'Tis the Season (for me to miss working retail, shop like crazy and score some deals)

Not only is Thanksgiving completely overlooked in leu of Christmas by most places, yes Christmas
decor in the mall prior to Halloween, I am looking at you. But now Black Friday sales seem to extend the entire week of Thanksgiving. And while I am appalled at the amount of places open on Thanksgiving and as a former 8 year resident of the retail world, refuse to set foot in any of those places on said holiday (including the midnight sales--technically it isn't Thanksgiving anymore but that means employees need to be there by at least 10 to be ready to open at midnight!) I do love shopping on Black Friday.

I love waking up early and heading out. Scoping out places that don't have lines (because I never want a big tv, I wouldn't wait out in the cold for one no matter how cheap it is and those places only have like two of them. Totally not worth it.) Walking through the mall when it is still dark out, a big cup of coffee in hand. It is nostalgia for the days when I was there early to work. I loved working on Black Friday. I loved the crazy. I loved how fast the day went, how many of my employees I got to work with at once, the race of who could ring customers the fastest or who could keep sweaters in stock on the tables. It was such an awesome rush and one of the few days I really really miss my former job. So shopping that day allows me back a little piece of that. It isn't about the deals (although I do love getting some new jeans and workout pants when entire stores are 50% off for the day, I'm not gonna lie.) but it is really about that feeling, seeing some of my people, getting that feeling back for just a minute in the pit of my stomach -- the excitement is contagious.

But it's the Wednesday before Thanksgiving -- why am I talking about missing Black Friday when I should be prepping food for tomorrow?

Because if you can't beat 'em, join 'em so Beachbody is starting their Black Friday sale today at 12 noon PST.

Here is a round up of what you can score --

If you are my customer (to sign up for free click here) I am offering additional specials from noon today, November 27 through midnight on Saturday the 30th.

The Challenge Pack Special:

If you order a challenge pack Beachbody is giving you a $20 gift card back that is good on a future $30 purchase. There are a ton of ways to use this! But I am going to sweeten the deal by throwing in a $25 gift card from me. So you will get $55 to shop and the chance to enroll in one of my upcoming challenge groups where you get meal planning, recipes, accountability and all the tips and tricks I have learned this year.

What is a challenge pack?

A challenge pack is a bundle that includes a 30 day supply of Shakeology, a workout program, a 30 day trial of the Beachbody Club membership plus me as your coach. In addition to that you get the chance to enroll in one of my challenge groups on Facebook. They are a closed group where you get tips on meal planning, recipes, accountability and all the help and support you may need (and who doesn't need that during the holidays!)

The Shakeology Home Direct Deal:

For any new customer who signs up for Shakeology home direct, I am offering $10 cash back.  No strings attached. You place the order and I give you $10. 

Just looking for a workout program? 

Beachbody is offering some pretty awesome deals on a few of those too....

Here are a few of what I think are the best deals. To see all the Black Friday holiday promos click here. 

TurboFire: Complete System -- $99.95 (Regular price $239.40 --you save $139.45)

TurboFire is probably one of my favorite workouts of all time. If you follow me on Facebook, you have seen me rave about this over and over. So I am super stoked that they are offering it at such a great price. This is such an amazing deal and I am super jealous it wasn't available when I ordered my copy of Turbofire! You are saving of 58% on my favorite program. 

So here is what you get:

Chalene Johnson’s TurboFire: The Complete System includes 17 total workouts that range from 10 minutes to 55 minutes. Here is what you get:

Fire Starter Class: Master the TurboFire moves as Chalene breaks them down for you at a slower pace, so you can be ready for the HIIT classes.

Low HIITs: Low HIIT 20 / Low HIIT 25 Classes Don't let the "low" (as in low-impact) fool you-these high-intensity workouts ignite the AfterBurn Effect to help you keep burning calories.

Fire HIITs: Fire 30/Fire 40 /Fire 45 /Fire 55 Classes Actively recover from the HIIT classes while melting the fat away with these longer cardio classes, which include the HIITs you love, created by Chalene.

Extreme HIITS: HIIT 15/ HIIT 20/ HIIT 25 Classes Give your max for up to 1-minute intervals during these classes, and you can burn calories for up to 24 hours AFTER your workout's over!

Sculpt 30 Class/Tone 30 Class: Develop shapely muscles with Chalene's challenging resistance classes.

Core 20: Chalene's most popular class targets your tummy with moves that deliver incredible abs.

Stretch 40/ Stretch 10 Classes: Increase your flexibility, reduce soreness, and lengthen your hardworking muscles by warming down after your HIIT and Fire classes.

And because it is the Complete Program -- you also get the Deluxe DVD's listed below. 

TurboFire Deluxe DVD's + Tracker Journal -- $29.95 (Regular price $59.70--you save $29.75)

These are the add on DVD's that don't come with the base kit. There are 6 DVD's including:

• Fire 60 Class: Whip roundhouse kicks and watch those extra pounds sizzle away.
• HIIT 25 Class: Experience the most intense fire drills yet with Chalene.
• HIIT 30 Class: Push yourself even farther with 11 fire drills in this intense class.
• Lower 20 Class: Get the lean, shapely legs, butt, and core of your dreams.
• Upper 20 Class: Looking for lean, “don’t mess with me” arms? Then this class is for you.
• Abs 10 Class: Get tight, flat abs in no time with this short, efficient core workout.

For more info on TurboFire click here

Insanity: The Asylum + Free Chin Up Bar -- $89.85 (Regular Price $149.95 -- you save $60.10)

This is a 30 day program that utilizes sports specific training to build speed, agility, coordination and power. 

You get 6 intense workout DVD's: 

• Speed & Agility: Get quick on your feet—fast, with this intense cardio workout. (45 minutes)
• Vertical Plyo: Jump higher than ever with this lower-body training routine. (40 minutes)
• Relief: Stretch out to build long, lean muscle and increase your flexibility. (25 minutes)
• Strength: Increase your strength and power by cross-training with weights and resistance. (50 minutes)
• Back to Core: Build the rock-solid core, glutes, and hamstrings for the explosive power you'll need to play and dominate at an elite level. (45 minutes)
• Game Day: Put your new sports skills to the test with this cross-training workout. (60 minutes)

You also get an agility ladder, speed rope, the nutrition plan, guide book, a workout calendar and two bonus workouts: 

• The Sports Performance Assessment: Discover the improvements you've made in your fitness and skills with this performance measurement tool. (25 minutes) 
• Overtime: Add this 15-minute monster to any Asylum workout to see if you've still got game.

For more info on The Asylum click here. 

P90X + Free Chin Up Bar-- $119.85 (Regular Price $179.70 -- you save $59.85)

P90X includes 12 sweat-inducing, muscle-pumping workouts, designed to transform your body from regular to ripped in just 90 days. The secret is an advanced training technique called Muscle Confusion, which accelerates your results by constantly introducing new moves and routines so your body never plateaus.

Here's what you get with P90X:

12 Diverse and Intense Workouts:

• P90X - 01 Chest & Back. Targeted strength and definition workout emphasizes two classic upper-body exercises.
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• P90X - 02 Plyometrics. Explosive jumping cardio routine, proven to dramatically improve athletic performance.
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• P90X - 03 Shoulders & Arms. A potent combination of pressing, curling, and fly movements that will leave you stronger and more defined.
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• P90X - 04 Yoga X. Combines strength, balance, flexibility, and breath work to enhance your physique and calm your mind.
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• P90X - 05 Legs & Back. Squat, lunge, and pull in a total-body workout like no other.
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• P90X - 06 Kenpo X. Intense cardiovascular workout includes punching and kicking for endurance, balance, and coordination.
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• P90X - 07 X Stretch. Achieve a higher level of athleticism, prevent injuries, and avoid plateaus.
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• P90X - 08 Core Synergistics. Build and support the core while conditioning your body.
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• P90X - 09 Chest, Shoulders & Triceps. Targeted strength and definition workout emphasizing two classic upper-body exercises.
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• P90X - 10 Back & Biceps. Flex your powerful biceps, and focus on toning and tightening those showcase upper-body muscles.
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• P90X - 11 Cardio X. Low-impact, fat-burning cardio routine.
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• P90X - 12 Ab Ripper X. Sculpt an incredible six-pack and improve your physical performance.

You also get 5 P90X Plus Advanced Workouts (on 4 DVDs):

• Interval X Plus. Propel your heart rate up and down with 3 speeds: recovery, medium, and full-out, creating the most dramatic change in the shortest period of time.


• Kenpo Cardio Plus. This advanced-level Kenpo, with new moves, will shred the most stubborn layer of fat with an all-out self-defense workout.


• Upper Plus. This monster upper-body workout will defy the plateau phenomenon by blasting all the muscles from the hips on up.


• Total Body Plus. By adding new synergistic moves, your muscles get pumped, then recuperate in stages until you've got nothing left.


• Abs/Core Plus. This workout adds 4 different positions (hanging, sitting, standing, and plank positions) to intensify your ab work and shred your midsection even faster.

Plus, get these informative tools:

• 3-Phase Nutrition Plan. Designed to help you lose fat, build lean muscle, and maintain high energy levels through each part of the program.


• P90X Fitness Guide. Packed with information and tools to help you set your workout goals, track your progress, and stay inspired.


• How to Bring It Video. Get a quick overview of the complete P90X Extreme Home Fitness training system.

And get these tools to keep you motivated:

• P90X Calendar. Lets you know exactly what to do each day, set your workout goals, track your progress, and stay motivated.


• Online Support. You'll have access to Tony and other fitness experts, and peer support from your fellow P90Xers.

For more info on P90x click here.

Wow that  is a lot of info and those are only four of the promo's available. There are great deals on other things too so make sure you check it out (for a sneak peek check out the image below!) And of course I am always here if you have any questions or need anything. Just shoot me a message or send me an email to scyobe@gmail.com

Happy Shopping! 

The Difference a Year Can Make (and yes this means I am putting my fat pic out there for the world to see)

This is one of those things I have been dreading since I started down the path to wellness. As part of my ownership of where I was and how far I have come, I feel that making my journey public has held me accountable to where I am going and not giving up. So I guess that means I have to share the terrible awful picture that made me get off my ass and do something (although I would rather burn it and delete off of hard drives than actually put it on the internet for the masses to see.) So here it goes....

I guess I could have blamed it on baby weight (and that was part of the problem) but I had always lived a super busy, crazy, never home, living out of my car kind of life. I worked non-stop, often at least two jobs or I was working and going to school full time. I didn't eat. And when I did it was take out, from the food court at the mall (I worked retail management for almost 7 years) or from the pretzel stand outside of our store. But I was always on my feet, so I didn't suffer from the ill effects of the way I was eating until later on. It wasn't until I was in a super stressful, crazy work situation that I started to gain weight. (Don't get me wrong, my weight has fluctuated my whole life, up and down like crazy, but in my 20's living a go-go-go-go life and consuming more calories in alcohol than actual food, I was hanging steady at a size 6/8 and wasn't thrilled but wasn't unhappy enough to change my lifestyle either.) I gained about 20 pounds and I couldn't get it to go away. I was working out like crazy with no results. So I quit. I figured why bust my ass when it isn't getting any smaller anyway.

A few years later I left my job to go back and get my masters (again another going to school full time with a full time internship--just my kind of crazy.) I got married and was still hanging onto the 20 pounds or so I gained a few years back and just couldn't get rid of. But at this point, I was too worried about going out and drinking microbrews and going to wine tastings than really focusing on what was going on. I also couldn't find a job with my new fancy masters degree, so I was nannying. Sitting on the floor (or couch) at someone else's house, playing with their kids and all that awesome kid junk food laying around (stuff my mom would never buy me growing up, ever.) And then I got pregnant. So add on the 38 pounds I gained with that and we arrive at that dreaded picture (I still don't want to acknowledge.)

That picture was taken on the Fourth of July 2012 which we spent in the Pacific Northwest. I had a dear friend of mine come out for the weekend so we were doing all sorts of fun touristy things (including taking lots of pictures). She sent me all the pictures she took of our time there a month or two later and I remember the gauntlet of feelings I had when I saw that picture. Disbelief, embarrassment, shame and then finally deciding I had to do something, anything. How had I gotten so out of control?

So I dusted off a copy of P90x that belonged to my hubby and stuck it out for about 3 weeks. I started
having pains in my abdomen that were terrible. I thought it was from the exercise and we had spent a weekend cleaning out my grandfather's house, so I was convinced I pulled something. The pain became spasms and then turned into full out attacks that were paralyzing and extremely painful. I went to the doctor and he immediately said it was my gall bladder. I was put on a no fat diet. I was pretty much eating oatmeal for every meal and the attacks just kept getting worse until at one point I had to call an ambulance. I was scheduled for surgery the next day. Through that whole mess I actually ended up losing about 12 pounds and went down a jean size. By the time all of this happened, it was November and cue the holidays. My weight loss (and smaller jean size) were short lived. By January, I was almost back to where I was in July.

Once the holidays were over, I knew I had to do something. I purchased a groupon for a morning bootcamp. 5 days a week at 5:30 in the morning. I thought maybe in doing something drastic, it would finally make a difference. I felt like no matter what I tried, or did, it didn't work. I spent a whole month busting my butt in this class. I was glad to see that I could hang (all that working out with Jillian Michaels paid off even if it wasn't consistent) but I didn't lose any weight. Not a pound. Not a half a pound.  Unfortunately, I hadn't learned about the other ways to measure progress (measurements, calipers, old jeans that didn't used to fit.) So I was angry, frustrated and quite frankly desperate.

Desperate enough that I logged on and ordered Insanity. I thought doing bootcamp workouts were going to be crazy and intense enough to finally work, so I my next logical thought was that if Insanity is supposed to be one of the hardest programs out there something HAS to happen. And it didn't.

I went for 3 weeks. I loved the intensity. I loved the fact that all I wanted to do was lay on the floor and not move when it was over. I loved that feeling of giving it all until I had nothing left to give. So if that was what I was doing, why was nothing happening?

So I emailed someone I used to work with who I knew was coaching. I signed up for a free account with her, joined a challenge group, added Shakeology and discovered clean eating. That in combination with the second half of Insanity resulted in a loss of 9 lbs, 9.5 inches overall including 2 inches off my waist. I was thrilled. (You can read more about my experience with Insanity here.) After Insanity I moved onto TurboFire and continued to see great results (a 5 pound weight loss in the first month!)


While I am no where near where I want to be, I thought it was important to reflect on how far I have come. I tend to just keep looking at where I want to go next, the next goal, the next program, the next size down and never look back. In doing this and consciously looking back, I have been able to see exactly what I have accomplished. Over the last few months, I have plateaued, switched programs due to an injury, adjusted to life back in Pittsburgh and the additional responsibilities I have here. But I have kept going, I keep pushing play, I keep cleaning up my eating and am finding new ways to motivate myself and others. I am running my own challenge groups now that allow people to pick goals, stick with them and stay motivated. They were a key piece in the puzzle for me and I am so glad to be able to possibly do this for someone else (and keep myself motivated at the same time).

If you are interested in joining me in a challenge group please send me a message or an email to scyobe@gmail.com I have new groups starting each month and I would love to continue on the journey with you! (To read about my October challenges click here.)

The Get on Fire Challenge (and may the odds be ever in your favor)

Maybe I just finished reading The Hunger Games
for the billionth time and maybe I am a teensy obsessed with the TurboFire program so what better way to combine my loves than into a group that I might have wanted to call the Girl on Fire challenge but was worried about violating some sort of copyright law?

But I have an obsession. The Hunger Games series consists of books that I never want to leave. Not because it would be such an awesome place to live but I become so invested in the characters and the story that I want it to go on forever. I want to be able to check back in with Katniss. See if they have built back up District 12. See how her kids are growing up. See how that whole new government thing is working out for everyone. (I also feel this way about the Harry Potter series.) I just can't get them out of my head for months after finishing the books -- no matter how many times I have read them.

I also might have a little bit of a girl crush on Jennifer Lawrence (ok a major girl crush.) I mean how awesome is she?

Between my recent rereading of The Hunger Games trilogy, all the leaks and pictures that are starting to circulate to promote the movie version of Catching Fire this November and the fact that I am in the middle of a workout program called TurboFire it seemed to be screaming for me to start a challenge based on something fire-y (or fire-ish -- Girl on Fire-escque? I don't know but now I totally want to make a shirt that says I am a girl on fire. I told you I am obsessed.)

So here is what I am thinking --

• A 90 day Facebook group dedicated to completing the TurboFire program. I don't care where you get it. Borrow it. Buy it. Whatever. Just commit to doing the program for 90 days. We will support each other and get each other through what I like to call the middle of the program slump where the excitement that propels you the first month has worn off and the end seems so far away. (This is where I struggle the most and what I think is the hardest part!)

**Full disclosure -- I am absolutely in love with this program. It is what you could call my soul mate workout. I feel like it was made for me. It is upbeat, fun and motivating. The music is amazing and it channels the cheerleader I used to be and never want to let go of. You can read more about my love affair with TurboFire and what the actual program is all about here. And you can view a video on the program here.

• We will not only support each other with workouts but with clean eating as well. We will be dedicated to eating healthy foods that will fuel our bodies. We can share recipes and I will provide you with a meal planner and lots of ideas and lists for how to grocery shop and what to buy.

• Clean eating can be hard. It is funny but trying to eat 5-6 times a day can be tricky (and you think it would be easy. More food. Yay!) But I tend to get busy and forget and then over indulge later. I developed a planner page that will help you track your meals and plan your day so this doesn't happen. So not only do you get a weekly meal planner but you get a day planner as well so that nothing can be left to chance. 

• Shakeology -- pretty much everyone at this point knows I love shakeology. It has made a huge difference in my life and my diet. I decided not to make Shakeology a requirement for this group but I highly encourage it. It is one meal I don't have to think about (and when I am super lazy sometimes 2 meals.) And it gives me the nutrition I need to get through the day -- the result of that is more energy and I am less likely to give into my cravings and less prone to stealing an ice cream cone from an unsuspecting child who just happens to be walking past me. 

So when will this start and what is going to happen?

We will start pre-season on September 3rd (the day after Labor Day) -- what is pre-season? That means you have a week to get it together. To start shopping for clean foods to stock your pantry (and get rid of the junk!) To take your measurements (and yes pictures!) and all that stuff everyone loathes doing until you see your before and after pictures side by side and are filled with pride at your accomplishments. 

The actually challenge will start September 9th and 90 days later it will end on December 7th -- I mean who doesn't want to be a On Fire for the holidays (hello - photo ops! I don't know about you but I am sick and tired of hiding from the camera when the holidays roll around. Plus all those relatives you don't see except for at the holidays...you know there is some motivation there.)

And yes -- we will have challenges like Thanksgiving to work around but that is one day (or two or three if you are juggling multiple family commitments like I am) but we will work through it. We will schedule our cheats and talk about the best ways to attend a dinner where no one really cares about your commitment to health and tempts you with pumpkin pie. No biggie. We will totally have this under control. And the reality is, you are always going to have challenges to work around. Maybe not a national holiday but birthdays, when your co workers bring donuts to work, weddings, showers, more birthdays. They are always going to be there. The best thing you can do is educate yourself and understand how your body feels when you are giving it the best possible nutrition. I promise you will start to be pickier about your cheats and how they need to be the best possible indulgence or they are so not worth it. 

Plus what makes this even better is there is an awesome promotion going on featuring TurboFire this month. So you have 10 more days to take advantage of this deal. What it does for you is it bundles the TurboFire workout with a 30 day supply of Shakeology - normally this bundle is a discount in and of itself, however this month it is discounted even more. (Check out the how you can save with a challenge pack here. )

Send me a message or an email scyobe@gmail.com for more info or to get enrolled! 

Getting It Together (and how everyone going back to school inspired me to get more organized)

There is  (a very nerdy) part of me that used to love the start of the school year because it meant I could go shopping for school supplies. Planners and calendars, binders and folders in all sorts of colors and patterns that would help me stay organized and on top of everything. I also loved being a student. If I could I would stay in school forever. I don't know if it was nostalgia that had me caught up in the whole I miss being in school thing or if it was just the fact that I couldn't live with the chaos that has filled my days for the last month. I desperately felt the need to get organized. I am guessing it is because I haven't yet felt like I have it together since moving home and I am constantly running to catch up (ok not guessing -- I know this is the feeling plaguing me.) And I hate that constantly behind on everything feeling. So I did what I do best - I made some lists.

I love lists. I love crossing things off of lists. I love using different colored pens or highlighters to organize my lists. And then my lists started to majorly stress me out.

They were long. I wasn't crossing off quite as many things as I felt I should be. Things were just carrying over to the next day. It just made me feel like I couldn't get anything done. I was interrupted by toddler pedicure time -- all over my living room. Or potty training problems (yes this is still an issue here. Ugh)

After a call from my friend Katy (check out her blog here) I realized I needed more than lists. I needed to stop just trying to get things done and plan the time I was going to get things done. I needed to stop seeing how the day goes by taking that day and making it mine. I am a grown up (even though I don't feel like it) and I am the person who shapes my day. This whole day shaping me thing is not working. So why not change it. I am the boss of me. I can make these authoritative decisions (right?)

With this (tentative) realization I came to the heartbreaking realization that I may have to break up with my planner. I love my planner. I order it every year from PaperSource and it makes me feel so warm and fuzzy inside. It is small enough to tuck in the diaper bag (or purse someday-- am I ever going to get to carry a purse again?) The colors are pretty and muted. The font is clean and well choosen. There is plenty of space for my large, obnoxious (and often illegible) handwriting. It is also spiral bound so I can leave it open to the week we are on so I don't have to flip through pages when I need to check something (and yes this may make me a bit lazy.)

I spent some (ok too much) time searching various places online looking for my perfect replacement planner. It just didn't happen. It took me years to find the one I love now. So I had to come up with another plan. And it hit me that I should just make one. I mean I did go to school for graphic design (among other things much to my husband's dismay) and that all that education just kind of sits there dusty in my brain (until my friends or family get married and then I get to stretch out those design muscles and make some pretty rockin' invitations.) So it's not a wedding but I could do it.

And I loved it. Adobe Illustrator and I get along pretty well and it showed. I have a nice section to plan my day by the hour. Plus I could print out a new schedule for every day, since my days are all very different in terms of where I need to be and what I need to get done. I also added a section to track my meals, my water and other things I need to get better at (like writing here) make it work for me. And this was a major relief.

I am happy writing in what I need to do each day and planning when I can get it done. And when I have a plan like that I am much more likely to follow. Having to stop something I am in the middle of because it is time to move onto something like cleaning my house is going to be a challenge but overall I really think I am going to get more done. And that should make everyone happy.

As I was dancing in my chair, pleased as punch with myself, I also started thinking about how this would be a great tool for those just learning to embrace clean eating. One of the biggest challenges for me was making myself eat smaller meals five to six times a day. Especially when I was busy, running around, chasing a toddler, and organizing 22 high school girls into cheer lines and keeping track of their schedules, plus a million other things that will inevitably crop up -- like baking cookies for the cheer cafe when I get a last minute call they don't have enough stuff and I can't say no (another problem of mine that I am hoping this detailed day planning will help address) or permanent marker on the walls or a runaway dog we have to spend two hours looking for only to come home and find him on my porch with the whole Where have you guys been? I am so thirsty and I have been waiting here for you because I love you. And you are my master and I love you look on his face. 

So why not whip up one for my challenge groups? So not only do you get meal planning (and a weekly meal planner) but a daily organizer as well. I am pretty excited about this and helping other people possibly find the (maybe borderline OCD) level of organization that makes me feel sane and in control. Check out the document below and let me know what you think.

I am kind of really excited about this. And excited to announce my September Challenge groups.

On September 3 I am going to start a 90 day TurboFire challenge group. I am absolutely in love with this workout and with Chalene Johnson. It comes with a 90 day schedule and what's even better is 90 days means it will be ending the Monday before Thanksgiving. What a better way to show up for the holidays than in awesome shape? (And for me it means being excited to be in all the pictures this year!) And to sweeten the deal TurboFire is on sale until the end of August. It is pretty great deal.

For more information on TurboFire check out this post.

I am also going to run a 30 day clean eating and Shakeology group that focuses on clean eating including - recipes, meal planning and how to get it all done.


 For information on either of these groups or to enroll send me a message on Facebook or email me at saractodd@gmail.com

OMG where have you been my whole life! (and why Turbofire might be the best thing I discovered this summer.)

Have you ever had one of those moments? When you were all why the hell haven't I tried this yet? How have I lived 32 years without knowing this exists? I had that ahhah moment about a month ago with almond butter and this is just blowing that moment out of the water.

After some shipping kerfuffles, my Turbofire challenge pack finally arrived. And I thought I was happy
with the Insanity program when I started that. Hah! This is full of dancing and punching and energy and real music. Like Bobby Brown, Wild Cherry, Salt-n-Pepa and The Sugar Hill Gang. There is even some funkified Tina Turner and Kool and the Gang.

As my daughter would say, "what!" (and yes in a Lil' Jon fashion.)

I can't even handle the fact that the music not only rocks but it motivates me to keep going and keeps my energy way up. When I was struggling to get through all the Shawn T yelling at me and jumping stuff, it took everything in me to get geared up for just a few more suicide drills. Go, go, go! With this, I don't even have to think about it. The music starts to pick up and I am singing and jamming along and bam, workout is over and I am ready for more. (and not laying on the floor feeling like I died - although that does have a time and a place. Sometimes laying on the floor with nothing left feels awesome.)

For a girl who always tries to blast music and trick her brain into working out by pretending to choreograph in her head, this may be a perfect fit. I hope I am in love with this forever and ever. (I now think I understand what people mean when they talk about their soul mate workout!) Chalene Johnson is the trainer behind this program and she is just as upbeat as the music. She pushes you to keep going not by yelling at you like a drill sergeant but by telling you things like "You aren't tired!" and "You will believe whatever you tell yourself so tell yourself you can do this."

And any workout that encourages me to shake it as part of my exercise is already at the top of my awesome-sauce list.

So a little more about the program itself --

It is a 90 day program (which with the way I do things means it will probably turn into a 120 day program.)

There is a calendar that gives you exactly what to do every day for the 90 days.

It is cardio focused with kick boxing drills choreographed to pretty great music. Lots of punching, kicking, turning (using that core in a standing position) and using your legs (lunging and squatting) while you punch.

There are two strength building classes incorporated during month 2. For those you need a lower resistance band (included in the base kit) and a resistance band (or dumbbells - which I prefer. The resistance bands and I just do not get along.) I also picked up a pair of weighted gloves this month and added those to my workout. I can totally tell there is more definition from my shoulders from adding them. Yay!

It incorporates HIIT training (which means High Intensity Interval Training.) She asks you to go hard - as hard as you can - for a about a minute. These are spaced throughout the classes and there are classes built out of HIIT (and they are short - whoo hoo! Like 15 minutes short!) but mostly they are sprinkled throughout. There is some jumping but always a modifier so if you can't jump or are working up to that point, there is an option.)

Chalene always talks about how it is your class. And it is up to you to make it your class - whether that means working even harder to get all you can out of it or having to modify because you are coming off an injury or working toward getting stronger. I love this mentality and the thinking about my results being what I get out of these 30 or 45 or 55 minutes is totally up to me and what I make of it.

I am currently working through month 2 of this program and still love it. I am at a place where I am missing weight training (I think the 2 days of strength training on the schedule throughout month 2 have me itching for more) so I am looking forward to adding Chalene Extreme (a weight training based program) to TurboFire once I complete my 90 days.  And I am also excited to update this when I am finished to see if I am still so in love with this program (and of course my results!)



And the big news.... Throughout the entire month of August, Turbofire is discounted when bundled with Shakeology (you can read more about shakeo here.) But is is a super awesome deal (and I am really jealous it wasn't around when I ordered my copy!)

If you are interested in trying TurboFire or have any questions give me a shout. You can message me on Facebook or send me an email at scyobe@gmail.com