The 12 Week Life Challenge: Power Up Your Life!

Are you ready to change your life for good? Welcome to the smart woman’s guide to becoming slim, strong, motivated, and focused in 12 short weeks.

We called in Jillian Michaels, the smartest, baddest, tough-love trainer out there—you’ve seen her on The Biggest Loser—to create your plan for success. Her secret: Not only does she reshape your body, she helps you reshape your thoughts so you’re focused, you’re motivated, and there’s no falling back into fat-producing patterns. When Michaels is your coach, failure is not an option.

HOW IT WORKS

For the next three months, we’ll give you a complete success tool kit:

flexible eating plans, exercises that get you out of the gym quickly, and—the secret that most plans leave out—strategies that employ your mind to help you motivate, focus, and transform. With this program, you could lose 5 to 8 pounds a month—that’s 15 to 24 pounds by March. This isn’t a lose-it-fast-then-gain-it-back scheme; this is the plan that works for life.

Every week, click on all the essential components of your success plan: Your Workout Plan, Your Food Plan, Log It, and Motivate Me.

Enter the Giveaway-A-Day every day for great prizes. On January 1st go back to enter for a New Balance 8000 elliptical trainer, worth $900, or a one-year Gold’s Gym membership, worth $600.

About your trainer: Jillian Michaels

Jillian Michaels not only gets in her clients’ faces, but also stays in their minds, so every time they think about making a bad choice, they know how to talk themselves out of it. Michaels knows how you feel (and what your excuses are!). She was once an overweight kid and teenager (age 13 and 155 pounds), and dropped the weight by eliminating junk food, white bread, and taking up martial arts. She didn’t lose the final 10 pounds until she started doing calorie math and making sure she consumed less than she burned.

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HERE ARE YOUR EXERCISES FOR THE "12 WEEK LIFE CHALLENGE" PROGRAM:

Dramatic body changes require only a few resistance exercises plus cardio every session (and one full day off per week).

You don’t need to spend your life in the gym, but you do need to challenge yourself!

Dedication and a commitment to working through the tough parts will help you build your dream body.

Don’t argue with yourself — just do it!

1. Wall Sit With Lateral Raises

Stand about 18 inches away from a wall, feet hip-width apart, with a dumbbell in each hand. Lean back and lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Raise the dumbbells out to your sides until they are shoulder height. Inhale, lower your arms, and repeat. Stay in the wall sit until you finish the set.

Make it Harder: Hold your arms up for more than a beat. When that feels easy, use heavier dumbbells.

2. Static Lunge With Bicep Curls

Start with a weight in each hand, arms out to your sides. While stepping into a lunge with your right foot (lower until your thigh is parallel to the floor), curl the weights to your upper arms. Lower the weights as you press through your legs back to the start. Alternate way to do the biceps curls, better when using heavier weights: Keep your elbows pinned to your sides and lift the weights up and down in front of your body, not out to the sides.

3. Tube Rows

Wrap tubing or stretchy bands around a post or doorknob and grab the ends. Straighten your arms in front of you, palms down. Stand tall with a slight bend in your knees. Keep abs in, shoulders back, chest lifted. Exhale and pull the grips toward your chest, squeezing shoulder blades together as you pull. Without leaning forward or releasing your shoulder blades, straighten your arms to the start and repeat

Make it Harder: Stretch the band more tightly at the start of the exercise.

4. Chair Squat With front Raises

Stand with arms at your sides, feet 3 inches apart, weight on your heels. Sit back and down (as if a bench is behind you) while raising the weights out in front of you. Keep palms facing down and back straight. Then straighten your legs, lower the weights, and repeat.

5. Step-Ups With Shoulder Presses

Start as shown. Press the weights over your head while bringing your left foot onto the bench. Step back down with the right as you lower the weights. Repeat with left foot.

Make it Harder: The higher the step, the harder the exercise.

6. Superman Into Hollow Man

Lie on your stomach with your forehead on the floor, arms straight in front of you. Exhale and lift arms and legs off the floor. Hold for a beat, lower, and repeat. Then flip over. Exhale and raise your legs 6 inches or more off the floor. Do a small crunch with your upper body to “hollow out” your midsection, and reach your hands toward your feet. Hold for 10 seconds. Flip back over and repeat the circuit.

7. Hip Lift

Place your heels on a bench or chair and allow your knees to bend. Your knees should be directly above your hips at a 90-degree angle; your arms should rest on the floor at your side. Exhale and press your heels down into the bench, lifting your hips off the floor as high as you can (as in photo). Squeeze your glutes for a beat, then lower and repeat

Make it Harder: Extend your right leg toward the ceiling. When you press your left heel into the bench to lift your hips, press your right leg straight up to the ceiling. Inhale, lower your body back to the floor and repeat. Complete a full set, then repeat with left leg in the air.

8. Bicycle Ball Crunches

Get in the classic bicycle position and place a 4-pound medicine ball between your knees. Exhale as you extend your right leg out straight; simultaneously bring your right armpit and left knee toward each other (lift your shoulders off the floor). Repeat with the opposite arm and leg; never let the ball drop.

9. Plie Squat With Tricep Extension

Stand with your feet wide apart, toes angled outward. Extend both arms directly over your head. While lowering your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor, bend your elbows to lower the dumbbells behind your head. Keep your elbows close to your head and pointed straight up throughout the exercise. Hold for a beat, exhale, press arms and legs back up to the start. Keep your shoulders directly over your hips (don’t arch your back) and don’t lean forward or let your knees come out over your toes.

10. Push-Ups

Yes, we know you don't like push-ups! But what do the military guys do in Basic Training to get in shape? 3 exercises! Running, sit ups, and push ups!

Lie facedown with feet together. Bend your elbows and place your palms directly under them. Keep your neck straight and your eyes focused on the floor. Straighten your arms so your body hovers over the floor. Lower slowly and repeat.

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EXERCISE COMBINATIONS (MORE ADVANCED)

ALTERNATING FLY + CRUNCH

Lie with your head, neck and shoulders on a body ball. Both feet should be planted firmly on the ground with legs at a 90 degree angle, knees positioned over the ankles. Bridge your torso so it’s raises up and parallel to the floor. Raise the dumbbells over your chest with your arms extended towards the ceiling, palms facing each other. Inhale, open your chest and slowly lower the weights in a semi-circular arc out to the sides of your chest. Do not lower your arms farther than parallel to the floor. Exhale and raise the weight, again in an arc, back up to start position and perform a crunch with the weights above your chest. Lower back to the start and repeat.

CROSSOVER LUNGE + BICEP CURL

Place your left foot forward and across the right. (If you were facing 12 on a clock, your left foot would be at 1). Bend your knees until the left thigh is parallel to the floor while raising the weights into a bicep curl. Push back to the start with the left leg. Repeat on the right.

BACK KICK + SHOULDER PRESS

Stand on your left leg with your right leg off the ground, and your right knee pulled toward your chest. Hold a dumbbell against your chest with both hands, keeping your elbows tight against your rib cage. Slowly press your right heel straight outward, as if kicking someone behind you in the stomach. Simultaneously press the weight straight forward until your arms are fully extended. Your entire body should be parallel to the floor (except for your left leg). Hold for a beat, then retract your limbs back to starting position.

WALK-ABOUT PUSH-UPS

Start standing, with feet hip-width apart. Bend at the waist and touch the floor in front of your toes, keeping your legs as straight as possible. Now, keep your bum up, feet stationary, legs straight, and walk your hands out to push-up position. Perform a push-up, then walk back.

BENCH DIPS WITH FEET ON STABILITY BALL

Rest your heels on a Swiss ball (or a chair) and your palms on the edge of a sturdy chair seat behind you. Keeping your elbows tucked against your sides, bend your arms and lower your bodyuntil your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Your hips should drop straight toward the ground. Hold for a beat, then straighten your arms and repeat. For a real challenge, place one foot on the ball and hold the other straight out in the air.

SURRENDERS

Hold a dumbbell in each hand and raise your arms straight over your head. Drop your right leg back into kneeling position. Then drop the left leg back into kneeling position. Step back up to standing with the right leg and then the left. Begin the next repetition starting with the opposite leg. The weights should never drop or lower.

FROG KICKS

Lie face-down on a bench with your lower body hanging off the back. Your hip bones should meet the exact end of the bench so your lower body is hanging off the back. Grip the bench and lift your legs off the floor. Bring your knees toward your chest, then straighten them behind you, heels touching. Inhale, return to the start and repeat.

WARRIOR POSE + TRICEP PRESS

Stand straight, with feet hip-width apart. Step forward with your left leg, knee bent, thigh parallel to the ground. Back leg is straight, heel lifted. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with palms facing behind you. Keeping your hands behind your bum, press the weights back behind you as far as you can. Maintain straight arms throughout the entire movement

and keep tension on your triceps by not letting them come in front of your bum. Remain in the lunge pose the entire time. Complete one set and repeat with your opposite leg forward.

STRAIGHT-LEG DEADLIFTS ON BOSU BALL

Stand on the flat side of a BOSU ball or step, weights or body bar in hand. Bend from the hips to lower the weights to the floor. Keep your knees slightly bent and your back flat. If you’re flexible enough, you’ll be able to lower the weights beyond your feet to the floor. Use your hamstrings to lift yourself back to the start.

ONE-LEG HAMSTRING CURLS ON BODY BALL

Lie with your legs outstretched and your feet and calves on a Swiss ball. Raise your left leg straight into the air so it’s perpendicular to the floor. Press your right heel into the ball, bend your knee, and roll the ball toward your butt until your right foot is flat on the ball. Pause and return to the start

Don’t allow your butt to rest on the floor between repetitions. Switch sides and repeat.

HERE ARE YOUR WORKOUTS FOR EACH WEEK:

CLICK HERE TO BE MY BUDDY ON TEAM BEACHBODY!

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YOUR BLOG EDITOR: Video Fitness Coach Anita Stone http://www.videofitnesscoach.com

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