Total Body Makeover Challenge- Day 1

Welcome to Day 1 

'

I am so glad that you came back to join me for the first day of reshaping your life as you know it. I think Mondays are always a great day for a fresh start. It gives you a fresh start to the new week and a positive attitude.

"Excellence can be obtained if you care more than others think is wise, risk more than others think is safe, dream more than others think is practical, and expect more than others think is possible."

Make It Happen Day-By-Day:

I hope you are as excited as I am to dive into our 4-week Total Body Makeover Challenge. Every day you will be doing 30 minutes of strength workout and a 30 minute cardio workout. Each of the strength routines will focus on a specific part of the body. I do recommend that you follow my run/walk program but you can do any type of cardio that you feel comfortable with. Sundays will be your day of rest.

Another important fact to remember is to stretch every single day- preferably after your workout.

I am including some suggested daily menus for you to try and delicious recipes or you can incorporate your own favorite foods if you wish. I will give you my favorite motivational tips daily to help keep you on track.

So let's get started!

DAY 1:

We are kicking off your 4-week Total Body Makeover Challenge with cardio. All I ask is that you get out and walk 30 minutes today. Just 30 minutes of walking!  Then I want you to follow the strength routine that is focusing on the upper body. You can do this program all at once or you can do cardio in the morning and strength training in the evening or vice-versa. Whatever works for your schedule.

For the cardio portion, I don't want you taking a leisurely stroll. You have to work and the best way to test if you are walking fast enough is  the talk test. I want you to incorporate speed burst into your walking to really get that calorie burning heart rate up.

TALK TEST:

WARM UP(HEART RATE ZONE 2)- RPE- 4-5  You can speak in full sentences (slightly breathless)

SPEED BURST (HEART RATE ZONE 4)- RPE 8-9  You can only say short words (very breathless)

RECOVERY (HEART RATE ZONE 2)- RPE 4-5  Slightly breathless

COOL DOWN (HEART RATE ZONE 1)- RPE 3  You can speak easily

STRENGTH: UPPER BODY AND CORE

This workout is designed to target the whole upper body as well as the core. Remember to use a slower paced movement. We really want to target those muscles and not use momentum to do these exercises. Really take the time to focus on how long you are lifting and lowering and how your muscles feel and you complete these exercises. As you get to know these exercises, you can do 2 sets within a half and hour. Let's get started!

TANK TOP TONER:

TARGETS: ARMS, BACK AND SHOULDERS

1. Stand holding dumbbells in front of the thighs, palms will be facing legs.

2. Bending elbows, lift weights to chin on count 1 in a reverse curl ( palms are now facing forward)

3. Straighten arms forward on count 2, reach up and out. Slowly lower straight arms back to starting position, taking 4 counts. Repeat from beginning 8 to 12 times.

SINGLE ARM ROW:

TARGETS: BACK

1. Stand in a lunge position, leaning forward slightly with dumbbells in left hand next to inside of right thigh, right hand resting on top of right thigh. Keeping back straight and abs tight, think about maintaining a long spine.

2. Using your left shoulder blade, draw your elbow up toward the ceiling, like the picture about for 2 counts. Take 4 full counts to lower back to start. Repeat 8 to 12 times then switch to right side.

STANDING BICEP CURLS:

TARGETS: BICEPS

1. Stand holding dumbbells at sides, palms will be facing up and arms straight.

2. Curl your weights toward your shoulders by bending your elbows and contracting biceps for 2 counts. Slowly lower the weights back down to starting position. Repeat for 8 to 12 times.

PUSHUP SHOULDER TAP

TARGETS: CHEST, SHOULDERS AND TRICEPS

First of all, you can modify the  pushup by starting on the knees instead of full plank position. You can build yourself up to the full pushup stance.

1. Start in modified pushup position, hands will be shoulder width apart on the floor and knees down, forming a 45 degree angle while maintaining a straight line through the spine.

2. Lower chest slowly to floor for 4 counts. Keep your abs tight and body in a straight line.

3. Push back up to starting position in 2 counts, tapping the left hand to right shoulder. Repeat, this time tapping right hand to left shoulder.

TRICEP KICKBACK:

TARGETS: TRICEPS

1. Start on all fours, holding dumbbell in left hand and abs tight, keeping back flat. Lift elbow next to ribs to begin. Remember to keep elbow glued to your side and your shoulder steady.

2. Extend the arm, pressing dumbbell back for 2 counts until arm is straight. Slowly bend the arm to bring weight back toward the body for 4 counts. Repeat 8 to 12 times and switch sides.

FULL BODY ROLLUP:

TARGETS: ABS

1. Lie face up on the floor, legs slightly bent and arms extended next to head, shoulders relaxed, palms facing each other.

2. Pressing shoulders down, slowly roll up off the floor for 4 counts, keeping abs pulled in and arm extended.

3. Reach forward toward your toes. Slowly roll back down to floor to starting position taking 6 to 8 counts to lower.

This concludes Day 1 exercises.

SUGGESTED MENU OF THE DAY!

BREAKFAST:

1 cup of whole grain cereal
1 cup of skim milk
2 TBSP. sliced almonds
Serve with Canadian Bacon and 1/2 grapefruit

SNACK:

1 cup of non-fat yogurt

LUNCH:

Turkey Meatball Pocket- Check out Facebook page for recipe

SNACK:

1 sliced pear with 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

DINNER:

Garlic Lemon Shrimp- Check out my Facebook page for recipe

DAY 1 MAKEOVER TIP:

Write down the 3 C's. That is Commitment, Consistency and Convenience. These 3 little words will help you begin to make the successful changes in your life. 

Commitment to living a healthier lifestyle. Like I have stressed before, half the battle of losing weight and getting healthy is all mental. You have to get your  brain on track with your body. If you stick with the commitment to follow this challenge through for 4 weeks, you will see a new lifestyle change. I am here for you every step of the way. You can email me or comment and I am there for support. I want you to print these out and make a binder for yourself where you can read this anytime for mental strength and have a reminder and a constant motivator.

Consistency in following the plan everyday. I know there never seems like enough time in the day to get all the things in life done but getting healthy and fit is important. Make this a fundamental part of your day every day. It boils down to squeezing the time in for you. My advice is to exercise when it fits your schedule, whether that's in the morning or at night or on your lunch hour from work.

Convenience is the key. When you do things that are convenient for you, you are more likely to stick with it. Find a way to schedule your workouts that will be convenient. If you make your workouts convenient then the excuses will go away.

You  made the commitment, and you will be consistent and it will be convenient. You are on your way to a new healthier lifestyle.

Happy Monday! See you tomorrow.

Sheena

Total Body Makeover Challenge- Getting Ready For Success

WELCOME!

* Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try!

Do you need a plan to get you back on track? Is the spark to try flickered out? Are you unhappy with your body, health and being unhappy? Then this article is for you. I am going to help you revive up your metabolism, blast those extra calories and we will even drop some inches. But most importantly we are going on a journey to a lifetime of health and fitness habits that will last the rest of your life.

You are going to gain energy, increase your endurance and feel more stronger and more confident that you ever have. I am here to motivate and lay out a fool proof plan where all the guess work is taken out of it. All you need to do is to push yourself in the right direction and I will do the rest for you.

Do You Need a Turnaround?

We all get discouraged and life tends to take us in the directions that we didn't intend to go. Maybe you were that person who has never been active or you just had a baby or maybe an injury has stopped you from exercising. Maybe your boss has you working over-time and you haven't had the time or energy to get motivated to exercise. 

If you have been planted in front of that TV so long that exercise sounds like a joke to you, then you are at the right blog. After staying with me on this journey and reading it daily, you won't want to be sedentary any more.  I am going to give you motivated tips that are going to get you moving more and keep you moving. One thing I ask is that...okay, a few things that I ask, is that you subscribe to my blog, take a before and after pic and comment and let me know how you are doing. I want to see the miraculous results that come from your commitment to follow the TOTAL BODY MAKEOVER. I will even post my results every Sunday  to let you see how I am doing....Deal??

Consider this blog your prescription for revitalizing your routine, getting through that plateau and seeing measurable results.

4 Weeks for Lasting Changes

My 4 week challenge is designed to help you feel revitalized, confident and stronger. You all are aware of the benefits of working out....not to mention SPRING is almost here, but I'm here to help you get started achieving those benefits and to look and feel great for summer that is almost here.

*TELL ME AND I'LL FORGET. SHOW ME AND I'LL REMEMBER. INVOLVE ME AND I'LL UNDERSTAND. -Confucius

What to Expect!

So you are probably wondering what you will be doing for the next 4 weeks. Am I right? I know I would be wondering.  This will be nothing like boot-camp or starving yourself but this is a realistic challenge that will build up your muscles, burn some fat and boost your metabolism and all you need to exercise is 1 hour a day for 6 days a week. That is 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of strength training. One good thing is that you can break this up. You can do your cardio in the morning and your strength training at night, or vise-versa, or do them together. The choice is yours.

Every day I will lay out a plan to get you going and the good thing is you don't have to think or plan it. Just Do It! We will alternate between upper and lower body workouts and add core routines in there. I am also going to talk to you about the Run/Walk program that gets you involved not only in walking but will build you up to jogging too. There will be one day of recovery each week. If weight loss is a primary goal then I recommend you follow the customized diet that I will provide daily. The diet features a sensible mix of carbs, protein and fat. You will have 3 healthy meals and 2 sensible snacks. You will never go long without eating and never be deprived. I will give you tips to help you learn what foods to choose, what foods to avoid and how to make smarter choices that will give you lasting results.

I will also provide you an important part of the plan....mental fitness. Motivation is what gets you started and habits will keep you going. Half of getting into shape is all mental. Once you work past the mental part, it's all pretty simple. You need to connect your brain to my program and melt together willpower, motivation and the ability to focus and get through this. I will give you tips and strategies that will  get you started, secrets of positive self-talk and ways to keep feeling strong and how to form healthy habits for living a healthy life.

Share this information with your family and friends. Have them to follow along and motivated each other. The more we have on board the bigger the support system that you will have.

The Tao of 4 Weeks!

Why is 4 weeks the focal point of this plan? I wanted to length of time to be doable but long enough for you to see results to keep you motivated. You can really start to see noticeable results in your body and mind in just a months time...even sooner. I will tell you though real success requires work on your part. But have fun and you will find the results are more than you can imagine in just a short amount of time.

For the next 4 weeks I will tell you exactly what exercises to do, what you should be eating and how to stay motivated from morning until night. I will also share what is the best foods to eat before and after your workout and how to handle muscle soreness.

After a few days you will feel more powerful and stronger and will have the confidence and energy to complete the program.

This is Just the Beginning!

So what happens when the 4 weeks are up? There are many ways you can use this program. First of all, if you are seeing the results that you wanted, then you can repeat it. This plan is packed with innovative exercises and effective eating tips that you can continue on this path for months.

At the end of the 4 weeks, I will give you the next steps for continuing to make progress and propel you forward. This is a 4 week plan that will makeover your attitude, your exercise program and your eating habits for the rest of your life.

Best thing about it all.....this is free advice!! Use it, share it....commit to it!

Look for Day 1 to post tomorrow night, Sunday, March 9. Every evening I will post the next day's schedule up.I will also post a basic grocery schedule so you have an idea of what you will need on hand for the week.

Don't forget to follow along, subscribe and also you can find updates on my twitter. Just click the link and follow along.

Happy Saturday!!

Sheena

February 10, 2014- Day 1 of Reinventing myself

It's hard to believe that it is almost the middle of February. I started back to school last month on the long journey to get my law degree. To most people, they would think, oh that's great. You will have a great career. To  me, that means the same things, but one difference. I am not 20 or 30 years of age starting back to school, I am 42. This means I have 7 years of school ahead of me and I will be graduating at the age of 49 or so. I am excited because this will be a big accomplishment for me. This has always been what I was meant to do.

I got married at the age of 17 and had my first baby at the age of 18. In total, I had 4 children and now my youngest is 11 and my oldest is 24. I also have my first grandchild who I absolutely adore. I have a daughter in college and one to graduate next year and will be going away to college. I am a single mom now and with 3 of my children ready to take on the world themselves, I feel that it's my time to go after the life I always wanted. The funny thing is that I will graduate, hopefully, the same year my 11 year old does from high school. That is the plan.

I have altered my life for the past 24 years to be a great mom and I think I have done a great job. Over the past 10 years I have really been thinking about my life and what it is that I want. I realize it's time to reinvent who I am and who I became and begin my life for myself. I will always be their mom and a great mom but once they are all on their own, I don't want to just be a mom with no dependents. I want to be that independent woman who has made a great life for herself starting at age 42. Maybe this is my change of life time, or maybe it's just the person coming out that I've always meant to become eventually.

So today I took my first 5 chapter exam and I am not proud of the grade I received. I got an 84 which I am trying to maintain a 4.0 average and am disappointed in myself for not studying better. I will keep working on my goal because I want to get into a great law school. Keep watching my blog to see my journey through college and onto my new career.

10 Week Tae bo Challenge- 2/02/14-4/13/14

Happy Sunday! Starting today, I am embarking on a new adventure. For the next 10 weeks, I'm taking the Tae Bo challenge. The challenge of this experiment is to work out to the Tae Bo series for 150 minutes per week. I have noticed that most of the Tae Bo workouts run about 45 minutes. I will be alternating between Tae Bo basics and Tae Bo Ripped.

Tae Bo Basic

Tae Bo Ripped

Beginning tomorrow, 2/3/14 I will post pictures of what the before looks like and each week I will post pictures to document the changes. I will also keep a food journal and an exercise journal on how these workouts affect me. I hope that you will follow along and will find motivation in my efforts to get fit and in shape.

Happy Sunday!

Snack Cravings

How often does hunger come and you reach for chips, ice cream, cookies, anythng you can get your hands on? Well I'm going to share some healthy snacks for 50 calories or less and add in a recipe that you can make.

50 calories or less:

1/2 cup sliced zucchini with 2 tbs salsa- Whopping 19 calories
1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries- Holy Cow 27 calories
1.3 cup unsweetened applesause sprinkled with cinnamon- 35 calories
1/2 cup cheese popcorn- 40 calories
1/2 mini bagel with 2 tsp fat-free cream cheese- 42 calroies
2 chocolate kisses- if you craving the chocolate- 49 calories

This is a little more than 50 calories, but if you want something little heartier, here it is:

Mexican Salsa Pizza: From Taste Of Home Comfort Diet

24 ServingsPrep/Total Time: 25 min.

Ingredients

• 1 prebaked 12-inch pizza crust
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
• 3/4 cup salsa
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

Directions

• Place crust on an ungreased baking sheet or pizza pan. In a small
• bowl, combine 1/2 cup cheese, salsa and cilantro. Spread over crust
• to within 1/2 in. of edges. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
• Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut
• into wedges. Yield: 2 dozen.

Nutrition Facts: 1/2 starch, 1/2 fat.

Wine: Sweet Red Wine: Enjoy this recipe with a sweet red wine.

* This can be used as a lunch or dinner meal also.

Day 2 of Bodiworxx Biggest loser challenge

How is day 2 going for you? I tell you it's tough. Tip #2: Do not keep junk food on the house, not even for the children. If you shop healthy and have healthy foods in your home you will have no excuse but to eat right. Temptations is our downfall. So keep it out!


Workout for Tuesdays is the lower body and abs. This is what it looks like:

Barbell squat
Stiff leg deadlift
Leg extensions
Lying leg curls
Calf raises
Scissors
Crunches with weighted ball

Did you get your 30 mins of cardio in, whether it's the walk/run challenge or whatever you choose to do? Make sure you aim for least 5 days a week of cardio to burn that fat layer off.


Recipe of the day:

Snack: Cheese Puffs

1 cup water
2 tbs butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper 1 cup all purpose flour
4 eggs
1 1/4 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

• In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter, salt and cayenne to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from heat; let stand for 5 mins. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny. Stir in Gruyere and mustard.
• Drop by rounded teaspoonful 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 425 for 15-20 mins or until golden brown. Serve warm or cold.

Yields 4 dozen.

Nutritional facts: 2 appetizers equals
68 calories
4g fat (2 g saturated fat)
120 sodium
4g carbs
4g protein

Follow me on my blog each day to get more healthy recipes.

BodiWorxx Biggest Loser Challenge Day 1

September 09, 2013 was Bodiworxx first official launch of the Biggest Loser Challenge. If you haven't had a chance, check out my YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/bodiworxx and check out the video about the challenge.

As I have posted on my YouTube channel, that I will post daily on how my challenge is going and keep you updated on my progress.

Day one workout, which was Monday, is upper body. I am doing 2 weeks of one set, weeks 3&4 is 2 sets and weeks 5&6 is 3 sets. You are lifting as much weights as you can but still able to do 8-12 reps. For the second set, you are increasing weights but only where you can lift for 6 sets and so on. I will post more about that program later. 

Here is the workout for upper-body:

Bench press

Cable Rows

Shoulder press

Triceps push-down

Barbell curl

I am also following a walk/run program:

This week consist of walking 4 mins and running for 1, repeating a total of 5 times. Cardio is 30 mins.

Tip of the day: Do not, I repeat DO NOT skip out on breakfast. Not only is this to get your body out of starvation mode but it stabilizes your sugar level. If I don't eat breakfast, by 10:00 am I am exhausted. So make sure you are eating within an hour of getting up.

Here is the video of Day 1 Challenge:

I challenge all of you to join me for the next 16 weeks and see how healthy we can get. Follow me on my blog, on www.facebook.com/bodiworxxteenfitness  and www.twitter.com/bodiworxx..

I am currently at 174 and my goal is to lose 32 lbs in 16 weeks. Can I do it? Stay tuned to find out.

As promised here is a daily healthy recipe:

Skillet tacos:

1/4 lb lean ground turkey

2 tbs chopped onion

2 tbs chopped green pepper

1 can (8oz) tomato sauce

1/2 cup uncooked elbow mac

1/2 cup water 1/4 cup picante sauce

2 tbs shredded fat-free cheddar cheese

1/4 cup baked tortilla chip scoops

1/4 cup chopped avocado

lettuce wedges and fat-free sour cream, optional

In a large skillet coated with cooking spray, cook the turkey, onion and green pepper over medium heat until no longer pink.

Stir in tomato sauce, uncooked mac, water and picante sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 mins or until mac is tender.

Divide between 2 plates; top with cheese, chips and avocado. Serve with letter and sour cream if desired.

Yields 2 servings

Nutritional facts: 1 cup (without optional ingredients) 267 calories  9 g fat (2 g sat) 795 mg sodium, 30 g carbs, 3 g fiber and 18 g protein.

Check back each day for a new recipe and new workout.