What is PiYo and Why Chalene Johnson Created PiYo for YOU
piyo for beginners Beachbody
What is PiYo?
Social media is abuzz with talk of Chalene Johnson’s highly anticipated new Beachbody workout program, PiYo. Just look at the photo above - wouldn't you just kill for a body like that?? PiYo won’t be released until the end of June, but here are the answers to everyone's burning questions:
What is PiYo?
Who was PiYo created for?
Can I do PiYo if I am a beginner or overweight?
How will PiYo change my body or, more importantly, what's in it for ME?
Just in case you're unfamiliar with Chalene Johnson, she is the woman with the fantastic body in the photo above. She is not only the creator of PiYo, but also such best-selling workout programs as Turbo Kick, Turbo Jam, TurboFire and Chalean Extreme. She is the most motivating and encouraging fitness instructor I have ever encountered. Popping in a one of her DVD workout always puts a smile on my face. She woman exudes positivity! Want a cool printable PiYo Workout Planner and Success Journal to help you rock your PiYo transformation? It's totally free with your PiYo purchase. Click the Planner pic for all the details!
piyo planner
Who was PiYo created for?
According to Chalene Johnson, PiYo truly is indeed a workout designed for EVERYONE.
PiYo has no jumping and zero impact on delicate joints. This is good news for those of us who have joint issues yet still want to be strong, lean and flexible. No pain no gain? Not this time!
In a Beachbody coach call with her sister, Jenelle Summers, Chalene explained that she spent a period of time teaching daily fitness classes but she had "zero flexibility." Over a two year period she was injured off and on, and thought that her aches and pains were due to aging. She visited with a kinesiologist who explained that her body was too tight.
Chalene decided to create her own program to increase flexibility and strength and share it with others. "I wanted to wake up and not feel beat up". She saw programs all around with jumping and landing on your feet as shock absorbers and knew that type of impact was not for everyone.
I love this story because it is so relatable. How many of us, especially those over 40, have aches and pains we just learn to live with? What if our imbalances and issues were due to inflexibility rather than the aging process?
Chalene wanted a program:
that overweight people could do
that didn't require jumping or impact
for beginners all the way through elite athletes
that burned calories as well as increased flexibility and strength
that was totally different from any other program on the market
She wanted a program to transform your body without beating it up.
She created a program for YOU.
Don't you feel special??
What are the benefits of PiYo?
PiYo gives you hardcore definition, intense calorie burn, and all-over strength – without weights, without jumps, and without destroying your body.
I'll be honest, I'd love "hardcore definition" and strength without jumping and further destroying my knees. (I've already destroyed knee one with distance running.) And torching calories without impact? Yes, please.
A three-in-one strength-flexibility-calorie-burning workout is welcome news to everyone who wants to get toned and strong but either prefers no-impact, or has to work around joint issues caused by injury or aging.
"It will shock you how good you feel when you sit up out of bed, put your feet on the floor and walk into the bathroom to brush your teeth. Literally that's when you'll feel the difference." Chalene Johnson
PiYo builds strength and flexibility at the same time.
"PiYo is designed for people who hate to stretch and know they need to," says Chalene. I'm guilty here, what about you? I suspect lots of us fitness fanatics put stretching and flexibility training on the backburner.
PiYo will help create an incredibly strong core.
"There are so many amazing benefits to having a strong core," says Chalene. She was quick to share that with a strong core she has the ability to do things she never thought of trying!
Work at your own fitness level.
On the upcoming DVD series there will be three levels of difficulty demonstrated. Start where you are comfortable and increase the difficulty as you increase in strength. Chalene explained that in each workout one participant will be turned sideways so you can see the moves at all angles, and another participant will modify all the moves so we ALL can participate according to our ability. How awesome is that?
PiYo is based on old-school bodyweight training and I love that anyone can do PiYo and grow with the program. Chalene states that PiYo is for beginners all the way up to super advanced athletes.
What type of workout is PiYo?
While you may recognize some positions from traditional yoga and pilates, PiYo is definitely anything but traditional.
Carl Diekeler, CEO of Beachbody, says on his blog that “PiYo workout is a high-intensity, low-impact workout for a new kind of STRONG.”
Piyo is:
Athletic
Movement-oriented
Dynamic stretching
Using large muscle groups
NO impact
Helps alleviate aches and pains
A high calorie burn
[Tweet ""PiYo workout is a high-intensity, low-impact workout for a new kind of STRONG." Carl Diekeler."]
PiYo combines strength, flexibility AND cardio.
Chalene made PiYo a dynamic workout for three reasons:
She admits she hates to hold still, like in traditional yoga classes!
She explained that we need flexibility when we are moving throughout our day-to-day lives, not while we are static.
The third reason is simply TO BURN CALORIES.
Chalene said that people have limited time so often need to make a choice whether to do a workout tailored to fat-burning OR a workout that increases flexibility. Burning calories almost always takes priority. PiYo was designed specifically to burn calories and fat AND increase flexibility.
Chalene Johnson: “It’s so crazy what your body does and how your body changes when you use your body to sculpt your body.”
For information on the PiYo Meal Plan, how to lose weight doing PiYo, special challenges for the overweight, and more, please see my Ultimate Guide to PiYo.
