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
534 Comments
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I loved how you included vids and pictures of work-outs, you were SO awesome at answering questions and giving support and input.
You made losing weight easy and fun and I can’t wait for another shape up to begin!
I’d like longer cardio options. Like 40 minutes.
Although this last week has been a rough one for me, I have truly enjoyed this winter shapeup. I turned my coworker onto your blog and we have pushed each other at the gym every step of the way. Thanks for not only giving me a rockin bod, but thanks for the bonding opportunities. I really liked the format you gave us for each exercise. It was easy to print off and take with me so I wasn’t struggling with notecards. As long as each week has form cues I think that’s an excellent format! Thanks again Gina!
I also followed you on Pinterest!!
I think the workouts as pictures were great! I also love all of the recipe ideas and inspiration! The breakfast cookie is one of my all time favorite breakfasts and I can’t wait to try the baked one this weekend!
Also following you on Pinterest!!!
I like the idea of having the workouts posted as a video anddd pictures (more work for you I know!). It’s nice to be able to watch the workout and become familiar with the movements, but it’s easier to upload the images on my iPod to take with me to the gym. Oh, and I actually just started following you on Pinterest yesterday! Love your home decor boards!
I liked the photo-and-text workout guides, and meal planning suggestions are always great. Thanks for keeping the workouts different and challenging!
i enjoy reading the meal prep ideas.
I just started following you on Pininterset
Following on Pinterest! Love the blog and tips
Hi Gina! I loved the whole series of work outs and food ideas. Mostly I liked your tip of eating like a PRO and the work out videos! It was nice to fee like we were working out along one another and just as the workout got really hard it seemed like you always knew when to say “keep it up”, “5 more seconds” and that allowed me to push harder. Great series! Thanks a ton!
I loved WSU! This was my first time participating in a shape up, and I’m so happy I did. I can definitely see a difference in my muscle tone. I liked that you had an easy-reference calendar for each week and I found the pictures of each move helpful. I did find myself pasting each workout image into a single document so I could scroll through it easily on my phone, but you did so much to make WSU amazing that I didn’t really mind doing one thing on my own!
Also, I follow you on Pinterest 🙂
I would love to enter! I didn’t follow along this time because I’ve been focusing on half marathon training rather than strength (I know I know, bad girl for not doing both)…but I really hope to get in on the next one! And I sure could use a nice sports bra to wear during training!
I really liked the pictures. I printed them so I could quietly do the workouts in my bedroom in the mornings or after everyone was asleep. I loved the workouts. Thank you for putting them together for us!
I made your amazeballs without protein powder for my 3-year-old….she loves them. I just added some crushed almonds and they turned out great.
I am truly blown away by the amount of effort and time you take out to create these workouts for your readers. I am so, so grateful! I love new workouts but feel like I often get into a slump… that doesn’t happen now nearly as often since I’ve become a fitnessista reader! I got a bad case of strep last weekend so was unable to participate in week 4 — I wanted to fully recover before pushing too hard. But I plan to start at the beginning next week and do another 4 weeks! No complaints here – I think you really did an amazing job! Thanks again, Gina! <3
I started out strong with WSU. Then right in the middle of it, hubby informed me it was renovation time and me and little man had to be out of the house (literally, we moved in with my in-laws!) for over a week. We’ve been wanting this particular project done for YEARS. So I had to put my workouts on the back burner for a little while.
I still followed the workout as best I could but I stopped entering the giveaways because I felt it wasn’t fair to those that were really committed.
I really like the photo-texts layout but also appreciate the videos for some of the less common exercises.
I feel like most circuits look easier than they actually are so I always lean toward HIIT workouts or cardio because I loove a good sweat sesh, but it is good to change it up so I figured I’d try the shape up this time. And let me say those weekly workouts were anything but easy! I am already feeling sore from doing WO#4 last night! I will definitely be incorporating more circuits in my routine now.
I like that you post the workouts in picture format. Videos are great and depending on the move, necessary for proper form, but I like to be able to just look at the breakdown and go since my workout time can be limited.
Thanks for a great winter shape up!
This workout was great! I have no complaints or suggestions because it is perfect just the way it is! 🙂
I loved reading along with your WSU-next time, I will do it too-I promise! And I like the photos-but a video showing us how to do the moves correctly would be even awesomer (is that a word?) Thans for the inspiration, though!
I follow you on Pinterest!
I actually did not participate, but read your blog daily. It was hard to start because I had already signed up for a bootcamp that started the second week of January and it was just about impossible to do the two. I would love to see this in November/December so that people can start the new year with a head start on their resolutions!
I have enjoyed WSU so much! I just discovered your blog a couple months ago, but have become hooked and even went back through the archived old WSU and SSU. I have to say that I liked the format of this shape-up the best. I really liked the pictures accompanied by words (name of exercise and reps) that you put up for each workout. It’s the most clear and concise way, in my opinion, to outline the workout. And the videos were also extremely helpful for form cues and modifications. I wouldn’t change a thing. Thanks again for putting this all together! I’ll be repeating the 4 weeks starting Monday.
Gina,
I think all of the methods you used with this shape-up were great (pictures, video…). I like the collage pictures that show each move in order of the different work-outs.
Your enthusiasm reaches many people and gives them the inspiration to push harder!!!
Thanks for giving us such a great month of work-outs!!
Loved wsu as is! Sweaaaaty!
I did not participate but read along…I think I was a little intimidated, because I was a little unclear on some of the exercises, but now I’m kicking myself for not kicking it up the extra notch 🙁 I am going to try to do the 4 week plan soon. No excuses. I appreciate the photo/text layout and I like the videos too. Thanks for all the hard work you put into these!
This was the first shape up I followed along with, and I really enjoyed it. I liked the way you presented the calendar and workouts (picture format), and I loved that most of the weights workouts could be done at home if I couldn’t make it to the gym that day. The only things I thought could be improved were the commenting/giveaway rules (obviously not a big deal, but I did want to enter some of the giveaways and was confused about where I should be posting sometimes—on the main page? On your post in the morning? etc.) and the cardio drill instructions (you said you’d post them on the main page, but I had to go through your comments on that post to find them the day of the workout). Otherwise, I loved it. I’ve been in a bit of a workout slump, and I love going to the gym with a PURPOSE! What a difference!
I love the pictures with descriptions like shown, but I also like it when you do form cues for a little added assistance. I was also a little confused by the multiple pages vs the blog post of the day. I felt like I was clicking a lot. Amazing job this year Gina!! I’m always so impressed 🙂
Thanks so much for putting this together! I sort of fell off the bandwagon sometime in the middle for a bit due to winter storms in the Northeast that wreak havoc on my work schedule (I am not built for overnights), but I’ve pulled it back together for Week 4. My suggestion would be to have the workouts in a more mobile friendly version. I love the pictures for form cues while I’m sitting at the computer, but it can sometimes be difficult to read on my phone when I’m at the gym. Usually I end up typing everything into a list that I keep in one of my apps, but if you had something that was easier to use, that would be awesome (though maybe too much work for you, I don’t know). Thanks again!
I love all of your shape up series, but really loved this one! I am not sure if I was more motivated or enjoyed the schedule…it was great though! I often found it difficult to find the routines and schedules when I was at the gym. I had to do a lot of clicking and searching. If there was a way to access the program in a more direct way that would be great!
I’ve attempted to start your shape-up series every time you post them, but this is the first time I’ve actually followed through! I’m SO glad I have!! I will be going back and doing all of the ones before–i’m so excited that I am able too! You are very generous to provide the workouts you do for free–what a gift! I love the pictures and tips—they really help me do it the right way and keep form! Thanks for being such an encourager and inspiration! You do a great job! The only thing I think might be more helpful (at least for me) is more of the meal plan you follow–like, how many steamed eggs would you eat for a meal? or how big of a snack do you recommend? Portion size is always a stressor for me! ha! Thanks, Gina!
I am following you on Pinterest!
Following you on pinterest for that extra entry! 😉
I really liked the workout breakdowns. I could quickly jot them down+bring them to the gym. Thanks Gina!
Also, following you on pinterest now 🙂
I loved the winter shape up workouts! I don’t really have any suggestions or changes. I hope I win, I could really use a new sports bra!
I also already follow you on pinterest.
Loved this WSU! I think you did everything great this time – it was so easy to follow, check in, and find everything. My favorite part is the picture breakdown you give, so that I have a quick visual reference when I’m going through the workout. Also, I REALLY loved the warmup video. Most of the time I work out at home, so a treadmill is not an option – and I usually end up skipping the warmup (bad, I know!) or just doing a lame minute of jumping jacks. Thanks again for everything you do – I pretty much follow routines on your blog exclusively for my weight lifting!!
Also, I follow you on Pinterest!! (love the ‘for Livster’ page!)
i definitely like the printables. also keep up giving us ideas for how to do our various cardios. if it wasn’t for your suggestions mine would’ve been super boring. I love how you give us new cardio to add to our regimen. especially the various HIIT!
I didn’t follow the shape up workouts. I am just getting back to working out after having my son and I assumed they would be too challenging. Though I have been working out by attending a Stroller Fitness Class and doing the Couch to 5k workout plan. I have been following the shape up as far as meal planning/prep and eating like a PRO. That slogan alone has been really helpful.
Loved the winter shape up, no complaints on changes. You are a great health blogger and I thank you. Have a great day!!!
The only reason I didn’t do it this round was because I just started crossfit and could not dream of adding anything else! The picture breakdown is awesome. I would love if you did a more abs/core focus session for those who already have a lifting routine.
And of course..,,I followed you on Pinterest!!
Just followed on pinterest! (Oh the things I do to pass the time at work)
This was my first time participating in one of your shape ups and I loved it! My favorite part was being able to do new strength exercises that I’ve never done before. The only suggestion I have is for you to do videos showing what the moves look like for all four workouts like you did for the second one. Other than that, I thought it was awesome! Thanks for all of the hard work you put into this Gina!
This was my first WSU and I loved it! The best part was your easy-to-follow pictures of workout moves. I printed them all off each week and brought them to the gym with me. It helped me stay on form and remember how to do moves I had never done before. Thanks for introducing me to new strength training workouts! I wouldn’t change a thing for Summer Shape up! I am getting married this fall, so I am looking forward to continuing your workouts and doing a Bridal Boot Camp or two before the big day!
Also, I followed you on Pinterest!
One more thing, I really enjoyed the time when you broke down all of the moves and talked about form. ( I think it was in week 2?) It was helpful to read how you describe the workouts. Thanks again Gina!
I’ve said it before, and I will say it again – I LOVE WSU! I had slacked off on my workouts during the late fall and early winter, but this motivated me to kick it up a notch. I don’t know if I’ve lost any weight or if the outside world can tell, but I feel better and like I’m back on the path to losing weight.
I loved the set-up of WSU. I only have about 30 minutes to work out, so I appreciate that you split the cardio and strength workouts instead of incorporating both into a single workout like some previous Shape Ups. It let me do the full workout instead of feeling like I was cheating since I had to skip longer cardio blasts. I’m also a huge fan of the print outs with pictures and cues – they are so helpful!
Thanks again for all your hard work! I’m already counting down the days until Summer Shape Up!