Summit!!

Late last night I got back from my first ever Beachbody Summit in Nashville, TN.  Summit is the annual Beachbody convention where 25,000 coaches come together for a weekend of working out, trainings/workshops, parties and celebrations.  While I understood that 25,000 coaches would be there, I was not quite prepared for what that would look like!  I arrived on Thursday with plenty of time to sign in a receive my wristbands and badge before my 5pm workout with Tony Horton.  It was amazing and overwhelming just how many people were there walking around in Music City Center!  After my quick and easy sign-in, I decided to go to The Core, a MASSIVE store they had there selling exclusive merchandise for all of the Beachbody programs, live formats and supplements.  Basically they were selling anything and everything you could ever imagine involving Beachbody.  I wanted to buy everything but I held myself to just three shirts and a P90X baby onesie!

My first day there also had one of the highlights of my trip:  a Hard Corps cardio workout with the man himself, Tony Horton.  All of us coaches could sign up for a workout with a celebrity trainer.  Turbokick or PiYo with Chalene, Hard Corps cardio or resistance with Tony, the brand new country dance program called Country Heat with Autumn, Body Beast workouts with Sagi or workouts with the 2 newest Beachbody trainers.  My workout was 45 minutes and seriously fantastic.  I have been working out with Tony in my living room for six years so having him right there in front of me was mind blowing.  His workout was hard but he had modifiers which made it easy for me to follow along, even being six months pregnant!

Thursday evening we had Opening Ceremony at Nissan Stadium.  This was so much fun!  I was there solo and sat in the upper section where I could stretch out and relax.  I actually spent most of my time solo since everyone on my team was staying in a house together but I opted to stay with my family in a hotel.  Opening Ceremony is where they announce all of the new and exciting things coming down the pipeline for Beachbody.  These include:  A reality competition show called The 20s based on searching for the next Beachbody trainer on Beachbody on Demand (BOD), Autumn's new cooking show called Fixate (also on BOD), a new 3 week yoga program coming in September (again, on BOD) and the November release of a new kickboxing program called Core de Force with the newest trainers.  It all looks SO exciting, especially Core de Force and the yoga program.

Friday was all about the trainings. We could sign up for a few different tracks, depending on what we wanted to focus on.  I feel like I learned SO much during my trainings/workshops.  Honestly, my main goal for Summit was to workout with the trainers I love, but I really enjoyed soaking in all of the information we were given in our trainings.  Part practical advice and tips for running our business, part full on life motivation - everything was great. Chalene (TurboFire and PiYo) spoke to us during our Friday general session. I love her and listen to her podcast so I really enjoyed what she had to say.

Another highlight of the weekend was the Saturday morning Super Workout.  The workout started at 6am so I arrived at 5am to try to get an okay spot.  We worked out with each trainer for about 15 minutes.  They all had modifiers, which was awesome for me because I'm obviously not doing any crazy jumping around while pregnant.  Our workout started out with Chalene and PiYo to warm up and stretch out.  Then the new trainers came out and we did some of the new Core de Force.  They were followed by Sagi and Body Beast without weights.  Next was Shaun T and Insanity.  I really love him so I was extremely excited to be able to workout with him!  He was SO motivating, especially since we were all pretty tired by then.  Shaun T was followed by Tony and Hard Corps (a different workout from my Thursday workout).  By that point we had been working out for an hour and still had to do 21 Day Fix with Autumn.  90 minutes after we started we were done!  I'm so thankful I had my Hydrate with me to drink during the workout!

Post workout was followed by more training sessions.  Shaun T spoke at our general session that day.  I also listen to his podcast and really loved his entire talk.  Summit ended back at Nissan Stadium with closing ceremonies where they celebrated coaches and the  $100,000 winners of the Beachbody Challenge.

As you can see, the weekend was extremely busy!!  I didn't even mention the stuff I didn't do such as the live instructor certifications for Insanity, P90X, PiYo and Country Heat on Wednesday, the elite coach parties, private Billy Idol concert, photos with celeb trainers and the Beachbody Classic (physique competition).  Being 6 months pregnant and running on little sleep and lots of intense workouts, I made sure to pace myself, pack snacks, stay hydrated and take naps!  I also brought my husband and son along on the trip and met up with them for mealtimes.  So many people had kids or babies there.  You could not walk into the hallways during a training and find a father taking care of his tiny baby while his wife was in trainings.  I also saw quite a few women babywearing and nursing in the trainings.  I love how family friendly this company is!

Next year Summit will move from Nashville to New Orleans and I cannot wait!! I have big plans for my second summit:  get Insanity certified, compete in the Beachbody Classic and take my business to Diamond!  If you are a current Beachbody coach or thinking about becoming one, I highly recommend Summit.  Heck, even if you just enjoy working out, I'd recommend you go and experience once-in-a-lifetime workouts with world famous trainers!  Email me at lauren.madara@gmail.com if you are interested in going and check out all the info at www.coachsummit2017.com

Which Program is Right for You?

People always ask me which program might be right for them, so I thought I would take a few minutes and give a rundown of some of Beachbody's most popular programs.  From losing weight to having fun to gaining muscle, Beachbody really does have a program for everybody.

For people new to either working out and/or eating healthy:

21 Day Fix.  The Fix is a great "starter" program.  It has 30 minute workouts, 7 days per week for 21 days.  All of the workouts have a modifier who really simplifies each move.  Workouts range from cardio to weights to pilates to yoga.  It also comes with portion control containers that help people learn what to eat, according to their goals.  Everyone I know who has done the Fix has had great results from it.  It's also a great program to do if you are somebody who does other fitness activities (such as running or yoga) and you want to incorporate some weights into your routine without spending a lot of time strength training.  This program really takes away all excuses: short workouts that fit into busy schedules, a modifier so anyone of any fitness level can do the program and a fool proof meal plan that teaches you how to eat.  After a few rounds of the Fix, most of my clients move onto 21 Day Fit Extreme, which has 2 meal plans and even more challenging workouts.

For people who want to be challenged in a short amount of time:

P90X3.  Most people have heard of P90X.  P90X3 is a thirty minute version of the popular workout.  It is 30 minutes a day for 90 days.  30 minutes a day means that it will fit into any one's schedule.  It will shred fat and build muscle.  Plus, by the end you will definitely be a master of push ups, as Tony Horton loves to do those.  In addition to the classic schedule, X3 also offers mass, lean and doubles version so you really never get bored with the program.   

For people who need low impact:

PiYo.  This 60 day program is a combination of yoga and pilates.  It's yoga for people who do not like yoga.  The live PiYo classes are set to fun music and keep the moves flowing.  It really works up a sweat and gets your muscles working without any equipment or jumping.  I've seen some great results from the women who have done this program.

For people short on time:

T25.  This program is by Insanity's Shaun T, but it is absolutely not as insane as Insanity.  All of the workouts have a modifier that you can follow to make the moves low impact.  It is also only 25 minutes a day for 60 days.  Everybody has 25 minutes a day!  I have not personally done T25, but I know people who love it.  This will be the program I plan to start with after my next pregnancy when I'm very short on time and need modifications.

For people who want muscle:

Body Beast or P90X.  I love both of these programs!  They are both 90 days and workouts range from 30-60 for Beast and 50-90 for P90X.  The main difference between the 2 is that Beast is solely focused on lifting weights (with one cardio day per week if you chose the lean option) and P90X has cardio, weights and a yoga day.  There is also a P90X/runners hybrid online that is fantastic for runners looking to gain strength.  It really works well with running since the strength days are only 3 times per week.  P90Xers usually move on to P90X2 upon completion (that is the P90X and P90X3 graduate program).  Both of these programs can also easily be taken to the gym on strength days.  I've done both at the gym many times while traveling.  

For people already in shape who want to go beast mode:

Insanity Max 30.  This is the 30 minute version of the Insanity program.  Let me tell you, it will kick your butt!  You might think you are in shape until you try to keep up with Shaun T!  In this program you keep track of your "max out" time aka the time where you were no longer able to keep up with Shaun and then you try to improve upon that time during your next workout.  It's all body weight so you do not need any equipment at all.  I promise you, by the end of 30 minutes you will be dripping sweat.

For people who want to have fun while working out:

CIZE or TurboFire.  CIZE is Shaun T's month long dancing program.  It's really fun and you don't even notice you are working out!  TurboFire is created by Chalene (she's also responsible for PiYo).  Think if kickboxing and dancing had a baby, that would be Turbo!!  You may have heard of, or taken, the live version called TurboKick.  This is the same idea, just in your own home.  Whenever I don't feel like working out, I through in a Turbo workout and it gets me moving and smiling.  Sometimes you just need a fun way to break a sweat!

That is just a snippet of the programs available.  Of course, Beachbody has many more, but I think these are a good place to start if you have one of the particular goals I mentioned above.  I try to match a person up to a program that I think will help them reach their goals and that I think they will be able to stick to.  Drop a comment or send me a message if you have any questions.  You can also try out Beachbody On Demand for 30 days for free to try out everything I mentioned above, just let me know and I will hook you up.

Beachbody On Demand

I seriously cannot contain my excitement for the brand new Beachbody On Demand!  I always travel with my computer, DVD player and stack of DVDs.  Now I will be able to get my workouts right on my phone!  Ahhh!  So amazing!!!  It makes working out while traveling so easy!  Plus it pretty much eliminates any excuses!

Don't know what program you want to do?  On Demand makes it so you can get a taste of a wide variety of programs.  Want to try p90x?  Do it!  Find out it's not for you?  That's fine, try another program!  How amazing is that?!  Yes, you can still buy the DVDs to have forever, but this allows you to try more programs without the commitment of actually owning them.

So what is On Demand?

With a Team Beachbody Club membership, members will be able to stream some of Beachbody's best programs 24/7.  The programs currently available are: P90X, P90X2, P90X3, Insanity, TurboFire, Brazil Butt Lift, Ten Minute Trainer, ChaLEAN Extreme, Insanity: The Asylum Vol 1, Tony One-on-One (vol 1), and Hip Hop Abs.

You will also be able to stream sample workouts from a few programs such as:  21 Day Fix: Total Body Cardio, 21 Day Fix Extreme: Plyo, Body Beast: Chest/Tri, PiYo: Sweat, Insanity Max:30: Sweat Int., P90: Sculpt A, Slim in 6: Start it Up, Focus T25: Alpha Cardio.

By the end of March you will also be able to stream 21 Day Fix, 21 Day Fix Extreme and T25 in their entirety with the purchase of those DVDs.

Personally, I have been debating doing PiYo or Body Beast and now I can try a workout from each to see what I like best!

Now that On Demand has arrived, we will be offering On Demand Challenge Packs.  These packs include, 90 days of On Demand access, 30 days of Shakeology, me as your coach and your participation in our private Facebook group, which serves to motivate and inspire all of the challengers.  On Demand also comes free for a month with the purchase of another Challenge Pack, such as one of our Challenge Pack specials of the month:  TurboFire, T25 or the 3 Day Refresh.

Please send me a message if you are interested in trying out the future of fitness right as it starts!!