Winter Shape Up Recap + finale giveaway
Hi friends! It’s about that time: we have 2 full days left of Winter Shape Up! Make sure to end it with a BANG, mmm k?
Before I share some of my thoughts on this year’s WSU, I want to announce the winner of the BodyMedia fit giveaway! I got over 200 entries -and am in the process of writing back to all of them- and in addition to being fun reads, they were so heartfelt and motivational. I especially loved your personal fitness stories and funny pictures- some had me cracking up, and others made me look for the ninja cutting onions in here.
I loved putting the program together, and you’re the ones who rocked it out 🙂
Congratulations to China, who will be getting a Bodymedia Fit to track her progress and goals from now on.
Here’s what she sent in:
I’ve been reading your blog for a few years now (discovered it in 2010, and quickly went through and read all the archives), but this is the first year I’ve participated in a shape-up (or any of your workouts, really). I have some autoimmune health issues and exercise-induced asthma, which can make it pretty challenging for me to exercise at times. I got used to feeling slow, heavy and sick, and over time, I convinced myself that I didn’t have the strength and stamina for “hard” workouts. Even though I’m a health enthusiast, I thought that I had extreme limitations. I thought my future was to be sick, overweight and strolling on the treadmill for the rest of my life.
However, I’m really trying to bring about positive change in 2013, so this year I decided to go for it. When you announced the WSU, I told myself to just try it and see what happened. To my surprise, I’ve been able to keep up (even though I had to take an extra day off in week 3 to recover from illness) and I’m showing definite signs of improvement. My weight hasn’t really changed, but I’ve gone down to the last notch on my belt, my abs look flatter, and lunges don’t hurt quite as much as they used to. Overall, I’m feeling a lot better. There’s even been a totally unexpected benefit: my skin looks clearer and more glowy than ever. I think it’s because of all the hardcore sweating!
So, thank you, Gina. Not only for creating this amazing plan, but for giving me the confidence to try it and prove to myself that I’m far more capable than I ever thought. I can’t wait to see what week 4 brings! 🙂
She also sent in a pic from each week of the challenge:
Congrats, China! Send me an email and we’ll get your prize on the way <3
HUGE thanks again to all of the companies who participated in the giveaways:
and thank you so very much to mah girl and trainer inspiration Lacey Stone for hooking us up with a killer week 3 workout. Be sure to check out her app on iTunes if you’d like to see more from her- she’ll make your muscles cry tears of happiness and sadness.
Some WSU thoughts:
-Your comments/tweets and Instragram pics were by far my favorite part of the challenge. I always love to see what you’re up to- please keep checking in even after the Shape Up is over! It will be a good habit when Summer Shape Up comes around and I’m just not ready for #eatlikeaPRO to die, mmm k? 😉
-I LOVED the giveaways. It was so much fun to post them for extra boosts of motivation and is definitely something I’ll plan for next time. Summer Shape Up will coincide with my 5 year blogiversay, so the giveaways will be pretty legendary. Buckle up!
-It’s always tricky for me to find the best method to post the workouts. Video, printable image, text image, form cues…it’s a lot of info to deliver in a concise and organized manner. I just wish we could all rent out a gym in cyberspace and work out each morning. They would have childcare and time would freeze for an hour while we got in our sweat session. Sound good? If you have any preferences or ideas for next time, I’d love to hear them!
[Yay or nay?]
-All in all, I think this WSU was a huge success because you all worked so hard, cheered each other along the way, and made WSU so amazing <3 It was an honor to watch and shake my pom-pons (and my bom-bom) from the sidelines. Keep up everything you’ve done and remember than a ball in motion stays in motion. You’ve already completed the most challenging part by getting started, so just keep going. I’ll keep the workouts, meal ideas and recipes going, too.
For our last giveaway, Champion generously offered 25 of their Show Off Bras:
Beautiful spring colors, with a comfy and supportive design.
25 lucky readers will each get a Show Off Bra in a size of their choice. I think we all know that an awesome sports bra can make or break a workout. I still cringe thinking about that one time (only time) I tried to run in underwire.
Here’s how to enter:
-Leave a comment with some Winter Shape Up feedback so I can make it even better next time around! What did you like/dislike? Any ideas or changes you’d like to see? If you didn’t follow along, what was your reason?
-Follow me on Pinterest for an extra entry – leave an extra comment to let me know
-Have a friend enter for you. If that entry is one of the random winners, you’ll both be included in the 25 prizes
I’m closing the computer for study time, so if your comment doesn’t show up right away, I’ll approve any first-time comments in the morning!
I hope you loved WSU as much as I did <3
xoxo
Gina
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I just have to say major props to you for putting so much work and effort into this and doing it for free. I think what makes winter shape up so successful is that anyone can do it, you don’t have to pay money or subscribe. I love that.
The workouts are awesome. I don’t know what to call it but I really liked the workouts numbered with your picture doing the move with the number of reps. It really helped me conceptualize what I was to do. When a move is new/weird/tricky a video was very helpful. I like the “notecard” of the week’s off and on days too. Honestly, I have no complaints. I’m grateful for all of your help and support. I’m so glad I found your blog. I plan on checking in daily still, I find it keeps me motivated! Please keep up the great work, I appreciate it! J
Entering for my friend Laura B :0 I’ve been a reader for a while, and actually passed your blog onto my friend. I did not do the WSU, but my friend (a recent second time mom) did and I enjoyed seeing her IG photos with the #
I started following you on Pinterest
I didn’t follow WSU exactly, but along with my regular exercise regimen I really enjoyed seeing new moves I could incorporate into my workouts, and also the fab recipes you post. Always an inspiration! I agree with some other readers that videos would be nice, I like to follow workout videos when I can’t make it to the gym 🙂
I wasn’t able to participate in WSU due to Thyroid cancer surgery. I was so bummed I missed out. I love when you do shape up & wish the were continuous year round.
I’m hoping to get back into working out in the next 2 weeks. Surgery just killed my energy and endurance.
I followed the winter shape up EXACTLY. I LOVED it. I loved checking in with you via twitter. Sometimes I felt I was checking in too much, but I loved being put of the winter shape up. The Works outs were FABULOUS, and i love helping everyone check and strive to do better each week!! Everyone did SO well! It was amazing to support everybody and to have that support in return!
Followed you on pinterest as well.
I started the WSU with a bang! I was checking in on Twitter and Instagram and posting my progress on my blog. It was challenging but I was proud of myself for keeping up. It took a little shuffling and planning but I managed to work every workout around my three young children.
Then, halfway through Week 2 I was hit by a virus. It came with sinus pain, a hacking cough and a fever. Needless to say, most days it was all I could do to take care of the children. There was no way I could workout too. Even now I’m only just managing the school run but I’m getting better quickly.
I feel so disappointed in myself. It feels like I’ve given up. But I started this challenge and I’m not about to quit. As soon as I can, I’m going to pick up right where I left off. I’ll still be posting the updates to my blog, they’ll just be a few weeks late 🙂
We just booked our first holiday for 5 years yesterday so how’s that for a little extra motivation? I want to feel fit and healthy playing with my babies on the beach! I WILL finish the WSU!!!
Thank you so much for sharing this plan with us all Gina!
I really loved the way that you posted the workouts as pictures. I read the blog on my google reader on my phone, so it was super easy to save the images to my camera roll and pull them up quickly at the gym.
Thanks for a super fun mid-winter boost!
I already follow you on Pinterest!
I didn’t follow because I already do crossfit and yoga 4-6 times a week. But I think I should start doing your ab burner as that’s not worked on. Much in crossfit and I really want to get my core tighter after my csection.
I already follow you on Pinterest!
i liked the meal prep/food ideas for the week– nice way to have all of your links to awesome recipes on one post!
I loved the workouts as pictures but the video demo of the moves is key. For week 1 I found myself having to look at my printout over and over again to try and figure out if I was doing the combo move right. But then when you did the the video for week 2, I was sure of how to do it correctly. I also loved the meal ideas too. Thanks for putting this together.
I LOVE the fun colors of the sports bras in this giveaway! So fun.
I teach almost everyday (bootcamp, flow, toning, cycle, abs &ups) but I always checked your website for ideas and moves! I would LOVE this bra because i am always working out and since having my baby my boobs NEED extra support!
Following you on pinterest!
I love the photo collage for the workouts! There were a few moves that I wasn’t sure about though, so some text or video cues are always appreciated. Great workouts though!
I wasn’t able to particiate this time…I feel like I just got a pretty good workout routine gowing that fits in with caring for our 3 month old and I just didn’t feel ready to change that up. Sounds like a lame excuse but I will do it next time around!
i follow you on pinterest too 🙂
I really like when you include a text version so that I can print the workout and take it to our basement (where our weights are).
Overall, it was a great combo of things–workouts, meal/snack ideas, prizes. Thanks!
I wasn’t able to do the workout, but I love your Tabatas and think it would make a great addition!
Follow on Pinterest!
I love seeing the workouts as pictures, especially when there are multiple pictures for a move so I make sure I have correct form every step of the way. I also liked the videos demonstrating the moves so there was no doubt what exactly the move was. I’m sure the videos can be time consuming, so just the pictures are fine! I also like the mental accomplishment of scrolling down the page to see the next set of workouts with the pictures 🙂
Following you on Pinterest!
I personally like the photo-text versions of the workouts! I feel that they’re easy to read, and love that the form cues are at the bottom.
And I follow you on Pinterest 🙂
I loved the weekly workout schedule. It doable to all, tough but not completely intimidating, and completely scalable to one’s own fitness level, which was much appreciated!
i always like videos, especially real time
I liked the recipe ideas you posted – I’m always on the lookout for good lunches/snacks to pack. However, this may have just been me, but I stayed kind of confused about where to post to enter the different giveaways (which were awesome, btw). Lots of linking and back tracking and I was always unsure if I was doing the right thing. Overall, this whole idea is great!
I loved the fact that a big group of people were in on this challenge so it was easier to stay motivated. I also loved the meal plan ideas as I struggle with that often. Thank you!
Thanks so much for all the work you put into WSU!! I really liked how you posted pictures and videos demonstrating the moves, it really helped!
I always enjoy your variety. It’s mainly stuff I have never even tried.
I didn’t follow this time because I’m in the middle of a running training program and it’s hard to fit everything in, but typically I prefer when you show pictures of the exercises and then recap a summary of the workout that’s easy to follow. I can print that out and take to gym but the pictures are helpful to study at home if I’m not sure what something is supposed to look like.
I really liked the workouts and that you did them 3x a week- it made me more familiar with them so i was a little bit more effective each time i did them or found good modifications (my knees can’t do high impact). It really gave me a kick to strength train well 3x a week instead of throwing in some weights after cardio- taught me a lot about how to mix up my routine and i really appreciate it!!!
I followed you on Pinterest 🙂
Loved it
Following on Pinterest now
I have enjoyed the WSU so much! I needed a challenge and it sure did it for me! I really enjoyed the weekly schedule. Perhaps in the future a printable step-by-step guide to the exercises would be helpful. Thank you for all your work!
I also follow you on pinterest!
I like the picture and text for form cues, although videos would be nice ( but i know they’re too time consuming). overall, i think everything’s great! thank you!
While I do like the pictures and think they are extremely helpful, they are kind of hard to print. In a perfect world, I would like both the pictures like you did for these workouts and then just a write-up all of the moves in a printable format (like the November and December workouts). I did love the warmup video you did for week 1, and I ended up using that as the warmup for all of the workouts. I personally do not think a video would be necessary for the full workout–if for some reason the picture is not enough for me (which is rare), I just google the move.
This was a wonderful challenge! Videos would have been a nice tough but the photos were wonderful too!! I would love to win a new bra, I need one!!
I followed you on pinterest!!
I think the descriptions with the pictures are enough for most moves of the WSU! I just started working on my eating and more exercise will come soon. I’m excited to participate in the Summer Shape Up this year. I definitely need a new sports bra as I am still wearing some that are almost 10 years old!!
I had a really crazy busy time at school and didn’t read all your blog posts, so I didn’t really know about the Winter Shape Up… Next time though, I’m in! I did go to the gym and do my own workouts as usual 🙂
I now follow you on Pinterest!
My favorite parts of the WSU are the weekly schedules and videos. I participated for the first 3 weeks (and lost 3.5 pounds!) but this past week I wasn’t able to join. Accountant + tax season = working 7 days a week, 10-12 hours a day. Thankful for a day off today–I’ll be on my way to the gym in a few minutes!
Following you on Pinterest! 🙂
I really loved the Fueling aspect of it at the time you posted. I love to go as soon as possible to the grocery store on Sundays to get things rolling for the week–definitely appreciated that!
I am a pinterest follower!