my first month of piyo

So, I've talked about PiYo a little bit so far, but I haven't gone in to much detail about it.  It all started about 6 weeks or so ago when Madeline posted on Facebook needing a few more people for her PiYo challenge she was hosting.  I've been following Katy Widrick for awhile now (she is one of the people who helped me get my blog up and running) and I've been fascinated by her journey into being a group fitness instructor, as well her PiYo classes that she teaches every week.  Plus, I can't help but see how awesome she looks and wonder if this is the program that got her looking so great.I've done yoga at home before (thanks to 20 Minute Yoga Sessions on my iPhone) as well as taken a few Pilates classes, including reformer Pilates.  While I liked both of them (yoga was totally relaxing for me and Pilates made me hurt for days), neither of them were able to keep me interested for a long period of time.  But, I was hopeful that PiYo would be different.Thankfully, I was not disappointed!  PiYo is the perfect combination of all my favorite yoga moves (I absolutely LOVE warrior poses) but you are continually moving and challenging your body.  You're not holding the poses forever (which was one thing I hated about yoga) and by the end, your arms and legs are completely exhausted. Plus, I was in desperate need of a workout program I could do from home since my gym is a good 15 miles away and not exactly an option for me right now.  And the majority of the workouts are less than 30 minutes!  Perfect for this busy working mama!I wish I could show you pictures of amazing results I had, but let's face it... At 5 months pregnant, I'm certainly not seeing those sorts of changes in my body right now.  But, I will tell you that my maternity clothes are feeling a little looser (not nearly as much of a muffin top as I used to have) and I feel like I have gotten a little stronger thanks to the massive amount of pushups I have done in the last month.  (If you do want to see someone who has had some incredible changes in just one month of PiYo, you can check out Callie's post!)I also did PiYo as a supplement to my running.  I knew I didn't have time to run AND do the full schedule of PiYo.  Instead, I fit in PiYo to compliment my running, doing PiYo only 3 days a week and running 5 days per week.  It really worked well for  me and I feel like I have gotten just a little more flexible with less ankle pain than I've had in months (thanks to PiYo and the help of my chiropractor).So, will I continue to do PiYo?  You bet!  I am to the point where I have to do all the moves modified (which are always shown) and I still do have to spend some time in child's pose (I desperately need a yoga mat - the carpet kills my hands), but I really feel like it is absolutely perfect for pregnancy.  I actually don't really even miss lifting weights either.  I plan to do it for the rest of my pregnancy and probably after I'm cleared to workout again, but I also would really like to do a hybrid program with PiYo and T25 after the baby comes.Anyone interested in trying a month of PiYo with me in September?!  I'm co-hosting a challenge with my friend Elena and we would love to have you join us!  We are there to help motivate you to workout and achieve your goals, as well as help keep you accountable for your workouts and nutrition.  I have noticed how much better I am eating now that I have been a part of a challenge group.  No worries - there is no judgement in this group.  We just want to help you achieve your workout and/or weight loss goals!  If you're interested in joining, you can email me at klvanhorn [at] gmail [dot] com.  Let's see the changes you can achieve in just a month of PiYo!