Beachbody On Demand is Here!!

I am so so excited that this is finally available to you guys! For the last month I have been able to test out the latest product by Beachbody - Beachbody on Demand!! And I have to tell you it has been so awesome to have!  Just this week I got up from my computer desk at work to grab my workout gear and realized that I totally forgot my Insanity Max:30 or PiYo DVDs at home :( Bummer.... I considered just practicing my PiYo moves but then it dawned on me that I could use my On Demand to workout.   What's better is that they had recently loaded the PiYo Sweat workout onto it so I was able to both practice my PiYo and use on Demand!  The neat thing is that  it comes loaded with programs like P90X, P90X2, P90X3, Turbofire, Chalene Extreme, Insanity, Hip Hop Abs.... and on the list goes!!  These programs come fully loaded with all the program materials including meal plans right there on the site!!!  So awesome! But even better, if there is a program that you have been wanting to try out for example Insanity Max:30, Beachbody has loaded a workout from some of it's newest programs and you can check them out too! I can not say enough about this amazing product and I think it's a game changer for people in getting their health and fitness on track! When will Beachbody On Demand Launch?

Beachbody On Demand is expected to launch March 2nd!!

What is the Team Beachbody Club? 

The Team Beachbody Club is an all-access pass to some of the most powerful success tools in fitness. Including Beachbody® On Demand, which gives you unlimited streaming access to hundreds of worldclass Beachbody workouts, so you can take your fitness anywhere—from your home to the gym, and even on vacation. You can choose workouts by fitness level, type of exercise, or celebrity trainer, then stream them right on your desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile device—wherever you have an Internet connection. Club members are also entitled to personalized meal plans, an exclusive 10% discount on Team Beachbody purchases, live monthly chats with your favorite celebrity trainers, fun interactive Message Boards, and unique content geared toward helping you reach your goals. See the “Features and Benefits” section for a complete list of Club benefits.

Why does Team Beachbody Club help people get better results? 

With access to the Beachbody digital library, there’s something for everyone. Whether you want to get ripped with P90X®, get insanely fit with INSANITY®, or lose weight with Brazil Butt Lift®, you can do your workout at any time—anywhere! Now there are no excuses for missing workouts, and with so many choices you’ll never get bored. And with the added bonus of personalized meal plans and access to Beachbody’s top support tools and experts, incredible results are within everyone’s reach.

What makes Team Beachbody Club unique? 

The Team Beachbody Club is so much more than workouts—it’s a total health and fitness solution. Not only do you get 24/7 streaming access to a huge collection of fitness programs, you’ll also have access to the step-bystep program guides, workout calendars, and nutrition plans that make Beachbody programs the #1 choice for millions of people. New content and workouts are added each month, so you can try out a new trainer or get insider access to the latest hot releases. Simply put, Team Beachbody Club is all the fitness, nutrition, support, and accountability you need to get life-changing results

How does Beachbody On Demand work? 

As a Team Beachbody Club member, you can instantly stream any workout in the Beachbody digital library to your laptop, tablet, or mobile device—wherever you have an Internet connection. Plus you get digital versions of the program guides and workout calendars, so you can start seeing results today. The digital library is updated monthly with fresh workouts and different programs, so you never run out of on-the-go options. All you need is an Internet connection. Simply log in, choose your workout, and Press Play

To check out or sign up for a club membership Click Here!

Q: How do I sign up to be a Club Member?

A: Click Here!

Q: What are the benefits of being a Club Member?

A: Benefits of the Club Membership:

• 10% discount on fitness programs, gear, and supplements.
• Full access to Beachbody TV, including exclusive Trainer Tips, Healthy Eating Tips, Style Tips, and Lifestyle Tips.
• VIP access to our celebrity Trainers. Watch their videos, ask them questions, and read their motivational articles.
• Chat live with your favorite Trainers in the exclusive VIP Chatroom.
• Personalized meal plans and delicious recipes that make it easy to lose weight.
• Your own personal blog to journal your progress and share your ideas and opinions.
• Access to fitness articles and tips to help you maximize your workouts.
• Access to nutrition articles and tips to make healthy eating simple and satisfying.
• Access to new recipes and the recipe archives.
• Access to WOWY SuperGym, where you can schedule your workouts, track your progress, and be eligible to win cash and prizes up to $1,000 a day.
• Your own personal Coach to link you to all the support, tools, and motivation you need to reach your goals.
• Access to the Cooldown Chatroom, to chat live with other Team Beachbody members after your workout.
• Your personal Message Center to get and receive messages, workout invitations, and Buddy requests.
• Helpful fitness tools to get the most out of every workout.
• Workout Buddies to keep you motivated and inspired.
• Beachbody News Network videos for all the latest Team Beachbody headlines.
• Access to the Message Boards.
• Weekly newsletters and access to the newsletter archives.
• Oh and don’t forget Beachbody on Demand!

Check our Facebook Event for more details on the Beachbody on Demand here!

Q: How much does it cost to be a Club Member?

A: It’s just $2.99 per week, billed $38.87 each quarter. You will also receive a free gift valued at $20.00!

Click here to become a Club Member today for just $2.99 a week!

An Inspiring Campaign to Get Women to Exercise

Have you seen this Viral video made for Sport England’s female fitness and health campaign?  This Girl Can features real women braving the public tides to get their work out on, no matter how old they are, how fit they are, what dress size they wear, or how they look while they exercise.

I just love the look on these women's faces; pure Joy, exhaustion and determination come to mind when I watch this clip. 

With epic slogans like “I kick balls, deal with it,” “Sweating like a pig, feeling like a fox,” and “I jiggle, therefore I am,” this youtube video encourages women to get moving and not to worry about anything other than how good working out will make them feel.

Love it!

PiYo Certification

The PiYo Home workout was released in June 2014 at the Beachbody Summit!  I was so pumped about this program because I have done both Yoga and Pilates and I loved the moves but I was excited for PiYo because not only did you get the benefits of both formats, you also get Strength and cardio too!  

I have been waiting and hoping for the PiYo certification to come close to home so that I could become a certified instructor and be able to teach it officially.  In the summer months I started PiYo in the Park in my neighbourhood, but because I wasn't certified to teach the class I had to bring the TV, table, speakers you name it all to the park and plug them in etc.  We just followed along to the home fitness workouts.  I have been doing the same over the winter months in my office building with a few co-workers.  Both of those things have been awesome but I'm so excited to be able to ditch the TV and actually teach a class officially!  

My friend Erika and I went over to Vancouver on the 3pm Ferry on Saturday afternoon, drove an hour to Abbotsford and located our hotel!  On our drive into the area where we were staying we quickly located the Starbucks and the Cactus club where we would be meeting up with a team member for dinner!  

We made a Vancouver trip just last month for the Tony Horton Workout and Super Saturday event and luckily our navigating skills are getting much better!  

This time the hotel was a little nicer than the last one and we managed to catch an earlier ferry which meant we didn't have to drive in the dark or the Fog like we did last month.  

We caught up with Marnie at Cactus club and had a great visit.  I seem to have grown to love Cactus club since our Trip to Vancouver for the Autumn Calabrese workout/Canadian Launch and it's become somewhat of a tradition to go there for dinner when we are over there.  

Anyways... on to the PiYo Certification details!!  

The certification was scheduled from 9am - 5pm.  We arrived shortly after 8:30am after grabbing a quick coffee and easily navigating to the gym facility. We are getting pretty good at this!

Our Master Trainer Zach has such great energy and was fun to work with.  At first he had us all introduce ourselves and then he chatted a little about PiYo, what kind of workout it is and where it came from.  

We are also given our PiYo Round and Choreography notes and the beginning of the class.  

If you aren't sure what exactly PiYo is; I can tell you that it's not just a blend of Yoga and Pilates.  Rather it was born by blending elements of Pilates and yoga, integrating powerful strength moves, and creating a rhythmic flow of choreography and music.  Rather than just holding moves like you do in Yoga, we continue to move through the poses to the rhythm of the music.  And guess what you get an incredible workout because you just never stop moving.  

After the talking portion, we moved into an hour and a half workout which took about 2 hours with stoppages where Zack would show us the moves and talk about each section.  The workout we did matched the "Round" and Choreography notes we were given, so at each section/song we would stop and Zack would explain each new section. 

The different sections in PiYo are:

Warm Up
Heat Building
Lower Body
Full Body Fusion
Power
Flow
Core and More
Stretch and Strength
Cool down

Not every PiYo workout you do needs to include ALL of these sections but every workout does need to include the Warm Up, Heat Building, Flow and Cool Down.  

After our workout

After our LONG workout we did a bit more talking/theory and then took a short lunch break.  

After lunch we got into practicing our choreography and music skills in groups.  We split up into groups of 4 and practiced the Warm up section first with the music.  Everyone had to do at least one que during the workout so we all took turns.  For the warm up I was the first one to start with Arm Circles and Side Bends, which if you have ever done PiYo you know that this is how the Warm up always starts! The tricky part is timing it with the music and making sure you stay on the beat.  

We went through the rest of the afternoon going over the manual and then practicing our choreography for the different sections with the music as groups.  

Then at the end of the day we did a group run through of the warm up with Zack where he would stop to see if we knew what to do next.  

By about 2:30pm I think most of us were all pretty exhausted.  It was a very full day and we all left there full of excitement but also completely spent!  

Zach our awesome Instructor and the group!

Today I am sore all over, but I still managed to make my muscles practice the warm up over and over until I had it down and I also went through about half of the Heat Building section a few times to the beat of the music.  

Now it's just Practice, Practice, Practice.  

Sugar Sugar Sugar

Sugar is something I get asked about A LOT!!!  

Our society is so addicted to this stuff and it's in everything processed.  Even crackers, yes crackers which are a savory snack almost always contain sugar.  My advice is to READ the INGREDIENTS.  No not the nutrition facts table, the actual ingredients list and this will help you decide if this product is something you are willing to consume. 

There are many items that if included in an ingredients list I will not purchase but today we are focusing on Sugar so lets dig in!

Things to consider when reading ingredients lists...

Ingredients are Listed by Quantity

When reading the nutrition facts label, ingredients are listed in order of predominance by weight.  This means that the product contains more of the first ingredient than any other single ingredient. So if the ingredients are “oats, honey, peanut butter, water, salt” you know that there are more oats than honey in the product, even if only by a tiny margin. However, it’s possible that if you combine the honey and peanut butter, they outweigh the oats.

The Tricky Part

Sugars can be listed under various names (since, strictly speaking, they are different foods), so manufacturers will frequently use more than one type of sugar so they can move them further down the list.

For example, if the manufacturer decides to use honey and maple syrup as the sweeteners instead of just honey, the ingredients list might look more like this: “oats, peanut butter, honey, maple syrup,water, salt.”  It can be the same amount of sugar as the first example, but now they’ve gotten peanut butter moved up on the list (and sugar moved down).

Here’s where it gets really challenging: It can be really hard to spot those added sugars. Below I've listed some of the most common types of sugars. Don’ t let some of their healthy-sounding names fool you: REFINED SUGAR IS REFINED SUGAR!

Corn Syrup is becoming less and less popular than it was 5 years ago— manufacturers have wised up by now, of course. But Sugars like Brown rice Syrup and Evaporated Cane Juice are being used more now so watch out they aren't any better for you.  Still refined. 

Trick for spotting sugar on an ingredients list: “Syrup,” “malt,” and anything ending in “-ose.” 

1. Brown Rice Syrup 
2. Fruit Juice Concentrate
3. Fruit Juice
4. Sugar
5. Invert Sugar
6. Cane Sugar
7. Cane Juice
8. Evaporated Cane Juice
9. Raw Cane Sugar
10. Brown Sugar
11. Beet Sugar
12. Palm Sugar
13. Date Sugar
14. Coconut Sugar
15. Barley Malt 
16. Malt Syrup
17. Rice Bran Syrup
18. Corn Syrup
19. Corn Syrup Solids
20. High Fructose Corn Syrup
21. Dextrose
22. Maltodextrin
23. Glucose
24. Glucose Solids
25. Fructose
26. Sucrose
27. Maltose
28. Lactose
29. Galactose
30. Honey (So yes I am a honey and Maple Syrup user when I need to use some kind of sweetener in my baking but it's good to list them here as sugar because they are just that.  Certainly all sugar isn't created equal and the less refined or processed the ingredient the better; that being said if a product contained only honey or maple syrup I would purchase it.)
31. Maple Syrup
32. Agave
33. Sorghum Syrup
34. Diastatic Malt
35. Molasses
36. Caramel
37. Treacle
38. Golden Syrup
39. Panocha
40. Muscovado Sugar
41. Turbinado Sugar
42. Demerara Sugar
43. Sucanat
44. Rapadura
45. Jaggery
46. Panela
47. Monk Fruit / Luo Han Guo

Organic sugar is still sugar. Need I say more?

If you would like to join my No Soda Challenge come find me on Facebook and shoot me a message!  I'll be happy to add you!

21 Day Fix Chocolate Mocha Mousse

Craving chocolate? This creamy mocha mousse tastes decadent, but it is good for you and loaded with protein.

Yield: 1 serving

21 Day Fix Measurements: 1/2 Yellow 1 Red 1 Blue/Orange

Ingredients:
4 oz soft tofu
1 scoop Chocolate Shakeology
¼ cup unsweetened almond milk
1 Tbsp. all-natural almond butter
1 medium strawberry, sliced (for garnish; optional)

Preparation:
1. Place tofu, Shakeology, almond milk, and almond butter in food processor (or blender) and pulse until smooth.
2. Place mousse in a medium serving bowl; garnish with strawberry if desired.

Recipe from the beachbody blog!

Kindergarten Valentines Day Project

NORMALLY wouldn't do a candy treat for Valentine's Day but Asher picked this idea from my Valentines Pinterest board with me so we went with it! 

What you will need:

Dino Candy or for a non candy option plastic dines
Small baggies (can be found in the dollar store craft section)
Printable Tag sheets
Scissors
Pen or felt for writing their name

We got our Dino Tags from the Party Pizzazzerie site and I'm so proud of Asher for cutting out all the tags and writing his name on each one!

This was a seriously easy little Valentines favour and Asher was able to do the whole project on his own!  He even did a few staples too. 

55 Healthy Snack Ideas

Eating healthy doesn’t need to be complicated or boring! I found a great list of healthy snack ideas on the Beachbody site and thought I would share it here.  I have tweaked it a little here and there mostly because I don't believe in Low-fat!

Here are 55 easy-to-prepare snacks, that will keep your tastebuds happy.

1. Mini tostada
Spread 1/4 cup of organic refried beans on a small whole wheat tortilla. Top with shredded lettuce, diced tomato, and a sprinkle of your favorite cheese.

2. Frozen grapes
Freeze 1 cup of grapes and enjoy them as if they’re sorbet.

3. Greek yogurt with honey
Mix one teaspoon of honey into half a cup of plain, Greek yogurt.

4. Cinnamon apple
Sprinkle an apple with cinnamon for a treat that tastes more decadent than it is.

5. Strawberries and chocolate
Dip 4 or 5 (depending on their size) strawberries into 2 squares of melted dark chocolate.

6. Almost apple pie
Try 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce with a hint of cinnamon.

7. Jicama
Chop one and a half cups of jicama and add a splash of lemon juice and a pinch of salt for a tangy, refreshing treat.

8. Café Au Lait
Enjoy 8 ounces of milk with a shot of espresso.

9. Carrots with hummus
Crunch on 9 or 10 baby carrots with a side of 2 tablespoons of hummus.

10. Nuts
Eat a handful of 25 pistachios, 14 almonds, or 16 peanuts makes for a nice “good” fat and protein snack.

11. Eggs with guacamole
Hard boil an egg and replace the yolk with 2 tablespoons of guacamole for a protein-packed snack.

12. Edamame
Boil or steam one-half cup of unshelled edamame with a pinch of sea salt for a fiber-rich snack.

13. Bitter chocolate
Enjoy 1 large block or 3 small squares of dark chocolate.

14. Mediterranean tomato
Dice one medium tomato and top with 2 tablespoons feta cheese and a pinch of sea salt.

15. Kale Chips
Make your own kale chips for a fraction of the price with this recipe.

16. Bell peppers with balsamic vinegar
Drizzle 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar on top of 2 cups of sliced bell peppers.

17. Eggs with spinach
Scramble 3 egg whites with one-half cup of raw spinach and 1 Tbsp. of feta cheese.

18. Corn with garlic
Coat one-half of an ear of corn with a 1 tsp. of olive oil and 1 minced garlic clove. Grill until tender.

19. Santa Fe black beans
Combine one-quarter cup black beans, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1 Tbsp. of Greek yogurt for a hearty snack.

20. Chocolate banana
Dip one-half of a banana into 2 squares of melted dark chocolate.

21. Caprese
Top one ounce of mozzarella cheese with half a cup of cherry tomatoes and 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar.

22. Tuna salad
Mix together 2 ounces of water-packed tuna with 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil and 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard.

23. Sweet potato
Enjoy one small baked sweet potato plain or with a pinch of sea salt.

24. Popcorn
Munch on 2 cups of air popped popcorn.

25. Olives
For a salty snack, enjoy 9 kalamata olives.

26. Greek watermelon
Top 1 cup of watermelon with 2 tablespoons of crumbled feta.

27. Peanut butter
Even on its own, peanut (or almond) butter makes for a treat full of good fats.

28. Cottage cheese and melon
Combine three-quarters of a cup of melon with one-quarter cup of cottage cheese for a sweet dessert.

29. Strawberry and spinach salad
For a savory and sweet salad, mix together 1 cup of baby spinach with one-half cup of sliced strawberries. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.

30. Shakeology
Mix one-half serving of your favorite flavor of Shakeology with water.

31. Spiced cottage cheese
Mix 3/4 cup cottage cheese with a pinch of chili powder and a pinch of curry powder. Top with chopped scallions if desired.

32. Shrimp cocktail
Dip eight medium-sized cooked, peeled shrimp in 2 Tbsp. all-natural cocktail sauce.

33. Crisp bread and lox
Top a Wasa whole-grain cracker with 1 ounce of salmon lox, two slices of cucumber, and a pinch of crushed black pepper.

34. Ham-wrapped asparagus
Wrap three slices of lean, nitrate free deli ham around three cooked asparagus spears.

35. Mediterranean rice cake
Spread 1 Tbsp. of hummus on a whole grain rice cake. Top with two cucumber slices.

36. Carrot salad
Mix two grated carrots with one Tbsp. of raisins, one tsp. of raw sunflower seeds, and 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar.

37. Black bean salad
For a snack with protein and fiber, mix 1/4 cup drained black beans, one chopped tomato, half of green bell pepper chopped, and a pinch of chili powder.

38. Roasted red pepper Wasa cracker
Spread 2 Tbsp. hummus on a whole-grain Wasa cracker. Top with one jarred roasted red pepper, sliced.

39. Avocado cracker
Mash 1/4 avocado with a squeeze of lime. Spread on a Mary's Organic Cracker and top with a pinch of espelette pepper or smoked paprika.

40. Pistachios and cranberries
Combine 16 shelled pistachios with 1/4 cup unsweetened dried cranberries.

41. Veggies and ranch dip
Enjoy ranch dressing without the guilt! Dip 10 baby carrots and 8 cherry tomatoes into 2 Tbsp. of this homemade healthier ranch dip.

42. Frozen nutty banana
Roll half a peeled banana in one Tbsp. chopped peanuts, pressing so that nuts stick to the banana. Freeze. Enjoy!

43. Baked Apple Chips 
Bake your own apple chips and you can enjoy them with much less sugar. Here’s a recipe from Beachbody.

44. Cheese and cracker
Top one Wasa cracker with slices of 1 piece of string cheese

45. Italian cucumbers
Cut up 2 cucumbers and enjoy them with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar

46. Seaweed snacks
1 package of roasted seaweed snacks from Costco or your local supermarket.

47. Crunch + spice
Cut up 4 celery stalks and enjoy them with 1/4 cup salsa.

48. After school snack
Cut up 4 celery stalks and dip them in 1 tbsp. almond butter.

49. Cheesy popcorn
Sprinkle 1 tbsp. nutritional yeast over 2 cups air popped popcorn.

50. Turkey tartine
Top one slice whole grain bread with 2 slices deli turkey and 1 tsp. mustard.

51. PB + J
Top one Wasa cracker with 2 tsp. nut butter and 3 sliced strawberries.

52. Monkey snack
Cut up one half of a banana and dip it in 2 tsp. nut butter and then 1 tbsp. granola.

53. Easy avocado
Mash up one half of an avocado and mix it with 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar.

54. Japanese avocado
Mash up one half of an avocado and combine with with 1/4 tsp. soy sauce, 1/4 tsp. sesame seeds, and a drizzle of rice wine vinegar.

55. Chips and salsa
Try these corn tortilla chips with 2 tbsp. fresh salsa.

It's Fixuary!

February has been deemed #Fixuary since last year the 21 Day fix program was launched and has had record breaking success! 

I have personally helped so many people reach their health and fitness goals and establish a new healthy lifestyle with this program. 

This February the 21 Day fix Extreme launched and its all the buzz! The difference between the two programs is that the 21 day fix Extreme is a bit more intense, Autumn takes both the workouts and the meal plan up a few notches to get you into peak shape!

Check out this short video clip about the 21 Day Fix Extreme:

I will be trying my first #fixextreme workout tonight using my iPad when I test out the Beachbody on Demand system! Looking forward to trying both NEW products and excited that I'm among the first to review them!!

If your looking for a program that gives you EVERYTHING you need to succeed in one package you have found it in the 21 day fix! 

Comment below if you want more information. 

Or email me at gordcrys@telus.net

OR message me on Facebook!