Insanity Max 30 - Week 5 In Review

Month 2  = Mind Games 

The first week of month two seemed to kick my butt. There is a reason why we don’t touch it until Shaun T has conditioned you thru that first month. YIKES! Its completely a mind game and you have to be “all in” every single time you press play to be able to withstand the entire 30 minutes. I found myself wanting to quit about 20 minutes in each day last week but I decided to stick it out anyways.

The trainer does a great job of keeping your head in the game and “coaching” you thru. I found I was better with the workouts earlier in the day when I had a lot of focus. I also prefer to conquer month 2 without interruptions. I had my son with me a few times and it made the challenge even more challenging. I squeezed the ab workout in a few days last week and am going to try to shoot for more this coming week.

I have noticed that my heart rate monitor is beeping often because I am out of the suggested range and not out of it because I am not moving enough more like because I am going a bit too hard. I keep going but it has caught my attention the last few times and when that happens I have started to modify a little bit.

Speaking of modifiers, can I just say how thankful I am that there is one because some of those moves I was not ready for. Last week I needed to use Epsom Salt a few evenings before bed because my muscles were sore again like they were from month one. Dr. Teals is my favorite brand and I love the one with lavender in it. In fact, I love all things lavender. The bath and body works stuff that is featured is something that I swear by each night. I simply love it!

My nutrition rocked the first half of the week and fell off over the weekend while I was away at my event for Beachbody in Pittsburgh. We had dinner out a few times and had room service. Trying harder this week! I REALLY want to stay focused these last few weeks of the program so I can get the best results.

A few of my snacks on the way to Pittsburgh - no fast food for this girl! 

I hung the workout calendar up in my workout space and have been enjoying checking off the days as I complete them. I highly recommend this! It’s nice to see your goal and countdown to the finish!

On a side note, my Christmas decorations made their way down to the basement last week which is progress from the upstairs. My husband put them right in my workout area with hopes that it would motivate me to put it away. I spent most of the week simply ignoring them and pressing play. I love putting up decorations but HATE putting them away!

While at the Beachbody event on Friday I got to learn about the 21 day fix extreme that is coming out on February 2^nd and even got to do one of the workouts. I am excited because I will just be finishing up Max 30 at that point and will be conditioned enough to jump right into the Fix Extreme. If you have done the 21 fix or are already in great shape, you won’t want to miss trying this new program! What I am most excited about with it is the focused nutrition that will come along with it as well as the fact that every single one of the works will incorporate weights. Since Max 30 has only used my body as weight it will be nice to get back to “lifting” something.

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Mediterranean Chicken

Mediterranean Chicken 

The recipe that I am sharing with all of you today was actually given to me many years ago from my best friend Brandy. Before I give you her recipe, I want to share with you how blessed I am to have her in my life. She is the kind of best friend who most would kill to have. Shes my number one fan in life and we have truly shared SO many moments of our life together. Shes a gem and if you have her in your life you know exactally what I mean. Shes got the biggest heart I have ever seen. Anyways.. the year I got married and was just getting started learning how to cook she would send me recipe cards ALL the time with yummy dinners to try making for my husband. I still have them all to this day and love looking back and making them occasionally. This past weekend I dug this one out and forgot how fantastic it was. I am an olive lover so the kalamata olives and capers are totally my cup of tea. My husband HATES olives so I made him his own without the olives. He complimented me on how good the flavor was. Decided to include her sweet handwritten notecards instead of typing out the recipe. I can only hope for your sake you have someone as special as her in your own lives!

Beachbody Super Friday Event In Pittsburgh, PA

Surround Yourself With People Who Dream Bigger Than You Do...

 

 

This weekend I was lucky enough to spend time with some of the top coaches in the Beachbody organization, the CEO of the company and one of the celebrity trainers Autum Calabrese who created the 21 day fix workout program. Beachbody hosts Super Saturday trainings quarterly and this quarter since one of our upline coaches Melaine Mitro earned top coach in the company they flew the CEO out to help celebrate. Below I will share with you some of the highlights of the weekend and why I came home with even more passion to help teach others how to live the best version of their own lives.

The theme for this quarters event was WHITE CARPET! We needed to dress to impress and wear white. Wearing white in January? Say what??? It made it hard to find a dress in that color but last weekend the light bulb clicked and I head off to Davids Bridal. I am 99% certain I was wearing a destination wedding dress for the evening but hey who doesn't want to wear a wedding dress for an evening! I went with classy and simply. But wearing white in January required a bit more of a tan than that I had, so I hit up Ulta and bought some spray tan. I don’t think I looked too orange and was glad to have a little glow for the event.

 

 

 

Friday I took the day off of work to travel to the city. We were staying at the Omni William Penn Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. The hotel was stunning and it was so exciting to just get away even if it was just for an evening. When we arrived in town we did not have tons of time to get ready so we checked in and started to get glammed up. I ended up getting a ticket for my husband to come along. I should note that he has been one of my biggest supporters of me doing Beachbody. He seems to see the passion I have in my heart for it and how happy it makes me feel when I can help others learn to be successful and get great results.

I was lucky enough to be one of the first 500 in line so that meant that after the training event I would get my picture taken with Autumn Calabrese and Carl Daikeler the CEO. I was sooo pumped! We sat through a few hours of recognition for top coaches and trainings about upcoming Beachbody products and success stories. We hear the CEO speak about the plans for the future and how as coaches we get to help end the trend against obesity. It was pretty powerful to be sitting in that audience.

 

When that portion was over we got our picture taken and had to QUICKLY change into our workout clothes. Autumn lead us through one of her workouts for the new 21 day fix extreme that will come out on February 2nd. That workout was NO JOKE! We were drenched in sweat. My 21 day fix graduates you are not going to want to miss this new program. Talk about taking it up a notch.

Quickly had to change from glammed up to workout gear!

 

One of my fellow coaches and friends Maegan!

 

Maegan, Deidra and I - We all waitressed in college together and now we are all on the same team! Pretty cool how life brings you back together.

 

The energy that comes from working out with 1,000 people at a time is pretty incredible. We had little room to move and it was pretty warm in there. However, I was in the front row so there was no quitting when it was hard. I was all in!

Autumn Calabrese about to kick our butt with the 21 day fix extreme

 

After the workout was done we headed up to the room and changed. I joined my coach and some of the other diamond coaches on the team for a dinner in the hotel. It was so nice to be able to spend time with these people I have spent the last year with working online all the time. I loved the quality time because they simply just “get” what its like to be a coach.

The following morning we were woke up by room service for breakfast. It was a nice change from being woke up by a toddler.

That day I had a Dream Team Live Training for coaches. Some of the top coaches on our team spoke about what it took to get them there and why they are successful. Hearing their stories made this dream of mine all the more achievable. Many of them were teachers and nurses before there were able to do this full time. To hear that they were just where I am now a few years back and are now  pushing over six figure incomes made my heart flutter. I tell my coaches this and all of my family that I will be a top coach someday, I just need a few years to get there. I like to be successful when I do things and I like to my coaches to be successful that I train. Mediocre is not in my vocabulary.

A few of the coaches from the Forever Fit Team I am on at the training.

 

The star of the weekend and my businesswoman role model  - Melanie Mitro - #1 coach in the company

After the training we headed off to our diamond lunch that my upline Deidra Penrose treated us to. She takes great care of us and is always a fantastic mentor to me. In addition she likes to spoil us when we do well. Yesterdays treat was a new Michael Kors purse and an adorable bracelet with our teams motto on it. We shared a few laughs at lunch enjoyed a not so healthy Mexican lunch and said our good byes before we had to head back to home pick up our son. We won't all be together again until our Success Club trip we earned to Mexico this April. So it was good bye for just a few months until we are reunited again!

 

 

My upline Deidra - She is one of my biggest supporters and fan!

 

 

 My beautiful new present from Deidra!

 

 

                                               A few of the diamonds from our team!

When I left there my heart felt simply felt  full. It made me eager to get home and start working even harder! The weekends motto was that “Everybody matters.” Every single customer, coach, every person who we work with matters and I have the opportunity to make their life better. It’s a pretty powerful feeling. Talk about a rewarding profession.

My 1 year anniversary will come up in March. I started this coaching opportunity to just get my Shakeology for a discount. It has turned into my passion and I put in countless hours a week trying to build a successful business. Being a coach has three parts - the first is helping others succeed in the program that Beachbody has to offer by running challenge groups and teaching them how to live a healthier lifestyle. The second part is about training my coaches that I recruit to be on my team how to be successful and duplicate the success that I am having. The third it that I am constantly getting trainings and trying to grow personally. While I have not exceeded my teaching income yet I am getting closer each month. Having the extra income has been nice, but what has been nicer is knowing that I have the power to help people gain financial freedom by being a coach. I hear so many people tell me that they wish they could stay home or that they are sick of their jobs or even that they just could use more money to help pay for groceries. Its pretty cool to be able to tell them that I have the answer for them. With coaching the rewards come with what you put into it. This isn’t a get rich quick opportunity, but I will say if you work hard there is certainly a reward in it for you. Coaches don’t have to have any prior experience or have to be in super good shape, they just have to have a passion to make a difference in someones life. The rest we can teach you.  A few months back everything clicked for me. I realized why I LOVED coaching. Its because it combines all of my own passions - I am getting to teach people how to live differently, I am using my business knowledge to run my own business and I am using my masters degree in leadership to lead my team. Its the perfect fit. Its a beautiful thing when your passion and your career come together. It never feels like work.

If you think that being a coach seems like something that you might be interested in please fill out the coach application below and I will be in touch to talk about the opportunity over the phone. My team is growing and I am always looking for motivated people to help me change the world for the better.

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Insanity Max 30 - Half Way There Baby!

Insanity Max 30 - Week 4 In Review 

Cannot believe I am writing my halfway point review already! A month ago I never would have thought I would have survived the program let alone during the holidays. BUT I am here to tell you I made it! 30 more days to go and I will have completed the entire Insanity Max 30 program.  Feels good to stick with your goals!

My hubby joined me again a few times this week. We got the workouts in during the evening. It seems like the time passes by quicker when I have him to workout with me. We treat working out together like date night. It’s our time after our son goes to bed. Not only is our marriage benefiting, but so is our health. Our picture below is from one of our workouts. We were drenched by the end of our 30 minutes. Cardio challenge is no joke!

 Tabata Strength still seems to get me. My upper body is not as strong as it should be so all of the push-ups really kill me. I think I dislike the diamond push-ups the most. Completely shaking when I do them.  The video below shows a few of the moves from the strength workout.

For New Years we traveled back home to visit family again. Felt like we were just there but nonetheless we were excited to see everyone again. I slept in that morning before we traveled home and sort of wish I hadn’t after the fact. My little man joined me and he was the king of interruptions that day. My 30-minute workout took about 50 minutes. He needed a potty break, some snacks and completely made a mess of the basement. It was a great reminder of why I get up so early to get the workouts in. It’s my “me” time and I don’t always love to share it with anyone. It’s a good thing he is cute.

My nutrition was not great this week. New Years Eve and New Years Day were so-so.  I packed snacks when I traveled home and did fantastic all week with my water. For New Years Eve my hubby and I went out to dinner at a local restaurant back at home. We ate well – fresh bruschetta for an appetizer, we both had filet mignon and mashed potatoes with broccoli and cauliflower. It really hit the spot and was delicious. We also had a glass of wine. I was really filled up but since we stayed up so late for New Years, I did have some pizza around 10 pm. Not ideal but it was there and I just felt like eating it. Friday night I decided I wanted Dairy Queen. I wanted the ice cream more than I cared about staying on track. I hate when it happens but I am human too.  So I picked a peanut buster parfait and he had a cookie dough blizzard. I felt so gross after I ate it. You see once you eat clean all the time sugar and junk food actually makes you feel sick and sluggish.

Saturday I made up for the one workout I missed during the week so I wore my heart rate monitor to see how many calories I burned off in comparison to the parfait. The parfait had 710 calories and my workout only burned 227. I think we you see how hard to have to work for treats like that it makes those treats a little less appealing. At least for me it does.

 I am nervous to start the second half of this program. It will only get harder from here. I suppose I am now conditioned for it from month one, but it still scares me. My goal for this week is to focus on my nutrition and stay on track. I have done a meal plan for myself so that I have no excuses. I am also really excited about this coming week because I have an event for Beachbody in Pittsburgh Friday and Saturday. I will get to spend the weekend with all of the top coaches in my organization as well as the CEO of Beachbody and Autumn Calabrese the creator of the 21 -day fix, which is my favorite Beachbody program. We get to get all dressed up, Friday is a white carpet event and Saturday we have to wear sequin cocktail dresses. Trainings and celebrations! I can’t even wait! Love dressing up and love everything about Beachbody. The opportunity has been a blessing and completely changed my lifestyle. Beachbody coaches truly are some special people. I am lucky to have so many in my life!

Insanity Max 30

Week 5 Meal Plan

www.sarahgriffith27.blogspot.com

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Shakeology w/ banana	Shakeology w/strawberries	Shakeology	Shakeology	Shakeology
Egg Muffins w/Peppers & Onions	Egg Muffins w/Peppers & Onions	Steel Cut Oats w/ diced apples, nat. pb and cinnamon	Apple with natural PB	Apple with natural PB
Vegetable Soup Mixed Berry Parfait with Greek Yogurt Red Pepper Strips	Chicken Parm w/mozzarella cheese Pasta Apples w/natural PB	Frontier Soup Greek Yogurt Parfait with mixed berries Lettuce Wraps with Ham	Mediterranean Chicken Kalamata Olives Green Beans Greek Yogurt Parfait with mixed berries	*Field Trip* Soup Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli
8 organic wheat crackers Peanuts	Peanuts Red Pepper Strips	Hummus with ½ Peppers	Red Pepper Strips	Hummus & Crackers Shakeology Apple
Chicken Parm w/mozzarella cheese Penne Pasta	Frontier soup with Sirloin Egg Noodles	Mediterranean Chicken w/ Kalamata Olives Brown Rice Green Beans	2 Tacos with whole wheat wrap Onions & Peppers Black Beans Taco Cheese	TBD - Beachbody Event in Pittsburgh Luna Bar Peanuts Red Pepper Strips

Insanity Max 30 – Week 3 Review

Week 3 was a true test of how committed to the program I was. Staying on track during the holiday was tricky. I ended up surprising myself though. I did much better than I would have guessed.

I can happily report that the workouts were on track every single day except I did take off Christmas Day. I was itching to workout but all the traveling and visiting just didn’t permit it that day. I made up for it that Saturday. I took Sunday off and will pick back up tomorrow to kick off week 4. I cannot believe that I will be half way thru the program already.

The workouts were tricky to get done while we traveled because I had to do them in spaces that were smaller than I was used to. 

Did this workout in my moms breezeway area! Talk about a tricky space for this! 

Also had to do them on carpet and I prefer a hard surface to that but I made it work anyways. My “max out” times are getting better each week and I am starting to be able to endure all 10 minutes of the ab workouts. I am also starting to get stronger abs each week. Slowly melting away the momma belly. My upper abs were good, but those low abs are tricky to tone up. They seem to be the last thing to change.

Nutrition was off last week. Between hosting the holiday party, attending the parties and staying away I was not as focused as I could have been. Some of it was lack of packing and planning but quite honestly I just felt like taking some time off from being so strict. I skipped out on holiday sweets and splurged on a slice of chocolate cake at Olive Garden. I was better at avoiding sweets than I was salty foods. I will pick that over sweets any day. My mom makes homemade Chex Mix for the holidays and I had WAY too much of it. Trying to flush my system with lots of water now from all of those snacks and ham from Christmas. I need to buckle down this coming month because I know that this program will only work if I commit 100% and that means staying on track with my nutrition and getting the workouts in.

Breakfast while home visiting relatives. Can't go wrong with eggs or apples.

"Stronger each day."

Christmas brought with it some fun new fitness gifts! My family members are so supportive of my new lifestyle and got me lots of workout outfits and fitness accessories. My favorite is my new heart rate monitor! I had wanted one for ages! I swear getting new workout gear makes you want to workout even more!

I do have some bad news this week.  My husband had completely fallen off the wagon AGAIN! You would think that it would be easy to keep him on track but out of all my challengers he is my biggest struggle. He says he is starting over again on Monday but only time will tell. I will keep you posted on that one!