When I was first introduced to this recipe in the Core De Force meal plan, I knew it would be one of the first things I made. It was so easy and surprisingly delicious for being a "healthy" recipe. We now make it regularly to have it with chicken, on pizzas or topped on burgers.
Screw store bought! This is just as tasty and cuts out all the junk!
I tried my hand at making a recipe video like you see on Facebook. As you can tell, I'm definitely an amateur. My camera stand kept losing grip of the cabinet! But, you gotta start somewhere!
Here's a card you can download (click to enlarge) so you can save this to your go-to recipe arsenal.
Do you like BBQ Sauce? What is your favorite way to enjoy BBQ Sauce?
I've been keeping my whereabouts under wraps, but I am itching to tell you about my last 30 days! If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you've seen that I've been fully submerged in an MMA/kickboxing, extravaganza and now, I can tell you all about it because my 30 days ended earlier this week!
It has been an INTENSE month to say the least! No sooner than I received my program package, I was jumping into an all-in challenge group.
When I say "all-in" I mean, following the program as laid out with absolutely NO CHEATING. That means no cookies, no alcohol, no eating out, and then some! All I had to depend on was my workout calendar and my portion containers.
If you haven't seen these containers before, these originated from a workout program developed by Autumn Calabrese called 21 Day Fix. It is all about making sure that you get perfect portions of your food groups for your weight, activity level, and goals. I've been following this plan for some time now, but this would be the first time that I didn't have cheating involved. So, to say the least, this was going to be hard for me.
The program was also a bit intimidating. It's Beachbody's newest program, Core De Force. The reason I cringed at ordering this workout is because my 12 year old self HATED anything that involved punching and kicking. Why? Well, when I was overweight and struggled with my self-image, I would go into my basement every day after school and try this kickboxing workout that my mom had. And I sucked!
I was and still am not well-coordinated. My brain has to work pretty hard to get a combination down. So it was very frustrating to a young girl who just wanted to fit in with her peers to try to finish this workout. Typically, I would give up before the workout was over and eventually, my trips to the basement stopped.
Taking on Core De Force was a way for me to prove to myself that I am not the same person any more and I do not give up as easily, even if it was doing something I am not particularly well-skilled in.
Here's what's inside.
The workout calendar was pretty simple. You had your MMA days, which I would have considered your "cardio" days. Then there were your strength and sculpt days, which by the name would tell you they were more of your resistance or strength workouts. They would alternate between the two for 6 days then, on the 7th day, you'd have what they would call the "active recovery" day. This is where you'd take a quick 10 minutes to warm your body up, then another 10 minutes to stretch it out. Every Thursday (or 5th day in the week), the MMA workout would progress, meaning it would get a little harder until you topped out with MMA Plyo.
Each workout, with exception of Active Recovery, was organized into 3 minute rounds. Depending on the workout, you'd have between 6-12 rounds (usually between 30-47 minutes in total length). In addition to your MMA and strength workouts, you would also add abdominal workouts as the weeks progressed. One was a 15 minute ab workout called Core Kinetics, while the other was a 5 minute ab challenge called 5 Minute Core on the Floor. For those of you who have ever done Ab Ripper X from P90X, think of Core Kinetics being right up there with it! But I think I may love this one a little more! :)
The first workout on my 30 day journey was MMA Speed. As I flayed around like a injured horse, that familiar feeling of frustration and self-doubt surfaced. I thought that if I couldn't put these combinations together, how was I going to have a good workout? I was already determining my results from day 1 without making it through the first workout. But I still proceeded with the second workout.
A video posted by Lindsey (Run Freckles Run) (@runfrecklesrun) on
I found that after getting the initial sucky workout out of the way, I did 10x better the second time through. And that's how it went for most of the workouts. I sucked the first time through, then did way better the second time! And let me tell you, these combinations will make you feel so BADASS once you get them down.
A video posted by Lindsey (Run Freckles Run) (@runfrecklesrun) on
Despite days going just over an hour of working out, the time flew because I was genuinely having fun! But it still doesn't make the program any less of a challenge.
I started seeing results within 5 days. And after 30, I was floored!
I have always believed in seeing results in 60-90 days, but I couldn't believe the results I saw after just 30! I sure as hell wasn't perfect at this workout, but I tried every single day to get better and I think it shows!
This will definitely be a program I revisit in the near future and I hope that you plan on joining me!
In January, I will actually be running a challenge group where you can have the opportunity to GET PAID for working out and being healthy!
To qualify, you must...
• Download the My Challenge Tracker App on your iPhone or Android Phone. I will be providing instructions via email as we get closer to the challenge.
• You must log at least 3 workouts per qualification week in the app.
• You must log at least 5 Shakeology uses accompanied by a picture of the shake.
As long as you have logged all 3 workouts and all 5 Shakeology by 11:59pm pst at the end of each week (1/15, 1/22, 1/29, and 2/5) you will qualify for the cash prize.
Right now, Core De Force & Shakeology are being sold at a discount of $140 (regular $160), but this ends on December 31st and you will never be able to purchase for that discounted cost again. So it is important to act now if you want to try Core De Force AND Shakeology! Fill out the form here and we will get ya set ASAP!
As we close out 2016 and reflect on the year behind us, I know that many are already already looking ahead in 2017!
What are your goals?
What bucket list items are you looking to cross off?
Are you already scribbling down races on your calendar?
Well, before you fill up every weekend, think about squeezing in a Spartan race. It's definitely going to be a big deal this coming year.
Many of us runners LOVE our race bling! I know that I get amped when I see medal reveals for my upcoming races! And although the Spartan medals have always been cool, they decided to make an upgrade to their bling!
If you're a Spartan lover, you've gotta be one of the first to show this off to your friends! Even if you've never competed in a Spartan race, having this medal is a badge of badassery that you want to have on display!
So, if you gotta have this race medal, you're in luck because season passes are available now! You now have 3 choices to choose from.
The Trifecta Pass
What you get:
3 race codes, valid for calendar year (2017)
1 Spectator Pass (to be used with Race Code)
Free Bag Check
Valid for all heats (including Elite & Comp.)
Valid for Continental US
Race codes aimed at Sprint/Super/Beast, but can be used for ANY 3 events
The Open Season Pass
What you get:
Unlimited Racing during the Calendar Year (2017)
Free Spectator Pass
Free Bag Check
Guaranteed Entry to all events (not guaranteed heat)
Multi-Lap Discount
Valid on all Continental US & Hawaii Events
Valid for OPEN Heats ONLY
Upcharge for Elite (+$30) and Competitive (+$15)
The Elite Season Pass
What you get:
Unlimited Racing during the Calendar Year (2017)
Free Spectator Pass
Free Bag Check
Guaranteed Entry to all events (not guaranteed heat)
Multi-Lap Discount
Valid on all Continental US & Hawaii Events
Valid for ALL heats (Elite, Comp. & Open)
So if you have big goals for 2017 or know a Spartan lover, then these passes would be a perfect holiday gift for you, your friends or family!
But that's not all! Spartan has given me a free race registration to give to one of my readers!
Entering the drawing is easy!
Like Freckled Fitness on Facebook below.
Share this post (must be done publicly).
I will be choosing the winner on Christmas Eve.
***Race registration code will work for any US Spartan Race in an open heat****
