Let’s get this party started, shall we?
I’m so, so happy to hear that you appreciated the early meal plan and workout posts. I’ll continue to post them over the weekend so everyone can plan! Have you done workout 1 already? Be sure to check out the end of this post for your chance to check-in and enter our first WSU giveaway.
For the friends who are new to Winter Shape Up, here’s how it works:
-Each week, for the next 4 weeks, I’ll be posting meal ideas, sample grocery lists and a workout plan. These are just suggestions and can be always be adjusted or modified to suit your personal needs and schedule. If you have a class that you like to do each week at the gym, by all means keep it in, but just remember not to do the same type of workout on consecutive days. For example, I wouldn’t take a hardcore bootcamp class the day after Workout 1- avoid strength training the same muscle group two days in a row. If you need help shuffling things around, please hit me up in the comments or tweet me @fitnessista
Your 4 week focus:
-Visualize a goal. What’s your intention behind Winter Shape Up? Looking to shake up your routine? Burn fat? Get stronger? Write it down what you’d like to accomplish and remind yourself daily for the next 4 weeks. If you made an inspiration board, this is a great time to update it and check it regularly! If you’re looking for fat loss/muscle gain, be sure to get your body fat checked towards the beginning of the Shape Up, or take some pics and measurements so you can gauge progress. Keep in mind: this isn’t a weight loss plan. Weight is a poor indication of overall health- try to focus on foods and habits that will encourage fat loss if that’s your overall goal. All in all, focus on strength and confidence <3
-Nutrition. Eat like a PRO: meaning you’re going to emphasize PROtein and PROduce. Each meal and snack should have a serving of protein, and some type of produce. Snack consistently throughout the day (5-6 meals) on whole foods and make sure to drink lots of water.
-Consistency. The greatest way to achieve a new fitness or health goal is consistency. Stick with it and remember that the little things definitely add up! Be gentle with yourself throughout the challenge, and endeavor to be consistent in your actions to achieve your personal goal for the 4 weeks.
(And smile during weighted squats haha)
-Be a cheerleader for yourself and other Winter Shape Up participants. Make sure to check in each morning with your workout, pics of your healthy eats and to cheer each other on! The comments are a great option, or if you’d like to tweet/Instagram, use the hashtag #wintershapeup
How do I enter for prizes?!
We’ll have at least a few giveaways each week, ranging from athletic apparel to luxury items, snacks and fitness gadgets. There will be a link at the bottom of the morning post with your chance to check-in for the day’s workout/activity and any applicable giveaways. I’m really thankful to all of the companies who offered prizes, and just as a head’s up: I’m not being compensated in any way for the giveaways. These are all companies I contacted to see if they’d help hook you up for being so awesome. On the same note, Winter Shape Up (and all of my workouts/meal plans) are FREE- always will be. All I ask in return is to share with your friends if you enjoy 
How do I keep track of all of the deliverables and info? It seems like a lot!
This page that you’re currently reading (the Intro post) will be your home base for ALL things Winter Shape Up-related. Each week’s meal ideas and workouts, plus any giveaways will all be linked here. If you’re joining in, keep this page in a safe place (bookmark it, Pin it) so that you can easily access all of the info. I’ll also add a link to this page at the top of the blog (on the upper right side bar).
Here we goooooo! Anything I missed?
Are you joining in?! Are you as stoked as I am?!
Have a healthy, happy Winter Shape Up!
xoxo
Gina
Winter Shape Up Week 1:
For your tempo work: pick a steady, quick pace. Now, make it faster and maintain it for a few minutes before bringing it back down to your usual pace.
Winter Shape Up Week 2:
For your jump rope HIIT, try 20 seconds on, 20 seconds off for 10-15 minutes total.
For your hills, do minutes 5-20 of this workout
Winter Shape Up Week 3
Winter Shape Up Week 4:
First giveaway: Garmin Forerunner 10
Did you do Workout #1? When you’ve finished it, leave a comment on this post (<— click to head to the right spot) with your thoughts on Workout 1! A lucky Shape Up participant will receive a Garmin 10- my favorite running watch, in pink or green.
Hi, I'm Gina. Welcome to The Fitnessista! I love blogging about my adventures as a new mom, military wife and fitness instructor, as well as sharing new workouts and recipes. Check out the About page for more info - thanks for stopping by!
I love this workout! It’s nice that you do it 3x in one week- the second time i did it i think i got more efficient because I was more familiar with it so was able to get a little more flow going.
I am just curious- for HIIT sometimes I use the treadmill and sometimes the elliptical. Do you notice a huge difference in your heart rate using the treadmill over the elliptical? Also with the elliptical, do you think doing resistance or speed intervals is more effective? Thanks!
i prefer the treadmill because i have to really crank up the resistance on the elliptical to get my hr up, but it’s really about preference. i think resistance is more effective on the elliptical than speed
Thanks so much!
I did steady state and then hills repeat, not exactly hit but my cardio is with my puppy and he doesn’t really help out when doing sprints.
I did HIIT and Steady on the treadmill. Never did this combo before and loved it! It was hard but worth it!
I did HIIT and Steady on the elliptical–I felt the burrrrrn!
Such a crazy day…doesnt look like I am going to have time for todays WSU workout which is a bummer because I’ve been so good about sticking to the plan up until today! I tinhk I will just reverse today adn tomorrow and take today off and do the HIIT and Steady tomorrow….I guess you gotta do whatcha gotta do
that’s perfect- a day doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things
I did ran for the HIIT portion then jumped on the elliptical for the tempo portion and then I accidentally ate 20 chocolate covered almonds…oops! I felt good after the workout and fired up during it!
I did HIIT on a spin bike and I went running for the steady portion. Loving this first week! Though looking forward to a rest day tomorrow
I took a rest day yesterday, so today I did workout #1. My 2-month-old woke up just as I finished! How nice of her to let me workout.
hoping to get in the tempo portion tonight after the kiddos’ bedtime.
Did HIIT and steady on the treadmill, fastest I’ve ever run. Great workout. Felt great all day. Woohoo!
I did the workout! I did three hmm sets! It was awesome!
I did zumba today for a good cardio session. Did the zumba mix dvd and it was awesome!
Couldn’t get to the computer to check in yesterday, but did my HIIT and Steady….with the kiddos in the jogger, of course
. Wheee!
Chelsea
I’m totally wiped from this week, so I did some yoga last night. Looking forward to getting to the gym tonight to get my HIIT and Steady on. I packed my gym clothes and brought them to work w/ me, so I have no excuses!
I did my HIIT and Steady last night but was too exhausted to comment about it! I won’t lie, I was dreading the workout all day because I’m not much of a runner and I wanted to try it on the treadmill. Turns out, I LOVED IT! I’ll be making this workout a part of my fitness routine permanently. Thank you!
Kelsy
Did basketball and running to/from the gym yesterday. My legs are starting to feel fresh after some serious foam rolling (:
Did workout #1 for the last time this morning- can’t wait for #2 this week! I also stocked up on produce and protein- prepping HB eggs, beans, and chicken for the week today.
Got in Workout #1 this morning, bright & early!
talked the husband into doing workout 1 with me today!
Great workout! 
Today is my rest day…from Week 1 of the Shape Up. So I’ll start with the Speed surge cardio tomorrow.
Planned the meals though, and prepped amazeballs, and black bean salmon burgers for the week! Super excited to try those!
Also, the husband saw me doing Workout 1 last week and wants to join in this week! Very Fun!
Thanks for doing this Gina, and I hope you had a good getaway!
Can you suggest an alternative to the stairmaster workout?
I live in an extremely remote location in Mexico, and climb 3/4 of a mile to a flat area to do running workouts, but couldn’t run the hill as it is covered in rocks.
Also, I’m about 7 hours from the nearest gym…so no stairmaster.
Just curious on your thoughts…thanks!
do you have a cardio dvd or another option you like to do??
Yeah, I do…but I was looking for something a little more “stair like” but if I’m just going for cardio, I’ll hit up a plyo or kick boxing video.
Love that bikini; who makes it ?!?
oh jumping squats just kill me! but what a great workout!
Workout #2 done + HIIT with the jump rope! Oy vey! I made PB amazeballs but they were super goeey and are now sitting in a blob in my fridge. Whomp whomp…
what dry ingredients did you use?
Oats. Should I have used something else?
nope that should have worked… did you change any of the ratios or ingredients?
Excellent workout! Can’t wait to see more for 2013.
Whoa! I did workout #2 and HIIT yesterday and this morning I am feeling it! Yea! Headed out on a good long walk with the dog before work this morning for my active recovery day!
Did workout #2 yesterday with some cardio – feeling the burn!!
Did three rounds of workout #2 this morning! Tomorrow yoga for active rest!
I am a day behind so I did a Zumba and Kickboxing class yesterday and can’t waite to do workout #2 tonight… PS. The PB cup Amazeballs are GREAT.
I am late to the party so I started with Last weeks workout this morning, it got my day off to a great start!
I’m a latecomer but thought I’d start w/ WW#1 yesterday. Or should I jump in doing WW#2 so I’m doing what everyone else is?
Today I did a stairmaster workout since tomorrow is active recovery (favorite yoga class at Lifetime). I’m loving this shape up!!
LOVED workout #2!
The plie squat, deadlift, and row combo was awesome, with the plie jumps following…killer.
HIIT with the jump rope, and a day of clean eats and feeling great!
Did workout 2 and 15 minutes jump rope hiit today since I took yesterday off. Loved it! Definitely got my heart rate up! Eating like a pro and keeping up with the workouts and feeling great! Lost 4 pounds last week, but more importantly just feel good for taking care of myself!
The ab burner is intense! I love the side combo! Definitely gonna feel that tomorrow!
Workout #2 today plus hills on the treadmill. I am excited to try the ab burner going to do it right before bed. I am really focusing on protein this week and I can feel the difference.
Tuesday I did the hill workout on the treadmill plus some steady running. Today I did the workout #2 and ab burner! Improved my number of jumps and squats this time! I’ve also made a point to eat breakfast including protein (which I normally skip breakfast) and it makes me feel SO much better throughout the day. Less tummy growling going on.
Keep up the awesome work ladies!
Did an outdoors running HIIT workout this morning to substitute for the stairmaster workout, and my hamstrings, and inner thighs were screaming from yesterday’s Workout #2!
Loving it all so far, and I have Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili simmering on the stove for later…love that recipe!
Thanks for all your hard work.
Checking in! Did workout #2 and 15 minutes of hills on the elliptical. I felt sore this morning even though I rested yesterday. HOLY DOMS!
I did 20′ of hallolean hills on elliptical Plus workout 2 this morning, loved it! I modified the planks so I could actually do them instead of falling on my side every attempt like last time. I guess I have poor balance LOL!
Today is my active recovery day (favorite yoga class is on Wednesdays). Looking forward to workout #2 tomorrow!
Just checking in! Did workout #2 and the hills. Those hills are a doozy, I couldn’t wait for the last five minutes to end!
Switched it up a little today and did my stead state cardio! 1h15m run out in the sunshine and warm weather! Also added on the new ab burner for extra credit!
Checking in!
Did workout #2 followed by my HIIT for the week.
That side plank combo was killer, had to drop the weight to keep my form
Tabata intervals on the treadmill for cardio – LOVING the WSU this year!
Did workout 2 with hills on the treadmill and did the ab burner. My 4 year old joined me for my warmup and most of the first round! The ab burner was awesome! I had to do some modifications and take breaks, but it gives me something to work on! My legs are pleasantly sore tonight!
I switched up the days this week in order to to run with a fast friend today- so I’ll trade out tomorrow’s cardio for today’s workout #2 and hills. Yea WSU!!!
Stairmaster killed me! I’m just use to running it was so nice to switch it up!
I switched things up to suit my schedule this week and did the workout on the revolving steps of death, aka stairmaster, last night. Question: the stairmaster at my gym’s levels are measured in steps per minute. Any thoughts on how to convert to numeric levels like 5 or 12? I did my best to try to gauge the pace, etc, but would love any pointers! Thank you! I am enjoying the WSU so far!
Can I just say that you are such a ROCKSTAR?! You put so much amazing, HIGH quality work into your blog and videos. I also think that picture of you smiling during the weighted squat is BEAUTIFUL.
and, that bikini is DOPE
My schedule’s a bit shifted, so I did week 2 workout + hills today-great combo!
This is my favorite winter (or summer) shape up so far!! I’m loving the workouts. Thanks, Gina!!