My P90X3 Transformation

In February of this year (2014), I started P90X3 and Shakeology and joined a Beachbody challenge group.   My daughter, Sienna, was not yet 2 1/2 and my twin sons, Price and Maddox, were 3 months old.  Thanks to breastfeeding and pumping, I had already dropped most of my baby weight, but my physique was VERY different.  I felt soft and smushy everywhere.  I was ready for a change.  Thank goodness for P90X3 and Shakeology.  I LOVED the program, did not get bored with the program, and was very challenged.  Shakeology was a LIFESAVER for me in that it was a quick, easy, and very nutritious meal I could count on every single day.  My results came quicker and were better than I ever could have hoped for!  I hope this video serves to inspire and give hope to the women out there who are not comfortable in their own skin anymore.  That was me too.  But I made a change and I am so grateful that I did!

Tips For Making It Through Your Workout

I have been working out at home and pressing play for 6 months now (wow, I can't believe its been 6 months!).  Throughout that time, I have realized that it's very easy to just stop when things get hard.  Or just stand there and mutter curses under your breath (or out loud) at Tony Horton or Shaun T (or was that just me?).

The point is, I have come up with a system to make it through your workout while giving yourself a kind of break, so you don't die.  

Here are my tips:

1. Modify the exercise.  If they are doing squat jumps, just do the squats.  If they are doing tuck jumps, just jump in place.  If they are lunging low, just pulse at the top of your lunge.

2. Give yourself a 10 second break and then start again.  If the countdown clock was at 10:25, I would say to myself, "Okay, I am going to stop, but at 10:15, I am jumping right back in- full throttle".

3. Just move.  If they are jumping on one foot across the room (because, yes, that happens sometimes), jog around the room.  Continue moving.  March in place.  Walk around.  Moving is better than stopping.  Moving is better than standing still.  Moving is better than quitting.  

4. Press pause.  Take a bathroom break.  Get more water.  And when you are ready (no more than 2 minutes break), press play, and go at it again!

I always tell my customers...just make it to the end.  Watch the clock turn 0:00.  And the next day...do the same thing and try to modify less, take less breaks, press pause less, and YOU WILL see improvement.  It will get easier.  You will get closer and closer to your fitness and health goals.  But you have to press play every single day.  You have to finish every single day.  

PiYo: Buns

This is the best BUTT workout I have ever done.  I have never done a lower body workout for thirty straight minutes that I felt in my buns the ENTIRE time.  In every exercise Chalene does, she pinpoints your caboose.  It's A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.  My butt is the area I most want to build muscle in, so I will be tempted to do this workout three times per week.  

She starts with a brutal squat series, moves on to lunges, and finishes on your hands and knees doing a series of leg lifts.  I felt it in my LOWER butt, UPPER butt, and SIDE butt (you know what I'm talking about when I say "side" butt)!  

My favorite line of the workout:

"Your hamstrings are saying, 'Are you kidding me?!', and you just say, 'No, Hamstring, I care about you in my bikini and I want you to be tight.'"  

Gotta love Chalene.  

PiYo: Hardcore On the Floor

I am really loving PiYo the more and more I do it.  The workouts are becoming more intense and more like how I pictured PiYo to be.  

Hardcore on the Floor is a bonus DVD, and you were ON THE FLOOR.  Literally, I don't think I stood up except for at the beginning during the warm-up.  As you can imagine, there was a lot of planking, a lot of down-dog, and not enough child's pose.  : )  

Duration: 36 minutes

Twin Skin

For those of you who do not have twins, you are thinking to yourself..."What could this post POSSIBLY be about and why is it on her fitness blog?"  

Here's the thing...my mission is to be absolutely transparent when it comes to my life as a mom, a wife, and a Beachbody coach.  I am not writing this blog to make myself appear perfect, act like I have it all together or pretend that I have all the answers.  I'm not, I don't, and I have no clue most of the time.  

I have had amazing physical results since I did P90X3 and started drinking Shakeology.  My body bounced back quicker than I ever could have hoped for.  BUT this post is for the people out there who claim, "It's like she never had twins!"  I did and I have the extra skin to prove it...something I am PROUD of.  
Check out these pictures taken 8 months postpartum.

Seemingly back to normal
(By the way, I am definitely keeping it real
with the blotch of spit-up on my sports bra!)

See how the skin around my belly
button gets wrinkly?  That is twin skin!

The "Plank" really brings out the best in my twin skin! ; )

Hello August Challenge Group

My "Hello August Challenge Group" is for everyone: Young or old, male or female, the unfit and the fit.  Choose any Beachbody program, commit to drinking Shakeology everyday for the 4 weeks, and in return you will receive one-on-one fitness coaching and accountability.  I want to help you create a healthy lifestyle.  We will begin on August 4, but July 28th is the last day to sign up! 

Interested in joining my Hello August Challenge Group?  

Connect with me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dara.laporta

OR

Send me an email: dara.laporta@gmail.com

I look forward to hearing from you!  

PiYo: Sweat

This workout is TRUE to its name.  I found it to be significantly harder than the previous two workouts.  It is much more up-tempo, to the point of even struggling to keep up, especially at the beginning when you are just trying to figure out exactly what she is doing.  In each series, you build upon each exercise without pause.  This workout is exactly what I pictured PiYo to be and I really loved it, finding it effective and challenging.

I love performing the yoga elements, but at an increased speed.  You are still getting a great stretch, but also increasing your strength and calorie burn due to the nearly constant movement.  This was an all-encompassing workout with quality upper body and lower body segments.  I was sweating, I was ready to for it to be over, I wanted and needed (and took) a few breaks.  

Duration: 36 minutes