KellyOlexa.com

HEY Kids!! What's UP today? Have you had a killer workout yet?? ;-) What's your excuse?? Get going!!

Sorry about the picture above having the verbiage cut off, but really all I care about is showing Mr. Shaun T from Insanity. Um. Yea. As I sat down to write this post today, all I could think about when considering my workout week this week + how I feel RIGHT NOW + where I want to be is this phrase that Shaun T says in all the Insanity workouts. DIG DEEPER. 

Not familiar with Insanity workouts yet? You don't know what you are missing:

I am LOVING LOVING LOVING running but I don't want to ONLY do running. That's why when I'm finished with running, I've been doing kick butt conditioning drills. Starting next week, I'm going to plan out (um yea, I said I'd do the written out plan last month and I didn't, and I really REALLY need to do this.) my workouts to include INSANITY workouts, P90X, some Cathe HIIT, Iliaria Kickboxing, Yoga and ab work. 

If you don't have P90X yet, or Insanity, you can order from ME on my BeachBody website by CLICKING HERE. 

So yes, I need to be digging deeper. I'm stretched so thin with everything on my plate right now, but that is even more reason to reach inside and GO FOR WHAT I WANT. I will not slow down, in fact, I will add MORE. There is nothing more rewarding that seeing your body get more fit every week. Each run now, I'm better and a bit faster. And NO MORE CRAMPS!! Hello! Remember how worried I was about cramping when I first started?? No more. 

The time is rapidly approaching when I have to do my next photo-shoot. I told you guys I will not go into this photo-shoot feeling fat. I will not. My workouts are killer, I'm back to supplementing my "diet" with the right nutrients and vitamins etc. I am committed to feeling better, looking better and being better EVERY SINGLE DAY and making NO EXCUSES. 

I'm back to making my Green Monster shakes every day. I used to make them last year with frozen spinach, almond milk, kale, frozen fruit etc. Now I'm using Shakeology Greenberry, adding a bit of extra frozen spinach and maybe a frozen banana. I have yet to try the chocolate, but I hear from my BFF @ChaleneJohnson that the chocolate is fabulous. I am going to share the video below with you because I am pretty dang proud to suggest it to you. My blog is not about SELLING you stuff but when I discover something that is in alignment with what we all believe in, I'm sharing it. Yes, you all know I'm an independent BeachBody Coach, so I do earn a commission but I don't suggest anything I don't use myself and believe in 1000%. Check it out. And there is a ton of info on this stuff on my Shakeology website: CLICK HERE. 

I'm still tweaking what I'm eating each day to ensure I'm getting everything I need especially now with the running training I am doing and my insane work/travel schedule. Also, below is the video that (I do forget who) a friend shared with me that finally made me decide it IS time for me to ditch the diet soda and artificial sweeteners again...for good. I did it before and I can do it again. Pray for me. 

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Do you drink diet soda? Do you use artificial sweetener? If you gave up either, what did you replace it with? Just water? I like water but yyaaaaaahhhh kinda boring. My BFF Amy is getting me on this chlorophyll stuff to add to my water. She drinks it all day long. She told me to drink Green Tea, I can do that. I don't really feel like making it but SIGH I can belt it out I guess. 

Here's what I have to say after my 1000 Calorie Burn Sweatfest this morning: WOOT! It felt GREAT to be on the track again today and I made some progress on my run as well! I don't know about you kids but I tend to view my weeks as Sunday-Saturday, so today is like the last day of this week for me and I start again tomorrow. I headed out early- even in the midst of a potential "it's rainy" excuse- to the track. Luckily it had stopped raining and the temp was around 77 degrees. Lovely. I did one lap warming up then 4 laps running at about an 11 minute mile. Then I walked a lap and did 2 laps running at a pace equal to a 10 minute mile. Then I was getting a bit winded/crampy. I do think guys/gals that my cramping is more of a result of my body getting used to continual running. When you do HIIT or Insanity, you are going balls-to-the-wall for 30 seconds then stopping. With running, it is heavy impact and "non-stop", so I can see how that takes some getting used to. 

Here is how the rest of my smörgåsbord run-workout looked like:

• 1 lap walk at 4mph pace, followed by 4 laps run at 11 minutes.
• 1 lap walk at 4mph pace, followed by 2 laps run at 5 minutes.
• 32 Walking Lunges, then 16 straight leg front raise kicks (leg is straight and you raise it up to hit your hand, held higher than your head, alternating legs)
• 4 sets of side squat jumps a la Jenny Lynn
• Standing lunges, jump rope, squats Tabata-Style
• 2 laps walking one minute, running one minute at faster pace, closer to 7mph
• 32 more walking lunges, 32 leg kicks
• Stretch
• Came home and did one giant set for shoulders

Who's Your Daddy?

Kids, we saw SALT last night. If you want to get motivated to kick some serious butt, go see this movie. Angelina Jolie, who CLEARLY needs to eat several large pizzas, still is the queen of badass chicks. I can't wait to see it again. Seriously.

So, I was mentioning this a bit in my blog/vlog from yesterday, about using the latter half of 2010 to KICK BUTT. Time flies people. I feel like it was just yesterday I was saying "It's July 1st and it's the second half of the year!"~ now it is July 24th! And in these 24 days I was really REALLY sick for 10 of them. That bites. But I'm OVER that and because of how annoyed I am at getting sick in the first place, I'm committed to being MUCH more focused on my "diet" meaning; MORE BALANCE.

The second quarter of 2010 was when I discovered "Eat Stop Eat" which totally changed everything for me and really got me started with significant fat loss. AMEN. Now that the ESE approach has helped me conquer a LOT of unhealthy thoughts about "Good Food vs. Bad Food" and binge tendencies, I can focus on ADDING more variety and balance to my diet. No, I will never go back to eating 6x a day like a machine or worrying about "every meal must have protein" like I will drop dead if I have a veggie bagel sandwich sometime. What I will do is start taking my vitamins again every day. Yes, as we age (old people like me do, you know)we need to be proactive in supplementing the diet. I've missed my Green Monster smoothies made with Shakeology (I am including a link to my Shakeology website, so please note that yes, if you purchase from my site I will earn a commission, as I am an independent BeachBody coach.) and added spinach and banana. YUM. I also want to check out Coconut Water and coconut products as recommended by my BFF Amy, who is the one that got me started on running!! She's the bomb, even though she cheats on me by having other friends, but I'm down with that Amy. I'm cool. heheheh

Now, talk about variety in workouts! The themes you will see running through this site over the rest of this year and beyond are:

• NO EXCUSES.
• WORKOUT ANYWHERE, ANYTIME, ANYHOW- Killer, creative awesome workouts from home, no gym required.
• VARIETY: Jazz it up, keep balanced.

Here's what my Future Fitness Crystal Ball Vision looks like:

A whole lotta running. And then some more.

Remembering to STRETCH.

Of course, P90X and Insanity!!!!

Outdoor workouts and some TRX Love. 

Killer barre workouts that make that booty SING!! 

Throwing in some TurboFire!!!

Y'all know how much I love my BFF @ChaleneJohnson. She rocks. Chalene will be making a guest appearance here soon, so stay tuned!!

Yoga and Down Time. 

More awesomeness from my BFF @ValerieWaters. Talk about working the bootay! OMG! ValSlides and Val Bands will blow your mind!! Valerie will be making a guest appearance here soon!

Definitely sleep. Any trainer or doctor will tell you, getting a good night's sleep is KEY to optimal health and wellness. Make it happen. Make your bed the most comfortable fluffy cloud experience you can and focus on getting 7-8 hours! Period! Do it!

So here is my QUESTION OF THE DAY: Are you up for it? Are you game? What does YOUR Fitness Crystal Ball show you for the rest of 2010??

This pretty much sums up how I feel right now. I CRUSHED IT today. WOOT!! Kids, yesterday was literally a day from hell. That headache and nausea lasted ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT. I do think it was God trying to tell me to slow down. Because, after laying on my couch immobile, not watching TV or working online or even reading- I felt 1000x better today. Amen!

I did a lovely kickboxing cardio workout this morning - Ilaria's Kickboxing DVD that I love. I was at 400 calories burned when I got the cool-down, so GLYNIS- I added one wee little part of your Tabata suggestion- Squats and OMG!! One set of 8 added a 100 calorie burn!! Kids I am loving the Tabata twist; check it out, it is virtually unlimited the ways to incorporate it and wow the sweat and calorie burn. I'm down. And here's the thing. NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. With kicking butt like this and my diet "plan" I'm working on (stone soup and heroin, plus every other day I do chocolate ONLY with regular Coca Cola haha), I will be HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY again in my hot orange bikini this summer. I WILL. NO DOUBT. 

On that note, this is NOT an April Fool's Joke- I did a SECOND ROUND OF CARDIO when I got home tonight!! I was feeling it, and I was feeling a WEE bit guilty about having this for lunch:

O.M.G. Croque Madame. I did NOT partake in any fries though. So, my morning workout burned 500 calories. I had that for lunch. Then I came home and burned another 500 calories. **Please note, I am not under the delusion that you can just eat whatever you want every day, then come home and "work it off". However, with the understanding that tomorrow is my birthday, and I'm going to be going to ****A CERTAIN ITALIAN RESTAURANT**** for lunch....plus Sunday is Easter and we are celebrating 3 family birthdays, so CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH WHITE ICING WILL BE ENTERING MY STOMACH CAVITY....I think you can see why extra extra cardio MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA. ok?? OK.

Now, I must go bathe because tonight is massage time. I've been sorely without one for at least 5 days. This is unacceptable. And Yes I am a princess. ;-)

Goodnight. If you aren't doing Tabata and you are trying to lose fat, you need to spend some time looking this up and DOING IT. Trust me. I think I may be a size -10 soon at this rate. Yes, Negative 10. I'm sure they have that size right? Isn't Jennifer Aniston a -10? (blleeehhhh I am sooooo tired of hearing about Jennifer Aniston!!! GAH!)

Also- random thought here- Vanity Fair, which I used to consider a somewhat classy publication, is doing a feature spread on 4 of Tiger Wood's "Lovers" (I could use other words here but I'm keeping it rated G). How completely low class and scummy can you get? Does anyone think of the wife here? My God, it is appalling. Why not send them to www.DirtyWhores.com and do a nice layout THERE for crying out loud? Perhaps they'd get some more boyfriends?? It would truly be a "win-win"?? 

Blleeeehhhh. 

Question of the Day: What is YOUR favorite Birthday Meal? (and please don't bore me with something like "I love lean turkey breast on whole wheat")

Hey Kittens!! I am in need of some Friday. Actually I need like 10 Fridays all in a row. In Miami. With Mojitos. And me in my smokin bright orange bikini. #ItIsON

I have seriously had a splitting headache all day long. That bites. Not sure why, I think sometimes the medication my doctor has me on now to balance hormones gives me headaches. Good times. If that is the worst of my problems, I have nothing to complain about. 

I think I talked about this lovely and fiesty gal Beth I met in Omaha. She has a Facebook Fan Page called "150 Pounds or Bust" and I would love it you all would check her out. She is posting her meals every day, doing videos and has already lost like 30-40 pounds if I'm correct. CLICK HERE to fan her up.

Also- CHECK THIS OUT- In support of National Women's Health Week, you can make a public pledge for your family's health on this GE website: CLICK HERE. I did! (Full Disclosure: I work for New Media Strategies www.NMS.com and GE is our #client.)

This morning was cardio only, I did Insanity Pure Cardio followed by some extra cardio and some ab work. As I mention in my vlog, I was surprised that the Pure Cardio DVD had me burning like 350 calories before cool-down, when most of the other 40-minute Insanity DVDs have me at 450 before cool-down. Who woulda thought? Whatever. I just made up some more~ did some sprints and kickboxing and came in at 510 calories burned. WOOT!

So- Question of the Day: Do you eat before cardio? Do you get cramps? If so, how do YOU deal with them? 

Remember!! We are thinking BIKINI TIME!! BIKINI TIME!! 

How has your week been so far? Are you kicking butt? IF not, guess what? You still have today, tomorrow and Saturday!! Whatcha Waiting For?? ;-)

As usual, Crazy Kelly has a TON of stuff to finish today, a trip to Omaha tomorrow, back on Friday. Any of my blog-buds out there in Omaha? LMK you can come out and visit! 

I'm bringing my Insanity DVDs with me. Tomorrow my flight is pretty early, but I'm hoping to squeeze in some Insanity prior to my evening events. Then Friday's workout will be no problem at all since my flight is after lunch. YESSS!!

I did Insanity today followed by P90X Back & Biceps. Whoa. 810 Calories burned and I feel great. Today's Insanity was "Cardio Power". Funny- I realized it had been a while, since I have been back on the Insanity kick, that I had done this one. I tend to, as we all do, stick to doing what I LIKE to do. And then when I plop in a DVD that I've avoided for whatever reason- WHOA. I had to hit pause numerous times on this one. **Lesson Learned!!! You HAVE TO ROTATE all your workouts, and make sure you do ALL OF THEM even the ones you dislike!! Obviously, this Cardio Power was using different muscles and challenging my cardio capacity in new ways....so if I'm not switching it up, I am losing the challenge and then inevitably I am wasting my time.

Yesterday was a busy day, as I share in my vlog(s) below (sorry I ran over!). But I feel pretty darn good about dealing with the craziness that comes with traveling for business and just focusing on balance and portion size. If I have to have a sandwich or pizza slice for lunch because we have 10 minutes- then do it! And then try to make dinner a choice that balances that out. And I am fine being at "cocktail parties" or receptions and not drinking. It is just empty calories, especially to have just one or two and then go home! I'd rather wait and tear it up on my birthday ok?? WHAT?

Must run, kittens. I hope you are having a kick butt killer day and getting those abs ready for bikini weather. Vacation is on the way. Thank heavens. 

This is what I'm hoping and praying for for Ms. Jenny Lynn tonight at the finals at the Olympia!! WOOT Girl you go GET IT!! 

I just got back in from running some errands...amazing how the day flies by when you have all that running around to do isn't it? BUT I did get a fantastic workout in this morning!! I did that one Kettlebell DVD that I love and then some biceps and triceps. And no- in case you are wondering- I'm not giving up on Insanity or nothing!! I just wanted to shake things up a bit today. I'll be doing Insanity workouts long term for sure. I love how travel friendly they are too. Awesomeness. But I gotta tell ya, I love that Kettlebell workout. There really should be more Kettlebell DVDs. I wasn't that thrilled with the ones I got from Amy Bento. 

Below are today's vlogs. Yes Plural. I started talking at the end of vlog one about this whole being POSITIVE AND NICE AND KIND and I wanted to finish. I've been exposed to so many very sad, pathetic, angry, bitter, jealous, mean and hurtful people- some of them mean/hurtful TO ME, some being that way to those that are close to me and it's just sad. There is nothing to be accomplished with negativity and acting with the intention to hurt or just be mean to another person. Believe me, I'm just like the next person who wants to be mean and put people in their place. And I could do that SO WELL. (WHAT?) But I choose not to, and I'm always glad looking back that I took the high road. I don't ever regret it. It isn't always easy but I'm proud to be a person that is happy, optimistic, excited, and KIND as much as I can be. 

Anyway- sorry for the overkill with TWO vlogs!! Whoa!! ;-) You guys have a great Saturday. Kick it in gear!! Weekend isn't over yet. 

GO JENNY GO JENNY!!

Hey Kids!! It's our last day in Miami!! And I shot a vlog yesterday but the lighting in our hotel is really OFF so I hope you'll forgive the lack of vlogginess going on. I was not pleased with how the video turned out.

Like the video above? Ready for your P90x or #INSANITY workouts? CLICK HERE for my BeachBody website kids and get ready to be blown away. 

I was so psyched to hear about Jenny Lynn winning the Europa. She is SO INCREDIBLE and inspires me so much. I'm gonna be honest guys, a major reason I'm looking forward to getting home is- because of my fitness goals. Being on vacation is wonderful, but I also have a lot of unfinished business and it's on my mind....so I'm not fully relaxed. And I'm so out of sorts without my Shakeology green smoothies...without - well just the comforts of my own HOME. I'M so excited to get home and really shake things up. Take it all up notches unknown, as Emeril would say.

I was pretty bummed this morning. Anna and I woke up and she went up to use the hotel gym, I got dressed to do my #INSANITY workout. But I was running into my workout right after waking up, at home, I get up, have my Tassimo Cappuccino, do some work for an hour or two, THEN do Insanity. Here, I started it I think a bit early and my stomach was just blellelelehehehe. So I had to cut it short. I have such a sensitive stomach I tell ya. I'm tough everywhere else but tummy- DANGIT!! That kind of stuff ticks me off.

And another reason I can't wait to get home is to share some great people and knowledge with you all. I met a fantastic guy on the plane on the way down here. Talk about fitness fanatic. Whoa. He so inspired me, I can't wait to spend some time with him back in Chicago and then FINGERS CROSSED hopefully I'll get him on a vlog to share some tips. This guy is amazing.

Then, I'll be visiting my friends at www.BestPriceNutrition.com. I told you all- you MUST MUST MUST order any and all of your supplements, powders, bars, and more there. But in addition, the people that work there store a wealth of knowledge that will rock your face off. Stay tuned. 

Anna and I have to run, breakfast and then SIGH more beach time. ;-) Later peeps!!

CRUSHED IT. Yes, here is another picture of the MAC DADDY Shaun T from Insanity. This man is your worst nightmare but how can you FAIL HIM?? Hello?? I do what he says, and after today's workout, I am ON FIRE. I am beyond in the zone. I am Zone 12~ whatever that means. You can't STOP THIS. WOOT!

Also, I'd like to share some Blog Love- check out my friend Joanna's website: My Favorite Things. She's got some great ideas on there and is sharing some fabulous recipes with me. I'll vlog about them after I make some! YUMMY!

Total Sweatfest Cardio Circuit Today. I was a sloppy sweaty mess at the end, begging for mercy. And the only thing I can think of at this moment is this song:

Hey Kids!! What's UP!! Did you have a kick butt week? Did you make yourself proud? Did you make PROGRESS and not excuses?? I did. I ROCKED THIS WEEK. I killed it. Absolutely. I'm so proud. I'm so psyched. I'm on FIRE. Life is good and getting better every day! WOOT!!!

I mention in my vlogs below that today I did the Plyo Cardio DVD from the P90X program. Holy Hell. Seriously. This ROCKED MY FACE OFF. I was blown away, in a good way. And now I'm even more psyched for Insanity!! WOOOOOOOOOO.

Here's a little info I got from BeachBody on INSANITY:

"WHAT IS IT?

INSANITY is a 60-day cardio-based total-body conditioning program that’s

perhaps the most intense workout ever put on DVD. Fitness expert Shaun

T drew on his collegiate track and field training plus his subsequent years

of experience as an elite trainer to create a program that takes total-body

conditioning to an extreme level.

Just as P90X is the height of resistance training, so INSANITY is the pinnacle

of cardio training.

WHY IS IT EFFECTIVE?

Interval training allows you to beat the “stress adaptation response,” which

is what happens when your body gets used to exercising at one level of

exertion and stops improving. An interval workout includes a set where you

perform at your maximum, followed by one of lower intensity, with the cycle

repeated to achieve a cumulative effect.

INSANITY uses MAX Interval Training which replaces your moderate intensity

exercise with maximum-intensity exercise, and your short intervals

of intensity with short periods of rest. Adding high-intensity exercise,

during which your heart rate is raised to 80 percent or more of its maximum

capacity, forces your body to use fast-twitch muscle fibers not normally

engaged in cardio exercise. These fast-twitch fibers continue burning extra

fuel even during lower-intensity exercise.

INSANITY’s high-intensity activity is likely to have you working out at

over 85% of your maximum, instead of the lower rate recommended in

other programs. As a result, you’ll experience faster increases in fitness and

more efficient burning of carbohydrates and fat—as much as 1,000 calories

per hour."

I'm in. Are you? For all you crazies out there ready to order; CLICK HERE.

NOTE; 30-DAY GUARANTEE!!! YOU CAN'T BEAT IT.