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:
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)
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
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 🙂
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 🙂
Can’t wait to feel the burn!
Looking forward to being in the best shape this summer!
Count me in – just sent a join request for the FB group too.
I am in. Thanks
I’m so excited about this! Even though I love doing zumba, insanity and yoga, I was still wanting to get back into the gym for weight lifting purposes. Motivation=Found! 🙂
Perfect timing, I’m ready to switch up my routine!
Really looking forward to this and love the partnership with Anne!
Thank you so much for your hard work putiing this together. I am very excited to get going. Thanks!!!
This is so exciting! I love Winter Shape Up 🙂
Very excited! I love your shape ups!!
Ohhhh yessss!!!
Can’t wait!
Excited to get ready for Spring!
Very excited to start WSU!
Yay! Can’t wait to be part of this!! =)
Yes!! I’m SO in! Today is my birthday so I plan on gluttoning myself this weekend and then starting Winter Shape Up on Monday! woohoo!
Fun!
I’m in! Preparing for a 10k that is in 4 weeks. This will be good to do on my off running days. Can’t wait! Thanks for putting it all together!
Can’t wait to get started!!
So excited for this!
I’m so excited! The summer shape up helped me lose so much baby weight, I’m really looking forward to WSU to stay active and keep that weight off!
Ahh I’m so excited! This is the first Shape Up that I am going to try to really follow the way you give it – I used to just do the workouts whenever I had time and I’m excited to follow the schedule! Can’t wait to see some results 🙂
My husband declared this year as our year to get ripped. Since he already is (he’s a marathoner)… guess it’s up to me! Here we go 🙂
Very excited!
So excited! I have been looking forward to this all fall and winter! Thank you!
My first baby is due in just a few weeks, so I’ll be sitting out the workouts this year. I’m excited to come back to these plans when I’m all rested up to get ready for the summer!
Excited to get started – I have some post baby weight to lose! 😉
Can’t wait!! My first time participating in a Shape Up and I’m looking forward to it!
Can’t wait!!!
I am in like flynn
Yay I’m so excited!
I am so excited! This is just what I need to get out of a bit of a rut, and to get my butt in gear before I start 10k training!
Definitely joining in! Can’t wait to see what the next few weeks hold!
So excited to get this started! I need a little extra motivation!
I’m in and I’m trying to get some friends to join too! I’m looking forward to seeing the meal plan when it’s posted, and to the workouts too : ) Thank you guys for all of your hard work that you both put into this.
So excited!
I’m going to add these workouts (probably only 1-2x per week) to supplement marathon training!
I am so looking forward to this. I have really been in a rut. Thanks so much for all the time and effort you both put into this 🙂
I think saying I am stoked is an understatement!
This schedule actually works pretty good with my gymnastics schedule, and is good motivation for me wit my busy schedule 😀 thanks SO MUCH to you and anne for planning all of this!1
So excited to get started! Ready to drop the inches.
Looking forward to start this new workout!!
This will be my first year doing winter shape up, so excited!
I’m in!!
I’m in! Super excited for the food plans!
This will be my first time participating, sounds like a great program!
Most excited for this winter shape up! Thanks for all your time to make this possible!
I will be participating again! Looking forward to it. Love all the sponsors too, that is wonderful, Sam
I’m super excited! I started a short plan at the beginning of the year and I’m excited to change it up with this!
Yay! I’m going to try to follow it the best I can, but I’m kind of addicted to hot yoga right now so we will see….. And I’m super excited for the meal plan too!
So excited for this!!