Out with the new and in with the old?

My good intentions have at least lasted 24 hours and day 2's workout is complete.  I discovered Bodyrock a couple of years ago whilst searching for an alternative to Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred which I had completed.  Despite the dodgy camera angles which always seemed to highlight the presenter Zuzana's breasts and buttocks, the workouts were just what I was looking for, short and intense.  When I returned to the site yesterday I noticed that a new team seem to have taken over, daily workouts are still posted, and it's still free, but most videos are presented by Lisa.

I decided to get the workout over and done with as soon as I got up this morning, rather than putting it off indefinitely throughout the day.  What first struck me about the workouts from the new Bodyrock team was how much more complex they are.  Zuzana's workouts used to generally consist of circuits of 4 or so exercises, with the aim of completing the circuit a certain number of times as quickly as you could.  The workout I did this morning however consisted of 12 different exercises, and each exercise consisted of two or three parts!  For example, one exercise consisted of 2 squat jumps, 2 press ups, 1 tuck jump & repeat.  I found that whilst these combinations certainly got my heart rate up and challenged me, it meant the routine took a lot longer than 12 minutes whilst you read through each combination and tried to remember what it was. Lisa also used a sandbag for some of the exercises which I had to substitute a couple of dumbbells for which made the moves more awkward.

Once I'd finished I had a peek at tomorrow's workout to see what was in store and found that I required not only a sandbag put a swiss air ball, a dip station and something called an ugi ball.  I own none of these things and have neither the money nor the space to purchase them.  Lisa does demonstrate variations for the exercises without the equipment but it is often a case of substituting something you have already done.  I was also disappointed to see that she suggested if you didn't have a dip station for the pull ups then to substitute yet more push ups rather than suggesting a different exercises which would work the back.

After some online research I have found that all the old Zuzana workouts are still available to view on the Bodyrock site and she has also started her own you tube channel with new routines which I shall investigate.  The plan is now to dip in and out of whatever routines I can find that fit with the minimal equipment I have access to for the next 29 days, and then I will go back and complete the Bodyrock fit test I did yesterday.

I have finally managed to eat clean for a straight 24 hours and already feel a difference in my energy levels.  Feeling positive :-)

Starting over again

This is the third time I have started to write this blog.  The first was about 18 months after I ditched the  years of yo yo diets which always left me weighing more at the end of the year than when I started, and decided to concentrate instead on getting stronger and being functionally fit.  I began following the New Rules of Lifting for Women and found I loved the mental and physical challenge of weightlifting.  I began to read more about it and learnt about how my body worked and what I needed to feed it to get better results.  Everything started to fall into place both workout and diet wise and physically and mentally I was in the best shape of my life despite being in my thirties with two children.  The aim of my blog then was to try and perhaps find other women who liked lifting, and used it as a way to keep fit as I was very much the sole female in the free weights section of my local gym.  I found, however, that I neither had the time nor the dedication it took to fitting in a blog on top of everything else so after a couple of initial posts it lay untouched (and pretty much unread :-).  

Six months later, things had started to slide and fitting fitness in had slipped down my list of priorities.  Stuggling to motivate myself  I read about a group of bloggers who aimed to exercise every day and blog about it every day for one month.  This is it, I thought, the motivation I need to make the time to exercise and write every day again.  Five days in and I had failed on both counts.  From this point things in my life took a definite downward turn and I spent the next couple of months struggling to deal with day to day tasks and barely sleeping.  Things have improved a lot in recent weeks, but my diet and fitness levels are at a definite low.  I am definitely an emotional eater and have spent the last few months attempting to suffocate my worries with large quantities of chocolate brownie.  Whilst my clothes do still do up, they are tight and uncomfortable where they used to hang in a flattering manner.

I have reached that point where I need to stop making excuses and just get on with it.  At the moment I can not get out to the gym and have minimal equipment at home so I have decided to give the Bodyrocker 30 day programme a go which uses short 12 minutes daily body weight workouts.
Day 1 begins with a fitness test, so here are my results of the test and measurements taken just before.  I will redo the fitness test and measurements at the end of the thirty days.  Hopefully I will stick with the fitness and the blogging this time.  Third time lucky!

Day 1 Fitness Test Results:

Squat jump: 32
push ups: 5 full, 13 on knees
Burpees: 14
High knees (both knees count as one): 44
Switch lunges (count each lunge as one): 23
Tuck jumps: 15
Straight abs: 12

Observations post workout:

Fifty seconds has never felt longer, I cannot believe how much my fitness levels have dropped in the last 6 months.  Exercises such as bodyweight squats and lunges used to feel easy once I started lifting heavy, but now they feel a struggle.  I really concentrated on keeping good form throughout but can feel how much weaker my core has come, especially during the burpees and push ups.  My flexibility and mobility also really needs some work so will try and fit in some short yoga routines in during the week as well.

Measurements:

Natural waist:77.5cm
Measurement around navel: 90cm
Hips: 101cm
Thigh: 57.5cm
Chest: 93cm

Weight:  I don't weigh myself and prefer to use measurements to monitor changes.
Clothes size: still wearing my size 12 clothes, but they are uncomfortably tight.