Another Nice Hike.

Got outdoors today and went on a nice little walk at Vasquez Rocks. This one is a lot more quiet and nature-y than Runyon Canyon or the other Hollywood hikes I like. Nice to do something a little different.

I love LA!

Reason #2498754 I love where I live. The Runyon Canyon hike. The entrance is located at the intersection of Franklin and Fuller in Hollywood, and the 'hard' train is one heck of a challenge. However, it's short so you don't get bored, and there's plenty of fun people watching.

I heard that someone wants to do some sort of weird construction on there though that would destroy a section of the hike?!?!?! Does anyone know about this??? That would be HORRIBLE.

T25 baby!!!

I have SOOOOOO much to talk about but I am soo busy right now at a Beachbody event in Vegas. I just wanted to make this quick post as a cry for help!!


Yesterday, I worked out with the one and only Shaun T, creator of Insanity, Asylum, Hip Hop Abs and more.I got to experience his brand new workout program, T25, live! The above video is one I took yesterday at the event, and he explains a little bit about what the workout is in it.

So, I'm a sucker and I bought the program.

Basically, you only work out a mere 25 minutes a day, 5 days a week, following the calendar is comes with, and hollyyyy cowwwww you should see the test group results.

Luckily, it's a progressive workout which means you don't start off doing crazy things. It's challenging, but not impossible. Shaun works with you and progressively moves you towards harder stuff.I feel like any level could do this and those who find it hard can modify and still be working out. I personally had to modify probably 1/3rd of the workout yesterday.


Here's the thing though. I've never done a home workout. I NEED ACCOUNTABILITY. I need someone to join me. I need someone to get this workout and do it with me and check in with me a few times a week.

anyone???

help!!!

I know myself. I am so used to the gym. Working out at home is no joke, I find it to be a lot harder in some ways. I need a partner for this one. Let's both get results!!! Send me a message and I'll give you more details about it, or just send me a message or comment if you just want to know more about it period.

thanks!!!

here's my email if you don't want to leave a public comment -- turbogirlreena@gmail.com

and here's the official T25 promo. ignore the last part where he says leave your email address to know when it comes out -- IT'S OUT NOW!:

BoSu Ball Madness

This is a Bosu Ball.

It is a fitness training device commonly used for balance exercises.

Balance is something I REALLY need to work on, so I decided to embrace the Bosu ball. Let me tell ya, this thing looks more innocent than it feels!! 

I tried some squats. It took me forever to be able to stand stable enough to get these pictures, lol. And I couldn't even get down in my squat very far, eeek!! 

Then I tried some pushups.

.....tried.

I don't know how people do stuff like this.

Practice, I guess!!! I will keep it up with the BoSu ball and hopefully be able to post a lower squat next time. ;)

Have you tried using a BoSu ball? What are your favorite exercises?

First Audition

I had my first audition at a gym today to be an official instructor!!!!!

It was ..... okay. I KNOW I could have done better. But I don't think I was the worst one either (it was a group audition).

Yeah, I'm gonna be upset if I don't get it. But there will be more. They said we can audition often enough.

I JUST WANT TO AND AM READY TO TEACH!!!!  Sooo exciting lol.

I am going to take a minute to pat myself on the back because I think I'm the only one who thinks this is pretty momentous.

First of all, I think it's pretty nerve-wracking for ANYONE to get up in front of a group and SPEAK, much less speak, demonstrate movements, be excited, and be able to motivate others.

Second, I am overweight still. I have a ways to go. I feel like I'm really fit on the inside but it doesn't show on the outside yet. I think a lot of overweight people would not want to classify themselves as fitness instructors. I was concerned about this at first, of course. Will people even accept me? I did a poll on a message board of women that I frequent. What do you think of overweight fitness instructors? Would you stay for the class? I got about a 50-50 answer. I'll take that!!! Plus, i'm probably getting ahead of myself right now but I think my passion for Turbo will show and I will grow with the class and hopefully one day people will be like yeah, she's awesome!! hehe. (plus, i am obviously working on losing the weight)

Third, considering where I came from, I think I've made some pretty good changes. Hated exercise. I even got out of doing PE in grade school. Hated people, hated talking to people, was AWFULLY shy, reserved, hated asking for help, always thought people were judging me, worried about what they thought, and all those other stereotypes lol.  I guess through Turbo I have gained more confidence and direction, overall. I am setting goals and ACTUALLY ACHIEVING THEM. Mind=blown. I never even knew what a goal WAS and why I should have them.

So can I get a high five!!!! :D

I still have a long way to go, I swear every week I feel like I've learned something new. I'm definitely not perfect or an expert about life or anything like that. Right now I am kind of just in a, "I don't give a freak I'm gonna do what I want and I'm gonna get there, darn it" kind of frame of mind.

I Passed Instructor Training!!

Yay!! Now I have to perfect my skills and get this going...

YAY for goals and the 30 day push. I am serious, everyone needs to go thru Chalene Johnson's 30 day push. it's FREE and it's life changing. 30daypush.com. I never knew how to prioritize, set goals and be organized before I did that.

I didn't expect the cert to come so fast... lol crazy. honestly I would like to lose a little more weight before I even try to teach a class, I think I would just feel better doing it... but we shall see.. I'm gonna keep plugging away. I definitely need to prioritize eating cleaner things. Quality calories really matter! 

Tried a NEW workout -- Boxing!!

I tried a new workout!!

Boxing!

I got to HIT THINGS!!

It was awesome!!!

I like exclamation points!

My friend Laura found out that we could do a trial class for free at a boxing gym in the Valley. Well, free is my favorite number, and I'm always down for trying a new type of workout.

I learned that hitting the heavy bag is SUPER FUN. I was literally laughing while doing it. Not sure if boxing is supposed to make you laugh? well it did. haha. My hands and arms were SORE the next day. I so wish I could afford to keep going there. Add it to the list of goals I will accomplish soon. :)

Here's some pics. Ignore my less than perfect form. It was my first time!! :D

I was trying not to laugh here

The teacher of the class wanted to get in on the pic :)

Have you tried any new workouts lately? 

If you don't work out, why not? Is it because you find working out boring? Have you tried different activities? Message me and we can talk. I can give you LOTS of options and ideas. 

The Scale is Not a Measure of Success

The scale.

THE SCALE.

The thing that causes so many people, especially women, pain and suffering.

WHY? It only tells part of the story. Not even close to all of it.

I used to freak out over the scale. I had to make sure I was wearing the exact same outfit at my time of weigh ins every week to not disturb the number. I would worry about eating small things before stepping on the scale.

I had to get a grip and gain some knowledge.

First of all, your weight fluctuates up to 7 pounds up and down in just one DAY. So getting on the scale multiple times a day is a surefire way to disappoint yourself.

Your weight can also fluctuate based on what types of foods you've consumed. High sodium things may make it go up.

Next, if you are working out a lot, your scale may stay stagnant for awhile. "WHAT?! I thought working out is supposed to help me LOSE weight!" Settle down, it does.  However if you are at the beginning of your journey and have JUST started working out, the scale is probably going to be stuck for awhile. Your body is adjusting to the change. It has no freaking clue what's going on. Let it adjust and be consistent with the workouts.

It also depends on what types of exercise you are doing. Cardio tends to burn a lot of calories and may make the scale go down faster. Weight lifting and strength training may make the scale go up. Why? You are building muscle!! Muscle is heavy! But the great news is, weight lifting is what REALLY causes you to see some major changes in your body. Since muscle takes up LESS ROOM than fat, you will lose inches and appear more toned -- EVEN if the scale still says the same thing.

Another benefit of weight lifting: it revs up your metabolism and you continue to burn extra calories all day long. Those calories will add up! So lift weight, ladies!!! And do lift heavy!! Tiny little barbie weights won't create much change.

I had one friend who "only" lost one pound last month. Yet she lost 11 inches overall. And you can PLAINLY see her progress. This is why the scale shouldn't matter!!!!

If you MUST weigh yourself, it is recommended to only do it once a week around the same time of day. I really only do once a month. Or even less. My clothes are getting looser and everyone keeps telling me I look like I've lost weight. So I must be doing something right!!!

Try not to freak out over gains. Gains happen. Often. Don't use that as an excuse to throw in the towel and decide you're never going to succeed.

Feel free to leave me questions or comments!

TurboKick Certification Training Day!

So, I realize this blog hasn't been here very long, but if you know me at all you know I LOVE Turbokick. It's such a unique cardio kickboxing workout that is set to great music and has awesome moves that make you feel like you're at a party. And it's created by Chalene Johnson WHO I JUST LOVE. More about her in future posts, surely.

So I went and got certified to teach it.

LOL, no I didn't decide on this overnight. I have been thinking about doing this since last September. I noticed that I A. Loved the format, B. Wasn't getting sick of the format after taking it for quite some time, C. I really UNDERSTAND the format as far as how the layers were put together, and strived to get my form better and better with each class, and D. I CAN ACTUALLY DO AND KEEP UP WITH THE CLASS.

That last one is the big one.  Like I said in a previous post I spent my entire childhood and young adult life hating exercise, being uncoordinated, and being frustrated over not being able to keep up with the other kids.  Running, Swimming, even Biking, I could not/still cannot keep up with other people.

But that's distance stuff.  Turbo definitely requires SOME coordination (but not nearly as much as Zumba), and definitely endurance, but I can actually DO it. I was literally shocked when I realized that.   I can't even explain that moment of realization, ahha. I think it was about halfway through my third class. I no longer hated the instructor for telling us to cheer and make noise (love her now by the way. she's my favorite), and I was twisting and turning and kicking and punching right to tempo along with everyone else.

Ok well anyway. On to the certification day. Unfortunately I was having way too much fun to take pictures of the actual class and training, haha. But it was held at the Beachbody Headquarters in Santa Monica which was pretty sweet. I'm a Beachbody Coach so I thought it was cool to see what the actual company office looked like. An employee showed me around during a break in training.

They have motivational posters and advertisements for their programs all over the place.

Imagine driving this thing around all the time.

And I found the famous SHAKEOLOGY WALL. Sorry, I'm a huge dork, but I love Shakeology and I also love visuals so this was pretty cool.

And they also have a kitchen in there. They let us use it. There was Shakeology right there on the counter for us to use. Yummy!! I finally tried the Greenberry flavor, which I really surprisingly liked. It was sweet, yet mild.

Can you believe not everyone has tried the stuff? ;) I whipped up a couple of shakes for a few people at the training who hadn't tried it.

that is MEGA SWEAT hair.

Anyway, the training... was freaking AWESOME. Ever been in a room full of people who are as obsessed with something as you are?? Talk about high energy and fun. We had two awesome Master Trainers teaching us everything about it from basic steps, form and technique, how to connect with your class, and a bunch of other fun stuff. 

Favorite part? When we got into groups to practice and then one person from the group had to get on the microphone and teach a section to the entire room. I volunteered for that, and it was really awkward but really fun!! I definitely need a ton of practice as it's a lot harder than it looks.

Can't wait to find out if I passed training ... I'm sure I did but there's always a slight nervousness, lol. I'm gonna go crazy waiting!! 

In the meantime, I have a TON of fun music and choreography to keep me occupied.

12 rounds!!

And Turbowear.

"keep calm and turbo on." (i hate taking selfies)

I feel accomplished and proud of myself... but it's gonna be even better when I actually get to teach a real class. Stay tuned. :)

I am not a fan of Yoga.

I hate yoga.

It's so boring. I just like to be MOVING. I have a hard time even sitting still at the computer writing this.

But my flexibility stinks. I'm stiff and sore all the time because I just never take the time to stretch. I know, this is setting myself up for some major injury.

So I have to start somewhere. I downloaded a free Yoga app on my phone. It's called Daily Yoga.

It's really not so bad! I can set the app for 10, 15 or 20 minutes. Even I can handle 15 minutes! It comes with nice music and well-explained demonstrations of the poses. They even have routines that focus on abs, back, shoulders etc. I actually did two different 10-minute routines last night and this morning I felt much less stiff. Looks like I'll be adding this to my routine!!