Workin' It Out, Winter Edition

Even though yesterday was a balmy +18C or something, I'm pretty sure that at some point the winds of winter will be howling their cold deathly breath down our collective backs and the mere thought of leaving the warmth of our cozy homes will fill us with dread. When that time comes, I move my workouts to the comfort of my living room or basement, pop in a kick butt DVD workout and the sweat starts flowin'!

As you've read on here before, I'm a big fan of Shaun T and I loved the "Insanity" workout. I didn't finish Month 2 because summer came and the living was easy, but there's something extra special about doing a workout so intense you feel like you *just* might not make it out alive. When you do, the sense of victory is almost superhero epic.

In the light of home workouts, when you open up your email and see one from Emily Coleman of Beachbody, with words like "I saw your blog has some awesome posts relating to fitness, exercise, and living a healthy lifestyle" and she asks if you'd like to check out some of their new products and talk about them on said "awesome" blog, you immediately do so. You don't need to twist my arm when it comes to Beachbody programs, that's just truth. I wasn't even paid to say that either!

She sent me some links to look at and get some feedback on and share with all of you, so you too can go and fall all sorts of in love with Beachbody and okay, Shaun T himself.

So, first there is this: http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/brazil-butt-lift-master-series-advanced-workout.do

If anyone knows butts, it's the Brazilians, am I right? This looks like a well rounded (see what I did there? HA!) workout, but obviously with moves specifically targeting the glutes. I don't know one single woman that doesn't want a nice butt, and this looks like it's a good all over body workout but will definitely give you definition where you want it!

Next up is the Les Mills Pump Cross Training Deluxe Package. http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/les-mills-pump-cross-training-workout-deluxe-package.do

As a frequenter of Goodlife Fitness, I've done many Les Mills workouts, including Pump. The package also contains DVD's for the Step, Attack and Combat workouts, the risers and the weights. I'm a HUGE fan of Pump so the ability to actually do this workout at home on days when I don't feel like trekking through the snow REALLY appealed to me. These workouts, in my opinion, are some of the most intense classes Goodlife offers, and I love, love, love that they are available from Beachbody for home consumption!

For all of you crazy P90X'ers, there's also a Certification Program http://www.beachbodycertification.com/p90x-certification that will allow you to bring a new facet of training to any of your clients in a workout that is known to be tough, and bring results. I personally don't have any experience with it and the thought of me teaching it kind of made me laugh out loud, but I know many of you hardcore trainers out there will jump on that STAT.

The next is a surprising one for me. If you read my blog at all, you know I'm not a fan of cleanses specifically because I don't think drinking shakes teaches you anything long term. You lose weight, sure, but you can't live on shakes and supplements and as a lifestyle, you need to eat real food and for some, that's trickier to figure out than not. However, you can only learn that skill when you practice it. So, when I checked out the link for the Beachbody Ultimate Reset, I was a little skeptical.

 http://www.ultimatereset.com/

I was happy to see that the Reset involves eating REAL food at each meal, as well as supplements added to that. It's about eating whole, unprocessed foods and learning how to choose the best foods for our nutritional intake. Honestly, this is one cleanse that I'd actually consider doing-and that's really, really big coming from me.

Now, I saved the best for last. Can you guess??

Oh ya baby!!! Shaun T!! I love this video preview and how he says "You should be SCREAMING. Your neighbours should know you're working out because they can hear you!" Oh, so sadly accurate.

http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/insanity-the-asylum-volume-2-elite-training-workout.do

Shaun T asks if we think he's insane. Clearly the answer is YES, but don't we all love him for it? "You survived "Insanity", now I'm coming to GET YOU!"  That scares me in the best way possible. As I stated above, I'm kinda insane myself because I love me some Shaun T craziness. I love sweating so hard its pouring off my face onto my floor. I love completing a workout, being starving and then needing a nap. "Asylum" looks SO exciting to me that I reviewed this and then immediately put it on my Christmas List. No joke.

So, there ya go, some Winter Workouts to see you through the bluster into the sunshine of Spring! Can you imagine doing these programs in the privacy of your own home and then peeling off your sweater come warm temps and showing off how ripped you've become, while everyone else was hibernating and layering on an extra padding all winter? C'mon!

I wasn't paid for this post, and the words and reviews are totally my own personal opinion. I'm a big Beachbody lover, and these new programs are just some of the examples of why. I love the gym, I love running, but I also love home workouts. I also know that the gym isn't accessible to everyone, nor is tons of expensive equipment. These types of at home kits really provide all you need to work it out, spring, summer, fall or winter!