I realized in my post last night I said nothing at all about the workout part of the challenge! So here goes:
I attend a gym called
U Can Be Fit (<< click that to view the Facebook Page). My roommate has been attending the Boot Camp for over a year now, but I just joined her for this 8 week challenge. I have three sessions per week that I can attend, and each session is an hour long. Every day there is a different muscle group being worked, and each day has different means for working those muscle groups. If you are new to the workout thing you may or may not know that it is very important to work different muscle groups on different days. A big mistake is going to the gym and doing the same workout every day, or focussing too much on one muscle group.
On the schedule at U Can Be Fit, usually it goes arms, legs, core,
shoulders, back all worked by tabatas, ladders, trx, steppers, dung
bells and kettle bells.
But Really, I Shouldn't Work the Same Muscles too Often? How Come? I hate my legs!
1. No rest days, giving your muscles no chance to rebuild in between and gain strength for more intensive training.
2.
Muscle Memory: if you do the same thing every day your muscles remember, it becomes easy and then you are no longer benefiting from the hard work you're putting in!
3. You may get stuck in a slump and plateau sooner because you haven't changed it up!
For someone who has identified core and legs as my main problem areas, it can be a struggle forcing myself to go to an arms session. But, I know that I should still go, because a) I worked my legs out HARD the day before and b) Sure, if I skip arms day I am still giving my legs a rest, but cardio is good for you everyday and contributes to healthy weight loss.
My motto is,
better to do something than nothing!
In
Week 1 I was exposed to the absolute importance of rest days and
STRETCHES. I started the challenge on Wednesday July 17th, and that happened to be "Legs, Core and Guns!" day at Boot Camp. The regime might sound simple to you, but when it was over, I vowed to never return. This is what it was:
Pyramids (cycling specific motions a few times, raising the amount of time for each cycle. Ie: these 3 workouts for 15 seconds each, rest, repeat for 30 seconds each, rest, repeat for 45 seconds each, rest, repeat for 60 seconds each, new cycle).
In my opinion, reverse pyramids are SO MUCH EASIER because you start with the lengthier cycles, and as your body gets tired you do the cycles for less and less time making the finish line easier to see!
We began with
legs:
1. Squats (holding 8 lb kettles)
2. Sissy squats -
same as a squat just with your legs further apart (holding 8 lb kettles)
3. Lunges (holding 8 lb kettles)
4. Leg raises (both sides)
Now, once again, it might not sound like a lot. But cycling through this 4 times was a NIGHTMARE. Although I wasn't counting how many of each I did because it was a timer not a number, in the end, on my very first day, I did a minimum of 100 of each of these workouts. My legs were DEAD the next day.
The arms and core stuff was a little easier:
Arms(all with 8 lb dungbells):
1. Arm Curls (front)
2. Arm Curls (side)
3. Arm lifts (upwards, arms straight)
4. Punches
Core (no pyramid for this, just 1 min each):
1. Sit ups (feet on floor)
2. Sit ups (feet up)
3. Sit ups (feet locked)
All I can say is Thursday morning was no easy task for me. I could barely walk, I cried sitting down, and I felt defeated. I remember telling my roommate, "I'm done! I'll do the eating but there is NO WAY I am going back to that place!"
I went back the following Tuesday. And the workout was GREAT! It was another "Core, Legs and Guns!" class (based on the rotation) and we did a lot of cardio and boxing exercises. I loved it! We did kind of an obstacle course of things, and did some partner work. It felt like a game and I forgot I was even working out! I made it to 3 classes in
Week 2, and experienced other trainers who I found made being there really enjoyable!
I figured I would just avoid the first trainer for the rest of the challenge, but based on the rotation he unavoidable. I returned to the first trainer's class in Week 3, and although he was tough as nails, I already found my body was getting stronger and could take it a little bit more. I also realized after that workout that maybe it was something I did that made it so difficult for me to recover after Day 1. I didn't stretch properly, and I really worked myself too hard for my first ever class, which was the reason I absolutely needed so many rest days. Not making that mistake again! I learned to pace myself. I attended 3 classes in Week 3.
And that's my goal. Walk into that place 3 times a week and give it my all.
In
Week 3 I actually found myself injured from some of the stepper stuff, and also probably working myself a little too hard too fast.
I have weak ankles and my shins were taking a huge beating from the impact. I found I had to do some alternative workouts while being there to cater to my injury. I was even told on Thursday August 1st I should probably go home instead of work out. It was "Crazy Cardio!" and we were to do a series of laps (50 total reverse pyramid style), and jumping exercises. But I
didn't want to leave. Because even though I knew I would have to walk some of those laps and step instead of jump, I didn't want to miss. I didn't want to walk out having not tried. I'll repeat my motto here:
Better to do something than nothing!
Now that I've practically caught you up on what I've been up to with the exercise end of it for the past 3 Weeks, I'll end this post. From now on I will post the exercises I do each day, after each session so they are fresh in my mind.
Feel free btw to try out the exercise I listed above for Day 1! It was a toughie but go at your own pace and
REST UP AFTERWARD. That is a mistake I will never make again.
