I will be starting my last week of ChaLEAN Extreme in three days. I’m amazed at how quickly this 3 month period flew by! I guess that means I was having fun, right? The answer is yes, I was having fun. This has been the most amazing program I’ve done so far. I loved the work-outs, I loved the results and I loved Chalene Johnson’s positive, upbeat, motivating attitude.
For those who may not have heard of it, ChaLEAN Extreme (CE) is a Beachbody fitness program put together by top fitness expert Chalene Johnson. It focuses on the fact that muscle burns fat. The more muscle your body has, the higher your metabolism and the more your body will burn away the fat, both while you’re doing the work-outs and the rest of day as well. Over the 3 month period you will watch your body become lean and fit, as you shed pounds and build muscles.
There are three phases built into CE. The first month is called the Burn Phase, the second the Push Phase and the third the Lean Phase. Each phase is meant to build up your mucles and endurance to take you to the next level, and if you really give it all that you’ve got each and every work-out, then that will happen. Let’s take a look at each phase a little more closely.
The Burn Phase
This phase is meant to get you started down the muscle-building road. It works two muscle groups at a time – one upper body muscle and one lower body. You do slow reps of the exercises with the aim of failing between 10 – 12 reps. There are three different circuits that you work through each week, with each circuit focusing on different muscle groups.
This phase was a real eye-opener for me. I had already worked my way through Beachbody’s P90 (Power 90) and P90 Masters Series programs, so I had been working out and lifting weights for about 6 months at that point. Not a long time, but at least I was doing some strength-training. But that was nothing compared to what Chalene was having me do. At the beginning, the hardest part was deciding what weights I should be using. I realized quickly that what I had been using before wasn’t really stressing my muscles at all – at least not like I was doing now. I found that my first time doing each circuit ended up being a “test” run. Did I use the right weight to start with? Did I need to increase or decrease the weights? Below I’ll list the exercises included in each circuit and the weights I used.
Burn Circuit 1
Sumo Squat/Hip Lift – 18+
Lunge/Posterior Fly – 9+
Push-up/Leg Lift -
Dead Lift/Posterior Fly – 9+, 10
Lunge/Core Rotation – 18+
Bench Press/Leg Lower – 10+, 12+, 15+
Squat/Side Bend – 18+, 20
Forward Lean Lunge/Dbl Arm Posterior Fly – 9+, 10
Chest Fly/Hip Lift – 10+, 12+
Burn Circuit 2
Sumo Squat/Bicep Curls – 10 +/ 12
Single Lunge/Tricep extension – 8+, 9,
Deadlift/Row – 18
Sumo Squat/TricepOverhead Extension – 10+/12, 15
Dead Lift/Reverse Grip Row – 18
Bowler’s Lunge/Single Arm Row – 18
Bicep Curl/Abductor Balance – 10+, 12
Lunge/Double Row – 18
Burn Circuit 3
Sumo Squat/Overhead Press – 10
Lunge/Calf Raise – 18
Squat/Lateral Raise – 6+, 8
Lunge/Frontal Press – 10
Squat/Calf Raise – 18
Sumo Squat/Delt Raises – 6+, 8
Squat/Double Overhead Press – 10,
Lunge/Lateral Raise – 6
Sumo Squat/Calf Raise – 18
After I completed each exercise, I noted what I used and put a plus sign if I felt I needed to increase the weights. You can see that in each exercise I steadily increased the weights during the four-week period. It is important to keep track of the weights your using when you’re doing a work-out like this, so you don’t have to guess every time you go through the circuit. It’s also nice to be able to look back and see what progress you’ve made since you’ve started.
The Push Phase
Next is the Push Phase. During the Push Phase, there are also three circuits that you do spread out over the course of a week. The circuit days are interspersed with cardio and interval training workouts which are killers themselves! The Push Circuits only work single muscle groups at a time with the intent of failing between 6 – 8 reps. Again, the first time through the circuits was an experiment for me to find the right weight. I did have the Push month to guide me to a certain degree, so I looked at what I used for each muscle group during that month, and increased the weight slightly. My logic here was that since I needed to fail with fewer reps, I could try to lift heavier. Here is my progression through the circuits for the Push Phase:
Push Circuit 1
Bicep Curl – 15
Squat – 20+, 22.5
Single Arm Tricep Extension – 10+, 12.5
Biceps – 10-, 8
Single Leg Squat – 20
Overhead Tricep Extension – 15+, 17.5
Hammer Curls – 10+, 12.5
Heel Squat – 20+, 22.5
Push ups – 6 on toes, 6.5, 7.5. 8 + 1
Push Circuit 2
Overhead Press – 12, 12.5, 15
Single Leg Lunge – 12+, 15, 20
Reverse Fly – 10,
Arnold Press – 12+, 15
Single Leg Deadlift – 12+, 15+
Bent Over Lateral Raise – 10+,/ 12.5 & 10
Frontal Press – 12, 12.5+, 15
Single Tap Lunges – 12, 12.5+, 15
Lateral Deltoid Raise – 10
Push Circuit 3
Sumo Squats – 20+, 22.5+, 25
Single Arm Row – 20+, 22.5
Chest Fly – 12+, 15
Bowler’s Lunge – 20
Double Bent Over Row – 20
Bench Press – 17.5+, 20
Single Leg Sumo Squat – 18, 17.5+
Double Reverse Grip Row – 20+, 22.5
Long Arm Pullover – 15+, 17.5+, 20
You can see that once again I was able to steadily increase the weights I was using across the four week period. You will also notice that I had to go down in some places. I found that if we did two or three sets of reps working the same muscle, such as biceps, by the second or third set, I had to go lighter in order to maintain proper form. Maintaining that form is more important than the amount of weight one uses, so I had to be sure to mark on my record to go lighter for that set.
The Lean Phase
The last phase is the Lean Phase. In this phase, we are back to failing at 10 – 12 reps and working an upper body muscle and a lower body muscle at the same time. And while this may sound like a repeat of the Burn Phase, it is much more than that. The exercises in this phase are tough! Chalene has structured these exercises to include working the core muscles, too, so there is a lot going on during each set.
Again for this phase, I had to figure out which weights to start with. Even though we were back to doing 10-12 reps, Chalene constantly pushes us to work our hardest, go as heavy as we can. So I decided to start each set using the weight I used during the Push phase, and back down if I needed to. After all, as Chalene says, “Go heavy or go home!” Here are what my weights are looking like so far for this month.
Lean Circuit 1
Single Calf Raise/Bicep Curl – 12.5+
Tricep Push-Ups – 4 on toes, 5
Overhead Tricep Extension – 17.5+, 20
Split Lunge/Biceps – 10+, 12.5+
Stationary Runner’s Lunge/Double Triceps – 10
Bicep Curl/Hamstring Curl – 12.5
Plank/Single Tricep Extension – 10-, 8
Reverse Lunge/Bicep Curl – 12.5
Supine Tricep – 17.5
Sumo Squat Calf Raise/Bicep Curl – 10+, 12.5
Lean Circuit 2
Sumo Squat/Anterior Delt Lift – 12.5+, 15
Double Arm Row/Single Leg Lift – 20
Hamstring Curl/Lateral Raise – 10, 8
Runner’s Lunge/Double Arm Row – 20
Lat Raise/Abduction with Bands – 8
Plank/Single Arm Row – 20
Reverse Lunge/Lat Raise – 8
Posterior Deltoid Raise/Leg Lift – 6, 8
Squat/Ant Delt Lift – 6
Lean Circuit 3
Squat/Cross-Body Chop – 15+, 17.5
Reverse Lunge/Arnold Press – 15
Chest Fly/Hip Lift – 15+, 17.5
Kneeling Overhead Press/Center Crunch – 12.5
Push-Up/Side Planks – 6, 4, 6
Dead Lift/Frontal Press – 12.5
Traveling Push-ups – knees, 5 on toes
Chest Fly/Abduction – 15
Army Crawl -
As you can see, once again there is a steady over-all increase in the amount of weight I am using, although I have had to back down on the 2nd or 3rd set working a muscle that was beat from the first set! But again, that’s okay! I know I am making steady overall progress. I can see it here on paper, I can see it in my muscles and I can see it in the way my clothes fit. It all makes for a very positive feeling!
Fuel your body properly
As with the other Beachbody programs, ChaLEAN Extreme wouldn’t be complete without the nutritional aspect. Because this program is focused on building lean muscle, what you’re feeding yourself becomes even more important. Your body needs lean protein and complex carbohydrates to fuel those growing muscles. You need to feed that body constantly and consistently since the metabolism is burning away all day every day. The CE program has this aspect covered as well. The program comes with a recipe book that is also divided into the Burn, Push and Lean Phases, and includes recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. The idea of splitting the recipes into the phases like this is that as you are increasing your muscle mass, and increasing how much weight you’re lifting, you need to increase the amount of lean protein you are eating. The recipes guide you through this effortlessly. One of my favorite things about these recipes, however, is how easy they are to make. The ingredients are all-natural and can be found in your local grocery store, most of the recipes only have a few basic ingredients and spices and they taste out of this world! You can’t beat that!
Overall, I give this program a 10. My favorite parts of this program are these:
- The fact that I’m getting stronger, healthier and leaner and enjoying the process.
- Chalene Johnson’s amazing attitude. She offers encouragement, motivation and tips throughout each and every workout. She is an amazing resource of information, and she does it effortlessly and naturally.
- The recipes! I have found new foods that I love, and new ways of making old favorites. how can a program be bad when one of the snacks is Dark Chocolate Kisses with peanut butter!
If you would like to learn more about ChaLEAN Extreme and Beachbody, visit us at Fit Club Today!
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