Chances are you’ll make a New Year’s resolution this year, so here’s a question. Have you ever actually succeeded with one? Have any of your friends? This year, however, it’s going to be different! Here’s your countdown to success for 2010!

Article by Steve Edwards

10. Choose a resolution that suits you. Don’t be swayed by peer pressure or trends. For example, if you hate swimming, don’t choose the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon, no matter how cool it sounds. Go with a goal that fits your personality. › Continue reading

It’s that time of year again, where most of us wouldn’t mind losing a few extra pounds. Maybe you want to get in the best shape of your life.  Speaking from personal experience, I can tell you the most common problems with your dilemma.  Because I was in the exact same place.

I wanted to lose weight.  I wanted to get in shape.  I looked in the mirror and wasn’t impressed.

So I asked myself.  Now what?  What can I do about it?

I made the commitment to lose weight.  I didn’t want to go to the gym (I didn’t know what to do).

I didn’t want to pay a personal trainer to tell me what to do.

So I turned to a home workout program.  I started with Power 90 and lost 30 lbs in 90 days!

But maybe Power 90 isn’t your cup of tea.  Maybe you want to go extreme with P90X, or Insanity.  You may just like Chalean Extreme.

Regardless what you like most, we offer programs that fit every need and situation.  Just use our Compare our Programs guide.

The programs come with a nutritional guide, and teach you how to eat right, how to modify your eating pattern, to lose weight.  Something you can do for a lifetime.  No crazy fads.

Even better, I’ll help you.  You have questions, I’m sure.  So fire off an email, and let me offer some advice.  Their is no cost or obligation.  Not to mention, we have almost 200 fitness articles, to help.  Everything from diet and nutrition, general fitness, program reviews.  Here are some popular articles to get you started. I look forward to hearing from you!

How to Get In Shape. One of the most common problems affecting people all over the world is being overweight. People that are overweight try various methods to lose the excess pounds, mostly by diet and exercise. While these are the best methods to lose weight and to get in shape, people who try out these methods often fail in their endeavor due to lack of knowledge or professional guidance. (read more)

Get Fit with P90X. We are all obsessed with fitness and workout routines, but very few of us can manage to grab the best fitness routines available in the market. With so many fitness programs and workout routines it is really difficult to decide which one’s better than the other. Not all of these “get-fit” workout programs can give you all you need; some of these programs only encourage workout while the others focus on diet and weight training. But there’s one revolutionary program that takes care of the factors, your workout routine and also your diet
plans, it’s the P90X program. (read more)

Bill Murray’s 6 New Year’s Resolution Tips. It’s almost the New Year, and odds are, you’re putting the finishing touches on this year’s resolutions. “Eat better. Exercise more. Stop drinking Coke.” And so on . . . They’re never easy, are they? In fact, most of us blow every item on the list before January is even over. After all, we’re only human. So to guide us to the next level of resolution-keeping, Beachbody® has
sought counsel from someone who is more than human. A god among men. A general among privates. A monster truck among sedans. (read more)

Total Body Workout at Home.

Did you ever think that you could work out at home and get in great shape from the comforts of your own home? I’m not talking about, doing a few reps with a couple of dumbbells, or running around the block a few times. I’m talking about an effective total body workout at home. A
workout that gets results!  With advanced workout routines and effective techniques, it’s possible to workout at home, lose weight, and get in great shape. Keep reading, and I will give you all the basic information you need to workout at home. (read more)

How Much Exercise Do We Need?

One of the most common questions people ask me about is: “How much exercise do we need?” There is no clear answer to this, though.  In truth, each person needs to define his or her own fitness plan and goals.  However, there are some basic guidelines that can help you create the perfect schedule.  At a minimum, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services suggests getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity each and every day.  This refers to cardiovascular exercise, which improves your heart health.  Cardiovascular activities can include running, biking, swimming, hiking, etc.  However, to meet the 30 minute guidelines, you only need moderate activity. (read more)

Okay, so I have to say, this Shakeology Pie recipe is now on my “must try” list. I’ve had the Chocolate Shakeology and really like it.  So add peanut butter and a pie crust, how can you possibly go wrong?? A big thanks to Kelly Nelson for providing the recipe. Now if you try this recipe before I do, race back here, and tell us what you think.

(If you’re not familiar with Shakeology, or want to know more about it, check out the Shakeology page.)

Shakeology Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

•1 container tofu, silken or firm (approx 12 oz)
•1 and 1/2 scoops Chocolate Shakeology
•1/2 cup peanut butter, natural (no sugar)
•2 tbsp soy milk
•1 pre-made pie crust…Whole Foods has Whole Grain, Graham Cracker like pie crusts that are fantastic for this!

Preparation:

Blend together the peanut butter, silken tofu, chocolate Shakeology and soy milk in blender until smooth and creamy, adding a bit more soy milk if necessary. Pour into pie crust and refrigerate until firm, at least one hour.

Enjoy!!

So, you know someone who likes to eat and cook healthy? Here are some great gift suggestions for that certain someone, courtesy of Beachbody’s Denis Faye.

Beachbody’s Gift Guide for the Healthy Chef
By Denis Faye

Gift giving can be tough when the person you’re buying for is in the middle of a life-altering round of P90X® or INSANITY. Clothing sizes keep changing, as do tastes. Sure, she might cast off that muumuu for a two-piece, but no gift says “presumptuous” like a bikini. Sure, he may need some new dumbbells, but odds are he’ll be on to the 45-pounders before he even takes the ribbon off the 30-pounders you bought him.

However, one thing that’s not going to change is your giftee’s newfound appreciation of healthy eating. Face it, if he or she wants to stay fit, there’s just no place in his or her life for that deep-fat turkey fryer anymore. It’s time for some new culinary toys.

Here are a few ideas. › Continue reading

Yoga. You either hate it or love it. Maybe you’ve never done it. Here is a small guide describing different types of yoga and the health/fitness benefits that go along with them. Thanks to Denis Faye at Beachbody for this enlightening article.

Going Gaga for Yoga!
By Denis Faye

Face it, nonbelievers; you’re losing the war against yoga. Once the province of hippies and Beverly Hills housewives, the practice has now become a go-to activity for increased athletic performance, stress relief, physical therapy, and just plain feeling good. Yoga studios continue to pop up around the country, which isn’t surprising given the practice has made it into the American College of Sports Medicine’s top 20 worldwide fitness trends for 4 years running. › Continue reading

It’s hard to make things better for yourself whenever your significant other doesn’t want you to, doesn’t support you, or just plain doesn’t care. I’ve seen this happen to couples that I know, and if it frustrates the person watching it happen, just imagine how the person feels that it is actually happening to! Stephanie Saunders at Beachbody has a great article about how to handle the “I want to get fit, but my partner doesn’t get it” pitfalls.

Unsupportive Partners: Ways to Placate Your Mate When They Don’t Feel Great about You Losing Weight
By Stephanie Saunders

To have and to hold from this day forward; for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in weight loss and muscle building; till death do us part. It is unlikely that these were your actual vows on your wedding day, but often the most difficult struggle a couple can face is when one member is considering a change, while the other prefers the status quo. That includes having kids, changing careers or homes, and, yes, getting into shape. You’d assume that the more attractive your partner becomes, the happier you would be, but this isn’t always the case. Increased attractiveness can foster insecurity, jealousy, resentment, and in extreme cases, emotional withdrawal and sabotage.

When a significant other becomes more attractive, and as a result, receives more and more attention, it can make the other person insecure. And if everyone starts turning their heads, look out! That person may start to wonder, “Why is my partner seeking so much attention? Is something already going on? If I find them attractive as they are, why isn’t that enough?” The answer is, of course, that we want to change to feel better about ourselves. Not that having heads turn as you enter the Christmas party is not a bonus, but it really is about meeting your own goals. And when the love of your life suddenly forgoes snuggling on the couch with Chinese takeout for a P90X workout, resentment can enter the picture.

So how do you continue toward your fitness goals without letting it affect the relationship you have with your partner?

Begin with communication. In the same way you should consult your doctor before beginning an exercise program, talk to your partner about what you are looking to accomplish. Explain that this is not motivated by a desire to attract other people, or anyone already in your life, but simply because you want to be healthier and feel better about yourself. Going into detail about your exercise plan and nutritional goals can take the unknown out of the equation, and possibly spark a desire in your mate. If you are still met with resentment, explain that you do not expect your partner to change just because you want to, and that you love him or her exactly as he or she is.

Ask for support. The road to health can be a tough battle, and we can use all of the support we can get. Asking your partner to be supportive along this road can make a huge difference. Ask your mate to use positive comments regarding your progress, and to only ask if you are making a wise choice, if you actually slip up. This will allow your partner to feel like he or she is part of the process without giving him or her the power to control it. Encouraging your partner to join you along this path will elicit the greatest amount of support of all.

Get a training partner. If your mate is unwilling to join you, find someone who is. Having a training partner creates greater motivation and retention than doing it alone. Obviously, find someone of the same sex, or at least someone who won’t threaten your mate. If you’re meeting resistance from your mate, working out with Lorenzo Lamas won’t increase the love at home. In addition to pushing one another to work out and eat healthy, talk with the training partner about your frustrations and ask about his or her own. If you are unable to find a Workout Buddy, remember your Beachbody® Coach is always available to give you added motivation.

Don’t fall into eating pitfalls. Grocery shopping, meal preparation, and snacking can be challenging in a household on the same eating path. But when you are trying to eat lean protein and vegetables, and your partner would prefer macaroni and cheese with a side of fries, the challenge can become World War III. If you are the primary shopper and food preparer, you have a lot of power over what your family consumes. Healthy food can taste great, and your mate might have no idea that you have altered his or her diet. With that said, you might need to make concessions for what your mate desires and make alterations to meal plans that can satisfy both people’s needs. Something as easy as adding an extra side for your mate can keep the peace. If you are not the primary meal provider, be prepared to take control over what you consume.

Also, make sure tempting treats are out of immediate reach. If you have a countertop full of potato chips and Oreos®, eating carrot sticks might lose its appeal. Put all of your partner’s junk food in a specific drawer, and avoid it.

Try to work out around family time. There are only so many hours in a day, and you should spend at least eight of those hours asleep. Finding time to exercise can be challenging as it is. And if that exercise time cuts into time that can be spent with a loved one, resentment can build. I have several friends who began workout programs that took them immediately from work to the gym daily, which got them home at 9 PM. Basically, they didn’t see their mate until Saturday, which did not go over well. Here is where P90X and INSANITY® workouts are so helpful. If you can manage to crawl out of bed a bit earlier in the morning, you can begin your day with an amazing workout, and still be home in time to have dinner with your partner. If you’re a night owl, try working out after your love has retired for the evening. Being considerate of your time together can make all the difference in the world.

Keep the peace, but honor thyself. Sometimes all of the communication and consideration in the world will not help a partner to understand your desire to change. If this is the case, short of seeking therapy, you must continue toward your goals and try to make it as undisruptive as possible to your partner. We realize that this is one of the most important relationships in your life, but no relationship is more important than the one you have with yourself. Walking away from health and fitness to please someone else will just lead you down the path of resentment. Keep moving forward, creating positive change, and try to still give energy to the relationship. Maybe your partner will not understand, but perhaps over time, he or she can learn to accept.

Relationships can be incredible adventures that offer great opportunities for growth, happiness, and security. Learning to navigate that adventure can be challenging, but ultimately well worth it. Always remember that your greatest tools are communication and compassion. Sometimes, trying to understand why our partner is resistant can help you figure out a way to explain your needs to them. And know that change will come in life, whether we create it or not. Figuring out how to foster support over something like lifestyle change can make the harder struggles in life easier to deal with later on. Having six-pack abs should not destroy “till death do us part.” And with communication, consideration, and some effective planning, perhaps your mate might learn to love your new look.

It’s totally amazing that Beachbody came up with over 70 nutritious and beneficial ingredients to put in Shakeology. Check out this article by Beachbody’s Darin Olien, it tell us the how and why behind Shakeology.

The Hunting of Shakeology Ingredients!
By Darin Olien

OK, how did the over 70 ingredients end up in this fantastic blend of potent nutrition and yumminess? Like I mentioned in the previous article I started with some questions. I asked myself, “What do most bodies require in this day and age?” “What is not being delivered in food today (and even good, organic food)?” “What are the gaps in nutrition that need to be filled for the majority of people?”

But the first question was, “Why do we even need a shake with that much nutrition anyway? What’s wrong with the food we eat anyway?”

The fact is, these days, our food is lacking nutrients. The nutrient density of our food has continued to plummet as the value of money has trumped the value of quality. It is insane, but true!

The facts are well documented. Pushing farm production has depleted soils. Crops of non-nutritive foods have replaced nutrition-dense foods. And pesticides and genetic modification are wreaking havoc with the chemical and genetic markers that have evolved over the centuries. That means we’re putting more food into the pipeline that has less of what we need and more of what we don’t need. On a biological level, your body hardly recognizes the food we are swallowing.

Ask yourself…how do you expect your body to live tirelessly, vibrantly, with the power to defend itself from disease if what is being fed into it is like putting dirty gas in the tank of a Ferrari? What a waste of a beautiful sports car!

If we want our health to improve, we need to be aware so we can choose differently, and in this case, we chose to create something to fulfill the deep desire of EVERYbody’s need to be fed more nutrition. So we started by filling in those gaps, giving the body what it really wants and requires!

The result is 70-plus ingredients, feeding the body the equivalent of a supercharged multivitamin and protein-rich health smoothie. As important as the ingredients are, what drove their inclusion was the body’s need for these vital ingredients, the cornerstones of Shakeology’s creation:

1. Whole foods. So many supplements on the market are just fragmentations of the complete matrix of real food. Think of it like taking the most popular scene from a two-hour movie and calling THAT the movie. It’s incomplete without the character development, plot, and nuance that make it a holistic experience. The same goes with food. On a biological level, your body needs the whole “movie” to get the complete benefit of the vitamin or mineral that is the star. You just cannot replace or reengineer the incredible balance and creation of whole foods. So we selected high-quality, potent foods, herbs, grasses, and ingredients and then processed them minimally to preserve the integrity, phytochemicals, natural vitamins, minerals, alkaloids, phytosterols, etc. This was a huge aspect of Shakeology getting the whole, deliverable nutrition in bio-available ways.

2. Vitamins and minerals. We included quality nutrition from potent and varying whole-food sources (“nutrition, right off the vine” as I like to call it). And then we backed that up by adding in a well-balanced vitamin and mineral profile since whole foods fluctuate from crop to crop.

3. Enzymes. Enzymes are critical for optimal health. But since enzymes flood the food only in the last days of ripening before harvest, enzyme supplementation is critical for the majority of people. Even if you eat all raw foods, the enzymes are still low. And cooked food has ZERO active enzymes.

A very quick note . . . why enzymes? They have been called “The Fountain of Life!” They are behind EVERY single process in the body! Yes, EVERYTHING requires enzymes! The labor force of the body that digests, absorbs, allows for signals to be sent, creates new blood cells, etc. is all governed by enzymes. You would be shocked at how starved your body has been for enzyme support. That’s why the addition of these vital forces to Shakeology was so critical!

4. Prebiotics and Probiotics. We’ve all heard about foods with additive probiotics, like yogurts for instance. Did you know that your body can actually manifest its own probiotics if you feed it prebiotics? With the way people eat today they have created a thriving environment for UNHEALTHY BACTERIA in the body. That has created all sorts of debilitating breakdowns of the body: candida, fibromyalgia, even the foundation for mental and emotional fatigue…and on and on. The prebiotics of the amazing yacon root (which I will get into in future posts) is food for the “healthy” bacteria, and in turn creates an environment for healthy probiotics to flourish. By getting our internal “ecosystem” in balance, you have the potential for a vibrant, thriving body and life! It’s complex, and even difficult to fathom an ecosystem inside your own body, but it cannot be underestimated. You need prebiotics to help you foster probiotics!

5. MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane). MSM is a naturally occurring sulfur compound found in FRESH, RAW fruits and vegetables, milk, fish, and grains. But within hours of harvest, MSM changes and is virtually gone. That’s why it is very difficult to get MSM naturally, because where ancient man ate what he picked almost instantly, today it is picked, processed, packaged, and palleted for months before it hits the table. MSM is long gone. But why is it important? MSM is critical to the connective tissue and the fluidity (or space) between cells! MSM gives them “room to breathe.” When the body becomes very rigid, tight, painful and stiff, oftentimes MSM is at very low quantities in the body. Since we are not eating our own foods immediately after harvesting we MUST supplement this vital component or the body has a hard time staying healthy and flexible on a cellular level, which translates throughout the body on a biomechanical level as well.