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As a former athlete and obsessor with health and fitness, I’ll try anything that claims it will get me in shape. But I’m also weary to these gimmick DVD or streaming fitness videos that claim they can get you in the best shape of your life. When not playing a sport my workout issue is I get bored at the gym. I need to move vivaciously, I need spontaneous activity, I need to keep my mind busy and my body moving. My whole life I’ve had a coach pushing me to try harder. Or I’ve had a game where there is an audience cheering you to score. Its not that I lack self motivation, but I find nothing more boring than the sight of an elliptical trainer and free weights. There isn’t a Nicki Minaj or Beyonce playlist in the world that can get me motivated on a treadmill. So, when I was contacted by Allison, who is a fitness coach, off of Instagram to try the 21 Day Fix, I thought sure I’ll give it a try. I was in a slump of my own physicality so anything “New” motivated me. The 21 Day Fix is a program led by BeachBody’s trainer Autumn Calabrese. The claim is if you follow her eating plan and her 30 minute workout for 21 days your body will be transformed. That’s valid. If you eat clean and do anything physical, of course in 3 weeks you’ll see a difference. Diet is 80% if not 90% of getting in shape. So I spent the $150 and some change which included all the DVD’s you needed, an eating plan, and portion control Tupperware’s. I personally didn’t need the containers since I already control my portions, but the 30 minute workout is what I was craving. For anyone that has troubles with diet though, her plan is extremely helpful and I’ve heard others rave about the results just from the eating plan alone. After going to my nutritionist David Allen, I definitely didn’t need the diet they were providing since David has me on his own plan. (Those results, are a whole other blog you’ll need to read. I’ll update this when the link is live). This 21 Day Fix program however gave me shocking results. And no this isn’t a sponsored post.
Before starting the program I was lucky enough to meet Autumn. I was a fit model for her clothing line with BeachBody. When I first met her I was stunned by her presence. She walked into the room with so much pizazz spewing out of her. Here is this tiny power woman owning her brand and on a mission to make the best product for her audience. Then on the superficial side, her body was incredible. My inner monologue was saying, “Can I have your butt?”. So months later when I was suggested Autumn’s 21 Day Fix, I was intrigued having just worked with her.
I paid for the streaming version, Beachbody On Demand, so I could play my workout from my laptop, iphone, ipad, and virtually anywhere with WiFi. The first day I had no idea what to expect. The workout on Day 1 is called “Total Body Cardio Fix”. And wooooooah, total body is no joke. It should be called, “You’re going to pray for that 20 second break, grab two towels, and you’ve never sucked this much air in your life..Fix”. What she puts you through is an intense cardio workout, sometimes using weights and sometimes no weights at all. And she has about 8 different people doing the workout with her so you can follow different people. One gal, Kat, is the modifier. She’s the one you follow if you’re not quite strong enough or have some previous injuries that won’t allow you to do some of the moves. Following Kat doesn’t mean you’re weak. Trust me, I had to follow Kat on many sets, and even then sometimes Kat was whooping my ass. And there is always the over achiever person on the video that when you’re stronger you can follow to push yourself. In the mix is men and women. This isn’t a DVD program just for women, this is for EVERYONE. The great thing about these workouts is there is 7 of them, so in a week, each day you are doing something different. Its exactly what I needed. Spontaneity and someone to push me. I know she is just a pre-recorded person on a screen and literally can’t stand over you while you beg for air, but she really pushes you and encourages you to do more. She’s very engaging. And Oh does she love her “Bonus Rounds.”
The question is, what do I think about the 21 Day Fix? Bottom line: Buy this program now like your life depended on it. I noticed a difference after 5 days of doing the workouts. I’m well passed the 21 days but I still try to do the workout every day and sometimes I do miss a session. The point is to do something every day. I’ve never been more shredded in my life than on this program. I feel so strong and body parts of mine are toned and tighter. The other half to that is I’ve been eating super clean under David Allen’s nutrition plan and supplements, but my muscles and tone have never looked the way they do now on any workout I’ve ever done in my life. You could be somewhat in shape, way out of shape, overweight, underweight, lazy, motivated, bored, or whatever you are, but after doing this program you will see a difference. Like Autumn says in the videos though, “Don’t undo the hard work in the kitchen”, meaning don’t work your booty off and then eat crap, its a fine dance you must do with the workout program and what you put in your mouth.
I’ve never endorsed any workout program but I am putting my name all over this one. When people ask how I stay in shape, I think they are expecting me to lay out some long drawn out workout plan but I just say, “I do the 21 Day Fix”. Period. I would however like to add cardio to my plan because I like to challenge myself, but you really don’t need to with this. I do have to mention I work my ass off to be in this shape and condition. There is no magic pill, sure genetics and maintenance come in to play, but to have the body that I have I put a lot of effort into it and it isn’t overnight success. One thing I like about this workout plan is its only 30 minutes! I like to do my workout first thing in the morning to get it out of the way. If you can’t find 30 minutes to yourself then you should re-evaluate what your goals are and how you are taking care of yourself. Trust me, we all spend well over 30 minutes on Facebook or Social Media throughout the day, so no excuses. Carve out 30 minutes and see your body evolve. I can workout and sweat and be done with it and go on with my day in less time than it takes to drive to the gym, find parking, go to the locker room to drop off my keys, and drive back home.
Visually I love what I’m seeing in the mirror too. My butt is perkier and my legs are toned. My arms I must admit have been blessed by my mothers genes so they kind of are naturally great, but with this program I’ve elevated my back and arm muscles to a whole new level. Being Puerto Rican I again will humbly say I’ve been blessed with an unusual small waist. However, its never been this washboard before. And I’m sure some of you are reading this thinking, “Well Lauren, you were already fit and thin,” but to my own standards I just wasn’t where I wanted to be. I’ve leaned out and just enhanced what was there. Oh and I haven’t always been super stoked about my backside. I mean who is? But I can see a difference now and I love it. And here is the other thing about the workout, You might say, “Wouldn’t you outgrow the program?” NOPE. You just increase the weights you use, So this can literally be used over and over again. Just when it gets too easy, push yourself harder and up your weights. Autumn being the smart woman she is, also created the 21 Day Fix Extreme which is an elevated program so if you do outgrow the program, just purchase that one and its a whole new ball game. I’ve tried the free sample workout and its hard. I’ll probably purchase it in the next month or so. I just haven’t outgrown the 21 Day Fix yet. You can also try a free 30 minute workout from 21 Day fix on the BeachBody website to see if this is for you. I promise once you try it you will soon discover, from the various sore muscles you didn’t know you had, that this needs to be your daily norm.
I do have another testimonial I have to add. Recently my Mom has been busy with her amazingly crazy life with work and family and hasn’t been able to workout as much as she used to. She’s been a dancer her whole life so her muscle memory and body is there but she needed a pick me up. I told her between her racquetball days, why doesn’t she try the 21 Day Fix? She agreed to it and has been religiously doing it for the 21 days and her body has transformed. She upped her weights within a week of the program and her muscle tone and endurance has completely changed. So there you have it folks, this works!
Starting July 11th, I’ll be starting a fresh round of the 21 Day Fix. I already do it every day, but I decided I’ll do a Captains Vlog every day so you can join in and suffer along with me. Get your Fix and start with me! Its only 3 weeks of your entire life and only 30 minutes a day. Lets get fit together.
Contact Allison on how to get your Fix.
Allison Skwirz – BeachBody Coach – http://www.beachbodycoach.com/Buffbunnie
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