PREFACE

People say I’m pretty intense.

Wouldn’t it be cool if “pretty intense” was the way they talked about you, too?

If they described your body, your mind, your career, the way you live your entire life, as “pretty intense”? If you looked and felt the way you’ve always dreamed of being—lean, strong, and confident? If you had the ability to attack and achieve your physical and mental goals with such self-empowerment that no one could stand in your way?

That’s what Pretty Intense will give you: It’s a high-intensity diet, fitness, and mental-conditioning program for people who want to live an intense and successful life. It will reshape your body, calm your mind, and set you on the path to achieving your life’s greatest goals.

And it will be more fun than you ever imagined.

With the Pretty Intense program, I will show you how to eat and how to exercise to achieve a lean, strong, sculpted body while taking control of your health, your weight, and your life. But more important, I will give you the tools you need to become the person you want to be—to overcome negativity and self-doubt, to stay motivated and strong, and to prove to yourself and everyone around you that you have the power to become the changes you want to see.

This book describes the program I follow today, the most current evolution of a mental and physical quest that has made me into an internationally recognized race car driver, a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, and the only professional female athlete in the world who competes exclusively against men. It is the program that has changed my life.

It works for me. And it will work for you.

I Gave My Mom Abs!

I know this program will work for you because I’ve already shared it with hundreds of others—men and women just like you, who lost weight, built muscle, and dramatically changed the way they look and feel.

“I was able to lose 2¾ inches on my waist. What a great program.”

SHAWN RENNECKER

Pretty Intense is the result of a years-long journey of putting pen to paper—my quest to document the actions I’ve taken for myself that have delivered the best results, mentally and physically, that I have ever had. Then it was hours and hours of sweating to test and fine-tune every workout so each one is perfect. To top it off, I decided I would cook, style, and photograph all the food myself as I double-checked recipes and created new ones!

In January 2017, I started the Pretty Intense Challenge at PrettyIntense.com. More than seven hundred fans signed up to follow the 90-day plan—average men and women just like you who enjoyed the same amazing results I saw, and whose stories appear on these pages.

And as the challenge grew, a community sprouted up. Along with the forums and regular e-mails available on PrettyIntense.com, the PI Tribe (as the team decided to call themselves) even started a Facebook page, Pretty Intense People. It was amazing to be able to check in with everyone through social media and see the incredible results they were posting, and, yes, my mom was one of them! I promise you, she is authentically crazy excited about this new way of life, and loves the food and the workouts. At her final weigh-in, she discovered she’d lost eleven pounds in twelve weeks, and she jumped around with joy like a little kid, seriously. Check out my mom! So proud.

“It has been an awesome experience! I’ve lost eleven pounds, three inches from my waist—and I feel strong and just absolutely fantastic!!!”

JULIE GRUNWALD

Another one of my favorite stories came from Tracey and Shawn Rennecker. Between the two of them, this married couple dropped a total of fifty-two pounds (twenty-one for Shawn, thirty-one for Tracey) in twelve weeks.

But this book isn’t about losing weight. It’s about changing the shape of your body, and becoming mentally and physically fitter and stronger in every possible way. That’s why you’ll measure your results not just with a scale, but with an exclusive fitness test I’ve created that will tell you just how much stronger and healthier you’re becoming—even as your waistline shrinks and your entire body becomes leaner and more defined.

“Yes, you really can do this!”

BEV PATRICK, 59

Indianapolis, Indiana

Mom was one of the very first people to join the Pretty Intense Tribe. And despite her initial fears that she wouldn’t be able to keep up, she not only loved the program—she saw amazing results as well.

“Danica was here for the holidays, and she said, ‘Mom, you’ve really got to sign up for this program.’ I’ve worked out for years, but I was never superfit. I was concerned about whether or not I’d be able to keep up with Danica’s workouts—I’m not 30 anymore.”

But like others who tried the challenge, Mom was surprised by how easy the program was to start and to stick to. “You look at the workouts and see that you’re supposed to do burpees and mountain climbers and other things you’ve never done, and you think, ‘Oh I could never do that!’ But then you do them and you feel great. It’s a gradual growing of confidence that yes, you really can do this. And having week-by-week workouts keeps you accountable; you want to check them all off before the start of the next week.”

Pretty Intense hasn’t just changed her exercise habits; it’s completely changed the way Mom eats, even though she doesn’t feel the need to follow the nutrition plan exactly. “I try to just go by Danica’s rules for gluten and dairy, and try to eliminate that from my diet,” she explains. “And the way I feel is so different—you just don’t get that bloated feeling and those highs and lows. And then the weight started coming off. In 12 weeks I lost 11 pounds, and that’s a lot for me. And I know I put on muscle, so I must have lost even more fat. I tell people, don’t go by the scale, go by how you feel. And I feel so much better.”

In fact, the biggest change was a completely unexpected one: “I’m in that beautiful twilight of menopause,” says Mom. “After 4 or 5 weeks my hot flashes completely stopped. That was a life changer. I definitely have more energy, and more confidence. Just try it!”

“If you can set aside thirty minutes a day for yourself, you can manage this program.”

LAURA GOODALE, 29

Manteno, Illinois

As a business project analyst for a large insurance company, Laura is lucky enough to be able to work from home. But she’s unlucky enough to be spending nine to ten hours a day sitting in front of a computer screen. “I was active, but I would not consider myself fit,” she says.

That changed when she took on the Pretty Intense Challenge. She not only lost fourteen pounds and 6 percent of her body fat, but she saw her body shape change dramatically—her stomach flattened and her arms grew leaner and more defined. Her favorite change, though, can’t be seen from the outside: “It’s my energy levels. I always used to have to take my afternoon nap for an hour, but after starting this program I have no need to nap. I have so much energy!”

She says the biggest difference between Pretty Intense and other workout programs she’s tried is variety. “The other programs I’ve tried had the same workouts and the same structure and didn’t present variation. The lack of excitement and mystery personally led me to fail. I enjoy not knowing what is coming next; your body responds best to challenge and change.”

The biggest advantage Laura found with Pretty Intense was its flexibility. “I gave myself two rest days, and if there was a day I was just not able to get that workout in, I had the flexibility to exchange it for a rest day. If you can set aside thirty minutes a day for yourself, you can manage this program.”

In addition to newfound energy, Laura has found another new thing to love: breakfast. “I was not a breakfast person before I started this journey, and it’s probably the one meal I look forward to each day now. My favorite food would have to be a tie between chia pudding and those fabulous pancakes!”

In the end, what Laura came away with, besides a new body, was a newfound sense of confidence. “I have never felt as confident as I do today. Mentally and physically I put my mind to it and I conquered it. I feel stronger and actually give a damn about myself. This program conditioned me to do the unthinkable.”

Change Your Body, Change Your Life

That said, this book isn’t a fitness book, and it’s not a diet book. It’s a whole-life plan for building strength, confidence, and happiness inside and out. It’s about feeling good about who you are, not just how you look. It’s about taking control of your life as well as your body. It’s about being as strong, empowered, and, yes, as intense as possible, in every aspect of your life.

Pretty Intense is a three-part plan:

“I was wearing large, baggy men’s sweatpants and stealing my husband’s XL T-shirts, because none of my clothes fit anymore. I was ashamed of myself and how I looked. Now, after completing the Pretty Intense program, I’ve lost over thirty pounds, and I have gone from a size 13 down to a size 8. Thank you for being the amazingly strong woman that you are and for putting together the Pretty Intense Challenge. You rock.”

KATHRYN CHALMERS

“My energy levels are way up. I don’t feel nearly as run-down as I used to. My head feels more clear. My confidence is up. I think my relationships are better with my family, friends, and my husband.”

MELISSA SCHILZ

You’ll begin the same way the PI Tribe began: with a fitness test you’ll use to discover exactly where your body is at today. And you’ll be able to measure after twelve weeks how much fitter and stronger you’ve become.

We are on a journey, my friends.

A journey to a fitter you.

A journey to a happier you.

A journey to a physically stronger you.

And most important, a journey to a mentally stronger you.

And I am going to be with you the whole way! I promise!