P90X/Insanity HYBRID Starting March 7th!

Now that I'm almost done with the completion of  my first round of Insanity, I'm ready to start a hybrid of Insanity and P90X.  I miss my strength training!

Overall, I've seen improvement in my core through Insanity, but I've lost some upper body toning.  Insanity has my legs as strong as ever.

I firmly believe that a hybrid of the two may very well be the most perfect workout program.  Insanity is light on strength, but has awesome interval training.  Likewise, P90X is light on the cardio in my opinion.  It has plenty of strength training!

With that said, my husband and I are starting a hybrid of P90X and Insanity on March 7th.

Here is the schedule we'll use:

Phase I
Weeks 1-3
1. P90X Chest & Back/Cardio Abs
2. Insanity Plyo Cardio Circuit
3. P90X Shoulders & Arms/Cardio Abs
4. Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance*
5. P90X Legs & Back/Ab Ripper X
6. Insanity Pure Cardio
7. P90X Xstretch or rest

Week 4
1. Insanity Core Cardio & Balance
2. P90X Core Synergistics
3. Insanity Core Cardio & Balance
4. P90X Xstretch
5. Insanity Core Cardio & Balance
6. P90X Core Synergistics
7. P90X Xstretch or rest

Phase II
Weeks 5-7
1.P90X Chest, Shoulders & Triceps/Cardio Abs
2.Insanity Plyo Cardio Circuit
3.P90X Back & Biceps/Cardio Abs
4.Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance*
5.P90X Legs & Back/Ab Ripper X
6.Insanity Pure Cardio
7.P90X Xstretch or rest

Week 8
Same as week 4

Phase III
Weeks 9 & 11
1. P90X Chest & Back/Cardio Abs
2. Insanity Max Interval Plyo
3. P90X Shoulders & Arms/Cardio Abs
4. Insanity Max Interval Circuit*
5. P90X Legs & Back/Ab Ripper X
6. Insanity Max Cardio Conditioning
7. P90X Xstretch or rest

Weeks 10 & 12
1.P90X Chest, Shoulders & Triceps/Cardio Abs
2.Insanity Max Interval Plyo
3.P90X Back & Biceps/Cardio Abs
4.Insanity Max Interval Circuit*
5.P90X Legs & Back/Ab Ripper X
6.Insanity Max Cardio Conditioning
7.P90X Xstretch or rest

Week 13
Same as week 4

*Can substitute with Insanity Core Cardio & Balance or Cardio/Max Recovery workout if needed.

Team Andi Beachbody Business Opportunity Meeting!

Team Andi is Currently Recruiting Coaches to Join Our Team!

Team Andi is seeking people with drive, ambition, and a desire for health, fitness and financial freedom.  Join our team and become an Independent Team Beachbody Coach.

The Team Beachbody business opportunity is unique and there is no other network marketing company or opportunity like it.  You must attend our next Beachbody Business Opportunity Meeting to learn more.  We will give the details of the opportunity and answer any questions you have.  Bring your friends!

What:              Team Beachbody Business Opportunity Meeting

                        Learn about the business side of Beachbody

Who:               Presented by Andi Dunlop, Independent Team Beachbody Coach and Barry Dunlop, Team Andi Business and Marketing Manager

Where:            Rivermont Golf & Country Club

                        3130 Rivermont Parkway, Johns Creek, GA  30022

When:             Saturday, March 5^th from 9am– 11am

                                                                                                   

RSVP:               Andi at 770.656.9719 or andidunlop@beachbodycoach.com

RSVP to secure your space and to obtain parking and location information

INSANITY: End of Week 4!

Okay, I'm in week 4 of INSANITY.  I still haven't posted an individual workout review.  I'm a bad Blogger.  What can I say?

First, I love this program.  It's awesome.  I've always enjoyed high intensity workouts like track intervals and my cycling repeats down Columns Drive in Atlanta/Sandy Springs.

Second, I decided that I would save the reviews until after the first part of the program is complete.  After week 4, we have a recovery week and start a new round of workouts.

Once I began the program, I realized one thing that bugs me about reviews is that people often give a review too quickly.  So, I plan to review not just the individual workouts from the first 4 weeks, but my progress and perspective in those workouts.

Stay tuned this weekend! :)

Began My Insanity Odyssey Yesterday!

Yesterday was day 1 of Shaun T's INSANITY 60 day workout program.  I will offer a daily review of the INSANITY workouts.

The first day is the fit test.  The fit test is comprised of 8 different exercises all done for one minute, with about a minute of rest in between.  And of course, there is a warm up and cool down.  The fit test is done every two weeks and the goal is to do more reps every time.  Here are the results from my first fit test:

76 Switch Kicks (both legs = 1 switch kick, I think I lost count somewhere)
62 Power Jacks
99 Power Knees (Although I think I lost count on this one, too)
43 Power Jumps
11 Globe Jumps
21 Suicide Jumps
39 Push-Up Jacks
64 Low Plank Oblique

I'm not sure how many more reps I'll be able to do on some of these exercises.  I'm not sure if I'll get better at the exercises, or better at simply counting to high numbers while working furiously.  However, my goal is not only to increase reps but also to improve and perfect my form!  I definitely plan to increase my reps each time I do this, though!

Next up: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Johns Creek Fit Club!

New Johns Creek Fit Club!

Ever wanted to try out one of the fabulous Beachbody workouts?  Now you can!

Come join Independent Beachbody® Coach Andi Dunlop every Tuesday evening in January for a workout!  Experience Beachbody® workouts you have seen on TV—P90X®, Hip Hop Abs®, Insanity® and more!

Every Tuesday in January of 2011!

TIME: 6:45 PM–8:15 PM

DATES: Tuesdays in January
January 4
January 11
January 18
January 25

EVENT LOCATION:
Newtown Park Community Clubhouse
3150 Old Alabama Rd. (Directly across from Johns Creek Fire Station #63)
Johns Creek, GA  30022

AGENDA:
6:45 PM – 7:00 PM Registration
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM Workout begins promptly at 7:00 PM!
8:00 PM – 8:15 PM Samples

CONTACT:
Andi Dunlop – AndiDunlop@BeachbodyCoach.com – 770.656.9719
GetFitWithAndi.Blogspot.com

RSVP by phone or email to be guaranteed a spot!

FEES:
All guests are FREE; $5 for Beachbody coaches (to help offset facility charge).

8 Tips for Avoiding Holiday Pounds

I thought these tips were so great, I couldn't miss the opportunity to share them with you!

BY: Stephanie S. Saunders for the Beachbody newsletter, Issue #194 11/16/2010

It's that time of year. The leaves turn majestic hues of red and gold. The air becomes fresh and crisp. We can finally put an extra blanket on the bed and cuddle up with a cup of hot tea. Yes, it's fall. We just spent 8 months killing ourselves to get into that bathing suit, but now we've replaced it with a worn pair of jeans and a much more relaxed attitude towards food. After all, it's the holiday season, and no one'll notice a few extra pounds under layers of clothes. A little extra weight just gives us a New Year's resolution to focus on, right?

Wrong. According to a recent study by researchers at Sweden's Linköping University, those 4 weeks of celebrating can actually lead to long-term weight gain.

Essentially, the researchers took a group of healthy young people, increased their caloric intake by 70 percent, and lowered their exercise levels. They also had a control group whose diets weren't altered. At 4 weeks, the participants in the test group had gained an average of 14 pounds. After 6 months, and no longer on an increased-calorie diet, only a third of these participants had returned to their original weight. After 1 year, the test group members were each still an average of 3.3 pounds heavier. After 2.5 years, the "gluttonous" group continued to gain, while the control group still maintained a stable weight.

Now, most of us don't increase our calories that drastically for 30 days straight. Sure, there's Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving leftovers, Hanukkah, the work Christmas party, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day, not to mention the extra sweets, cocktails, and (ahem) fruitcake. But according to the New England Journal of Medicine, the actual average weight gain over the holidays is only 1 pound. (They obviously didn't poll my family or friends.) So what's the big deal? The problem is, a year later, the vast majority of people have not removed that pound. Continue this pattern over 30 or 40 holiday seasons and the problem becomes—quite literally—huge.

So how are we supposed to get through the holidays without causing weight gain? Here are eight effective ways to get yourself ready to beat the holiday bulge.

1.     Buy clothes that fit right now. This first tip might be a bit pricy, but it's a great motivational aid in staving off weight gain. A new addition to your wardrobe in a size that shows off your summer body can be all you need to prevent those extra pounds from creeping on. Imagine that beautiful holiday dress or great pair of pants, then imagine being unable to zip them up thanks to sugar cookies. Yeah, no one wants that. So before you begin the festivities, go buy yourself something perfect to wear to your parties and hang it someplace visible, so it serves as a constant reminder. Perhaps on the TV where you play your P90X^® videos, or in front of that treadmill that might be starting to collect a little dust in the corner, or on your refrigerator door . . . that way, if it doesn't fit quite the same way the next time you try to slip into it, you know it's time to get back to work.

2.     Write it down. We try to write down everything we eat, right? We spend hours each month staring at a food diary, adding up our calories, and seeing if we got the correct balance of macronutrients. And then the holidays happen, and our little book ends up in the bottom drawer. It's almost like we're hoping that if we didn't write it down, it didn't happen. Unfortunately, the scale doesn't fit in that bottom drawer. The truth is, if we would write down the not-so-perfect meals and treats, we could find a way to compensate for it, at least a bit. For example, you have a peppermint brownie in the break room at work, which you know is carbohydrates and fat. Eat one less portion of carbohydrate and one less portion of fat for your dinner. It's not ideal, but it'll help. Or perhaps you couldn't resist Mom's homemade scones for breakfast. You could plan on an extra 20 or 30 minutes of your workout tonight. The point is, if we write it down, and do the math, we can lessen the damage. It isn't a good long-term plan, but to help compensate for a few slip-ups, it can help.

3.     Keep exercising. Most fitness trainers will tell you the slowest point of their year is between Thanksgiving and New Year's. Sure, their clients schedule workouts with the best of intentions, but then they cancel them for parties and gift shopping. It's hard to remain balanced when you have a million things to do and gifts to buy. Yet the greatest gift you can give yourself is to stay focused on your fitness goals and get your workout in. Shopping getting in the way? Do it online and save some time. Parties getting in the way? Just show up later. Who cares if everyone else is a couple of cocktails ahead of you? You'll be healthier, and you won't have to worry about the embarrassing YouTube^® videos in the morning. Just stay consistent, even if it's inconvenient. You'll be much less likely to look like Santa (both belly-wise and red-nose-wise) at the end of the month.

4.     Eat before parties. Most holiday parties don't focus on low-fat, low-calorie refreshments, so unless you're organizing the event, the best damage control is to show up with a full tummy. Make sure you eat your meals and snacks throughout the day, and try to eat a healthy meal before attending any party. If you're going straight from work, prepare a healthy and filling snack to eat on the way. You'll be a lot less likely to swim in mayonnaise dips and pigs in blankets if you're full.

5.     Get junk out of the house. The majority of people don't get into the car at midnight, drive to the store, buy the ingredients for cookies, bake them, and then stay up to eat them. But if those homemade cookies that Linda in accounting made for you are already on your kitchen counter, you better believe you'll find a way to justify it. Frankly, at 12:30 AM, after a rotten day, for most of us there's nothing like a few cookies to drown our sorrows. The secret is to get the enticements out of the house. Send them to work with your significant other, donate them to a bake sale, regift them to your 100-pound friend with the perfect metabolism, or just dump them in the trash. Linda will never know. If you have holiday dinner leftovers, box them up for your guests individually and send them home with them. If your family still sends you that Pepperidge Farm^® cookie assortment, invite a bunch of people over for a pre-party party and serve 'em up before the drinks. Don't be more wasteful than you have to, but get the less-than-healthy temptations out of your reach.

6.     Offer to prepare healthy fare. This suggestion won't be well received by those of us who'd rather spend Thanksgiving sitting around watching football than toiling in the kitchen, but if you do the cooking, you have the control. Your family could have a tasty and satisfying meal without ingesting thousands of calories and fat grams. The way the turkey is prepared, the type of stuffing, how vegetables are made, whether the cranberries are real, and countless other things can make or break the healthiness of a meal. There are tons of cookbooks out there, plus recipes in this and past newsletters, that can help you out. Yes, it does require a bit of work. But you work out with Beachbody^® fitness programs. You can do anything.

7.     Choose wisely and proportionally. Something occurs during a holiday meal. It's like a Las Vegas buffet—we feel like we have to eat some of everything. We feel almost like those foods will never exist again, and this is our last meal on the planet. This year, why not try to eat only your favorites, as in two or three items, and keep the portions to the size of your palm? If you're still hungry, try to fill up on veggies (preferably ones that aren't drowned in butter or cream-of-mushroom soup). If you want dessert, lean toward a small slice of pumpkin pie (220 calories) as opposed to pecan (a heftier 543), leaving out the hydrogenated nondairy whipped topping if possible. If you're going to have an alcoholic beverage, go with a flute of champagne (100 calories) as opposed to that rum-laced eggnog (with more than four times more calories, at 420). Just a few wise choices will save you a ton of calories, and probably a significant amount of heartburn as well.

8.     Don't beat yourself up. Quite possibly the worst thing you can do is beat yourself up over a bit of holiday indulgence. Yes, it does stink to backslide after working your tail off. But sometimes it doesn't stink as much as dealing with your mother when you turn down her brisket and potato pancakes. Sometimes, we don't have time to go to work, buy a Christmas tree, decorate it with our kids, make dinner, oversee homework, tuck kids in bed, and spend an hour doing INSANITY^®. We can only do our very best. Mentally berating yourself will only make you feel worse, which never helped anyone get back to their fitness program. So if you happen to gain that one extra pound this holiday season, be part of the rare group who actually follows through with their New Year's resolution and manages to shed it again. A week of hard work and a slight calorie deficit should do the trick. Resolutions don't come easier than that!

My P90X Transformation

My P90X transformation: yes, it really does work!


Before my P90X Transformation

I’ve been athletic most of my life.  I ran my first marathon in 1998 and then completed my first triathlon in 1999.  I went on to run several more marathons, including the Boston Marathon and completed the Ironman triathlon.  It wasn't uncommon for me to train 18 hours per week for the ironman and run 55 miles per week for marathons.  Although I ran and did triathlons, I never stuck with a strength training regime with any consistency.

About 5 years ago, I started working a lot of hours and began to experience extreme fatigue and weight gain.  My working out time was minimal.  I gained about 35+ pounds and didn’t even recognize myself.  To add insult to injury, I was approaching my 40th birthday in the worst shape of my life!  I decided to make my health a priority again and get back into shape.  My time was very limited: I didn't have 18 hours per week to work out, I had about 7-8.  I also didn't have time to sit in traffic trying to get to the gym.  My husband and I both became interested in P90X through people we knew and word of mouth.

After 90 days of P90X



I ordered the P90X program and can honestly say that at the end of 90 days I was in the best shape of my life.  I was in better shape than when I was training for hours and hours for the Ironman Triathlon, and I was only working out about an hour a day.  How is this possible?  Quality over quantity!  Time spent does not equal results.  Quality time spent in a variety of exercises of varying intensity, along with proper diet produces results.  Serious results.  Turning 40 became one of the best things to ever happen to me.

Now, when I go to the pool or run in the park, people stop me to ask me what I do to be in such great shape - at the age of 40!  That’s when I decided that I needed to become an Independent Team Beachbody coach, because I was referring so many people to the website!
I love P90X, and I never tire of the workouts.  There is always a new challenge: to lift more, to jump higher, etc.   But, P90X is not the only program offered through Beachbody.  There is a program for almost every person of every age.  Most require minimal equipment, floor space and time and provide maximum results.  If you would like to learn more about the other fitness programs, visit my website or email me and ask for the “Beachbody Solutions” DVD.  If you are in the Atlanta area, experience a workout by attending the Johns Creek/Alpharetta Beachbody Fit Club in January.

In addition to the world class fitness programs, Beachbody has the best supplements I’ve ever used.  And being a triathlete and runner, I've tried a lot of them!  I'm able to maintain my weight and keep those sweet tooth cravings away by having 1 serving of Shakeology a day, along with other P90X supplements.  What is Shakeology?  Click this link to watch the video and learn more about this revolutionary health product!

Shakeology: The Breakthrough

Click on the banner to the right to get started on this revolutionary product.

Now is the time to DECIDE, COMMIT, and SUCCEED.  You can be in the best shape of your life.  I'll help you get there!

www.beachbodycoach.com/AndiDunlop
www.shakeology.com/AndiDunlop