PiYo's "Align" and "Define" Workouts

PiYo has finally arrived!! I was so excited when I found out it was being release a couple days early, and then it managed to arrive at my doorstep only 4 days (2 business days) after I ordered it... and did I mention the shipping was free?

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I was so excited to tear open this package. After having such success with the deluxe workouts with the 21 Day Fix, I decided to go for it and order the Deluxe Kit for PiYo as well. It came with the 9 workouts that the basic kit came with, as well as the bonus DVD of "Hardcore on the Floor"... in addition, the Deluxe kit includes 2 more strength workouts called "Full Body Blast" and "Strong Legs", a yoga mat, and the Beachbody Strength Slides which will work with these two deluxe workouts whether I'm on a hard floor or carpeting. It seemed with the splurge to me! :)

While I've done Pilates and Yoga workouts in the past, I wouldn't say I'm flexible or an expert by any means. In fact, I really don't think I'm flexible at all and have been unable to do a "real push-up" since 2011 when I got married (I got pregnant at the end of 2011 and despite my workouts that kicked into full gear in January 2012, I have been unable to do a full push-up still). I decided to suck it up and do the "Align: The Fundamentals" segment which is an intro to the key moves that we will be incorporating into this program. Chalene does an amazing job of showing you how to break down each move, how your body should be aligned to ensure the best results (and to avoid injury), plus she shows you the beginner, intermediate, and advanced versions of each move. LOVE IT! It's about 40 minutes long but well worth it to go through once (I burned nearly 100 calories, per my Polar Heart Rate Monitor).

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I was anxious to get started, so I went right into "Define: Lower Body". This workout was 21 minutes long and really just gets you into the key lower body movements. I always try to push myself to do the advanced or intermediate moves before I just "settle" for the beginner moves, and I was impressed with myself as I mainly followed the intermediate moves. There was one move that was harder on the hamstrings that I had to break out of the pose since it was pulling my tight hammys. Ironically, Chalene commented seconds after that experience that we shouldn't pull too hard if we are tight there. What I found even more amusing was that I nearly did it again when we switched sides... so beware if your hamstrings are tight like mine!!

Today, I did "Define: Upper Body". This workout was 19 minutes (I think there's a typo in the kit because it claims to be 35 minutes in the Quick Start Guide). Similar concept as the Lower Body workout, only focusing on the upper body. Lots of plank style holds and abs exercises in this workout. My shoulders definitely feel like they got a workout today.

I can most definitely understand why people from the test group got such amazing results with this program right away... even though there isn't a huge calorie burn from these two "Define" workouts (I burned 82 on the lower and 63 on the upper), I definitely feel the burn... there's no doubt about it that this is going to do some serious toning... tomorrow is the "Sweat" workout and I'm very excited to see how cardio is incorporated into PiYo.

I wanted to touch briefly on the Eating Plan that comes with this program. I'll be honest: the only time I've followed the eating plans that have come with Beachbody programs was when I did the 21 Day Fix --- and I was very impressed with my results in just 21 days. Without having containers like the 21 Day Fix, PiYo offers a similar type of plan. You calculate your calorie target, and that will then put you in one of four different food plans to follow. For example, I am in the 1,400-1,599 range, which is Plan B. This plan would allow me to eat the following per day:
- 5 Servings of Primary Vegetables
- 2 Servings of Secondary Vegetables & Grains
- 2 Servings of Fresh Fruit
- 5 Servings of Lean Protein
- 4 Servings of Healthy Fats

The goal of the plan is to take in 40% carbs, 35% protein, and 25% fat per day. There's a list of foods that fall into each of these categories, as well as a note as to what one serving of each food might be (for example, 2 cups of cooked green beans counts as one primary vegetable serving --- 1/2 cup of sweet potato or quinoa is one serving of a secondary vegetable or grain). This seems easier to balance for me since there are more healthy fats in the day, especially for cooking... oils, nut butters, avocado, various cheeses, etc. Herbs and spices are freebies, as are various vinegars, mustard, garlic, black coffee or unsweetened tea. There's a lot of flexibility with this eating plan to help make PiYo even more successful for you. I hope to formulate an eating schedule as I did for the 21 Day Fix for PiYo as well, so stay tuned for that...

Want to see an example of the amazing PiYo results? This is just one of the many reasons I plan to come up with an eating schedule to follow the suggested meal plan with PiYo... Amy's results are AWESOME! You can tell she's gotten more toned everywhere!

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If you are just learning about PiYo and want to check out a video, here's a 2-minute clip for you to see a few highlights and hear a bit about it. Have you tried PiYo yet? What do you think? Have questions? I'd love to hear from you! Leave your comments below or find me on Facebook!

~ Aly