Winter Shape Up 2014 Intro Post + Week 1 Workout

**This is your landing page for everything Winter Shape Up-related! Put it in a safe place 😉

It’s the most wonderful tiiiiime of the year….

Welcome to Winter Shape Up 2014!

I’m even more stoked about this year’s Shape Up because it’s the first year that we’re having full meal plans, provided to you by a Registered Dietitian. I asked my friend Anne to help out with the Shape Up this year, and she’s using her extensive nutrition knowledge to create efficient meal plans (for high energy and fitness gains) for the 4-week challenge.

We’re also really excited to welcome this year’s official Winter Shape Up sponsors: 

Huge thanks to:

Sabra

Cabot

Stonyfield

Reebok

White Plum 

Sizzlefish

and Fitfluential!

They’ll be providing tons of amazing giveaways for the next 4 weeks, so stay tuned for your chance to win sweet prizes for participating!

So how does the Shape Up work?

I started doing the Winter Shape Up because it’s the perfect amount of time before spring to start making some visible results from your hard work. As the saying goes, “Summer bodies are made in the winter” so when the sun starts to come out, I already feel and notice the results from my efforts. This isn’t an extreme plan in any means, but rather a lifestyle to easily be able to follow until we change it up in a couple of months. (To avoid plateaus and keep things fresh and exciting, you should change your fitness routine every 4-6 weeks. For the Shape Ups, the plan changes EVERY week so you’ll never feel bored!) You’ll have a plan to follow if you’d like each week, and you can complete the weekly workout 1-3 times on non-consecutive days. 

Anne will be posting the full nutrition plans on her blog and I’ll have the weekly workouts here on my blog. On my sidebar, I’ll also have a Winter Shape Up widget that will take you to this page. We’ll have all of the workouts and meal plans easily linked:

(Bookmark this page, pin it, or put it in an easy-to-find spot so you can easily get to the pages below)

Week 1 Workouts

Week 1 Meals

Week 2 Workouts

Week 2 Meals

Week 3 Workouts

Week 3 Meals

Week 4 Workouts

Week 4 Meals

Each week, you’ll have a workout plan and a nutrition plan to follow, if you’d like. The beauty of Winter Shape Up is that you can participate as much as your unique preferences and schedule allow, and you’ll be rewarded for participating and checking in along the way! Winners for each giveaway will be announced on Mondays throughout the challenge.

All of the workouts will have a video that you can follow along, as well as a text version. The videos include modifications for each exercise, but keep in mind that they were designed for the average gym-going Jane, who is injury-free and comfortable lifting weights. If you’re just getting started with fitness or strength training, I highly recommend talking with a local certified personal trainer for form guidance. You should be able to easily complete 30 minutes of steady state cardio, 5 days a week, before attempting any type of interval training, As always, check with a doc before making any fitness or nutrition changes.

How to check in and enter the giveaways:

The above pages will be your sources for all of that particular week’s info, and your chance to comment and check in with that week’s progress. When you check in by leaving a comment, you are automatically entered for that week’s giveaway. Check in each day on Anne’s site for your clean eats and here for your fitness progress. (Yes, you can enter up to 14 times each week; 7 on my site for fitness and 7 on Anne’s for food!) For example, for week 1, you will check in below each day with what you did for your fitness routine, how it went, how you felt, etc. On Anne’s Week 1 landing page, you’ll comment to check in with your eats! (I hope I’m not making this more confusing than it should be, haha. Let me know if you have any questions! The simple version: Check in EVERY day! On my page for fitness, on Anne’s for nutrition. Obviously, the more you check in, the higher your chances of winning). 

Let’s get this party started, shall we??

Here’s the Week 1 workout schedule:

-For the steady state, do anything you enjoy for moderate intensity. A run, dance class, Soli Beat, row or Stairmill session work nicely

–Plank burner

Your official Week 1 Workout, video and form cues will be up Monday, January 27, along with our first giveaways!

Here’s how to prepare for the official launch on Monday:

-Check out the fitness plan above for the first week and see what/if you need to shuffle. If you are beginning or changing your fitness plan, now is a great time to get the “Ok” from your doc, too

-Check out Anne’s intro post for your Week 1 meal plan and grocery list

-Join our Facebook group for discussion, links to the posts, and to connect with your Shape Up teammates

-Take some “before” pics! I don’t recommend going by weight -as muscle is more dense than fat and you could essentially lose fat, gain muscle, look leaner, and weigh the same- but you could have your body fat percentage checked this weekend, and take some before pics to see your chances over the 4 weeks

-Add to your inspiration board, or make one if you haven’t yet. Visualize your goals and success for this Shape Up. What are you planning to accomplish? Having your goals in an easily visible spot will encourage you to take steps towards achieving them

-Here’s a handy badge to add to your blog, too, if you’d like 🙂

<div align="center"><a href="https://fitnessista.com/winter-shape-up-2014-intro-post-week-1-workout/" title="Winter Shape Up 2014"><img src="https://fitnessista.com/wp-content/uploads//2014/01/unnamed1.jpg" alt="Winter Shape Up 2014" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

 

Remember to tweet your sweaty workout pics and clean eats so we can all cheer for each other! @fitnessista @fannetasticfood #wintershapeup 

This is going to be the best one yet.

xo

Gina (and Anne!)

Are you joining in the fun?? Leave a comment below to let us know! It will count as your first giveaway entry, too 🙂