Beachbody 21 Day Fix – Week 1 review

So I’ve finished week 1 of Beachbody’s 21 day fix and I must say I really love this program.  I love the variety of the exercise program and the simple eating plan.   I’ve been doing the program with my Beachbody coach (who also happens to be a friend) Elaine and a group of 7 other women.  A closed Facebook group page was created for our challenge group which we use to track our progress, encourage each other, and to keep ourselves motivated.   I believe you can also do this on a larger scale through the Beachbody website.  However, I like having the smaller group page.  It makes it more personal and you feel like you’re all in it together.

Meals:

So my daily eating plan looks something like this:

Breakfast:

• Oatmeal (yellow container)
• Coffee

Morning Snack

• almonds or pistachios (blue container)

Lunch

• mixed salad (green container) with either grilled chicken or a hardboiled egg (red container) & vinaigrette dressing (orange container)

Afternoon Snack

Chocolate shakeology shake with PB2 & 1/2 banana (red container & purple container)

 

Dinner

• Grilled or baked (chicken, fish, steak) (red container)
• Steamed veggie (broccoli or green beans) (green container)

This is a typical day’s meal… But I’m not perfect and I’m thankful that this plan allows me to “cheat” a little bit.  So if I know I’m going to want a glass of wine after a long day.  I know that 4oz is a yellow container so I will adjust accordingly.  I try to stick the the plan but there was a day when I wanted a cookie(s) (which is allowed) and it put be over my recommended container allotment for the day.  I accepted that I was making a choice to go over my suggested plan and that I would be back on track the next day.  I’m striving for improvements not perfection 😉

So, you’ll notice I haven’t given any specifics really on how many containers are recommended per day.  This is because my plan is based on my caloric level.  If you decide to go forward with the 21 day fix plan your caloric level may be different than mine.  I will say that my energy level has dramatically changed since starting this plan.  I actually feel like I’m eating more than I did prior to the plan – which is crazy right?!? I think the plan for me forces me to think about the type of food I’m eating.  So for instance I don’t overload on eating nuts  (which are healthy) but split up my snacks between some nuts, fruit and maybe a veggie or hard boiled egg.    I noticed this week I wasn’t having that feeling of exhaustion hitting me midday.

Exercise Plan:

For the workouts – I have to say this is my favorite part of the plan.  I LOVE the variety of workouts.  I love how each day there is something different to do.  I didn’t get bored or lose interest at all this week.  I got all my workouts in because mentally I just told myself it’s only 30 minutes (and that INCLUDES warm up and cool down).  Now don’t get me wrong the workouts are tough, you will feel sore the following day.  But nothing I couldn’t work through.   There are also a woman named Cat in the workout who modifies each move to be less strenuous for those who may need it.

So I started my workout on Monday with the Total Body Cardio Fix and ended the first week on Sunday with Yoga.  There is an extra DVD with a series of Plyo Fix workouts along with two 10 minute ab workouts that are provided as bonus workouts that I did not do for week one.  I figured I will add them on in the upcoming weeks (maybe) 😉

If you are curious as to what any of the workouts look like, I recommend checking out Autumn Calabrese’s YouTube page

Monday: Total Body Cardio Fix
The Total Body Cardio Fix is a fast paced cardio workout that is done with a set of hand weights. I used 3 pound weights this week as I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting into.  The 28 minutes include 4 rounds with 2 exercises per round. Each exercise is done for 1 minute interval for a total of 2 times. There is a short 20 second rest period in between each round for recovery. I was drenched in sweat by the end of this video.

Tuesday: Upper Fix
The Upper Fix works the upper body, including arms, chest, shoulders and abs. You will need 2 sets of hand weights.  I used 3 & 6 pound weights for this week.  (My arms were already sore from Monday’s workout so I didn’t feel inclined to up the weights any higher.) There are five exercises that will be done for two rounds with a 20 second rest period in between. This workout is a little longer than Monday’s workout at 32 minutes.  Exercises include push-ups, rows,  twists, planks and presses, etc…

Wednesday: Lower Fix
This workout focuses on the lower body, specifically the butt and legs. You will need 2 sets of weights again.  I used 3 & 6 pound weights to stay consistent.  There are  4 rounds with 2 exercises each round.  There is a 15 second break in between each round.   A couple of the moves the instructor has you holding for the last 10 seconds.  This is a leg workout but your arms get a pretty good workout from the moves too.  Exercises include things like squats, lunges, etc… As you are finishing your 4th round if you look at the clock that is running down the time left on this workout, you’ll notice that there is a lot of time left still.  That is because there is a “bonus” round.  I personally would have rather it just been stated up front that there were 5 rounds but whatever… by that point I figured you might as well just finish the workout.

Thursday: Pilates Fix
The Pilates workout was different than the previous workouts in that you aren’t doing timed rounds and you aren’t repeating moves.  This was more of doing a series of Pilates moves for certain number of reps.  You do not need weights for this workout.  This workout is about 33 minutes long.  There is a strong focus on breathing and stretching throughout this workout.  Exercises include planks, scissor kicks, ab exercises etc..

Friday: Cardio Fix
Well after the Pilates workout – which makes you sweat but you aren’t huffing and puffing through.  This one was tough.  My muscles are still sore from the previous workouts.  There are no weights needed for this workout.  This workout is 32 minutes long – 4 rounds with 2 exercises each round.  20 Second break between each round.  Exercises include jumping jacks, high knees, skater jumps, mountain climbers, etc.  The 4th round of exercises slows down some but you’ll feel those moves specifically the next day.

Saturday: Dirty 30
This workout is honestly the hardest workout of the group.  You’ll need 2 sets of weights.  I used 3 and 6 pound weights again.  This workout is about 28 minutes long.  4 rounds with 2 exercises each round.  15 Second break between each round. Exercise lunges, rows, squats, etc all with hand weights.  One of the last exercises is the side plank which I actually had to do the modified version of because I could not hold both legs off the ground.

Sunday: Yoga 
Yeah! Made it to the last day of this week’s workout and it’s Yoga.  This workout was awesome after all the strenuous workouts.  You don’t need any weights just maybe a yoga mat if you have one.  This workout just stretches out everything.  If you’ve taken any yoga classes then there won’t be any surprise moves here.  The workout is 30 minutes long.  Again similar to Pilates you just flow from one move to the next.  Exercise include sun salutations, poses (warrior 1), balancing moves, etc…  All in all a perfect way to end week 1’s workout and prep for starting next week.

 If you are interested in joining a Beachbody challenge group, I would recommend contacting my coach Elaine. You can review her Facebook fitness page.  She has clients nationwide.  She’s motivating and I like that she makes it easy to stay on track regardless of where you’re located or when you work out.

I’ll provide an update for week 2 and week 3 as I finish them.  I’ll probably be increasing my hand weights to 5 & 10 pounds and (maybe) trying out those bonus exercises on the DVDs.

Let us know if you end up trying this workout program and how you like it.

Previous articles on this topic:

• Beachbody’s 21 day fix – getting started