P90X, Insanity, RevAbs...

What will they come up with next?

I almost don't want Beachbody to develop any new programs because how can you improve on perfection? Plus, how can I give up P90X to do Insanity? and how can I give up Insanity to do RevAbs? Before Insanity and RevAbs came out, I was totally planning on getting P90X+ next and maybe even ordering Hip Hop Abs or Turbo Jam for some variety and fun....but now...there's just too many to choose from!
See...most people appreciate variety and options...but not me. I like to keep it simple. Give me one, maybe two, programs that work and I'm good to go. Give me 10 different fabulous choices and I'm likely to sit there staring at them all trying to decide and never really do any!
(hmmm...sounds a lot like what I do when I have a hundred things to do around the house and I can't figure out where to start!)

Anyway, I think I may have come up with an idea that will let me dabble in many of these different programs without having to commit to all of them!
If I order all the people in my family a program from Beachbody for Christmas (even some as a 'family gift') then I can borrow a dvd from them every so often to see what that particular work out is like.
Plus, what better gift could I buy at Wal-Mart or the mall than one that will give them a healthier, longer life?

Besides giving them the program, I am also giving them my promise to coach them the entire way and see them through the journey. The way I see it...that's a pretty great gift. I would have loved for someone to have done this for me 5 years ago when I was 60 pounds overweight and miserable with no idea of what to do to change it.

To be bluntly honest with you, I need to start strategizing ways to build my Beachbody coaching business. It started out slow, began to boom and be succesful and now it seems to have come to a screeching halt. No new customers, no new sales, no business. Hmmph!
If I am your coach and you feel that I am a good one, please spread the word to your friends and family. This coaching thing is an amazing opportunity and I love, love, love helping people and encouraging them --- but it does cost me $$ monthly to be a coach--and right now, I'm paying out but not making anything. If I can't figure out a way to reverse that, I don't see how it is wise to continue. I will never stop LOVING Beachbody and their products and spreading the word about them...but I can't send them money every month and get nothing in return.
I am going to get more serious about advertising and getting my business cards circulating. If you're reading this, maybe you would consider passing my name on when you hear of someone looking to start a program..!?!
I appreciate all of you--my readers and friends and teammates! You are as much of an inspiration to me as I could ever be to you! Many days, it is YOU that I think of when I don't feel energy to workout or motivation to eat right, and suddenly I can do it! This blog and meeting all of you, getting all your wonderful comments, has been such a blessing and I look forward to many, many more sweaty workouts, healthy meals and fitness talk with you in the future!

Owwwwwch!!

So today I had my first visit with a dermatologist. It wasn't as bad as I had expected. I just knew I was going to get a major scolding for all the "sun damage" to my skin. For those of you who may not know this...I am covered in freckles from HEAD to TOE and according to doctors...freckles = sun damage.
Anyway, she did tell me that I had considerable sun spots...but the main reason I went in is because I had two "odd" spots on my face that my mom has been pretty concerned about. Skin cancer is very common in my family so to ease her mind, I went. Turns out they were both little harmless lesions called actinic keratosis. I opted to have them frozen off with liquid nitrogen just to get rid of them. OUCH! Now I have two yucky blisters on my face that I'll have to doctor until they heal but at least I can be done with the whole thing. I have to say though...after talking to her, I seriously don't know if I can get back in a tanning bed. I'll spare you the speech...but just imagine what you'd tell someone who still smokes after half of their family has died from lung cancer....well....that's about the same as me tanning. Ugh!
Those of you still fake baking...think about it. You won't be young forever and even if you don't get skin cancer....you WILL get wrinkles and tanning just speeds up the process!
So now I'm on the search for sunless tanners. I want to find something that doesn't stink and that doesn't turn my ankles orange. Anyone have any suggestions?

do I dress too young?

So I did a post on my other blog this morning and then I thought...aww man!-a lot of the people who I want to comment on that don't read that blog. So....I'm putting a link here to that post. I'm just curious to hear if you guys think what I have on in this picture (and wear) is "too young" for my age...??
click HERE to read.

Building my Repertoire

So last night after an AWESOME boot camp class (we did circut training--So Fun!) then I taught 45 minutes of Pump. Instead of trying to hit every single muscle in the entire body, I decided to pick a few and just really max out. It felt so good to feel that burn to the point of exhaustion. One of the guys in my class told me that since I've been teaching (2 1/2 weeks) that he has lost 16 pounds!!! WOW! I'm not saying that is entirely due to my classes, but I like to think that I have played a little part in it. I really think (hope) that I am helping to push this group past their current fitness level and take it up a notch. Last night was, BY FAR, my best night of teaching yet. I had one of my good friends, Mandy, there which totally helps! The class was completely full which adds more energy to the room and I decided to bust out some Zumba moves on them during the warm up which was a lot of fun and I got to show them my less-serious side. (and how jiggly my butt is during hip-hits!) Anyway, after class was over I was DRENCHED. No exageration there folks. I'm pretty sure even my socks were wet! The next class after mine is Yoga and all the people that come to it were sitting around waiting as I gathered up my equipment and began to make my way out. It was about 6:08. As I started to walk out they said "Are you our teacher tonight?" To which I was like "OHHH NOOO....I don't teach Yoga. Let me go check and see where your teacher is." I called the lady who is in charge and she said she hadn't been able to get a sub for that class and could I do it!!!
OMG! I am sooooo not into yoga. I think it's good and important and yada, yada, yada...but I just don't do it. Now I was going to have to teach a whole class of it! Seriously ya'll...my mind went BLANK! All I could think of was sun salutations, downward dog and the crane. Crazy combination of yoga moves there. Thank GOD (literally--thank you LORD!) I prayed as I went and things started to come back to me. I could hear Tony saying "Step back into plank. Push up if you want. Push back into downward dog. Float your right foot up into the sky and swing through into runners lunge." GLORY HALLELUJAH! I worked them through that sequence and then we did a few balance poses and a little strengthening (plank/side planks). I ended up finishing 15 minutes before they were scheduled to be done, but my poor kids had been in the nursery for 3 hours already and I HAD to go... Besides that, I hadn't eaten since 11 am and it was now going on 7 pm! I was shaky and getting light headed.
Anyway....so...now I have successfully taught Pump (weights), Boot Camp, some Step, Kickboxing and now Yoga. I hope Zumba is next. It really is my favorite as far as fun workouts go! We shall see!!!

To all my Beachbody teammates out there---I haven't forgotten about you. I know I've been a bit preoccupied here lately with all this instructing stuff...but you are always on my mind and in my prayers! Keep pushing play guys! I am only a mouse-click away if you need me! If you want me to check in on you more often, just leave me a comment and I'll do it! Being a new-ish coach, I'm never sure how much people want me to "bug" them...so you just tell me okay?!?

Love you all! God is GOOOOOOD! Have a FANTASTIC weekend! Let Jesus SHINE! P90XOXO!
J.

I like big butts and I cannot lie...

as long as they belong to an elephant and not me!

We went to the circus a couple of weeks ago and while I took lots of pictures of the elephants...this is the only one that wasn't too dark. Ha ha! LORD help me if my rear ever starts to resemble this one!

Ps. I posted LOTS of family pics today from the last month on my other blog if anyone is interested. Hate to double post.

Trying something new today...!!!

Wow, I think this may be the longest I have ever gone without posting on my blog! (maybe not...but it seems like it's been forever!)
I only have a few minutes this morning, but let me give you a quick run down of what's been happening in my (fitness-related) life.
As you all know I began instructing at the gym on Oct. 5th. It's been going well with the exception of last Monday's class which was a complete disaster. I wasn't feeling well OR energetic and I kept losing my balance and my train of thought. I tried very hard to maintain composure though and hopefully the struggle I was having inside was NOT showing up on my face to everyone in my class. On the way home the devil had a party in my mind telling me all kinds of discouraging things ("they hate you, you aren't qualified for this job", etc.) but thankfully I have such an intimate relationship with my Heavenly Father that I can instantly recognize the voice of satan and tell him where to "stick it" with his stupid lies he was trying to feed me. I wallowed in self-pity for a few minutes but as soon as I got home I put on some praise & worship (love Kari Jobe!) and then got in the Word for a while before I went to bed. One of our favorite songs from our old chuch goes like this: "When I think of His goodness and what He's done for me, when I think of His goodness and how He's set me free, I could dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance!" Yah---that's pretty much what it's like when you stomp on the devil's head and put God back in 1st place in your life!
(sorry ya'll---I can get to preachin' when I get excited these days!)
The next time that I got up to teach, I prepared more for my classes and then gave it to God--which basically means I reminded myself that it is HIM doing this--I am just the vessel. The classes went great and I think it was the best I've ever done as far as instructing. It just felt easy and comfortable this time. Praise the Lord!

TODAY.....Augh! I am teaching a new class--Kickboxing! Eeeek! It's a little nerve-wracking just because I don't know all the technical terms for all the various punches and kicks NOR do I know perfectly correct form on all moves....but...I have been taking kickboxing off and on for many years and more consistantly for the past 2 years, so I think I'll do just fine subbing the class today. Besides, it's God, not me! (I need to write that on my hand and look at it every few minutes!)

I found out that I was doing a no-no by saying things like "this is one of the moves from Insanity" during my classes. Apparently (if you read the coach rules) I am not supposed to mention Beachbody programs during a class. I can say "this move is plyometrics inspired" but not "this move came from P90X". Hmmm...woops! I only did that on the very first day...glad I read the rules before I got in trouble!

It's kind of crazy though because I was really hoping that by being an instructor, I would have more opportunity to tell people about Beachbody and P90X and Insanity. I guess I'll just have to wait until they (the people in my classes) start talking to me more before and after class and then I can bring it up. Since I'm still new to the gym, I don't want to start handing out my BB business cards just yet.

Okay, well, I have exactly 1 hour until I need to leave the house for the gym...so I'm gonna get off here and go get stretched out and ready! I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday!~

Meet my newest Beachbody Sales Rep!!

About 2 weeks ago Brooklyn told me she was in the library at school and she overheard two ladies talking. One of them said, "yah, I've been wanting to buy this thing called P90X." Of course, that caught her ear and she came right home and told me about it. JOKINGLY, I gave her one of my business cards and told her to give it to the lady (she's like a teacher's aide or something). I never really thought anymore about it. Anyway....yesterday while I was up at the school working at the Book Fair a woman came over to me and said, "Are you Jennifer Jones?" I said "yes." She said, "Are you the P90X Jennifer Jones?" and I said, "YES!" She told me about how some cute little girl had given her one of my business cards and that she thought she recognized me from my before/after pictures on the back. We got to talking and she told me that she has already decided she is definitly going to order P90X along with the resistance bands, but that she also wants to order Hip Hop Abs as well because she hates doing abs on the floor and that it just looks like so much fun! She plans to buy these items next week.

Wow!

I explained to her about how Beachbody works and how if she goes through my site to purchase her items, I will get to be her coach. She asked, "What do I need a coach for?"

Ohh...my favorite question!

I believe so much in the coaching aspect of Beachbody's programs that I decided to become one, despite my extremely busy life. I knew it was something I wanted to do. I explained to her that a coach is your 24 hour/365 day support center. Besides holding you accountable and cheering you on...I am also here to provide you helpful recipe ideas, training tips and help you find solutions to any problems that may arise. Before you begin a program, you might not see the importance of a coach...but I guarantee you...once you get going, at some point you'll have a question you need answered or come across a recipe you just can't figure out....and it's AMAZING to be able to just pick up the phone or type out a quick e-mail message and get your answer. It's not some computerized auto-answer that you get from big companies---it's a flesh and blood human who has "been there and done that" who GENUINELY cares about you, answering your questions and helping you. That is priceless. (and it is literally priceless--meaning it doesn't cost you a thing!)

Anyway...I left out of there yesterday with a big smile on my face and I couldn't wait to give Brooklyn a big hug! Who'd have thought that my CHILDREN would be helping me with this business? ha ha

On a different note...but kind of the same. (ie. eavesdropping again!)

On Tuesday after my classes at the gym I stopped by Ross to look for something and I could hear a lady talking on the phone an isle over. Whatever....I didn't think anything about it until I heard her say "Yah, we've been working out like crazy. Jillian has us doing 4 hours a day." THAT caught my ear. I peered through the racks to see who it was and it was Danny's wife (from BL!) I know this is probably bad and I shouldn't admit it to the entire world...but I hung around then to hear more. She said "we're just really nervous about the weigh in. He's down to 234 right now but we're hoping to lose more. We are just really ready for this whole thing to be over with."

I thought about saying something to her...but honestly I couldn't think of ANYTHING to say....and on top of that, she never did get off the phone before I left...so oh well. Anyway, I thought that was really cool! It's almost like I was standing next to a celebrity! ha ha

Ps. To all my buddies who are also Biggest Loser fans..I just have to set one thing straight.

At no time in my life, while dining at a Mexican food restruant, will I decline my free chips and salsa. Nope. I have to draw the line somewhere and that is DEFINITELY crossing the line. :o)

Tony Horton eating Doritos?

So, I had this very vivid dream last night. I walked into some kitchen and there at a round wooden table sat Tony Horton himself. He had a Family Size bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos open in front of him and his hand stuffed full of them and he was cramming them into his mouth...crumbs falling everywhere! Instantly I began digging through my purse for my camera so I could catch this on film and show the whole world what our "hero" is doing in the privacy of an empty kitchen.
HA HA HA HA
What in the WORLD?
The night before that I dreamed all night long about possible catastrophes that might happen while I was up instructing (people fainting, me forgetting my routine, forgetting the music, etc.)
Seriously, exercise and nutrition is taking over my life!
Even at the circus last night, all I could think about was how FIT those people must be to be able to do these amazing stunts and how when the elephants put their front foot up on the little stool thing that it looked like they were doing lunges. When I told Matt that he said, "Does everything have to be about exercise?"
hmmm.....how am I supposed to turn that off? If I'm not working out, I'm cooking. If I'm not doing either of those, you can bet I'm thinking about them...writing my next routine, planning my next meal.
I actually have begun to really try to "rein it in" when I talk because I know people get sick of hearing it all the time. ESPECIALLY people who aren't into "IT".
Ugh! I know how important balance is in life. I know that anything (even good things) in excess can become negative. Where do I draw the line?

My cup runneth over!

You people are just the BEST! Don't ever let me hear anyone say that on-line friends aren't "real" friends. I can't begin to tell you the amount of support I felt yesterday and the confidence boost you all gave me with all your sweet comments, FB posts and text messages! Starting Sunday night all the way through 9:30 pm last night, I was receiving messages from you all wishing me luck with my classes, building up my faith and then asking how it all went!
Since Matt isn't into computers and he has nothing to do with e-mail/FB/blogging/texting and such, I thought I'd show him some of your messages. He was very impressed, to say the least. Not only did you guys think about me and pray for me, but you genuinely care and that came through very clearly in your messages! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
So...many of you are wondering how it went. I'll just give you the minute-by-minute scoop. It may be long...so feel free to skip ahead if you want!
3:52-OMG! I meant to leave at 3:45! Now I'm running 7 minutes behind already! Off I go.
4:01-It's too quiet in the car. I need some jammin music to get me pumped up for this--however--I refuse to listen to anything that doesn't glorify God...so I grab Brooklyn's Hillsong United "Tell the World" CD. I sing along and pray in the Spirit whenever the music breaks.
4:14-Arrive at the gym. Stop at the bathroom first to pee for the millionth time and then off to the aerobics room. Wow! There are already like 10 people in there and they are all talking about "I wonder who the new instructor is going to be." I announce--"It's ME!"
4:22-A man in a uniform shirt comes into the class room and hollers out "Is there a Jennifer Jones in here?" I raise my hand and he looks at me with this really confused look on his face (because I'm wearing my mic at this point) and he says "Ummmm....you're not a member here...!!??" I explain to him that I am a member of the sister gym and that I am the new instructor. He apologizes for the confusion and I proceed to get everything ready for class.
4:28-I decide its close enough to starting time to go ahead and push play on the cd player and make sure my mic is working. It's NOT! AUGH! Panic!
4:30-(when class is supposed to be starting) I holler out to the FULL classroom now--"Does anyone know how to work this stereo system" Thankfully a friendly guy comes over and together we figure out the problem. Whew!
4:33-Class begins. I tell them my name and explain that although this used to be a Step Aerobics class, we will now be focusing mainly on weights instead. I watch a good 3/4th of their faces drop. One lady says, "WHAT? You mean this isn't going to be a step class?" I say "No. We will use the step, but we will mostly be doing weights for this first class because the next class (Boot Camp) will be entirely high intensity cardio. She says, "But this class is called STEP." At this point I really didn't know what to say. I told them "I'm sorry. I've never taught a step class and I was told that we could switch this class to weights since we do cardio afterwards. I am more than happy to learn some step moves though and add them in next time." Finally we begin exercising.
5:15-The first class is done. It went really well, I think, except for their dissapointment about the class change. I took a 3x5 index card with my notes on it and I managed to work out every body part adequately in 45 minutes. yay! I tell them to go ahead and put away ALL their stuff (step, weights, etc.) because we won't need anything for boot camp.
I watch every. single. person. walk out of the room and I freak out for a second thinking that NO ONE is going to stay for boot camp! AUGH!
5:16-It dawns on me--oh yah! The water fountain is outside of the room....they just went to get drinks! Whew! About half of them come back for boot camp. We get started with a light jog.
5:17-I turn to face the group and ask if any of them is familiar with Beachbody, P90X or has ever heard of Insanity. They all look at me like they have no idea what I'm talking about (except for one man). I explain that I work for Beachbody and am currently in the middle of a fitness program called Insanity, and that our Boot Camp is going to be a lot like that. (they have no idea what this means....)
5:18-We begin sequence #1: Jog, Jacks, heisman, 123 heisman, football run, high knees, kick butts, jump tucks and then DRILLS (plank, 8 push ups, 8 running man, jump back up).
5:40-OH MY GOSH! I totally underestimated how hard it was going to be doing this kind of intense workout AND having to talk through it! I am doing everything in my power to control my breathing and get legible words out. I look at the clock and tell them to Push Hard--this is our LAST DRILL!
5:41-We finish up and begin our cool down/stretch.
5:45-Class is dismissed.
5:54-I'm finally back in my car, safe and sound, ready to head home. I glance over at the clock and OH MY GOSH!! WHAT????? 5:54??? Class isn't supposed to be over until SIX!?? I realize...I let them go 15 minutes too early! OOOOOPS!!

I was kind of bummed out that NO ONE I knew was there...which means I have no one to ask what they thought about it. But overall, I am VERY pleased. I kept cool and calm the entire time, I don't think I made any big mistakes. I think the worst thing I might have done is got off beat a time or two. I kept a smile on my face, and made every effort to crack jokes when it was appropriate and to encourage them to "come on!" and "a little lower" (squats) and "get it up" (high knees) and "push hard! We're almost done!" (toward the end of a move).
I'm already thinking about the fact that I have to do this all over again in just 2 days! Augh!
Right now...this just seems like SUCH a headache...but I think it will get better after a few more classes.

Okay...I gotta get up from here and get ready for the gym. (man it feels good to just be going to work out and not having to teach! :o)

Peace! Be Still! (Mark 4:39)

I know Jesus was talking to the wind and the waves when he uttered this command....but today I need it to apply to the butterfly's in my stomach.
October 5th is finally here. I've known for about 2 months now that today would be the day that I would start "officially" teaching classes at the gym.
In August I told myself "oh don't worry about it until September. You have plenty of time to prepare."
In September I told myself "it's okay....don't fret. You have an entire month to get ready for this."
On October 1st I said "you still have a full 5 days...you'll be fine."
On October 3rd I said "just enjoy the weekend, you can spend all day Monday getting prepared."
On October 4th at 9 pm I said "OH CRAP! I HAVE LESS THAN 24 HOURS TO PREPARE!"
And now...here we are on the morning of October 5th and I feel like I'm shaking from head to toe. This can't be happening. I can't be allowing myself to get this nervous.
I've bought my microphone, I've ordered my music, I've written my routines down and I've prayed myself up. The only thing left to do is practice my routines once today and then TRUST GOD to do this. It was by HIS leading that I even pursued this....so why I am freaking out about it?