Fit Fig & Friends

Amy Bento Teaser Video

Check this out–a teaser video for Amy Bento’s latest workouts.  The DVDs will go on presale on August 2nd on FitnessFly.com.

Amy Filming Her Latest Workouts

photo source: Amy's Blog

On Friday I had the great opportunity to watch Amy Bento Ross film one of her new workouts.  She was taping both Advanced Step Challenge 4 and Hi/Lo Dynamics. I will be pre-ordering both but of course I’m most excited about ASC4 so that is the one I watched.  (Plus she was filming that one at a convenient time for me.)  I put one kid on the bus to school, dropped the other two with the sitter, and drove to New Jersey to meet Amy.  That was not a huge commitment as New Jersey is not all that far from here.

So I went and met Amy and her friends and background girls.  I even met Tamilee Webb (Buns of Steel diva!!!) though I didn’t get to say more than two words to her — she was busy directing the workout and I was a little awed by her.  The Buns of Steel workouts were the first workouts I did and I collected a ton of them before moving on to newer stuff.  They really were what set me on the road to being a vidiot, though.  Even though I didn’t get to talk to the famous Tamilee I did get to chat some with Amy and her girls.  They are just as you’d expect from Amy’s workouts–energetic and fun-loving.  Amy’s personality seems to exactly jibe with her on-screen persona. (more…)

Meet Sara

Hi everyone! I’m Sara – a long time reader of FitFig and other fitness blogs, and I was excited to see her post asking for blog help! And even more excited that she accepted my offer to contribute to her blog, heh.  In fact, I even won one of her Figaways once. I’m a 30-something, happily married, dog mom to three pups, who can’t resist a bargain. :mrgreen: I ramble on about my workouts over at My Basement Gym, and I have a variety of exercise interests – with body part splits with free weights being my first love. Though I do vary from that style often, since I also have a short exercise attention span.

I’m relatively new to the exercise video scene compared to many of the long time video workout devotees that I’ve meet on some of the internet forums.  I bought my first workout video set in 2003, the original Core Secrets set.  I had been weight training for about 4 years at that point (learning everything from books and magazines) and was looking for some more variety and got suckeredinterested by the infomercial for the Core Secrets workouts. I bought the rest of the workouts from that series as they were released, too. I’m still bummed that the series is discontinued.  And while I haven’t reviewed any Core Secrets workouts on my blog yet, they remain some of my favorites and still make it into my rotation regularly.  I slowly added more workouts to my collection over the next few years, starting with a few Jari Love and Amy Bento workouts – and even a few from Leslie Sansone, since I’m rather choreography challenged. I also saw Cathe’s workouts on FitTv, but it was a few more years before I actually purchased some of her videos.  Can you say intimidated? (more…)

When I Reach my Goal Weight…

I have lots of plans for when I reach my goal weight.  Here’s a sampling:

• Color my hair red. I don’t know why–I’ve tried this before and it’s hard to pull off but I long to be a redhead. I do have pale skin and a few freckles, at least.
• Zap unsightly veins on my legs
• Get another tattoo. I’m still trying to decide what and wear.  Maybe a gerbera daisy on the back of my shoulder–too girly?
• Wear funky retro clothes from ModCloth.com or PinUpGirlClothing.com
• Wear more hats

And if I get to my dream goal weight (even lower than the more sensible actual goal weight):

• Get yet another tattoo. Maybe a cool bracelet design.
• Get a Mercedes SUV. Seriously, the hot trophy moms in town all drive these. OK, I probably won’t do that because my husband would have to agree to that purchase.
• Audition to be part of a workout video. (more…)

Just Checking In!

I decided to get on the scale yesterday morning and I surprised myself. I lost 10 pounds so far. Wow! I was instantly in a very good mood.

Yesterday’s workout was Amy Bento’s Advanced Step Challenge 3 Quick NRG mix that is 47 minutes. It has the warm up, combo 1, 3, and 5 and then the cool down. I forced myself to do a stretch of my own (gosh, I so am not good at stretching on my own, but…)

I mention that I have horses and a few weeks ago, Tonka (a pure bred mustang) had made a den in the run in shed and got caught up in the gate that separates the two fields. We went out last night and he is starting to feel so much better. I’m so relieved. It’s been a long couple weeks.

This morning’s workout was STS disk 29 from Mesocycle 3. I had a GREAT workout and am noticing these plyo workouts are starting to get a lot easier (easier….certainly not easy).

About Celeste

Fig’s Note: This post is from one of the new contributors to Fit Fig. I appreciate Celeste joining me to write content!  I promise not to interrupt her every post –  just wanted to introduce her this once.

Well, let me start by introducing myself. I’m Celeste, I am married to Tim. We live in Annapolis, Maryland. I work in the marine industry. I have 4 “kids” that I adore. They are of the 4 legged variety. We have 2 horses (Frank and Tonka) and 2 Dogs (Muttsey and Sara). (I’ll introduce them more next time.)

I saw Fig’s cry for help and I’d been thinking about doing this on my own….and how ironic that Fig would post a help sign.

I’ve been struggling with my weight all my life. I’ve been exercising since 1997, lost 107 pounds….and when I got divorced, I put on 20 pounds….then I found my hubby…and he can eat everything and not gain a pound, I gain 30….oye. So, right now, I’m trying to lose 50. I’ve been struggling with this for a couple years. I did really well for a while and then the economy tanked and well…a lot of things happened to our little family. But, I’m getting my rear in gear. (more…)

Fig Gets Fit

You may have noticed I was missing for a couple weeks or so.  I got sick for about 10 days (weird random fever-causing virus) and didn’t work out much for over a week. Then when I got back into it I had such a busy week that I didn’t take time to post.  But this week I am back.  I decided to restart the Push phase of ChaLEAN Extreme last week — I love this heavy weightlifting after all, and I felt derailed a bit by my break.  So now I’m starting my second week of Push.  LOVE it.

So here’s this week’s planned rotation:

MONDAY…………………ChaLEAN Extreme Push Circuit 1 (Chalene Johnson)
TUESDAY………………..Advanced Step Challenge 3 premix (Amy Bento)
WEDNESDAY………….ChaLEAN Extreme Push Circuit 2 (Chalene Johnson)
THURSDAY……………..Walk w/ friend and Sticks.1 (Carolyn Silvernail)
FRIDAY…………………..ChaLEAN Extreme Push Circuit 3 (Chalene Johnson)
SATURDAY…………..…Advanced Step Challenge 3 premix (Amy Bento)
SUNDAY…………….……Rest (plus possibly a walk)

Fig Gets Fit

As I continue on with the Push phase of ChaLEAN Extreme, this week looks a lot like last week.  Why mess with a good thing?  I am learning Amy Bento’s ASC3 (I think it came out right before I got pregnant so I didn’t do it much at the time) so that’s why I’m doing so much of it.

MONDAY…………………Advanced Step Challenge 3 premix (Amy Bento)
TUESDAY………………..ChaLEAN Extreme Push Circuit 1 (Chalene Johnson)
WEDNESDAY………….MMA Boxing (Cathe Friedrich)
THURSDAY…………….ChaLEAN Extreme Push Circuit 2 (Chalene Johnson)
FRIDAY…………………..Advanced Step Challenge 3 premix (Amy Bento)
SATURDAY…………..…ChaLEAN Extreme Push Circuit 3 (Chalene Johnson)
SUNDAY…………….……Rest (plus possibly a walk)

Fig’s Finds: 10-Minute Solution 5-Day Get Fit Mix With Amy Bento

Today I decided to try one of my newer workouts (I’ve actually had it awhile now but I am just now getting back to regular workouts): Amy Bento’s 10-Minute Solution 5-Day Get Fit Mix.

In the interest of full disclosure and in compliance with a new FTC rule (seriously, can you believe the FTC cares what I write on this little blog?), I received this workout DVD free, compliments of Anchor Bay Entertainment.

Now that we’ve got that out of way, I decided my review this time would start off with just copying over the little notes I took between segments, so you can really get my fresh first impressions.

Here’s what I wrote for each segment: (more…)

Fig Gets Fit–Continuing With a 5-Day Plan

Last week my 5-day plan worked out pretty well except for missing a couple of the planned yoga workouts. Friday I had a particularly fun workout as I pulled out my favorite step DVD, Amy Bento’s Advanced Step Challenge II. I did it on my MatStep and kept it lower impact, but I still had a fun workout. Here’s the very similar plan for this week:

Monday………….Cardio & Yoga
Tuesday………….Lauren Brook’s Baby Bells (kettlebells)
Wednesday……..Cardio & Yoga
Thursday………..Gabrielle Reece’s Complete Pregnancy (total body)
Friday…………….Cardio & Yoga
Saturday…………Rest or Cardio
Sunday……………Rest

How about your own plans? Feel free to share either here in the comments or over at Fit at Home.

Don’t Be Afraid to Take it Easy (Sometimes)

I remembered today that there’s a good reason to go ahead and rest when you feel fatigued and heavy-legged. At the very least it’s a good time to choose an easier and more low-impact workout. I know that you should lift weights with good form, but you should also do your cardio with good form to avoid injury. Today was one of those days where my feet felt like lead as I attempted to do step aerobics. I was doing combos 3, 4, & 5 of Amy Bento’s Advanced Step Challenge II (my current favorite workout). Usually that workout energizes me but the Holiday Slug Syndrome was trying to drag me down (by the way, I wish I’d described a Holiday Sloth yesterday–much cuter than a Slug). I know the workout pretty well by now and was going through the motions and burning some calories, but I tripped twice during combo 5. After the second trip-up I stopped and skipped to the stretch. After all my ankle drama last year I didn’t want to push my luck. So that reminded me that sometimes there’s a darn good reason to rest when you feel like resting. Even if I hadn’t rested, I could have done some slower workout with less risk of injury. This time I was lucky and I didn’t really hurt myself, but it could have been a disaster that would have sidelined me for weeks (my ankles are wobbly and my knees are wonky so I’m easily sidelined).

So let that be a lesson to you as well. There is no shame in rest, if your body is crying out for it. There’s also no shame in changing your plans and doing an easier workout if you don’t need full rest. Be good to yourself, people, and I promise to be better to myself as well.

How I’m Workin’ It

OK, I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before (probably several times) but I do so love Amy Bento’s Advanced Step Challenge 2. I’m am also starting to love ASC3 though I’m still stumbling through most of that one. That girl does some fun step workouts. I dig the music, the moves, and her cueing. It’s all incredible. Yesterday I was having trouble getting started with a new step workout so I took it out and put in ASC2. Great idea. It motivated me immediately. I did a couple combos from that and then felt ready to tackle ASC3 and did a couple combos of that. So it wasn’t a super-long workout, but it was fun and I burned 500+ calories (but who’s counting?) If you like step and you don’t mind it complex, you’ve got to check these out.

Then today I didn’t get in a workout except for my pushups because I got busy doing so many other things. (Hey, it happens.) I’m plugging away at the pushup challenge, repeating week 5 with the hubby. Today I cranked out 62 for my max after all the regular sets. Ouch. That means my total number of pushups for tonight is 224. Yowza. (OK, yeah, on my knees–gotta mention that.) I haven’t decided if I’ll adjust tomorrow’s workout to make up for missing today’s or not. I’ll see how tomorrow goes.

Don’t forget to check out the latest DVD giveaway.

Amy Bento DVD Winner

We have a winner for the Amy Bento Hot Body Boot Camp DVD–it’s Gibbee! Congratulations, Gibbee. Please email me your address info and I’ll send you the DVD as soon as I can.

Come back soon because I plan to post another DVD giveaway tomorrow.

Another DVD Giveaway

I have another little giveaway for you. This time it’s Amy Bento’s 10-Minute Solution: Hot Body Boot Camp DVD. It’s brand new and still in its plastic packaging.

So, you want it? It’s ideal for those days you just don’t have time for a lengthy workout. You can pick and choose among five 10-minute segments for your workout–or just add segments on to another workout. And it features the fit and fun Amy Bento, one of my favorite instructors. To be in for a chance to win, just comment below–tell me what you’d do with a little bit of free time in your day.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Well, today is my birthday, and I’m surprisingly happy considering I’m a few years past 30 now. I think nowadays the 30′s are still pretty darn young, anyway.

To celebrate, I get to see The Dark Knight at Imax. Awesome.

Also today I chose my most favorite step workout to enjoy my special day. That would be Amy Bento’s Advanced Step Challenge 2. You might be surprised that’s my favorite considering how much I mention Cathe Friedrich, but currently I just adore ASC2. My other favorite step workouts do all happen to be Cathe stuff, of course (like her Rhythmic Step, Step Blast, and the step from her 4-Day Split). If you want to celebrate with me, pick your favorite workout (DVD or otherwise) and enjoy it this weekend!

Oh, and of course I preordered Amy’s ASC3 and it may even arrive later this week! Woo-hoo!

Short Slo-Mo Legs Review

Today was the first time I did the Legs split from Amy Bento’s Slo-Mo Strength Challenge. I have to say it might be the last time. I love Amy’s stuff, but this one was not right for me. I did appreciate two things about it: 1) I never had to sling a heavy barbell over my head and rest it on my sore shoulders, and 2) I never had to do leg presses up on the step (boy, I hate those). However, for the first half my back was killing me, and for the second half I just felt awkward and like I couldn’t get the form right. Lower body weights are my least favorite workout, anyway. I don’t think it was Amy, though; it was me. (That sounds like the “it’s not you, it’s me” breakup excuse.) My core (and the rest of me) is just too weak for the stuff she was doing. I’ve never claimed to be actually advanced, even though I like doing advanced workouts; I generally feel more intermediate, and Slo-Mo Legs definitely put me in my intermediate (if not beginner) place. So next time it comes around on my rotation, I’m going to substitute Cathe’s Butts & Guts or something.

I still like the upper body workouts from Slo-Mo, though.

Upcoming Presale Shipments

I don’t know if I mentioned before that I gave up shopping for Lent (I know I mentioned it on my Spiritual Blog, but maybe not here). I won’t go into details about that on this blog, but needless to say, one of the hardest parts is not buying new workouts. Honestly, it’s not like I need to be buying them when I already own some I haven’t even tried yet. Luckily, several great fitness DVD presales happened before Lent, so I managed to pay for those already and I’m just awaiting their arrival.

Here are some I’m looking forward to and their estimated shipping dates.

Creative Instructors Aerobics: I ordered All Cardio Hi-Low Knockout with Amy Bento, All Cardio Step with Gay Gasper, and Tap-Less and Step More with Deidre Morris. These may ship as early as the 14th–by the end of this week, or maybe not until next week. The one I’m most excited about (and least likely to end up selling later) is of course Amy’s Hi-Low Knockout. Amy rocks.

Amy Bento: In the Ring. Amy has a clip up for this one and it looks pretty great. Also, it has intervals which is good for my BFL workouts. She estimates shipping starting March 21st–not long now. I really can’t wait to get this one (but I’m patiently waiting and glad it’s paid for already).

Kelly Coffey-Meyer: 30 Minutes to Fitness. Any time an instructor promises something in 30 minutes, it’s gotta be a great sell. Sure, I like to exercise and some days I want a good long workout, but sometimes 30 minutes is plenty. I haven’t seen an estimated shipping date, but I imagine it will be not long after the other two presales. She’s working with the same producer, I believe–Greg Twombly from CIA.

Tracey Staehle: Body Master Challenge Series. I ordered 3 of the 5. I think I ordered Circuit Zone, Strike Zone, and Steady State Step. I don’t know an estimated shipping date for these yet, but she’s already filmed some of them, so hopefully not too long.

Cathe Friedrich (the Queen of Advanced Workouts!): STS–Shock Training System. This is going to be serious, hardcore stuff–the kind of program I’m both dying to try and dreading with fear and trembling. When they say, “Cathe Gets Serious” you know you’re in for a butt-whooping. No idea yet when this one is coming out, because they are filming it now, but it will be HUGE. Hopefully some time this summer? It would be ideal for me if it came out just as I finished this round of Body for Life.

The Snow Shovel Workout

Today my workout turned out to be snow shoveling. I had thought it might be less than that, since I was so sleepy after taking cold medicine last night. It’s that old problem: if I don’t take cold meds, I can’t sleep because of coughing. If I do take cold meds, I sleep fine but I want to sleep all day the next day. It doesn’t take much to make me sleepy, apparently. I ended up napping during the time I usually work out (when my son Ewan naps) because I was so exhausted. Then when I woke up to go get my older son from the bus stop, I realized it had snowed quite a bit. I went out and shoveled so that my husband could get in the driveway when he came home from work. Then when he sent me a message that he was coming home, I looked out the window and there was another pile of snow I had to go shovel. The hardest part is that I’m still sore from yesterday’s back and shoulders workout. Guess what? You use those muscles a lot when shoveling. Ouch. I won’t complain further, though, because I have friends elsewhere (Hi to Shelley up in Canada) who have to shovel a ton more than I do.

Tomorrow I hope to get back to it with a good chest, biceps, and triceps workout from Amy Bento’s Slo-Mo Strength Challenge. Of course, I also have another physical therapy session in the morning so I’ll get some lower body work from that, too.

Rotation Using Amy Bento’s Slo-Mo & APX Workouts

Here’s my latest rotation idea. It’s another all Amy Bento rotation, this time with 3-day splits alternating her two great strength workouts: Slo-Mo Strength Challenge and All Pump Xtreme.

All Amy Bento Slo-Mo Alternating With APX 3-day split Rotation
Week 1………………PLAN
MONDAY…………..Slo-Mo Split 3 – Chest, Bi’s & Tri’s + Slo-Mo Core
TUESDAY………….Advanced Step Challenge
WEDNESDAY…….Slo-Mo Split 1 – Legs + 1 section Abs & Stretch abs
THURSDAY……….Hi-Lo Xtreme
FRIDAY……………..Slo-Mo Split 2 – Back & Shoulders + abs from Kickbox Xtreme
SATURDAY………..Jog or Bike, 1 section Abs & Stretch stretch
SUNDAY……………Rest

Week 2……………….PLAN
MONDAY…………..APX Premix #7 – Back, Biceps, & Triceps + Slo-Mo Core
TUESDAY………….Advanced Step Challenge 2
WEDNESDAY…….APX Premix #8 – Legs & Core
THURSDAY……….Kickbox Xtreme cardio
FRIDAY……………..APX Premix #6 – Chest & Shoulders + 1 section Abs & Stretch abs
SATURDAY………..Jog or Bike, 1 section Abs & Stretch stretch
SUNDAY……………Rest

Week 3………………PLAN
MONDAY…………..Slo-Mo Split 3 – Chest, Bi’s & Tri’s + Slo-Mo Core
TUESDAY………….Advanced Step Challenge
WEDNESDAY…….Slo-Mo Split 1 – Legs + 1 section Abs & Stretch abs
THURSDAY……….Hi-Lo Xtreme
FRIDAY……………..Slo-Mo Split 2 – Back & Shoulders + abs from Kickbox Xtreme
SATURDAY……….Jog or Bike, 1 section Abs & Stretch stretch
SUNDAY……………Rest

Week 4………………PLAN
MONDAY…………..APX Premix #7 – Back, Biceps, & Triceps + Slo-Mo Core
TUESDAY………….Hi/Lo Dome cardio
WEDNESDAY…….APX Premix #8 – Legs & Core
THURSDAY……….Kickbox Xtreme cardio
FRIDAY……………..APX Premix #6 – Chest & Shoulders + abs from Kickbox Xtreme
SATURDAY………..Jog or Bike, 1 section Abs & Stretch stretch
SUNDAY……………Rest

As always, I’ve added this to my Workout Rotation Ideas document (downloadable here). That document is getting so long that you might have to dig for it! It’s currently on page 12, at least until I add more stuff.

Amy Bento Excel Weight Worksheets

I’ve updated the Amy Bento Excel weight worksheets. I’ve only rearranged things, changed header styles, that sort of thing. There is no new information but perhaps a better layout. For one thing, I split the Slo-Mo Strength Challenge into 4 different worksheets–with the 3 different split workouts plus the Core separate. I also switched to a landscape layout which I personally prefer.

Click here to find it to download. Go down the page and click where it says “Amy’s Weight Worksheets v.2.xls”.

I can’t wait for some more great weight workouts by Amy!