What fitness program should I do?

Hi guys!
Well as you probably know I haven't been blogging for a while.  I have several excuses!

1.  I am still on Day 18 of Asylum - which is Game Day with Overtime
2.  I've been out! camping and I actually went to Beachbody Coach Summit

Now, I need to get my momentum going again! So I posted on facebook as to what workout program I should do next! I want to do all and that is just not possible! I  can't seem to sit down an commit to just one thing ...well I shouldn't say that,  I did commit to Asylum, so I will be finishing that round. I Just have 13 more days!  As  soon as I am done...what next? that was my dilemma! I got some wonderful ildeas on Facebook.  I do want to do Insanity, but at the same time I am thinking You need to do another round of P90X so that you are ready for P90X2! That is one program that I must do!  So guess what? I need to build strenght, but at the same time I want to keep up with my cardio! plus I still have my 10k training....see my dilemma?  I am like AAAHH! so with the help of my friends I am going to stick with P90X, and on cardio days I am going to incorporate my 10k training runs and stick in some Insanity a couple days a week.   I think I am actually comfortable with that plan!

So now that the crisis is averted and I know what my workout schedule will be, lets talk about the Beachbody Coach Summit.  Let me tell you it was phenomenal! The energy of all the coaches is just undescribable, it was just 2,500 of positive people, it was amazing.  I won't even mention the live workouts....it was just incredible, and as you can tell by my "phenomenals" "amazings" and "incredibles" I am not very articulate in expressing the feelings I got from attending :) I just know that it was a blast and I learned so much and it was just fun all around.  So I do have some announcements!

1.  Beachbody is changing how they do WOWY - so stay tuned! the final prize is 100,000 - how cool is that!

2.  Military Families - beachbody is honoring our military by providing them with a free sign up coach fee and waived monthly fees - NOW THATS COOL! That totally makes me feel proud of the company I am associated with.  Seriously, this is an amazing opportunity for families who are serving our country earn an extra income.  Contact me for more info!

3.  The new Shakeology flavor is here! its TROPICAL - and guess what? its Pink! Taste great.  No official release date, as its currently under the final stages of stability testing (shelf life - its all about quality control)

4.  P90X2! Tony's talk about the process of creating this program is just great...its about performance, and its based on APA method of training....they really did their homework, and its all based on the latest research, this isn't about weightloss, its about performance and really taking your body composition to the next leve. 

I threw lots of info at you, right? sorry...but I am bursting over here with all this info..I need an outlet!

Day 16 - Strenght! - Finally

Hello friends!

Hope you didn't think I left Asylum forgotten while I am concentrating on my 10k training :)  Nope, just had a small injury.  Muscle spasm in my shoulder and neck, it was extremely painful I couldn't really jog either.  So I walked.  And Walked.  My first jog of 5 miles was done on Sunday! then?  again my shoulder spasm, I was frustrated.  Then it felt better, finally no soreness, and this morning I felt good so I finally tackled Day 16 of Asylum which was Strenght.

I really like this workout, it seems more interactive...feels like the Slim Series from Debbie, except heavier weights, and lower reps...what I mean is that you have a cardio effect along with your strenght training.   At the end, you get to do jump frogs and leap to a one leg plank, can I say AWESOME! lol Who would have thought that I like and invite the burn?

So if you are ready to take your cardio to  a new level with sports performance drills, you need Asylum!

When you get injured and can't workout it plays havoc with your phyche! I felt so bad, even though I never stopped walking, not being able to realy workout was hard mentally.  But after feeling sorry for myself the way I got over this, was to continue to at least walk, my lower body was fine.  No jogging because of the jolting which hurt my shoulder but walking I was good with.  I also paid more attention to my nutrition and not let myself slip as I wouldn't be exercising with intensity to burn it up.  You can't dwell too much on what you can't do, but rather focus on the things that you do have control over, and its a big help to keep you motivated and jump right back into your routine once you are all healed up!

Happy Workouts!

Asylum Day 6 - Speed and Agility

I am behind with my posts! but no worries, I am on it! Although I've taken a bit of a break, Game Day is tomorrow!

Anyway Day 6 for me was completed on Saturday! After a failed attempt to do it on Saturday morning ( I had to call it quits  as too many kids were trying to workout with me, thought I was going to hit one of them with the jump rope and fighting with them as to who was going to hop on the agility ladder) I decided to stop.  However, I made sure I did it on that  Saturaday afternoon!  Here is the deal, Speed and Agility should be done when you feel most energetic! I pushed myself, but I was already tired from earlier in my day, but the good news is that Shaun T says that you don't actually start working until your muscles are tired, and you keep pushing. So after I did the warm up, I was pretty much done for.  But I kept pushing myself.  I did take some extra breaks, and took all my water breaks, but I hanged in there.  You know what they say, successful people bite more than they can chew, and then they just start chewing...well thats how I am feeling about Asylum! LOL Not sure what I got myself into but I am continuing to tackle it! :)

Asylum Day 5 - Rest!

So today Shaun T has given me a break from his grueling Asylum program! however, because I do sit down all day, I still want to get in some physical activity, so in a little bit I will be getting on my treadmill! Tomorrow Shaun T has Speed and Agility waiting for me, so today I make sure I ate right, and hydrated! I want to be able to totally bring it tomorrow morning!

Here are the 10 tips that Shaun T recommends while doing an demanding workout program like Asylum!

1. Eat Frequently - the eating plan is to eat 5 meals a day. And the recipes are awesome!

2. Go light at night - To have a competitive advantage Shaun recommends that you start your largest meal in the morning, after that you get progressively smaller portion. The last meal should be the lightest and smallest ;)

3. Limit your portions - Shaun T doesn't believe in limiting calories, but he does recommend you watch your portion. Eating small frequent small meals revs your metabolism, but when you do eat that often its important to keep track of the portion size.

4. Eat Lean - Eat Clean to get lean! Lean protein, fruits, veggies, and healthy fats.

5. Carbs are cool - Because of the nature of Asylum you do need carbs! without them you won't be able to get through this program. The only suggestion Shaun does is to get your carbs and starches earlier in the day rather than in the last 2 meals, and of course choose whole grains ;)

6. Avoid Dairy - Shaun think that you should try to eliminate dairy for 14 days, just give it a whirl! (Hard for me to do! I love my yogurt :)

7. Hydrate - Shoot for drinking 64oz of water per day - no juices or sodas are allowed on the Asylum plan! (Coffee and tea are okay)

8. Limit Alcohol - enjoy a red wine of glass, but during Asylum try to avoid it :)

9. Don't Fear Fat! - There are lots of foods that are rick in fat that are good for you such as avocados, and nuts! And in case you didn't know avocados are tasty, satisfying and tummy flattening :)

10. Supplements - Recovery Formula is a must (which reminds me I need to order, I am not going to go through this without feeding my body properly! :) Be sure to drink immediately after your workout. You can never forget Shakeology! Awesome supplement, couldn't do what I do without it!

You can order both the Asylum program and the supplements from me!  I am here to help

Day 3 Asylum - Core and Back

Well this morning I did Core and Back from Asylum...and as you can tell, I am taking days in between each Asylum workout! I really don't want to do that, so I schedule all of my workouts so that I finish this week following the Asylum calendar everysingle day, that is my committment starting today!

 As usual, Shaun T starts his warm ups pretty intensly with different varieties of jumping jacks, I did have to stop when breathing was just not helping me push trough I would stop, shake it off and then jump back righ.  I LOVED the monkey squat stretch, they really felt good on my hamstrings. 

After the warm up you get to work on your back! You work on your shoulder blades, traps, lower back...and you get to use this little green band, that looks insignificant (which I actually use when I do Bum Bum ;) but I didnt think that they would be so versatile and Effective! you will feel it, and you will sweat! which was surprising, because after the warm up you are not really jumping around anymore.  Its about the control, has isometric holds.  One of them you are on a lunge position then rotate from your wais, hands straight, you want to be able to see your fingers, and at the same time squeezing in your shoulder blades, very nice! and let me tell you, you will feel the burn!

So, Core and Back...in terms of Asylum standards it was actually not...I don't want to say easy, because it is not, but after Speeed and Agility and Strenght, you feel somewhat rundown, and this workout, believe it or not energizes you!  you work your back without any dumbbells, because of the control you must have you feel it on your core.  Overall this was a great workout.  Hard to decide which is the one I love the best...I still have 3 more tackle!  however I am extremely curious about the Game Day workout, which is still 7 days away!

Day 2 Asylum - Strength

Okay, so today I really really wanted to skip this one, however, I had already skipped yesterday, so I couldn't baby myself again :) So after spending the day with the kids with our local easter egg hunt in Kennedy park, parade and bonnet contest, then driving to UC Berkeley to spend the day at the Eggster learning Festival, I really didn't feel like coming home and working out.

However, while in Berkeley one of Angel's favorite thing to do is stop at the Pasta Shop and buy some cheese.  He bought 4 types of cheese, a french baguette and some wine.  Then we stopped at Costco to get the kids some rotisserie chicken, while we were there there was some sampling of some chocolate cake, it had some chocolate mousse in it...so I caved in and bought a cake. So I WAY over indulged.  I had cheese, I had french bread, I had wine, I had chicken w/ spring mix salad and balsamic vinaigrette and to top it off I had a slice of cake.  I wasn't thinking, we were just around the table, having a good time, sampling the cheeses.  William was giving me his opinion, Omar was saying that the only type of cheese he will eat is the Gouda (which we did have) and even Ximena was digging in, surprisingly she was totally into the goat cheese and blue cheese.   So by the time we finished, I was like "Darn!" I didn't feel like moving and I was seriously reprimanding myself, especially if I knew I had a tough workout coming up.

So, I got up, did the dishes, did a quick sweep under our table, then I locked myself in the garage and got on the treadmill to 1st walk off the extra sluggishness that I was feeling.  I took my laptop, placed on the little dashboard, and just watched a lot of training montages on youtube :)  I started off with Rocky's, then Karate Kids, and then Dirty Dancing...I know dirty dancing isn't really a "tough" training thing, but I love to see Baby trying to master the lifts and then watching the final dance scene when she finally does it! The next thing I  knew I was on the treadmill for an hour and I had walked 3.2 miles, and I wasn't feeling all that sluggish anymore.  After that I went for Asylum!

So now we get to the heart of the matter..I put on the DVD and I see that Shaun T already has dumbbells and is working out, and I was like...whoa where is the warm up?  after several minutes, Shaun T says, this is the warm up, I am not going to baby you, and I just started laughing because I was really working in this so called warm up.   So I think there was like 3- 4 circuits, and you repeat each one 3 times, and as you go each time he makes it progressively harder.   What I like about it, is that you weren't just focusing in one area.  One of the moves was curl, squat, up, curl down, go down, jump back, push up, jump back up, curl, squat....you get the gist :) I was more focus on my form than the number of reps so I wasn't keeping up with the number of reps.  I did the whole workout (including the warm up) with 12lbs weights.  Tomorrow is day 3, and according to the calendar I have Back to Core.  My goal is to get up early tomorrow and get it out of the way.  Good Night!

Day 1 - Asylum Speed and Agility

Yesterday morning, was my very first Asylum workout called Speed and Agility.  It was about 45min long.  I will try to remember exactly what we did, but let me tell you that I was more focus on pushing myself and keeping my core tight than remembering the name of the moves. I couldn't seem to concentrate on many things other than just getting through the workout.

The warm up is jumping rope, first just regular jumping rope.  Easy.  But then I got tired and we were still jumping LOL, then you had squat while still jumping rope, and criss crossing the legs.  I did step on my rope several time, but I just kept going.   After this so called warm up we started stretching before diving into the workout.

Like I said, it was tough so all the moves are kinda jumbled up in my head.   We did ab progressions which  you start in plank position at the end of the ladder, and then you jump your feet into the 1st square.  That was relatively easy for me, as I've become good with burpees.  However, I could not jump my feet into the 2nd square, so I had to just tap (my own modification, nobody was doing that on the DVD) unto the 2nd square...and I just couldn't do it when it came to jumping into the 3rd square.  

Another move, was progression pushups which required to do a pushup (hands are on two squares) then jump into those 2 squares your hand was just in, then jump back out, then move to the next squares and repeat.  I was only able to do 2 full rotations.

There were also bear crawls, which became kinda icky because my hands were all sweaty and I had to crawl up and down...icky but actually fun.  It was a tough workout, it was a super challenge, something that I felt like I needed (cardiovascular wise) a challenge.  

The next time I do Speed and Agility I will try my best to remember exactly what we did so I can do a proper review, all I can say is I survived!

Insanity: The Asylum

Many of you have dug deep with Insanity! and I admit this is one program that I really want to do, but seriously it scares me! LOL BUT I am committed that this will be my next program after P90X! so I am really excited about it.  For those of you who have already earned your Insanity t-shirt and are looking for the next challenge, let me tell you that Shaun T is back with even more craziness! His next program is Insanity: The Asylum Volume 1.


What Is Insanity: The Ayslum? Its the first in-home sports training system which focuses on building strength, balance agility, power and coordination.  Do you want to run faster? gain speed?  you need the coordination and you need to focus to accomplish these, and the Asylum does just that. Its more skill oriented.  It shows people how to jump higher, it has foot performance action...in essence its made to really bring your inner athlete and shine!


How does it differ from Insanity? With Insanity you really dugg deep, put maybe you weren't coming  as low in your squats, not jumping as high, maybe your form wasn't as good.  The Asylum will help you with this. 


The Asylum is a 30 day program of progressing sports drills that will improve your skills, power, focus on form and help you to mentally and phsyically focus.  It will help you transform  into an elite athlete and it is a natural progression from Insanity.




The Science Behind It 
*Cross training with speed, agility, plyometrics, core, strenght and balance exercises
*Series of progressions that take your results to the next level
*Max Interval Training in a sports-specific application


Whos ready for these program?  It is a natural progression from Insanity, but anybody that has done an extreme workout like P90X or Turbo Fire, or has a level of fitness beyond just regular cardio based is ready for this program.  If you know how to do a very good squat or power jump, you are ready for Asylum, but if you are asking for modifications, this is not for you.




What will it include?
~7 DVD's 
~Hybrid Calendars: Aysulm/insanity/ P90x
~ Nutrion Guide – Get Shredded 14 day meal plan
~ Training Guide
~Speed Rope
~Agility Ladder


DVD Details: 30 day program consisting of seven intense workouts under 60 min each:


1. Speed & Agility – Utilizes the ladder, you have to watch where you going, progression. (One of Shaun T's Favorite)


2. Vertical Plyo – Max plyo with cinder blocks on your shoulder. Resistance around your ankles, wrists, and power jumps and land in the ladder.


3. Relief – it really is Relief!


4. Strenght – Hardest strenght training program that Shaun T has developed. You will need dumb bells, and pull up bars, cater to everyone (Also Shaun T's Favorite)


5. Game Day – actually 60min of just about every sport drill that you can think of


6. Overtime – craziest 12 minutes you will encounter within an exercise program


7. Back to Core – Its innovated and fun


Extra Info

• The speed rope, and agility ladder tools are used to master moves and improve athleticism. Is also includes cross training with weights and resistance . 
• Don’t be afraid if you can’t do the jump rope and you can practice on your own time. However,once your master it, its an incredible feeling
• The agility ladder is one foot in between each section and 4 small boxes.  Its small enough to fit in your workout area. And it will become your new best friend. 

What will it cost?

• Retail Price: $89.85
• Club Price: $80.87

Shaun T's Tip for Asylum: Form over speed and you will see results