A Little Push For Spring...

Time to Push A Little Harder 

This month I am going to host a challenge group for those who need a little push to get to where they want to be with their fitness and nutrition. Those people who say they want to get rid of those last 10 or 20 lbs they have been carrying around or even those who want to become more defined in their muscles. April is really a great time to get started because you really do still have "time" before summer hits. I saw so many women jump on the fitness wagon on January and many fell off and decided summer was far enough away it didn't matter. Well I hate to break it to you but the clock is ticking. If you are not feeling ready for shorts and tank tops or a swim suit it is time to step up to the plate and get some support. The group will provide you with a safe place and encouragement as well as tips and recipes for healthy eating. My job will be to not let you quit and teach you how to make yourself proud of what you are capable of accomplishing.

I have decided that for this group we will be doing Insanity Max 30. While I am still happy to have anyone who prefers to do this with a different program, I really want you to consider doing Insanity Max 30. The reason why is because I have done oodles of Beachbody programs and really do love many of them but none as much as I loved Insanity Max 30. I did it over the winter and found it put me in the best shape I have ever been in and really challenged me but within reasonable limits. I looked forward to crossing off each day I accomplished and found it was what got me in tip top shape. The program is 30 minutes a day for 60 days. There are also 10 minutes worth of ab routines you can include in if you have the time. I remember being so nervous when I started it in December because I was intimidated that I couldn't hack it, but boy was I ever proud on Day 60 when I proved myself wrong!

This is one of my before and after pictures. While the results are not all that drastic, please keep in mind I really did not have much weight to lose nor did I want to lose any, I wanted to get leaner and more defined in my muscles. I have had many challengers who have lost 10+ lbs with this one though.

I was very public with my journey thru Insanity Max 30, if you missed those posts you may want to check them out as they include what my meal plans looked like and thoughts about what each week was like. I was very candid and I think it might help you in making your decision if you are up for the challenge.

Week 1 - 
Week 2 -
Week 3 -
Week 4 - 
Week 5 - 
Week 6 - 
Week 7 -
Week 8 -



 We will start on April 27th and finish on June 19th. While that might seem like a long time -before you blink the program will be over. While the program is not really for beginners there is a modifier for each move that is easy to do for many. If you are currently exercising, this would be something you should be fine doing. I hope you will consider being a part of the final push group. Come June when you are sitting on a beach chair near the ocean you will smile and say man am I ever glad I decided to go for this and try a challenge group. Please fill out the application below and I will be in touch to get you all signed up.

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Insanity Max 30 - Week 8 In Review

I Knew I Could...

Getting pumped as I took on the last week! 

What a busy week this past week was! Between my two snow days, my birthday, a trip to Pittsburgh for a doctors appt and dinner with my challengers the week flew by faster than I could have blinked. It felt so good to get closer and closer to the end of this 60 day program Each day brought me closer and closer to being able to check off the box that took me one step closer to the goal I thought in December was going to be impossible to achieve. Today I am happy to report that I am officially an Insanity Max 30 graduate!!!!! WHOOP WHOOP!!!!

FOCUS was my motto this week

This shirt  is so fitting for my 4:30 am work out wake up call. Somedays the struggle really is real. 

I was proud to say I rocked the workouts this week! Got them all in on the days I was supposed to get them in on. No excuses and no cheats! My nutrition was an entirely different story. Being home from work all day is made it way harder to stay out of the pantry and fridge. I was trying to lean out and have less carbs and fruit last week and up my protein servings but my brain just was not digging it. I kept wanting to inhale carbs. I think when you restrict something from your usual habits it becomes a mind day.

As far as cheats go for this week some of the really bad ones would be a few slices of a Dairy Queen Cake that my husband brought home for me for my birthday. A salted caramel pretzel milkshake that I splurged on at a new restaurant my husband and I tried on our way home from my doctors appt in Pittsburgh and a white pizza from Champs from when I went out to dinner with some of my challengers and coaches. Busy week full of not so hot food choices.

One of my cheats this week... Salted caramel pretzel milk shake... This thing made me terribly sick. Sugar feels like poison when you eat clean then cheat! UGH! 

While it would be nice to show you my after pictures and be able to say I lost oodles of weight and dropped a pants size or something, but I cannot say that I did because I only lost around 4 lbs. WHAT 4lbs in 60 days? I know you're thinking “that must not work then.” You see your wrong and you're wrong for two reasons. Number one I was not all in on my nutrition. I was focused about 75 - 80% of the time. I took this train off the the tracks a few times a week and didn’t stress about it. What I have found is that you can kill yourself working out but if you don’t focus on what you are fueling your body with your wasting your time. The second reason is that I started at 120 lbs and a size 0. When you are a size 0 you don’t have much room to go anywhere while still being “healthy” and losing weight at that size is very hard to do while still eating in a healthy range. I have said this before but I weigh almost the same as I did when I started exercising last year at this time but my body looks very different. I do not do this to be “skinny.” I have been “skinny” all my life. I do it to be healthy and fit. Fit and skinny are not the same thing I have come to learn.

 My little man wanted to join me in the after poses

I will take my small transformation and go with it. Still working on my abs! That is the area that I still want to improve upon. A six pack never looked too bad on anyone.

I am taking this week off from anything other than ab workouts. I am eating up in my calorie bracket to give my body a break because next week I am going to start on 21 day fix extreme which will be a true challenge. It comes out tomorrow and I think it might be what helps get me to a six pack or maybe at least a 4 pack ;)

Thanks for following my journey! I hope that I have somehow inspired you to want to make your own health a priority in your life! Always remember. YOU MATTER!!!

If you think that you might be interested in giving Insanity Max 30 or any of the other programs that I can offer you please fill out the application below and I will be in touch shortly! 

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Insanity Max 30 - Week 7 in Review

I Think I Can... I Think I Can...

Showing off my new cooling towel that Beachbody sent me from my December Success Club points. 

The end has been in sight this week. Knowing that I was getting so close sure was a good feeling! I think out of all of my weeks I have been doing this program, this past week was my hardest and took the most determination than all of the other weeks combined. I had a million excuses and reasons why I just wasn’t feeling it but I reminded myself that I made it this far. It was time to show up even when I didn’t feel like it. Grad school is taking up so much of my time now, I came down with a terrible cold after my son had it all weekend, my husband and I had a defeating day at the fertility doctors on Monday and then towards the end of this past week my son got the flu. When it rains it pours I suppose, but I had a choice and I chose to pick my butt off the floor and keep going.

Sporting my new headband I won from my December Success Club points. Who wouldn't want an 80's style sweat band right??

My body was telling me to back off this week. The sinus infection and chest cough made working out a true struggle. I couldn’t keep up most of this week with Shaun T so I stuck with the modifier on the days that I felt really sick. Skipped a few days and put them off to the weekend so I could rest my body. While working out with the heart rate monitor on my heart rate was off the charts constantly so I knew it was important to simply modify! Better than nothing!

The only way I made it thru my workout... VICKS to the rescue! 

A few of the moves during MAX30 - This was this night I was feeling pretty darn sick! 

My nutrition was crappy last week. I made a plan, I tried to stick to it but I found myself emotional eating on Monday after being really sad about all of the fertility stuff we are dealing with. Mid week I even made a box cake mix… This is something that I have not done in almost a year. We had no reason for a cake but I just felt like making it. My husband was surprised to see it in a pan but also really excited. I had a few slices here and there this week but at the end of the day I don’t even really like stuff like that anymore. I found myself being so busy that towards the end of the week I was cutting corners. Breakfast Friday was Panera. I went for steel cut oats and coffee but it had some brown sugar in it along with pecans and strawberries. Not horrible but also not what was on last weeks meal plan. I am still sticking with my daily dose of Shakeology though. I made the Snickerdoodle one several times last week. Usually I do chocolate with banana. Can’t believe I am almost at my one-year anniversary for drinking Shakeology. I swore when I started I would do a month of it and wasn’t going to keep up with it. Turned out to be too good of a thing to stop. 

Still one of my favorite Shakeo recipes! Its seriously like eating cookies for breakfast with this recipe! 

Saturday was fun and a much needed break from the stressful week. My mom came up Friday night to visit and celebrate my birthday a little bit early. (Turning 28 on Tuesday yikes)!! Saturday morning we worked out together to MAX 30. She was a champ – I was worried it might be too much since I am on month 2 but she modified and stuck right along with me. So proud of how much she too has taken control of her health this past year.

After we had lunch we treated ourselves to an hour-long massage at one of the spas in town. It was FABULOUS and felt like one of the best I have ever had. We left there feeling energized and in a little Zen like bubble. We headed over to the mall and did a little shopping together before she had to head home.

Mom killed it! Nothing like putting her thru a month 2 workout on her day one! 

Later that evening my best friend and her husband came up to also celebrate with us. We all went to dinner at a place called Carnegie House. It’s upscale fine dining and we decided to go all out! Dinner was delicious! Filet minion, shallots and mashed potatoes for me with cake for dessert and some coffee and Riesling to go along with it! A total treat and a better end to a rough week!

This was the dessert. Flourless chocolate lava cake with vanilla bean ice cream and homeade whipped cream and a coffe to go along with it! Hence the reason for the strict meal plan below! 

Insanity Max 30 - Week 6 In Review

Week 6 of Max 30 - No Quitters In This House! 

Sporting my new Max 30 shirt this week! LOVE how soft it is! 

Can I just say how excited I am getting that I am ALMOST done with MAX 30! Having that daily calendar up in my workout space is quite the motivator! I am still enjoying this program a lot and also still think that month two is rough but not so rough that I hate it. Below you will see a few of the moves. Some were from cool down stretches and some were just during! My workout dates were off this week. I was slept in a few days and was really busy a few evenings this week. I ended up deciding to skip Friday fight because I was catching up on the other ones I missed this week and hate to start on Monday on last weeks exercies. This was the first one out of the 60 that I decided to skip. I kind of regret it but oh well, I am on to a new week. 

People always ask me who takes these pictures... self timer ap ;) I just take a bunch during the workouts and sort thru them after I am done. 

My partner in crime this week for a few of the workouts. Talk about difficult to get the workout in when he joins me. He kept asking me to help him roller blade during the water breaks! The joys of working out at home in your basement!

Mid week I did a 5 am sweat session to preview the 21 day fix extreme that is coming out with some of the coaches on my team. We also did it in memory of one of the coaches husband on our team. He passed away last week from cancer so we decided to sweat for something bigger for those who have fought the battle. The workout was very challenging and has me super excited for its release date on the 2nd of February. I will be just finishing up Max 30 for the start of this! 

Man oh man... my glutes were on fire this week after all those squats and pusle moves!! Still not in love with Tabata moves but I have to say it's working even if I dread it!

Friday brought with it craziness this week. My son woke up with croup causing my whole day to get thrown off. Mom to the resuce, so I had to take the day off from work and take him to the doctors office. It made me behind on my work and he was in quite the mood all day because he was not feeling well. By bedtime mom was ready to throw in the towel. Instead of laying around like I wanted to, I decided I was going to sweat off my stress. 45 minutes later I was soo so so glad I did. I filled up my shaker cup with E&E, broke out my speaker and turned on some loud music before pressing play. Before I knew it the stress had melted away. 

Saturday I did not get a workout in and had to make up Thursdays on Sunday if that makes sense.... Saturday we headed to Harrisburgh for the Farm Show. My son is obsessed with tractors so it was a big deal for him. I packed a lunch for our road trip there and we did have some cheats while we were at the show. I went for a pulled pork sandwich and also homeade ice cream with warm apples. It was delicous but really sweet. The worst part was that after we left we did some shopping at the outlets in Hershey. I hit up the Under Armor outlet for some new workout stuff and then we went out to dinner. Friendlys was the only place that wasn't busy. Talk about bad choices for dinner. There were few healthy picks so I decided to just eat whatever. We had bacon cheese fries for an appetizer, my sandwich was chicken bacon ranch on sourdough bread and I ate half of my sons ice cream sundae. Lets just say I FELT AWFUL that evening. My body hates processed foods and that was way to much of it. In the moment I thought I wanted it but after the fact is just made me sick. 

This week I am back in the game and am going to try SO hard to stick with this meal plan listed below that I made for the week. I am trying to stick to the plan because when the Fix Extreme comes out I want to be ready to make the transition more easily! Have a great week everyone!

INSANITY MAX 30
WEEK 7 MEAL PLAN
www.sarahgriffith27.blogspot.com

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Shakeology	Shakeology	Shakeology w/ half banana	Shakeology	Fried Egg Banana
Strawberries	Eggs - w/ peppers & onions	Eggs - w/ peppers, onions & motz. cheese	Steel Cut Oatmeal w/ cinnamon and natural pb	Shakeology
Ham Sandwich 20 pistachios Greek Yogurt w/ mixed berries	Turbo Fire Chili w/ peppers and onions Mixed Berries Peanuts	Pineapple Stir Fry Chicken Brown Rice Broccoli	Tomato Basil Chicken Penne Pasta Mixed Berries w/ Greek Yogurt	Meatloaf Baked potato Broccoli Peanuts
Red Pepper Strips Peanuts	20 pistachios	Peanuts ½ strawberries	Pepper Strips w/ hummus	Apple w/ natural PB 20 pistachios
Turbo Fire Chili Peppers & Onions in chilli	Pineapple Stir Fry Chicken Brown Rice Broccoli	Tomato Basil Chicken Penne Pasta	Meatloaf Broccoli Apple w/ natural PB	Out for dinner

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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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