I will never learn. I thought I had done the lower portion of this workout, and the description says that it works your arms, bis, tris, etc. and I thought well good, because I am TIRED and I don't want to work out ANYWAY, so I'll just do an UPPER BODY workout. Then, of course, it's Chris Freytag and she is always doubling up, so you do hammer curls but you also do lunges and then you stand on one damned leg to do your tricep curls. But it was great, the power cardio things in the middle of the circuits (there are three, you do them twice) seemed short. Effective, but short. One of them, for example, is to start out with low impact jumping jacks, then go to big jumping jacks, and then power jumping jacks, where you clap your hands over your head when your feet are open and then touch the floor when they are closed. It was, dare I say it, fun? Chris Freytag really makes it work, for me. I'll say it again, I think a certain TV TRAINER could learn a lot by not being so evil and demented.
This was the third 10 lb. Slimdown workout I did and I think they are all great but today it dawned on me, it would be really great to do three of them. That would be a great weekly workout, say, to do the upper body, lower body and core. Or either the upper or lower, with the core and the Blast! one. If this wasn't available for free on Exercise TV, this might be a DVD that I would buy. I really like the trainer, I can't even remember what the music is like, and she is all by herself for all of them!
Friday, November 26, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
10 lb. Slimdown - Core
Chris Freytag is the trainer for all of these, apparently, she has a DVD.
My core is non-existent but I still think this was haaaaard. It's three circuits again, I guess maybe they all are - we shall see! She just does a 20 second breath in between the circuits and it doesn't feel like enough. I was in a hurry but if I had some extra time, I might consider pausing it a little bit and maybe taking 60 seconds. For God's sake.
In the circuits, you do:
My core is non-existent but I still think this was haaaaard. It's three circuits again, I guess maybe they all are - we shall see! She just does a 20 second breath in between the circuits and it doesn't feel like enough. I was in a hurry but if I had some extra time, I might consider pausing it a little bit and maybe taking 60 seconds. For God's sake.
In the circuits, you do:
- a standing knee lift, where you reach down to the opposite knee and then up and away, you do 8 reps slowly and 16 fast
- a half-boat into a full-boat (ouch!)
- bicycle crunches, only instead of crunching up your head, you lift your weights up and down, pushing out from your chest. I used 5 lb. weights but you could use whatever you want, obviously.
- crunches, where you hold a weight in each hand and bend your elbows at a 90 degree angle. You crunch in with the weights and then lay your head down and pull the weights behind your head. I am still hurting from this!
- circular crunches
- side plank lifts
- isometric holds in the plank position, with alternating leg lifts, 8 each, twice. GOOD LORD.
Here's what else you do but I failed at, today:
- Mountain Climbers. I'm just bad with them - I feel like I am too short or too fat or something and I can never make my legs go in as far as I feel like I should. I did do them, just not well.
- I don't even know what to call this one - You're on all fours and you go up into a plank position and then you HOP your back foot to your opposite hand and repeat repeat. Veronica came up the stairs and it was the last exercise and I just couldn't do it. Am lame. I will try next time. My report is that it LOOKS HARD. I did my 79 pushups before my workout today and I am too shaky, I guess.
These are excellent workouts. They're hard and I should probably do two at a time but I can't right now. I recommend YOU do it, though, ha!
Monday, November 15, 2010
Yoga Body Burn Abs
The last of the 10 minute workouts! I'm sad to see them go, it dawned on me today when I did the longer workout what a wussy I have turned into. It will be good to do some longer workouts, without a break.
So, this is good, it's like every yoga move you can think of that focuses on your abs, and maybe some Pilates moves thrown in.
Denise Austin is the trainer and although I personally have some trouble getting used to her as a Yogi, she is excellent. It's not for yoga beginners, you should at least be familiar with the moves because it goes pretty fast, as do all the short workouts.
So, this is good, it's like every yoga move you can think of that focuses on your abs, and maybe some Pilates moves thrown in.
Denise Austin is the trainer and although I personally have some trouble getting used to her as a Yogi, she is excellent. It's not for yoga beginners, you should at least be familiar with the moves because it goes pretty fast, as do all the short workouts.
10 lb. Slimdown Blast
I still have one more 10 minute workout to do and I'm going to do it next but I wanted to do a longer workout today while I had time, so I started the 10 lb. Workouts. I was VERY pleased with this, although I found it really hard. It's Chris Freytag, who I like a lot. She is very positive without being too fakety fake. She says, like, "four more! Because you CAN!" and she says "Yes, you CAN!" and it's not annoying, I think, well I guess I CAN if she SAYS SO!
This workout is three circuits that all have strength training type work on one body group, followed by 30 seconds of a blast! of cardio and then a 20 second active recovery period. So the first circuit is squats (I used 5 lb. weights, if you used, like 10 lb. weights, I think it would get complicated doing the faster reps, but you could always stick with the slower rep), the second circuit is lunges and deadlifts and the third circuit is arms and chest and back. Of course, you are working the upper body with the lower and the lower with the upper, but the focus is on the first listed part. In between you do fast jogs, kicks, etc.
It was hard - in the last part you do a side plank with weight lifting and you could it with a) your whole body on the floor, b) your knees on the floor, or c) just your feet on the floor and I opted for a) although I should have done b) and I probably could have done c) if I had just concentrated. But I was so tired and afraid of what was to come after the first rounds I was scared. Lame! But I'll do b) the next time and c) the time after that.
Verrry good workout, it makes me look forward to the other 10 lb. Workouts, kind of.
This workout is three circuits that all have strength training type work on one body group, followed by 30 seconds of a blast! of cardio and then a 20 second active recovery period. So the first circuit is squats (I used 5 lb. weights, if you used, like 10 lb. weights, I think it would get complicated doing the faster reps, but you could always stick with the slower rep), the second circuit is lunges and deadlifts and the third circuit is arms and chest and back. Of course, you are working the upper body with the lower and the lower with the upper, but the focus is on the first listed part. In between you do fast jogs, kicks, etc.
It was hard - in the last part you do a side plank with weight lifting and you could it with a) your whole body on the floor, b) your knees on the floor, or c) just your feet on the floor and I opted for a) although I should have done b) and I probably could have done c) if I had just concentrated. But I was so tired and afraid of what was to come after the first rounds I was scared. Lame! But I'll do b) the next time and c) the time after that.
Verrry good workout, it makes me look forward to the other 10 lb. Workouts, kind of.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Strength Training
Holly Perkins is the trainer for this, she is a trainer from way back, I really like her. This was a good workout but I guess I am fading because I thought it was hard. You just need weights (optional) and a mat, which is nice. I'm still mad about needing that stupid exercise ball for the workout earlier in the week. Let it go, Joanne!
So. You do giant 'sumo' squats, with weights, hip raises with alternating legs, some ab work, it's pretty varied. She talks a lot about the point of the workout, which is to strengthen your muscles for running and walking, so you work muscles that will propel you forward. It was interesting and immediately useful, which I like.
That's it for today - I think I am almost through with the 10 minute workouts, so it's time to mix it up. I'm looking forward to it, I feel like I'm accountable to my friend Almeda for my pushups and this blog for the exercise tv workouts. Whatever works - at this stage we are like three weeks away from moving and like six weeks away from Christmas and Oh Lord, I am glad to have just working out to think about.
So. You do giant 'sumo' squats, with weights, hip raises with alternating legs, some ab work, it's pretty varied. She talks a lot about the point of the workout, which is to strengthen your muscles for running and walking, so you work muscles that will propel you forward. It was interesting and immediately useful, which I like.
That's it for today - I think I am almost through with the 10 minute workouts, so it's time to mix it up. I'm looking forward to it, I feel like I'm accountable to my friend Almeda for my pushups and this blog for the exercise tv workouts. Whatever works - at this stage we are like three weeks away from moving and like six weeks away from Christmas and Oh Lord, I am glad to have just working out to think about.
Sexy Legs
I guess the whole title is Six Steps to Sexy Legs, Jessica Smith (she's a certified wellcoach, whatever that is) is the trainer and it's good, if kind of basic. Actually, I guess she does kind of mix it up, in that if you do lunges, you do them on an angle, so that you're working different parts of your legs. She does a Pilates move at the end called The Frog and what is up, Pilates people? All of those exercises feel impossible but then you can somehow do them. She also does some stretching at the end, which I appreciate.
10 Minute Pilates - ABS
OK! So Nicole Stewart is the trainer for this video, and she was for the Pilates legs video I did the other day. She's great, very positive and she looks fantastic, she talks a lot about the benefits of Pilates, which is nice to hear. She does a good job of explaining the breathing, I think it would be hard to just jump into a Pilates workout, of any kind, without someone talking about how important that inhale/exhale thing is.
So it's a hard ab workout, in my opinion, but it's do-able. It is marked for Beginners, so maybe that's it. She does do some advanced moves. For example, there's one move where you are lying on your back, stretched out, arms overhead, and you peel yourself off the floor and up to where you are now pointing past your (flexed!) feet. After several reps, she adds that you can make it harder by putting your hands behind your ears and your elbows bent, if you want. I am here to tell you that that IS harder, I literally couldn't do it.
My abs are a mess and I forget if I mentioned but I sometimes have, like, charlie horses, in them? It's painful and was scary when it first started happening - it feels like what I imagine this one scene in Alien is like, even though I've never seen that movie. Like the muscles are twisting and wrapping around each other, getting fatter and fatter and choking my innards. Like I say, it's not scary anymore, now that I know what it is, I just treat it like a charlie horse and try to breathe it away. ANYWAY, this is all to say that I find a Pilates workout is more controlled and I am less likely to get one of these muscle spasms, which makes me like it. It is freaking hard, which I don't like but what is the point, I keep asking myself? It's called WORKING out, not SITTING AROUND out. Or RESTING out. I could see doing a few - three? four? of these 10 minute Pilates workouts and having it be a good representation of a Pilates workout.
So it's a hard ab workout, in my opinion, but it's do-able. It is marked for Beginners, so maybe that's it. She does do some advanced moves. For example, there's one move where you are lying on your back, stretched out, arms overhead, and you peel yourself off the floor and up to where you are now pointing past your (flexed!) feet. After several reps, she adds that you can make it harder by putting your hands behind your ears and your elbows bent, if you want. I am here to tell you that that IS harder, I literally couldn't do it.
My abs are a mess and I forget if I mentioned but I sometimes have, like, charlie horses, in them? It's painful and was scary when it first started happening - it feels like what I imagine this one scene in Alien is like, even though I've never seen that movie. Like the muscles are twisting and wrapping around each other, getting fatter and fatter and choking my innards. Like I say, it's not scary anymore, now that I know what it is, I just treat it like a charlie horse and try to breathe it away. ANYWAY, this is all to say that I find a Pilates workout is more controlled and I am less likely to get one of these muscle spasms, which makes me like it. It is freaking hard, which I don't like but what is the point, I keep asking myself? It's called WORKING out, not SITTING AROUND out. Or RESTING out. I could see doing a few - three? four? of these 10 minute Pilates workouts and having it be a good representation of a Pilates workout.
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