Summer Shape Up Re-cap
Hi everyone! Happy Monday? 😀 Hope you all had a beautiful weekend!
Here is the FINAL re-cap of the Summer Shape Up!!! We did this challenge for 12 weeks (I know, it was a doozy) and thank you to all of you who stuck with it for the entire time. The reason the challenge was so long was because I wanted it to coincide with the challenge we did at the gym and even in the summer craziness, I am blown away with all of the amazing participants.
In this challenge, I suggested weekly weight/cardio routines, an eating plan, and that each participant drank 8 glasses of water and consumed 5 fruits and veggies each day. We had an online spreadsheet to track points and progress, and here are the final results….
(Participants with more than 20 points)
| Name | Total points |
| Meghan N | 283 |
| Heather K. | 282 |
| Megan R. | 256 |
| Elizabeth D. | 255 |
| Katie S. | 253 |
| Brittany (Eating Bird Food) | 247 |
| Amanda Will. | 247 |
| Meghan D. | 224 |
| Leslie E. | 200 |
| Lisa S. | 189 |
| Stephanie L. | 187 |
| Menden | 186 |
| Piera | 171 |
| Ashley P. | 169 |
| Erika L. | 169 |
| Moran (The Running Addict) | 167 |
| Sabrina (Rhodey Girl Tests) | 153 |
| Stephanie F. | 143 |
| Amisha | 127 |
| Marissa V. | 127 |
| Brenna D. | 124 |
| CDS | 122 |
| Sara D. | 120 |
| Samantha S. | 118 |
| Alisson | 116 |
| Danielle | 91 |
| Heather C. | 91 |
| Aisha I. (bambisfatloss.blogspot.com | 89 |
| Kristin E. | 88 |
| Frannie M. | 85 |
| Liz C. | 81 |
| Kaneil K. (Balance is Best) | 80 |
| Carolyn P. | 73 |
| Heather (Ramblings of H-bomb) | 73 |
| Lauren | 67 |
| Amber B. | 65 |
| Clara L | 65 |
| Marisa C.S. | 63 |
| Stephanie C. | 59 |
| Lizzie A. | 53 |
| Margaret C. | 46 |
| Kendra T. | 44 |
| Melissa S. | 43 |
| Kelly E. | 42 |
| Janie K. | 39 |
| Mallory B. | 39 |
| Michelle T. | 37 |
| Christina M. | 36 |
| Lissi | 36 |
| Kate M. | 25 |
| Karyn R. | 23 |
| Sarah W. (http://sarawithanhishealthy.wordpress.com) | 23 |
| Devon P. | 21 |
| Sarah (Live, Laugh, Love) | 21 |
The top three girls with the highest points (and full participation) were:
Meghan N., Heather K. and Megan R.!!!
AMAZING work, girls!!! **************Please send me an email with your favorite magazine (that you don’t have a subscription to) and whether you would like macaroons, Super Charge Me cookies or raw granola in your goodie bag 😀
Some words from another Summer Shape Up rockstar, Brittany from Eating Bird Food (if you haven’t checked out her amazing blog yet, stop by and say hi!)
I learned so much doing the Summer Shape Up! It came at the perfect time because I was in what I like to a call a gym rut. Basically, I was doing the whole go to the gym, do 30-40 minutes of cardio, aimlessly walk around, do some machines or abs, then get bored and head out. It was okay, because at least I was getting in some cardio, but the point is that I wasn’t seeing results. My goal was to stronger and tone up (not lose weight) so really a strength training is what I needed; yet I was focusing most of my workout time on cardio.
Gina’s plan helped me to realize that strength training doesn’t have to be boring and there are lots of strength training exercises out there. And, the plan definitely went beyond the typical bicep curl (hello, Vogue Press and The Pretzel)! I was never bored because the workouts changed every week and the worksheet we used to track the shape up totally motivated me to squeeze in the workouts. The best part is that after doing the workouts for about two weeks I was already starting to see definition. Instant gratification!
The eating plan was pretty similar to my typical diet, although probably a bit cleaner. I got in my 8 cups of water and 5 servings of fruits and veggies each day rather easily, but I definitely still had days where I didn’t eat perfectly (lots of them).
Although I did miss some strength training and cardio sessions and didn’t eat clean EVERY single day, I really enjoyed the Summer Shape Up because kept me focused, motivated, and excited about working out. Overall, I lost 1 1b and built muscle so I’m thrilled!
Thanks Gina!!
Brittany
I really hope you all learned something new from the Shape Up plan- I truly enjoyed it and thank you again to all of the participants 😀
If you’re a new reader, or wasn’t able to do the Shape Up, the workouts are here on the bloggy if you ever find yourself in a gym rut 😀
Have a wonderful day and I’ll see ya this afternoon with the usual foodie, fitness and life mumbo jumbo 😉
xoxo,
G
A note: There has been some hub bub in the blog world recently regarding free samples/ product reviews- the lovely ladies Kath and Jenn have written about this. I just wanted to post a friendly reminder that even though I rarely do product reviews (it’s not the purpose of my blog and if I like something, I’ll eat it/do it/wear it no matter what), in the occasion that I review an item, I purchase the item myself and if the product fairy has paid me a visit, I make sure to let ya’ll know. Many of the items that I do giveaways for (like the cookbooks) are ones that I originally purchase myself, and if I’m crazy about it, I’ll write the company and ask for a giveaway item. I just feel better about it when we buy the items with our own money (I like buying groceries!… I’m a huge fan of shopping in general…..) and will only accept samples for the blog if it’s the kind of food I stand for (like the coconut water, Vega stuff and Stevia goodies). I don’t see any sense in accepting a freebee that I wouldn’t want to buy myself. I hope that’s ok with you guys! Please let me know if you’d like more product reviews (or if you’d like me to just do them every blue moon like usual), and of course the giveaways will still be coming 😀 I just don’t ever want you to feel like you’re watching a late-night shopping network show whilst reading the bloggy 😉
19 Comments
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the way you are doing it is perfect…..you are not "selling out" and your reviews are honest.
Congrats girls!! I would love love if you did another challenge, Gina. Maybe a holiday challenge?? Of course you might have your hands full at raw foods school!
I have no problem with the product reviews/freebies as long as bloggers are honest about how good they are. Also, like you said, they should be in line with your values. I'm going to have to call shenanigans if all of a sudden you are telling us all to go buy Cool Ranch Doritos…not that they aren't delish!
Congrats to the Summer Shape Winners!!
And, thanks so much for featuring my little blurb.
I'm with ya on the product reviews – so long as you're honest about where the product came from and what you think of it, I think it's totally fine.
Happy Monday my love!
I like that you only accept freebies for what you would buy yourself, and that you always let us know if it is a freebie. I say keep 'em coming and don't change a thing!
I think the way you are doing it is perfect for you; I don't think there's really a right way or a wrong way; it should be up to the blogger how they want to do it.
I have no problem with product reviews as long as they are done with integrity, and giveaways are fun! who doesn't love a goodie bag every now and again?
Congrats to the summer shape up winners!
I think what you're doing is just fine. And obviously it's working if you judge by the success of your blog! 🙂
G$, I think the way you do product reviews is just fine and dandy. They are not very common, so when you do do one, it is just something different.
I like the fact that you will only take samples of stuff you would buy yourself. I say keep doing whatcha' are doing.
Congratulations to the Contest Winners! 🙂
Gosh, you make me wish I had done the summer shape up!!!! Are you doing another challenge soon? I hope so! 🙂
I have to say that I visit different blogs for different reasons and you are (don't tell the others 😉 )my favorite overall because you're consistent with your writing, you give me plenty of inspiration with food, and you just do the product/giveaway thing every now and then. I don't want to watch a late night Home Shopping Blog either! But I think the way you manage your blog is just right. Not to mention that you seem like a genuinely happy person which makes it nice to read as well 🙂
Congrats to the Shape Up winners! I didn't participate in the Shape Up but started doing the workout plan to mix up my workouts. I love the variety (and so does my body).
Keep doing what you do, product reviews are fun but if you don't like doing them you shouldn't! I admit I come to your blog more for inspiration and food ideas. 🙂
I'm a fairly new reader to your blog and missed the fitness challenge completely but congrats to the winners!!
I listed you as one of my favorite bloggers in one of my recent posts!!
🙂
I love your blog exactly the way it is… 🙂
Its clear that you blog for your love of health and fitness and not to promote a business/yourself etc.
I really enjoy your blog! Thanks for putting yourself "out there".
Congratulations to all! Will there be another challenge soon? I would love to particpate! I wanna win some macroons, LOL, that's motivation!
thanks for doing the challenge gina 🙂 i'll admit that i fell off with the strength training towards the end of the challenge [life and training for a half marathon definitely got in the way] but i loved having some new exercises to try and to really challenge me. love your blog [just the way it is] as well!
honestly, I love product reviews and giveaways! I can't tell you how many new great products I have gone out and bought something because a blogger gave it a good review. Stuff I normally would have never bought. Its a great marketing tool if you have a great product. And I think its crucial for the blogger to be absolutely honest about the review.
I like that I don't feel I'm reading a commercial when I read your posts. You say, "I like this ________ (insert real fruit/veggie/type of food," instead of a product name. Your blog is the real thing and I always look forward to what's coming next…don't change a thing:-)
Woohoo! The Summer Shape Up was such a great idea, Gina :o) I'm glad that so many amazing ladies stepped up to the plate and stuck with it.
Thanks for the shout out re: product reviews. It is definitely a touchy subject for a lot of people! I think you write your blog with poise and credibility 100% of the time and have nothing to worry about. Your readers know that we always get the authentic Gina, and we love ya for it!!