As some of you may know, last weekend I was in Las Vegas for the annual Team Beachbody Coach Summit. It was my first time attending since I signed up as a coach, almost exactly one year ago! It was an amazing experience to be among so many like-minded individuals; coming together for a common purpose. And to be completely and totally honest, I was attending to see if I still wanted to be a Beachbody Coach.

On the outside many people see that I’m currently chasing my dream of helping people lead THEIR best lives. But living it and seeing it from the outside are two completely different things, as it is with anything. I’ve been feeling a little lost with almost too many directions and paths to choose from. It is pretty paralyzing somedays. I’m in no way complaining about the good fortune and choices I have at my disposal, it merely makes the day by day less predictable, than say, for someone with set job hours. I’ve been pondering my next direction in life a lot… how badly do I want to be a mom? should I fall back on my graphic design skills, since it’s so easy and comfortable for me? do I pursue becoming a holistic nutrition coach, and solely coach people with their nutrition? do I pour my energy and efforts into becoming a Beachbody coach, which will encompass both fitness and nutrition coaching? Oh, and then there are still those part-time hours I’m putting in as a graphic designer for my “former” full-time employer.

Par-a-lyzing.

I was hoping that by going to Summit in Vegas, I would gain some clarity. I’m happy to say that I HAVE. Being there for just 3 days, hearing the inspiring stories of those who have transformed their lives both physically and financially; learning more about myself and my personality and how I best function as a leader; I can’t quite put my finger on it all just yet. I just know I feel it.

Probably the most influential aspect of the whole event, was hearing Diana Nyad speak on the importance of never giving up. Nyad is a marathon distance swimmer, who just so happened to be the first person to swim from the shore of Cuba to the shore of Florida, oh yeah, and she’s 64 years old. Take a few minutes to watch the inspiring report below.

Hearing her speak for those 30 minutes on stage, brought tears to my eyes multiple times and she received a standing ovation when she was done. As she was describing her final, successful attempt to make that swim from Cuba to Florida, she mentioned a moment where her mind wandered to the stars above. She began pondering astrophysics and a book she had read by Stephen Hawking. The gist was this… we. are. so. insignificant in the grand scheme of the universe. The perceived problem of so many choices ahead of me, were just that, perceived. I needed to take my own advice — which I’ve said to my sister many times — PICK A PATH.

Being a coach IS that path. Whether it will always be with Beachbody or not – being a coach is my path. Not graphic design. I can’t be or do both, I need to pick one and be really good at it. We have one life, one short insignificant life it’s up to us to make it as significant as we feel it should be.

By now you mayyyyyyyy be asking yourself what on EARTH does this all have to do with PiYO?!? I’m glad you asked, because the answer is nothing really. Other than I wanted to shout from the rooftops that I finally feel like I’m back on track and not wandering aimlessly in the forest of life. I want to help the most people I can, and right now I feel the best way to do that is through the glorious internet! So without further ado, I’d like to share with you an amazing new workout released by Chalene Johnson and Beachbody called PiYO.

The very first thing Mr. Zucchini Runner and I did after checking into our Vegas hotel, was to get into this line for the live PiYO workout debuting at Coach Summit.

Yep, it wrapped around and around the whole building.

Why on earth would we wait in this line, just to workout? Well, we were so excited to try out this new, no impact workout, that we were willing to get a sunburn, sweat profusely and get dehydrated before it even began. Plus, we would be instructed by Chalene Johnson herself.

So what exactly IS PiYO?

No weights. No jumps. Just hardcore results. 

PiYO is a fusion of powerful Pilates and yoga-inspired moves with an amped-up pace, for serious cardio, strengthening, and lengthening–all in one workout. Here is a promotional video for PiYO if you are interested.

A note from the creator, Chalene Johnson:

“I wanted to create a super effective program that everyone could do–that would still deliver real results. I took the best moves from Pilates and Yoga, and turned up the pace to give you the hardcore definition, intense calorie burn, and allover strength you’d get from extreme programs–without jumps, without weights, and without destroying your body.” 

During an instructional “break”, we managed to snag a quick, sweaty pic!!

We did the workout called Drench (you can see a full description of all the workouts below) and boy did it deliver! I’m not really sure where I was looking here… I was working on 3 hours of sleep haha

Mr. Zucchini Runner after the workout – this is NOT just a workout for the ladies guys! Don’t let the ‘fusion of pilates and yoga’ fool you! We got sweaty.

Here is a breakdown of  the 9 PiYO workouts:

• Align: The Fundamentals (40 min.): This workout breaks down the most important and effective moves in the program to help you perfect your form and get the best results possible. (This is only watched ONCE.)
• Define: Lower Body (25 min.): Lengthen and strengthen your entire lower body—from your glutes and hamstrings to your calves.
• Define: Upper Body (20 min.): Help shape your arms, carve out your triceps, and define sexy, strong shoulders.
• Sweat (35 min.): A traditional PiYo workout that incorporates effective dynamic conditioning, fast-paced cardio yoga-flows, and bodyweight resistance strength training to help work your entire body.
• Core (30 min.): This ab-centric workout hits your powerhouse from every angle to build a strong core, sculpted abs and obliques, as well as a strong back.
• Strength Intervals (25 min.): No weights, no equipment, and no bulk!
• Drench (45 min.): This endurance workout maximizes fat burning while it works every muscle in your body. It will not only leave you drenched—it will kick-start your metabolism.
• Sculpt (30 min.): This workout uses varying tempos to keep your muscles under tension for different periods of time. This generates muscular endurance and metabolic changes that will transform your physique.
• Buns (30 min.): Squat, lunge, burpee and “bowl” your way to a sculpted rear! Build those power muscles and kick up the metabolism to high speed.

For the rest of the day Mr. Zucchini Runner and I both kept noticing how stretched and open our hip flexors felt after the PiYO workout. It was unlike anything I had felt before – seriously! I was smart enough to grab this quick video, where Chalene explains why PiYO is so good for you, particularly runners or anyone who LOVES cardio activities.

Needless to say after the experience we both had at the live workout, I purchased PiYO that night. 🙂 

On the car ride home from Vegas, I had 6 long hours to think about everything that happened at Summit – including how great I felt after the PiYO workout. It got me thinking – what if PiYO is something every runner could benefit from? I wanted to start a test group versus my typical “challenge groups” and see if I could get runners to commit to the 60 days of PiYO to test out its effectiveness. Well, I’m happy to say, I have a group of 10 willing and able participants! As a matter of fact, I got such a great response that I wanted to be sure everyone was aware of this potential opportunity to improve their running. And to be clear, it’s NOT JUST for runners, but that’s what resonates with me MOST so that’s what I’m personally excited about. Anyone can benefit from these PiYO workouts. Whether you are new to fitness or a seasoned athlete, I urge you to give it a try if you are looking for something new! If this sounds like something you are interested in you can either email me or simply visit my SHOP page to purchase PiYO, and learn more about the purchasing options.

In the end, the whole Summit experience really recentered me on my original goal of being a Health and Fitness coach. Sometimes, you just need a little reminder to never give up. 😉