Pokemon Go is taking the world by storm and I have gotten in on the action! Now, while there are lots of horror stories out there about robberies and people playing while driving, the game actually has some real health benefits. That's right, Pokemon Go can be GOOD for you!
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Physical activity is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, but not everything you've heard about exercise is true. There's one exercise myth in particular that I see everywhere. It seems like almost everyone believes this exercise myth! In fact, it's so ingrained in our culture that you might not have even realized it was something you believed in the first place.
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Lots of people set New Year's Resolutions and, in 2016, I'm one of them! The beginning of a new year is a great time to make changes because there's a natural push. The fresh feeling you get with the new year plus the fact that lots of other people are making changes too can give you an advantage when working on your new goal. Here's a little bit about what I'm working on this year and how it's been going so far.
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The end is here! Here's the schedule for the final week:
This last week went really well. While none of the workouts were easy by any means, I could definitely tell that they were much more doable than they were last week. It's crazy how fast your body can improve and adapt and it's great to feel strong and capable while doing the most difficult workouts in the program.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this set for anyone who is looking for an intense and effective at home fitness program. It takes all the great things about Jillian's stand-alone DVDs (limited equipment required, 30 minute workouts, modifiable depending on individual ability) and puts them into a plan that gives you the most effective workout schedule. Each time I've done Body Revolution, I've seen changes in my strength and muscle definition much faster than when I'm doing her other DVDs in a random mix. I think this program would benefit you no matter if you're totally unfit or more experienced because you can always modify to make things easier or harder. If you are starting out a little more fit you might choose to skip the first two weeks as they are pretty beginner. On the other hand, if you find the first two weeks to be super challenging, you always have the option to stick with them for another week or two before moving on.
Price wise, it's comparable to other similar programs at around $120.
Any other questions about my experience with the program? Check out my weekly posts from Week 1, or ask in the comments below!
This week marks the beginning of the end for me and this round of Body Revolution! Here's the schedule:
I honestly don't have too much to say about these workouts other than that they are really hard. Luckily, Jillian gives lots of modification options if you need to take it down a little or even amp it up. That's one thing that I think makes this set so valuable, is that you could do it several times through and still benefit because you can always make things more difficult by adding extra resistance or upping the tempo.
As far are the exercises this week, two of the most difficult for me involve upper body strength (not my best area). The first is a scorpion push-up. You start in a regular push-up position, but, as you lower your body, you lift one leg, bend it up, and reach your heel across your back towards the opposite elbow. In the other, you get into a bridge/wheel position and then do a push-up from there, lowering your head the ground. Tough, but once you can do them it makes you feel super legit.
I'm not gonna lie, I'm glad that I only have one more of these posts because I don't always have that much to tell you guys anymore! Make sure to check back next week for my final post and complete review!
I'm happy to report that I was able to get back on track with my workouts this week. Here's the schedule for week 10:
My back pain from last week wasn't totally gone, but I decided to jump in and see how it went. I was prepared to stop if things got worse. Luckily, my back didn't pose any problems during the workouts and I was able to do everything just fine. I was a little worried that it would be tough since I took last week off from intense exercise, but I actually felt energized on the first day, which was a nice surprise. The rest of the week my workouts were more of a struggle. I still did them, but it wasn't easy. I was feeling kind of "off" in general, which I think is probably just the ickiness that comes with the temperature changing. Unfortunately, my back is still achy in that one spot. Not sure what that's about. Exercise doesn't seem to affect it at all. My knees were also hurting after a week of no foam-rolling. I'm still sticking with the 5-days a week routine (skipping the Saturday cardio) to give them a little bit of a break.
As far as the workouts themselves, the major difference between now and the workouts in the beginning of the program is how the exercises are arranged. Early on, different muscle groups were incorporated into each circuit. This gave the muscles some time to rest while the others were working. Now, it's the opposite. Instead of exercises for each muscle being distributed throughout, they are clumped together into one circuit. Also, most of the jumping moves are done with weights in hand.
Now I'm on to the last two weeks. Wish me luck!
Are the changing seasons affecting your workouts? If so, how? Share in the comments below!
This week, I started my third and final month of Body Revolution! Here's the schedule:
With the start of this final month, things got intense. Of course it always gets harder with each new set of workouts, but the last month of this program is serious business. I've done it twice before, but it still surprises me every time. Despite how challenging the workouts are, if you've been sticking to the program and pushing yourself all the way, you'll be ready for it. I think a good illustration of just how hard it gets is that exercises that were part of the main workout in previous weeks become the warm-up moves for these workouts. Jillian don't play.
As far as how I did, this week went great! My knees are noticeably better from my consistent foam rolling after each workout which makes me so so happy! I didn't want my knee issues to get in the way of completing the program. I skipped Saturday's cardio, giving me 5 days of exercise and 2 of rest. Also, I thought that since the exercises get more interesting as you progress through the program, I would share some that I like.
One of my favorites for this set is actually pretty basic. In the last circuit of the Strength 10 DVD, after your legs are feeling like jello, you do half-moon pose from yoga with a weight standing in as a block if you need it. The reason I love this so much is mostly because of it's placement in the workout. It's nice to have a calmer, but still difficult pose after such an intense and dynamic workout. It challenges your muscles and your mind in a different way and requires you to keep your focus strong at the end when you might feel like giving up.
If you guys would like to see pics of me doing some of the exercises in these next few weeks, just let me know. It scares me a little bit, but I'll do it for you guys. :)
Oh, and we got another cat. No pics yet as it's a bit skiddish, but maybe some soon!
What are some of your favorite exercises? Share in the comments below!
It's hard to believe, but this week is the end of month two of the program! I'm happy to be two-thirds of the way done. Here's the schedule for the last week of "Phase 2."
I started the week off strong with my strength workouts on Monday and Tuesday, but my knees still weren't liking it. I ended up completing all of my strength workouts this week and chose to skip the cardio sessions to give my knees a break. I was good about foam rolling after each workout, but it was painful! I like to think that it helped, but I honestly can't tell. My knees still hurt, but maybe they would have been worse if I hadn't done it? I'm just trying to do my best to manage the situation while keeping up with the program. I know it's only going to get harder as I move on to the next set of workouts, so if y'all have any ideas I'd love to hear it!
On Saturday, we went to the Fall Festival in our town, and I did a ton of walking. It was nice to stay moving, but keep it low impact. Now, anyone who knows me well probably also knows that Fall Festival is one of my most favorite things in the world. However, something was able to top it this week. On Tuesday, we got a precious little kitten! Her name is Moxie and she is itty bitty and soooo cute! I should get an award just for sticking to my workouts this week with this baby running around to distract me. I had to lock her in the bathroom while I exercised and it was pitiful to listen to her crying on the other side of the door. She still loves me though. In fact, she's snuggled up with me right now. :)
She is so excited to meet all of you!
If you want to see more kitty cuteness and her actics, be sure to follow me on Instagram!
Do you guys have any ideas for dealing with my knee pain? Share in the comments below!
Well, after a not-so-successful week 6, this week was much better! A new set of workouts and determination to get back on track seriously paid off. Here's the schedule:
After all of my lack of motivation last week, I had a hard week ahead of me. Not only did I have a new set of workouts, but I was about to take on 7 days of exercise with no rest day. Bleck. On Monday, I finished my last workout from week 6, which put me on track to start week 7 on Tuesday. I'm happy to report that I was able to complete all of my workouts this week, except for dropping the last cardio to rest on Sunday. 8 days in a row was not happening, especially with how much my knees were hurting. I've had tendinitis issues in my knees since high school from all of the dancing I was doing. I started doing ballet one day a week at 3 years old and from there the number of classes I was taking kept increasing. As a teen, I found myself in class 2-2.5 hrs each night Monday-Thursday and then at the studio on Fridays something like 4-10 PM teaching and taking classes. I also taught class on Saturday mornings for a couple years and near performance time we were there all day Saturday for rehearsals. I loved it, but my knees definitely didn't. Any time I get to working out really hard it starts to flare up, and it got really bad last week. I'm all for pushing myself, but not for hurting myself.
As far as the workouts this week, they were harder (obviously) and strangely exciting. It's fun to see the progress I'm making each time I graduate to the next set of workouts. I'm not someone who loves the actual event of exercise, but I can definitely appreciate the results. All of my muscles are visibly leaner and more toned and my body just feels tighter. You know that feeling you get when you're exercising consistently? I love it!
As I'm looking towards next week, I'm hoping the day off will help and I'm going to try to get in the habit of icing my knees at night and doing more foam rolling to loosen up my quads a bit. Keep your fingers crossed that all of that will help.
Do you have any injuries that get in the way of your exercise routine? How do you deal with it? Share in the comments below!
This week was rough as far as exercise was concerned. Definitely the worst week yet. Here's what the schedule was supposed to be (I didn't stick to it very well):
I don't know what was up this week. After last week being so crazy and requiring so much dedication to get my workouts in, this week was just the opposite. We were getting back to normal life after a busy few weeks and there wasn't anything to get in the way of my workouts. However, I was exhausted and just not feeling it. I skipped on Monday with the idea to just push everything back a day. I was tired, my knees hurt, I needed a break. But then Tuesday came and I was considering skipping again. Thank goodness for Jasen encouraging me to get my pump on because it meant I went though with my workouts on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. He even joined me once. We also went for a few evening walks to enjoy the fall weather. At this point, as long as I did my workouts on Friday and Saturday, I would have made it through the week with only the last cardio session missed. But that's not what I did. Friday I skipped. I could just exercise on Saturday and Sunday. Then Saturday got busy and I didn't work out that day either. Ugh. Why could I not get my butt in gear?
With only 1 day left in the week and 2 workouts to do, I came up with this plan: finish up week 6 on Sunday and Monday, and start week 7 on Tuesday with no days off. That way I could still get all of my workouts in and get back to a normal schedule for week 8. Well I did get my Sunday workout in before church and I'm going to do today's workout once this post goes up. Starting off good! Now I just have to keep up with it...
Lesson learned this week: don't put off things for tomorrow that you can do today.
Do you ever have weeks where exercise is the last thing you want to do? How do you deal with it? Share in the comments below!
Hope you all had a great weekend! Today I'm talking about Week 5 of Body Revolution, which brought on new strength DVDs as well as a new cardio workout. Here's the schedule:
The week started off on the wrong foot. I woke up on Monday with a huge cramp in my neck. I used heat, stretching, and some massage, but it was not budging. I hoped that it might get better over the course of the day, but that didn't happen either. Result: no workout on Monday. I decided not being able to move my head up and down or side to side probably wasn't that best thing to push. It was frustrating. I hate starting the week behind like that.
Tuesday I was still stiff, but much better, so I started my workouts for the week. Seeing how challenging it was with the residual tightness made me confident that I made the right decision in not exercising the day before. This new set of DVDs was definitely challenging, but it also showed me how much my strength has increased over the past month.
Jasen and I had a 9 hour drive to Tennessee for a wedding this weekend which gave me an extra challenge to deal with. We left on Thursday evening and stayed with some family at the half-way point. Then we got up early Friday morning and headed the rest of the way.
We stayed in Knoxville with one of my roommates from college, Randa. I still had to get Friday's workout in, so I exercised that afternoon before getting ready to go to the rehearsal dinner. We had a full day ahead on Saturday between seeing the city and the wedding itself, so I got up early and did my workout before the day got started. That's definitely my favorite way to do things. While I'm certainly NOT a morning person, getting my workout out of the way first thing always feels great. I hate having it hanging over my head all day long.
On Saturday we did lots of fun food things! First we went to brunch at a restaurant called Tupelo Honey. Our meal started off with biscuits and a blueberry spread. Delicious.
Randa got a breakfast bowl with goat cheese grits and eggs,
Jasen opted for fried chicken (his favorite) and biscuits,
and I got a cup of tomato soup, a fired egg BLT, and home fries.
Needless to say, after all of that, we were stuffed. We headed off to the market and Randa introduced us to her favorite farmers that she gets her CSA box from each week. I went a little crazy, because they had tons of tomatoes and other summer veggies that we just can't get at home anymore. I LOVE tomatoes! They also had the best corn I've ever tasted (Randa made some for lunch the day before) and super sweet grapes. I loaded up.
Next, we stopped by an olive oil and vinegar shop and tried some of the different varieties, then we headed back to the car. Randa drove us through the UT campus, but it was rainy so we didn't venture out. We also went to a Trader Joe's and an Earth Fare because I'd never been to either before. Normal people visit grocery stores for fun right?
Then it was back to the house for a little rest and getting ready for the wedding. The rain stopped for the festivities and everything was beautiful!
On Sunday morning we got up early, packed up, and got on the road for the 9 hour drive back. I didn't do the cardio this day. With as tired as we were and a full day of driving ahead, it just wasn't happening.
Overall, exercise this week was a challenge, but I'm proud that I got in 5 workouts despite it all. It really proved to me that exercise isn't about finding the time, but making the time.
What did y'all do for exercise this week? Share in the comments below!
Just as I was starting to get back into the swing of things as far as my exercise is concerned, this week brought about a new challenge: vacation! Jasen's side of the fam planned a last hurrah for summer at the beach. I was excited, but not looking forward to finding time for my workouts. Jasen and I went down Tuesday evening and stayed through Sunday. This is what my workout schedule looked like for the week:
Our late departure meant I was able to get Strength 3 and 4 in before we even left, which made things a bit easier. Now, while I don't think vacation needs to be a vacation from physical activity, that doesn't mean it's easy to get your butt in gear either. Thank goodness these workouts are only 30 minutes long! I mean, who wants to be cooped up inside when outside looks like this:
Normally I probably would have ditched the DVDs and pushed myself back a week in favor for being active in my locale, but I made a promise to you guys and I'm sticking to it! I ended up completing all of my strength workouts and forgoing the cardio for being active at the beach. I always feel like the strength is non-negotiable because it's so specific in the muscles it targets, but the cardio is just to get an extra burn while giving your muscles a little bit of a break. I figured with daily walks through the sand and running around with the wee ones, it was a fair trade.
On the last day, Jasen and I got up early to watch the sunrise. Then we headed in and I had an egg on a whole wheat biscuit with a side of veggies for breakfast. Yum!
I must say I'm pretty proud that I stuck to the plan and got my workouts in. I even lost some weight which is always a win when you're on vacation.
Do you still exercise on vacation? How do you get a workout in? Let us know in the comments below!
Back again for my weekly JM Body Revolution update! This week I started a new set of strength DVDs. Here's the schedule:
I wasn't sure how the first jump to harder workouts would go, but it really hasn't been too bad at all. Strength 1 and 2 were definitely easier, but I felt ready for the increase in intensity. There are two main differences between weeks 1 + 2 and weeks 3 + 4.
I'm happy to report that I did all six workouts this week! I did end up moving the second cardio session to Sunday because Saturday was BUSY, but I'm fine with that. The amount of dread I feel is decreasing, which must mean my body and mind are both getting back into the routine of exercise. Also, I can definitely tell that my strength is coming back and my body just feels more toned over-all.
Here I am after my workout on Sunday. Sweaty, but still smiling!
What did you guys do for exercise this past week? Let me know in the comments below!
Hope you guys are having a great Labor Day! Week 2 is in the books and I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things. This week's schedule was the same as the previous week.
This past week was pretty rough in the stress department. With all of my studying and freaking out about the RD exam (thank goodness I passed), exercise did not sound like a good time. However, I still did it and it was a big help. Using up all of those stress hormones and getting my sweat on really helped reduce my anxiety and clear my head. It was so nice to take 30 minutes to focus on me and be able to push all of that other stuff out of my brain.
I did veer from the schedule a bit. Thursday was exam day, and after a long day on the road and taking my exam, I was exhausted. So, I made the executive decision to take a rest day on Thursday and shift everything else forward one day. On Sunday, we went to the pool, so I counted that as my cardio.
I'm happy to report that things were a lot easier this week. It's amazing how quickly you can lose your strength, but also how fast you can get it back. Gotta love that.
I thought y'all might like to see my set up. One of the great things about these workouts is you don't need a ton of equipment or space. All you need is
As you can see, I don't have a ton of space, but i's enough to get the job done!
This week starts a new set of DVDs, so that will be fun! Something new to work at.
Did you guys do any fun food stuff this holiday weekend? Do you use exercise as a stress reliever? Let me know in comments below!
As I promised last week, I started week 1 of Jillian Michaels Body Revolution on Monday. First off, I have to thank you guys. There were more days than not where my inner dialogue went something like this: I really don't want to do this today.
You have to. You have to put it on the blog.
Ugh. Alright then. Stupid blog...
This was a bit of a surprise to me. I mean, this was only the first week and I haven't worked out in a couple months since I hurt my back. I should be ready to go! Fresh and excited! However, that simply wasn't the case. Maybe it's because I've gotten out of the routine. What was a part of my every day a few months ago is now like an added hassle. Here's to hoping that changes over the next few months.
I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start with how the program works.
Each two weeks you use 2 strength DVDs and 1 cardio DVD. The strength DVDs change every 2 weeks and the cardio changes every 4 weeks. The first two weeks look like this.
On Mondays and Thursdays, you work out chest, shoulders, triceps, and quads. On Tuesdays and Fridays, it's back, biceps, and hamstrings. The purpose of this, with the cardio mixed in, is to give your muscles 2 days off in between for maximum recovery. Also, even if you're sore, the theory goes, you should still be able to exercise since you won't be actively targeting those muscles.
And let me tell you, I was SORE! Much more than I expected. You see, I was on week 12 of this thing right before my wedding back in May. I knew it had been a while, but I was in for a rude awakening. I was sore after Monday's workout and on Tuesday I had the conversation with myself from above. It really wasn't too hard though since I wasn't using the same muscles. By the time Wednesday got here however, it hurt to walk. And sit. And stand. And pretty much any other movement. I opted to skip the cardio on Wednesday and instead did some foam rolling to work out the kinks. I know this won't be a big problem in the weeks to come, just the nature of waking my muscles up after such a long rest, so I figured it was ok to skip. We're not aiming for perfection here people. Thursday and Friday were much better and I was able to do the cardio on Saturday. As I type this on my rest day, I can safely say that I'm not groaning every time I have to get up to go potty. That's always nice. :)
I'm already feeling stronger from this first week, so I'm excited to see how my strength and endurance improve in the weeks to come.
Week 2: Jillian Michaels Body Revolution
How do you guys deal with sore muscles? Let me know in the comments below!
