The Bachelorette Fitness Challenge

My guilty pleasure is The Bachelorette.  It just is.  It's not something I am proud of, but I also know there are many others who also take delight in this overplayed, overly dramatic, and silly show.  So I thought to myself, "How can I JUSTIFY watching this?"  And the most obvious way was to work out while witnessing the tantalizing theatrics of one-on-one dates, group dates, and of course the dreaded rose ceremony.

So I created a Facebook group, invited my friends to join me, and I post the workouts every week.  So here you go, and you can thank me later for giving you a legitimate reason to watch your favorite guilty pleasure.

• March in place throughout the duration of the show.
• Whenever ANYONE says: 
• Husband: 5 Burpees
• Love: 10 Jumping Jacks
• Rose: 5 Squats
• Rose Ceremony Burnout: 
• Alternate 5 Squats and 10 Jumping Jacks 

If you would like to join my Bachelorette Fitness Challenge and receive updated workouts, friend request me at: https://www.facebook.com/dara.laporta and shoot me a message! 

T-25 Total Body Circuit Review

I dread Wednesdays.  Why, you ask?  I have three words for you…

TOTAL 
BODY
CIRCUIT

This is the only workout that my body does not seem to be adjusting to.  The other workouts are absolutely difficult, but I can make it through them without pressing "pause" 5-10 times.  Total body circuit has not seemed to get any easier.

So what makes it so hard?  I think I have it figured out.  Even when you are working your upper body, he has your heart rate up.  You don't just do planks.  You do walking planks.  You don't just do push-ups, you do push-ups with shoulder taps in between.  Are you seeing the pattern?  Usually the upper body portion of workouts is when you have a chance to catch your breath…at least a little.  Not so with Shaun T.  What a cardio dictator.  

Here's an approximate breakdown of how your time is spent:

4 min: Warm-up/Cardio
2 min: Plank/Push-ups2 min: Lunges2 min: Jabs w/ footwork2 min: Plank/Squats2 min: Sprint/ Squats2 min: Plank work2 min: Squats2 min: Push-ups5 min: Burnout


Doesn't it look fun?  At least I have a 6 day break until I have to meet this beast again.

What is Beachbody Coaching?

I have been staring at my computer screen trying to figure out how to put in to words (and not TOO MANY words at that) what Beachbody coaching is and how it has changed my life. But I'm going to try.

WHAT IS A BEACHBODY COACH?

As a Beachbody coach you promote Beachbody products (like Insanity, P90X3, TurboFire, T25, Shakeology, etc) through social media and word of mouth. You earn a 25% commission off of any products that you sell. You also earn team bonuses if you choose to build a team of people underneath you.

So I know what you are thinking…this is a pyramid scheme and I have to be a salesperson. I know you are thinking this because that's what I was thinking when I first heard about the opportunity! : )

But what I love about Beachbody is that they don't want you to be a salesperson. They want you to share your experience and what you love about your Beachbody products. They want you to encourage and motivate others to reach their health goals. That's it. Beachbody coaches share. They don't sell. And I could have 100 people who chose to partner with me, but if they aren't making any money, then I'm not making any money. If you succeed, I succeed.

CHALLENGE GROUPS

Beachbody coaches run challenge groups. When customers purchase products, you add them to a closed Facebook group where you post daily motivation, fitness and nutrition tips, and assignments. This is an easy way to stay in touch with your customers, and help keep them on the right track. And NO, you don't have to be a fitness or nutrition expert. You are simply sharing what has worked for YOU, and using your experiences to help guide your challengers.

INVESTMENT

You can take this business at your own pace because there is only a $40 sign up fee and $16/month fee. IDEALLY, you are also ordering Shakeology (with a 25% discount) because it will be hard to convince others to drink it if you are not. So for your monthly fee and Shakeology purchase you will pay $115.55/month. The point is, it's not like there is a huge investment you are trying to recoup or large monthly fee you have to cover every month. There is nearly NOTHING TO LOSE.

BENEFITS

• You receive a 25% commission on anything somebody buys from Beachbody using one of your links. If a friend buys Shakeology, you make $30.
• You can create your own team of coaches surrounding yourself with others who are passionate about their health and helping others' change their lives. If you choose to pursue this side of the business, your income potential is virtually limitless.
• You receive a 25% discount on all Beachbody products including merchandise.
• You get paid on a weekly basis.
• No inventory to purchase and hold because Beachbody takes care of everything.
• Access to an entire team of experts on health and fitness.
• Access to marketing materials and guidance on how to build your business.
• MOTIVATION TO GET IN THE BEST SHAPE OF YOUR LIFE

If you would like more information or want to join my team…

CONTACT ME

Dara LaPorta

dara.laporta@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/dara.laporta

www.beachbodycoach.com/DARALAPORTA

Dara the Figure Competitor Part 3

Although I am quick to say, I just wasn’t met to be a professional figure competitor, there is a part of me that still wonders what could have been.  Genetically, I do have the makeup to be successful in that arena.  But I do NOT have the mentality.  I missed food.  I am a foodie.  I love food!  There were some women (who I deeply respect and wish I was more like) that truly didn’t crave any of the “bad” foods.  It wasn’t that hard for some of these women to eat the way we were eating.  I was not one of them. 

In the first few days after the competition, I was retaining water like a boat going under.  Matt affectionately called me “bowling ball face”.  What a sweetie.  But it was true!  My legs and calves and ankles looked swollen.  It was bizarre!  It didn’t take me too long to come down to size (no pun intended).  I will say that my metabolism was a little weird in the year after the competition.  My pre-competition weight was 122.  My competition weight was 115.  And in the months following, I had a tough time getting below 128!  The workouts and diets I followed before the competition were not effective in the months after.  My body was definitely confused.  BUT, in June of 2010, I was back down to a normal weight I felt good about and my metabolism was back to working great, as well! 

All in all, I am happy that I did the competition.  I am proud of myself for the discipline I showed and I learned a lot.  Since the competition, I have had more balance in my fitness and nutrition than I have ever had.  Because the nutrition plan was so extreme, it made me appreciate delicious food more and freed me up to let myself enjoy those foods every once in a while.  Even before training for this, I ate extremely healthy and rarely indulged.  So I feel like I have a healthier relationship with food and working out.  I used to be very all or nothing in my workouts.  If I didn’t have time to go to the gym for over an hour, I wouldn’t go at all!  I now realize that  10, 20, or 30 minutes is better than 0 minutes! 

I very much appreciate the experience I had in the two competitions that I attended.  The people I met were so kind and supportive of one another and I deeply respect the dedication and commitment they are willing to make to do what they love. 

Here are some photos I took right before the competition.  Call me vain, but I had worked too hard to not get some photographic evidence of my figure competition physique.

T-25 Cardio Review

I just completed the T25 Cardio workout for the 3rd time since starting the program, and I had to press pause much less than the first two times I did it.  Less being ONLY five times in a 25 minute workout, as opposed to seven or eight times.  Hey, improvement is improvement!

So what exactly are you doing for 25 minutes?  Jumping.  At least one foot is off the ground for  25 minutes straight with the exception of 30 seconds of lunges somewhere in there.  And lunges are STILL lunges.  It's not like you are getting a 30 second break for water and a snack.  

To be honest, last week (my first week) I wasn't sure how much I was loving this program.  It was just so hard!  These 25 minutes are jam packed and that's WHY it works.  But towards the end of last week and after this morning, T-25 is growing on me.  I LOVE that it's only 25 minutes, and even though the plyometrics and sprint drills are exhausting, I love what it's doing for my body.  My core is getting ripped and my legs are moving quicker and in ways they haven't for a long time.  I really appreciate what Shaun T is doing through this program, and I'm looking forward to getting better with each day and each workout.

Dara the Figure Competitor Part 2

The competition was in mid-August, and I flew back to Tampa at the beginning of the month to see my coach, Tim, and get prepared.  Truthfully, I think Tim was shocked by how "good" I looked.  Some people had warned me that the week before the competition, I would have to cut my calories and water intake drastically.  Well I didn't.  To be honest, I think I was competition-ready ahead of schedule, so I didn't have to make any major changes.  In some ways that was gratifying, but in some ways I was annoyed.  I hated how tough the workout and nutrition regimen were, so I wondered if I was already in the right shape, did I really need ALL 12 WEEKS of the preparation period?  I would have gladly cut off a week or two.

The day before the competition, I had to prep my skin with a self-tanner, and also get professionally spray tanned.  The lady spraying me commented that my skin takes really well to the tanner.  She was right.  I didn't look tan.  I looked like I was an entirely different race!  I couldn't believe I had to go out in public looking like the way I did.  It makes me laugh as I type this.  You'll know why when you see the pictures below : )

As it turns out, I won the competition.  I won the "short" division and then went on to win first in the figure competition overall.  It was extremely gratifying and I was very proud of myself for the hard work and discipline.  I never thought I could be so disciplined with my diet.  And it did feel wonderful to be "good" at something again.  I hadn't felt that high in such a long time.  Was it all worth it though?  I'm still not sure.

Tim, my coach, tells me that my next competition was in two weeks.  I was completely unprepared for that revelation.  I thought MAYBE I would do another one in a few months.  I know it makes sense to do one sooner, since you are already in such great shape, but I was so ready to LET LOOSE!  But reluctantly, I agreed.  Tim really believed I could go "pro" in a very short period of time and from there get in to fitness modeling, which I really did want to do.  

To make a long story short, I didn't win or even place at the next competition.  Tim thinks I got lost in the shuffle, but admittedly I didn't look AS good.  However, I have to believe that God was at work because the girl who won the second competition, I had beat in the first competition!  It's hard to believe I would have changed that drastically in just two weeks to not even place.  Had I done well again, I probably would have continued to pursue it and I'm just not sure that would have been what was best for me.  

To learn more about how my body responded after this extreme lifestyle, stay tuned for 

Part 3.

Did I mention that my skin took
to the spray tan VERY well?

This picture is from the 2nd competition
where I did not place.  

Focus T-25: Speed 1.0 Review

I started T-25 yesterday and so far SO GOOD!  I completed the cardio workout yesterday, but it was not as quality as I would have liked due to two babies who did not want to nap.  So I will post a review on that workout when I do it again (which I believe is Friday).

So today was Speed 1.0.  As a former track athlete, I was excited to see what this workout would entail and I was not disappointed!  It basically felt like I was doing running/sprint drills for 25 straight minutes with a  tad bit of stretching at selected intervals.  There were a lot of high knees, lateral movement, hopping, criss-crossing, and even some kicking and punching.  And as I mentioned earlier, every few minutes, Shaun T generously incorporated a stretching exercise to give you some time to catch your breath (of course, it really just gave you time to go from desperately gasping for air to heavily panting).  Thanks Shaun T!  What a gem that guy is.  

So I'm cruising along thinking how wonderful those little stretching breaks are when with 9 minutes left in the workout, the breaks are no more!  So for the last 9 minutes, plan on pretty much just jumping for 9 minutes straight.  Enjoy! ; )

Do you know what I love about this workout though?  There was not one ab-specific exercise in the entire 25 minutes, but my abs were screaming at me by the end!  Have you ever seen world-class sprinters' stomachs?  Do you think they get that way because they do 200 sit-ups a day?  No!  They have superhuman abs because they are sprinting!  Just something to keep in mind the next time you decide you need to incorporate more ab work.  Most likely, you need to do less crunches and more running or plyometrics.  

Dara the Figure Competitor Part 1

In 2009, I got the itch to try a figure competition.  I was three years out of competing in track and field, and I MISSED working hard for something and having a goal!  But I was scared and skeptical.  Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE to eat, so I was very fearful of what the nutrition plan would look like.  And I was skeptical of myself more than anything.  I was one of those people who just thought no matter what I did, I could never have a real six pack.  But I was up for the challenge and through word of mouth, I heard about a man in the Tampa area named Tim Gardner who was highly successful in that realm.  I approached him and he agreed to train me.  

I started in March, but stopped about four weeks later due to schedule conflicts.  But I restarted in June and was all in.  Tim would send me my nutrition and workout plan every four weeks and in return I would send him progress pictures.  The first four weeks, the nutrition plan wasn't horrible.  I was still eating a normal amount of calories, but they were all good calories, so it was very boring.  The good news is I got a cheat day, and boy did I cheat.  I look back now with disgust at what I would consume on those days.  The workouts in the first phase were very long and challenging.  I would take a 45 minute brisk walk in the morning before I ate breakfast.  In the afternoon, I would do my lifting, and I had never done so many sets and reps before in my life.  Most of the exercises I did four sets of 10, 12, 15, and 20 repetitions.  Just imagine doing 20 repetitions of step-ups on EACH LEG.  Ugh.  And then in the evenings I would do 45 minutes on the elliptical.  Most days, this added up to three hours of working out.  

The second and third phases were pretty similar and they were awful.  The calories got cut and the food was still boring.  So I was hungry, but often, I didn't eat as much as I could have because I was so disgusted and tired of the same old foods.  The workouts were very similar to the first phase.  The problem was, I had a lot less energy to complete them.  I almost completely stopped going to my husband's baseball game because I didn't have the energy AND I couldn't be around the delicious stadium food smells!  Torturous!  And my poor husband and parents were dealing with a very crabby and moody girl.  My husband said it was like I was on my period all the time.  Yikes!  Looking back, I am shocked at how disciplined I was when it came to the meal plan.  The extent of my cheating was a dollop of Bar-B-Q sauce to dip my boring chicken in.  

Finally, it was time for the competition…

Here are my progress pictures from Week 1-Week 4-Week 8.