ChaLEAN Extreme

ChaLEAN Extreme (CLX) is a weight lifting program by Beachbody. It is made by the creator of TurboFire and TurboJam, Chalene Johnson. In this program she emphasises the importance of weight training to increase muscle which burns more fat. She focuses on lifting as heavy of weights as you can until you reach failure in 10-12 reps for the Burn and Lean phases, and 8-10 reps on the Push phase. Then, after a 10 second rest, you pick your weights back up and do 3 EXTREME reps. Each workout is about 30-40 min long.

There are 3 phases that build your strength. Burn is the first phase and it focuses on building your base of muscle. Push accelerates muscle building by forcing you to increase your weights so that you fail in 8-10 reps. Lean  is the final phase and it combines upper and lower body exercises to improve your coordination and core. Throughout all 3 phases you incorporate ab workouts and cardio intervals every other day.

The program is done in a small class setting with four people doing everything with Chalene including a modifier and a person using exercise bands instead of free weights. The modifier is really good about making sure you don't feel dumb with how little weight you can handle at the beginning but still pushing you to try to get more.

I really enjoyed CLX because I felt like I was finally building muscle definition instead of just doing cardio and squats. This was the third program I did in my Beachbody journey and I have gone back to it twice. It is really easy to incorporate into other programs as a hybrid. They even have a hybrid of TurboFire and CLX already set up.

Again Chalene is amazing. She is so motivating, and not annoying like other video trainers (coughTonycough). She makes sure you are doing the lifts correctly so that you can maximise your results without getting injured. There is even a short yoga video that is just long enough to feel like you got a good stretch, but not too long to be boring. CLX is the program that finally gave me shoulder definition and allowed me to feel like I was strong instead of just skinny.

This workout is great for both men and women, and it focuses on the fundamentals of strength training without a lot of frills. Resistance training is essential to everyone, but especially women because of our high propensity for osteoporosis.

I recommend this workout to anyone who is looking for a short yet effective weight training program that will give you fast results. Check out my store to get it!

Tip of the Week: Drink Water

There is a reason that almost everywhere you look in the fitness world there is some motivational poster telling you to drink water.


 



It is essential to our life and our cells cannot function without it. It can make you look younger and will help you have more energy. It is necessary for digestion and helps maintain our body fluids better than any other liquid out there.  It is good for our kidneys and helps prevent many health issues caused by dehydration including frequent headaches or migraines.

Often our bodies confuse hunger and thirst. We think that we are hungry when really we need a drink of water. This causes us to overeat which makes you gain weight. Drinking a glass of water before you eat helps you eat less, and will make  you feel better.

To figure out how much water you should aim for take your weight and divide by 2, and that is how many ounces a day you should try to get. For me at 130ish, I should aim for 65oz of water a day.

Some people might have heard stories of becoming "water drunk" or overtaxing your kidneys by drinking too much water. This won't happen unless you are only drinking water and you are not going to the bathroom enough.

Now I know you probably have heard all of this before, and you might be thinking "That is fine and dandy, Miche, but I can't ever seem to remember to drink that much water!" or even, "I know it is good for you but water has no flavor so I can't make myself drink it." So for all you who want to be better, but just don't know how here are the tips I've acquired over my journey to more water:

1. Keep a Water Bottle with you at all times: This means ALWAYS no matter where you are going. I have a water bottle for my desk that I fill up as soon as I get to work and refill throughout the day. I keep a Britta Filter Water Bottle in my car to bring inside with me when I am shopping or just in my car and I refill it where ever I go. This also means finding the right Water Bottle for you. I am a big believer in reusable BPA free ones. I personally have to have a straw on mine. I've found I drink more from a straw.
2. Get a Water Infuser: This one is for those of you who say water is too bland. Investing in a water infuser and finding different water infusing "recipes" can keep your water exciting while still getting all of the benefits of plain water, and none of the sugary nastiness of Soda or Flavored "water" sold at the store. (Flavored Water is just koolaid basically...)
3. Order Water at every restaurant: This will not only save you money, but it will help you not drink Soda and it will keep you from filling up on bread.
4. Set a reminder: Just like with eating every 2.5-3 hours you can set a reminder on your phone to drink water. Or have a trigger that reminds you to drink a sip. Maybe every time you hang up the phone at work, or every time you see a certain color. For me I take a sip every time I see the color yellow.
5. Find what works for YOU: Everyone is different. What works for me won't necessarily work for you. Just do your best to find a system that helps you drink more water.

So there you go! What has worked for you? I would love to know of any tips that helped you drink more water so that I can implement them to see if they work for me. Have fun!