you must be a Team Beachbody Club member.

If you've already got a Beachbody login ID, then simply sign in. If not, create an account.

Then fill out the payment info. The Club costs $38.87 per quarter. That's less than $3 per week. It's billed four times a year.

Y'all, this is super cool stuff. Right now you can try it for free for 30 days!

If you have any questions at all, just holler.

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Workout of the Day

21 Day Fix Extreme: Lower Fix

Oh my goodness, this program is Kicking. Our. Tail. I am so sore and my legs are so tired! It is an awesome, intense program and Autumn Calabrese is NOT MESSING AROUND. These 30 minutes are jam packed with butt kicking moves. I love it!

Reviewing The BEAST

Beachbody's Body Beast workout was released more than two years ago, and Zach and I have been avoiding it for a long, long time.

The reason for the avoidance was mostly because Zach has been endurance training for marathons and ultra-marathons for several years, and heavy weights and endurance training aren't generally on friendly terms.

Meet your host, Sagi Kalev, the BEAST.
Former member of the Israeli Army, two-time "Mr. Israel," and Clinical Nutritionist.

But over the past two years, I've known more and more people who have tried -- and absolutely loved -- this program. First was a fellow Beachbody Coach, who was so dedicated to the program that he flew to Las Vegas during Beachbody's Summit meeting to appear in the first annual Beast Figure Competition. He told us this program changed his life. He has gone on to work one-on-one with Sagi through his Dallas-based Clinical Nutrition company.

Then there was Zach's cousin and his wife, who have used the program for a long time now. Eric used the program and became Beast-y enough to appear in the Houston Fire Department's Calendar as "Mr. September."

And Eric's wife says this is the program that has changed her body the most of any program she has ever done.

Even Bo Duke loves the Beast.

So, basically, I was fitness peer pressured.

We have completed the "Build" phase and have moved on to the second phase, "Bulk." We did three weeks of Build and are about to wrap up week three of Bulk.

Going into this program I was a little bored, fitness-wise. We have been dabbling in P90X3, T25, PiYo, and whatever else we felt like for a few months. I was burned out on cardio and looking for something totally new, and have found it in Beast.

This is a traditional weight lifting program. You stand there and lift heavy weight. A lot. Zach says it's very similar to the workouts that he did when he played college football. What he has been surprised about, however, is that the reps are high and there is not a lot of wasted time. He expected to be lifting heavy weight for five reps, waiting 2-3 minutes, and then lifting more. Sagi has designed this program to move quickly, using super sets, giant sets, and progressive sets to completely pound the muscle group of the day. You're doing 15, 12, then 8 reps, then sometimes a drop set (lighter weight for eight reps) or sometimes moving to a progressive set, which has you reverse the order for 8, 12, then 15 reps. Progressive sets are killer.

Personally, I'm enjoying it. The workouts range from 30-45 minutes and you feel like you've worked out hard when you're done. I went into this routine wanting to drop a few pounds of holiday weight, and that has not happened (despite cleaning up my nutrition, AKA not eating chocolate anymore). However, my body fat percentage is dropping, which shows that I'm building muscle and losing fat. I can live with that! I've also enjoyed several of the meals in the Beast nutrition plan, including Power Granola and turkey meatballs.

Zach is not enjoying this program. He remains in training for endurance running events, and this is a program in direct opposition to his goals. An endurance athlete's cross training should include weight work, but not to this degree. Zach likes programs that are about functional fitness with moves that help you run faster, jump further, and climb stuff (P90X2 is his favorite). Body Beast is about building big muscles and lookin' good. But, because we enjoy working out together, he is humoring me for a few months. He continues to run most days of the week and "Beasts Up" with me on non-boot camp days and after work on camp days.

We plan to finish the Beast and move on to 21 Day Fix Extreme, which is set to release in February. I'm glad to have the Beast workouts in our arsenal, and I know no matter what program we do I won't leave these behind, particularly the leg workouts.

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Workout of the Day

Beast Legs

Does The 21 Day Fix Work?

Back in February, Beachbody came out with a new workout called The 21 Day Fix, billed as "THE program to help you lose up to 15 pounds in 21 days."

That's your host, trainer/bikini competitor Autumn Calabrese.

The 21 Day Fix comes with seven 30-minute workouts (eight, if you order through a coach like me! www.SmellsLikeFitness.com), and a set of containers designed to help teach you about portion control.

These colorful little containers are what really set this program apart...but more about that later.

Since I had no idea just how popular this program would turn out to be, I took my sweet time in ordering it. Turned out that sucker flew off the shelves, and I wasn't able to get my hands on it until almost April. Sheesh! My bad.

Nonetheless, it actually workout out really well, as Zach and I were just wrapping up the last month of P90X3 workouts, and we wanted to tighten up our nutrition to get some kicking "after" pics for P90X3. We planned to use the meal plan and try out the Fix workouts later.

Immediately upon opening our package, Zach had the laptop out creating a tracking spreadsheet. I mean...within minutes he had a rough spreadsheet up and running with formulas that made a "DONE" pop up in the field when we had eaten our allotted containers for the day. That dude is amazing!

So, here are some of my observations and experiences about the Fix program to help you decide whether it's something you want to do or not. (And if you don't feel like reading all this, here's the skinny: you DO want to do this! It's awesome!)

- Honestly, the Fix is a little overwhelming at first. You figure out your calorie goal through a helpful little chart. CHECK. Then you have all these little containers. CHECK. Then you're supposed to eat so many containers per day. HUH? That's where Zach's spreadsheet really drove things home for me and made it easier to understand. (And that's why I provide it to all my customers who are using the Fix.)

I was in the 1,200-1,499 calorie group. At that level I was able to have 3 greens (veggies), 2 purples (fruits), 4 reds (protein), 2 yellows (carb), 1 blue (fats), 1 orange (nuts/seeds/dressing), and 2 teaspoons (for things like nut butter, oils, etc.).

The Fix guide gives you examples of foods that would be allowed for each color container, and if it fits in the container, you can eat it. No calorie counting! (And thank goodness, because I don't think calorie counting is fun.)

- This is a flexible, doable plan. I loved it because I was eating my regular food, just in the portions the Fix suggests. (Note that this was true because I already eat a pretty healthy diet. If someone is accustomed to Big Macs several times a week, there would be some major changes here. In a good way! You'd be one who would lose the 15 pounds as advertised.)

- I was pleasantly surprised by the portions allowed. When you look at the teeny tiny carb container, you freak out a bit. But once you see it on the plate it doesn't look so bad at all!

- Here is a sample day of eating that I had while on the Fix:
     - 2 poached eggs, 1 slice Ezekiel toast, one pear, 1/4 avocado
        (1 red, 1 yellow, 1 purple, 1 blue)
     - Shakeology with 1/2 banana
        (1 red, 1 purple)
     - Green salad with mixed veggies and dressing
        (2 greens, 2 teaspoons)
     - Cottage cheese with sunflower seeds
        (1 red, 1 orange)
     - Stir fry with chicken and veggies, brown rice
        (1 green, 1 red, 1 yellow)

A perfectly filling, very clean Fix day!

Here's a pretty picture of another day's worth of Fix meals I ate while on the plan:

These are the 3 squares...snacks not shown. 

- The Fix plan is low carb, high protein. I realized that my body works very, very well on this plan! I was not bloated, not hungry, had plenty of energy, and here's the completely weird thing: my cravings for sugar went away!

That was totally unexpected, and totally unlike me. I eat a healthy diet 90% of the time, but you know what my other 10 percent usually consists of? Candy. Chocolate candy from the kids' candy basket on the fridge. During the Fix I lost my urge to eat candy! Instead I started craving fats like sunflower seeds. And it turns out this phenomenon isn't unique to me; Zach experienced the same thing, and so have several friends who have gone through the Fix. I'm planning in the next six months to get a nutrition certification to add to my personal trainer certification, and the first thing I want to know is why a diet higher in carbs causes someone to want sugar, sugar, sugar. Weird stuff! I'll let you know what I find out.

- We went out to eat several times while on the Fix, and managed not to blow the plan. It's pretty simple really: all you have to do is plan. We were going to Outback one night, so I saved myself a protein, veg, and a carb ('cause I wanted some of that yummy bread).

- I've heard people wonder how you use the containers. Here's how it looks when I do a stir fry meal: I cook the rice, then take the yellow container and fill it up, then pour it out onto my plate. Then I take the green container, fill it with the stir fried veggies, and pour it on the plate. Then I do the same with my red for the chicken or tofu I fix with the stir fry. I think it's important to serve on a plate because then your eye gets trained to what a good portion size is on a regular basis.

- Sometimes I went "over" on a category. Guess what? Wasn't the end of the world, particularly if it was in the veggie category. I have a hard time denying myself raw veggies, so I would say that my lunch salads are definitely a little bigger than they ought to be. Now if you're going over in the carb or fat category too many times, that might impact your results. Veggies? Not so much.

- Note on my caption under Autumn's picture that she is a bikini competitor. So, that's your warning that this chick's boobs are, like, ALWAYS on display. If it's not the boobs then her butt cheeks are dangerously close to falling out of her very short shorts. Consider yourself warned! Beachbody Coach and super-nice lady Traci Morrow cracked me up when she posted a picture of how she made the Fix materials "family friendly" with the use of colored Sharpies:

- So Autumn has a pretty unattainable body, which might turn some people off. However, it is awesome that the Fix cast also features Kat the modifier, who is much closer to how most women look when they are starting their fitness journey. She is working hard at the front of the screen, and she'll show you how to modify the moves to make them doable for anyone.

- Our final results? Pretty darn good, in my opinion! I lost eight pounds, plus two inches off my waist (the bloat went away!). Zach lost three pounds. Since then I've gone into "maintenance" mode on the Fix that allows 1 more carb and one more fruit. And also cake. Kidding! The Fix plan doesn't allow cake, but I do allow myself cake once in awhile.

- Once we completed P90X3 (another AWESOME program that you should try), we did a full week of the Fix workouts. These are no joke! Very solid routines with classic moves that will push you whether you're a beginner or a seasoned fitness veteran (particularly that plyo workout. Tough!). Zach and I are now into a hybrid program using P90X, X2, and X3, but we work in the Fix Pilates and yoga routines because they are very, very good.

The Fix has now hit the infomercial airways, and I expect it to be super, super popular. The results photos coming in are fantastic, and here's the thing: if you follow the plan...IT WORKS. You invest 30 minutes every day in exercise, and use the containers for your food. It just works! Thankful for another Beachbody program that hits it out of the park!

If you need help figuring out the Fix, Zach and I will be happy to help! Get your program at www.SmellsLikeFitness.com, then send us a message. We'll send you our spreadsheet to help you track and give you some tips on how to tackle the program.

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UPDATE:

My Mom has lost 33 pounds and counting with the 21 Day Fix. Read about her results here:

http://smellslikefitness.blogspot.com/2015/08/my-mom-and-fix.html

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Workout of the Day

P90X2 Total Body

100 Miles

February 1, 2014
Huntsville, Texas
Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile Trail Run

Zach and his friend Mark ran a 100-mile ultra marathon through the piney woods of the Davy Crockett National Forest a few weeks ago.

- 100 miles.
- Must finish in 30 hours or less.
- Five 20-mile loops.
- Start at 6am in the morning, finish sometime early the next day.

I cannot pretend to understand or explain what motivates my husband to run 100 miles. In fact, Mark's wife and I were conspiring to hire Tonya Harding to go to our husbands' school and bust some knees prior to the race, as we were considerably worried about their health (and sanity).

However, it was a pretty cool experience to witness, and I would imagine you have a few questions about how one goes about training and completing a 100-mile run. I will answer a few questions that I hear a lot and share some of the pictures from that very long day. 

Waiting for Dad to come through the Park Road aid station.

Do they run the whole thing? Yes and no. They are constantly moving forward, but often times they are walking up hills and running downhills and flats. Mark and their friend Brian, who was so kind as to pace them for the last 40 miles of the race, were forced to walk the last lap due to Mark's blisters.

Do they eat? Yes! You must refuel your body. On an ordinary day Zach eats around 1800 calories. A rough estimate of calories burned per mile is 100, so 100 miles run = 10,000 calories burned. During the race the runners come to an aid station roughly every 3-6 miles and are able to refuel with food (peanut butter and jelly, bananas, pretzels, trail mix, quesadillas, sausage, chicken soup, mashed potatoes, etc. See the overall salt theme? Salt is important during an ultra). They also have energy/sports drinks, salt tablets, water, and coke.

Despite a very harsh winter, race day was quite warm and humid -- 65 degrees.
Until the front came through around 3am.

How many people sign up? More than 600 people signed up this year.

How many people finish? This year, less than half completed the race.

Drew was able to run a 3-mile section with Zach. He only fell once!

How do you train for an ultra marathon? A runner cannot go out and run 50-100 miles for training; it's just too hard on your body. The way Mark and Zach trained was to do back-to-back long (14-25 miles) runs on the weekends. During the week they did one fast (7-minutes per mile) 5-7 mile run, and during the rest of the week they trained using P90X, Insanity: The Asylum, and other Beachbody workouts in our library.

If Zach were writing this post he'd also give a shout-out to Shakeology, which he used once as a snack during the race and as post-run fuel, as well. He said the shake during the race was among the better-digested items he ate that day, and he felt like it gave him a pick-me-up when he finished, as well.

A screen shot from the live feed of the race. Zach is on the left.

Did Zach have any trouble during the race? There was surprisingly little trouble on the course. His feet were mostly fine, with the exception of stubbing both his right and left 2nd toes so often that the toenails are going to fall off. He didn't have trouble with blisters like Mark did, but that is because his feet are freakishly soft and baby-like at all times. No calluses, no blisters, no nothing, no matter what he does.Weird!

He did have stomach issues on the 4th lap that caused him to visit a few trees (that he told me were most likely going to be dead by spring). A nice Irish worker at the aid station gave him some crystallized ginger to suck on and a cup of soup and told him to get on his way. On the 5th lap he mostly stopped eating which calmed his stomach down.

On the 5th lap he began to have trouble with his knee, which caused him to have to walk a considerable amount of the last seven miles (and was the cause of him missing the 24-hour mark).

Last bit of trouble? His personal aid worker (me) neglected to give him his jacket on the last lap. When the cold front came in at 3am he was c-o-l-d, as he was in a T-shirt and shorts.

In his research prior to the event Zach read (and we have heard) that ultra marathons are emotional events, with the runners' emotions running the gambit from high to low to wanting to quit. Both Mark and Zach were very narrowly focused on completing the race, and I never once saw them do anything that indicated they wanted to quit. They were very even keeled the whole time.

Park Road aid station, 4th lap. 6 miles to the start of the 5th lap.
Head lamps help them see in the dark.

What did you and the kids do while you waited for him? The race is at a state park, and we brought the camper down. Zach's mom, the kids, and I walked the runners to the starting line before dawn on Saturday. Throughout the day we calculated where and when we could see them on the course, then made sure we were there to see them go by. It's a relatively small race, so when someone goes by you can see and talk to them. At the main start, the runners linger for a little bit to change gear (shirts, shoes, etc.), and Zach had a detailed list of supplements and supplies that I was to have ready at each lap.

In the middle of the night the kids slept in the camper while I went around the corner and waited at the starting line. I saw them at 12:30am before the start of the 5th lap, then went back to get a few hours of sleep before the expected finish time of around 5:30am. I needed to drive us home that day so it was important that I get at least a little sleep.

We started waiting for Zach to come across the finish line at about 5:30. It was cold and had started to drizzle. He didn't come and didn't come. We went inside the tent and waited by the heat lamp. Finally at 6:30am he slipped into the corner of the tent with a dazed look on his face and sat down. It was over! Rather anti-climactically, I might add.

Mark and Brian were still on the course; Zach told us he had left them shortly after the first mile of lap five because Mark was unable to run with the blisters on his feet.

"I just ran 100 miles! Thanks for the belt buckle."

After we got him warm(er) and fed him some soup, it was time to get Zach into the shower and into the camper to sleep. I didn't want to leave him alone in the men's shower, so I peeked into the ladies' room to see if it was occupied. One lady was taking a shower. "Ma'am? Ma'am in the shower?" I asked. "My husband just ran a hundred miles and I need to help him shower. You mind if I bring him in here?" "Nope! Bring him in."

The lukewarm shower wasn't all Zach was hoping it to be, but it got the grime washed off. Then he huddled over the sink for about 10 minutes and brushed his teeth. I kept wondering if maybe he was sleep brushing, but he seemed to be at least slightly coherent, so I just let him do his thing.

As we stepped out of the bathrooms we saw that the bottom had dropped out: it was pouring rain. I felt so bad for Mark and Brian. I got Zach into the camper, fixed the kids a snack and set them up with a movie, then headed back up to the start to wait for Mark and Brian with Zach's mom. At around 8:30, they finally made it.

Thank goodness for those trash bags.

They were freezing cold, but they made it all in one piece.

Yup, a belt buckle.

Mark and Brian had slept in tents the night before, and with the rain and cold I couldn't imagine that they would get any rest before trying to go home. It was a sloppy mess at the campground and there was a lot to pick up.

Not fun. Even when you hadn't run 100 miles.

So we pretty much threw everything into the camper and the back of the truck, slammed the doors, and took off down the road to downtown Huntsville where the biggest, thickest, most delicious pecan pancakes awaited us. Along with eggs, bacon, hash browns, sausage, and biscuits.

And then we drove home!

Zach got out of bed the next day unassisted, and even went to work. The sleep deprivation was pretty brutal, and we both went to bed really early the whole following week. And the following weekend there was a snow day that allowed us to have three consecutive nights of 10 hour sleeps. Felt so good.

Zach's knee continues to bother him; it appears to be a fairly severe case of patellar tendonitis (runners knee, don't ya know).

As I told several people after the race, it was amazing. And awful. I didn't like seeing him in pain, but at the same time I was amazed at the perseverance both he and all of the runners showed. Will they do it again? I honestly hope not.

Three Oxymorons of Fitness

Oxymoron: something that is made up of contradictory or incongruous elements.

Oxymoron of Fitness #1: To get energy, you need to expend energy.
Otherwise known as: an object at rest tends to stay at rest, and an object in motion tends to stay in motion. (Thanks, Isaac!)



I'm betting you experience this phenomenon on lazy Saturday mornings. You get up, get breakfast, and park it on the couch. Next thing you know it's lunchtime. You're stuck. You're not in motion. But if you were to get out of bed, go for a short jog, then eat breakfast, your day looks a lot different. You have energy to take care of things. That activity in the morning carries through your entire day. An object in motion stays in motion.

When Zach and I started exercising at 5am five years ago, this phenomenon blew me away. You mean I was "giving up" two hours of sleep, but I felt more energized, more alert throughout the day? You bet. It's oxymoron #1.

Oxymoron #2: If you want to lose weight, you must EAT.
C'mon, I know you've had this thought before: "Shoot. I need to lose a few pounds. I'm going to skip breakfast and lunch and just eat dinner today."

That's called the starvation diet, and it works. For about a day. Then one of two things happens:
A) You are SO HUNGRY and SO CRANKY that you eat a day's worth of calories at the dinner table, or
B) You are successful in starving yourself for a few days, and your metabolism rewards you accordingly by slowing down a notch or six, causing you to hold on to every ounce of fat because clearly there is a famine going on.

If you want to be healthy and lose weight, you must feed your body regularly. Preferably stuff it recognizes like veggies, fruit, lean protein, whole grains. (If you want some recipe ideas, click on the "Recipes" label on the right side of this blog. I'm not posting these recipes for my health...I'm posting them for yours!)

There are many methods to the madness of eating, but here's how Zach and I do it:
6:30am: Breakfast (usually Shakeology, oatmeal or eggs)
9:30am: Morning snack
Noon: Lunch
3:30pm: Afternoon snack
6pm: Dinner

We eat like infants on a strict schedule. And why wouldn't you eat that way? You're not hungry and your metabolism is revving like a fine-tuned engine. I've messed with cutting out snacks and I end up gaining weight. I feel like this is the world's best kept oxymoron secret: EAT to lose weight!

Oxymoron #3: If you are retaining water, drink more water.
I don't have solid evidence on this belief, but I think that most people in America walk around in a dehydrated state most of the time. We drink plenty of "stuff," but not near enough water. Here's what happens when you don't drink enough water:

From APEC Water, www.freedrinkingwater.com

Water helps your liver convert fat into usable energy. If you don't drink enough, your kidneys are overwhelmed with concentrated fluids, and they will make your liver do extra work. Your liver works hard to turn your body fat into the energy that you use but if it has to do the kidney's work, then it simply hold onto the extra fat that would have been burned off if you simply had enough water. 

And what's worse is that instead of excreting water and waste products, you body retains existing water to reuse. This is what causes water retention and bloating. When you don't get enough water, your body panics and holds on to it selfishly, as though you're in a famine. Dehydration thus can make you look bloated and fat instead of thin and taut. The best way to get rid of this water retention is to drink enough of it to return your body and its processes back to a normal equilibrium. 

Water regulates body temperature, filters out impurities, and keeps the brain working properly while transporting nutrients to and from cells. While the human body can store energy as glycogen, fat, and tissue, it cannot "store" water - the body uses its own water but expects us to provide a continuous supply of fresh new water regularly to function. Water is critical in moving nutrients into and out of a cell, an action known as the "ion pump". When you take in the improper balance of sodium and potassium or do not drink adequate water, your body will increase a hormone and try to "retain" water by keeping your kidneys from filtering it. Ironically, one of the best ways to stop retaining water is to drink more water!

If you have trouble with water retention, turn to oxymoron #3, which says to drink more water to get rid of water!

The great news is that all these oxymorons boil down to the following facts:
- If you exercise, you're going to have tons of energy to expend on the other things you've got to do in life.
- If you want to lose weight, you get to eat* on a regular basis.
- If you drink water, you get to lose that extra water weight you're carrying around.

What's not to like about oxymorons?

* By eat, I mean real stuff like the things in my recipe section. Not Cheetos.   

I survived a half marathon!

We survived!

Or maybe it should be "I" survived, as the matter of survival was more questionable for me than it was for Zach. He considered the half marathon on Sunday a training run, while I put it all on the table as possibly the furthest and fastest I will ever run.

Our goal was to finish in under two hours, and the sub-goal was to be done with seven miles by the time we'd been running for an hour. We met the sub-goal, which made the ultimate goal more attainable. Zach finished 13.3 miles in 1 hour and 51 minutes (according to his Nike Plus app), while I finished in 1 hour 53 minutes. I was extremely happy with my run.

I've mentioned that we had an unorthodox training plan for this half marathon. While most people train for a run by...running, we chose a plan that minimized running and instead focused on cross training. I believe that our plan reduced 1) my boredom with running and 2) the chances that my knees, feet, ankles (or all three) would experience some kind of repetitive motion injury.

We used a combination of Les Mills Pump for muscular endurance and strength training, Insanity for interval cardiovascular work, P90X yoga for flexibility, and two days a week of running. Here's the schedule:

Monday: Pump Extreme
Tuesday: Insanity workout (we went through the eight cardio workouts in order, skipping the recovery week DVDs)
Wednesday: Yoga
Thursday: Tempo run of 4-5 miles (one mile warm up, two to three miles at faster than half-marathon pace, one mile cool down)
Friday: Pump Revolution
Saturday or Sunday: Long runs of 8-13 miles (added a mile each week)

I could not have been happier with how that training plan prepared me for the half-marathon. I felt strong cardiovascularly throughout the entire race. My knees started giving me trouble in mile 10, but I think that was due to the amount of running downhill I had done throughout the race.

Zach and I kept up a good 8:20-8:40 per mile pace until mile 10 where I "slowed down" (according to my husband...and, OK, according to me), and he took off ahead. But by that time I was mentally prepared to push to the finish and was able to cruise to the end with relatively few problems...except for those two killer hills at the very end!

Zach is moving on to bigger and better races over the next few months, and I'm moving on to the sidelines to cheer him on. If there's one thing I learned in this training process is that I love my convenient, relatively short, intense, at-home workouts that have me done by 6am. I'm ready to hop on board with the new programs Beachbody has coming up like Asylum 2 (available Oct. 11!) and Les Mills Combat (available for pre-order now at SmellsLikeFitness.com)!

So, an English major walks into an Anatomy class...

Should I pursue my personal trainer certification?

PROS:
- Greater confidence in my knowledge level
- I'm interested in learning more about the mechanics of training
- Others will have greater confidence in my knowledge
- Possibility of training out of our home
- Possibility of earning other certifications
- I have the time to pursue it now that kids are in school

CONS:
- It's gonna take a lot of time to study
- It costs a few hundred dollars to do it.
- The test is probably kinda hard

People, it's my personal belief that time, money, and a "hard test" are invalid reasons not to pursue something that will make you better, more knowledgeable, and more marketable. So a couple weeks ago I pulled the trigger on becoming an ACE Certified Personal Trainer.

Ever since then I've been awash in pictures like these:

And dreaming about terms such as iliotibial band, flexion, extension, appendicular skeleton and on and on.

As an English major who shunned science classes like the black plague, am I a little nervous about all this anatomy and physiology? Yes. Am I enjoying this new adventure? Yes.

I've got about 12 weeks to master this material...20 if I get scared and want to stretch it out a bit. But the plan is to take the test at the end of the year and have my personal training certification to start 2013.

If you need me between then and now, I'll be studying the difference between fibrous, cartilaginous, and synovial joints. Wish me luck!

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Workout of the Day

P90X Core Syergistics

T minus 6 days till the Tyler Half Marathon!

The friends who we are staying with the night before kindly offered to fix chicken fried deer steak the night before the race. I politely declined saying that I was concerned about the welfare of the course should I run it mere hours after eating chicken fried venison. Maybe after the race when I'm nice and close to a bathroom...

P90X and Running

I know a lot of people who are training for marathons and half marathons right now. The biggie in my neck of the woods is the White Rock Marathon in Dallas coming up on December 4.

I lettered in four sports in high school, transitioning rather easily from volleyball to basketball to tennis each year. (I subbed softball for volleyball my senior year.) But once all that ended running became my primary form of exercise. Throughout college I'd hit the "Bear Trail" -- a 2-mile loop around Baylor's campus -- several times a week. When college was over I traded the Bear Trail for the sidewalk track around my large apartment complex at "The Village" in Dallas. Then we moved to rural East Texas, and the high school track was the only safe place to get in a good run, so Zach and I would go there several times a week.

In all that time I did a little strength training, but I didn't have a plan or knowledge of how to get the most out of strength training -- or really even understand why it was important.

After giving birth to Drew I used breastfeeding and training for a 10K to lose weight, and it worked really well. The 10K was the longest I'd ever run, and it was a challenge for me because I'm a decent, but not great, runner. I finished my first 10K in about 58 minutes.

5Ks are really more my speed, and I entered and finished many races of that length around the 30-minute mark. Zach and I were always interested in improving our times, and we worked in some interval work to see if that would do the trick. We shaved 10 seconds off here and there, but nothing to write home about. (On a side note, I was also interested in gaining some muscle tone in my legs, but it never really happened...I just figured it wasn't meant to be.)

Fast forward a couple years. I had just given birth to Kate, and was not looking forward to the prospect of pushing TWO jogging strollers around the block. Instead, we bought P90X as a way to work out at home without the kids.

Midway through our first round of P90X Zach's school sponsored a 5K, and we went ahead and entered despite the fact that we had not been running for more than two months.

I finished that 5K in 27 minutes and change. No official training. No logging long hours on the pavement. No sore knees and ankles. I'd been doing plyometrics/cardio twice a week, strength training and yoga the other days of the week.

Nearly three minutes shaved off my best 5K time.

Running is awesome exercise. It only takes shoes, the road, and desire. But if you are really interested in improving your times, protecting your body from wear-and-tear, and becoming a well-rounded athlete, you must cross train. P90X provided us with the schedule, the routines, and the science to change our body compositions so that we could run faster and perform better. And it's still working, three years later. (AND I finally got a leg muscle a few months ago!)

Check out this video of Tony Horton talking about how P90X and cross training is helping marathoners improve their fitness and finish times.



And if you're interested in how to fit P90X into a marathon training schedule, check out this article by Steve Edwards.

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Workout of the Day

P90X One on One Vol. 3: UBX