Tag: workout reviews

80 Day Obsession, Uncategorized

80 Day Obsession Diary – Day 27 – Start of Phase 2 (including Phase 2 Booty Review)

sophiemunday

After yesterday’s introspection, it’s time to get back to business. Today marked the start of Phase 2, and even though one of the good things about this programme is that way it’s kept the workouts feeling fresh, today everything felt strikingly new.

It first struck me when I got home from work all ready to do my now-traditional Monday evening round of Total Body Core. Only to discover that Monday’s are apparently now Booty Day.

I next hit me when I prepared to launch into the jumping jacks that have started every workout so far, only to find myself confronted with butt kicks and a whole new warm-up.

And then, readying myself for the classic Booty experience of moves that are intense on the muscles but gentle on the heart-rate, I was a little surprised to find myself being told to pick up some weights…

This feels like a very different workout to Phase 1 Booty. Probably harder, on balance, but also just much more of a total body workout (albeit still focused on the butt, obviously), more of a cardio experience, and much more weight-based. Please don’t cry when I say it reminded me a lot of Phase 1 Legs, only with bands used in addition to weights. I’m not sure I’d have physically made myself do it if I’d seen that description before hand, but it actually turned out to be quite enjoyable, and while I occasionally spent Phase 1 Booty wondering whether I was going enough, that never crossed my mind here.

Most of the moves were familiar from one or other of the phase one strength-based workouts, but were made harder in some way.

Sometimes, by adding a band to what had previously just been a weighted exercise – like with the diagonal backwards lunge from legs.

Sometimes by turning it into a compound move, like with squats to hips hinges or back lunges to knee pulls. And perhaps most traumatically, with, wait for it: Bear Fire Hydrants, which are just what they sound like and hurt about as much as you’d imagine, across shoulders, core, and legs, as well as the obvious glutes.

There were also some classic mat-work type moves, just involving bands and one movement at a time, they were just harder than last weeks. The hamstring curl was particularly tricky. And there was the return of one of the moves I remember most from A Little Obsessed, where you put a weight on the back of your knee and lift up your leg.

Today involved 15 reps of everything, straight through, then repeating the whole thing from the top, like in most of Phase One, Week One’s workouts. I imagine that will change to three lots of ten reps straight through next week.  Booty was always a bit of an anomaly in Phase 1, so it’ll be interesting to see whether the other workouts ramp up in quite the same way.

MOVE LIST (note that the idea of “series” was irrelevant today, but they’ll presumably be broken down into them in subsequent weeks)

  • Series 1 – Standing
    • Squat to hinge
    • Curtsy lunge lift
    • Rotating back side lunge (with bands on thighs!)
  • Series 2 – Quad Ped
    • Heel Press up on angle
    • single leg hamstring curl (on all fours, using a band. Ouch!)
    • Bear Fire Hydrant (just don’t think about it too hard)
  • Series 3 – Weighted
    • Kettle bell swings (despite the name, the whole cast do them with a dumbbell, though I grabbed my chronically underused KB and gave it its moment in the sun)
    • Sumo hinge
    • Reverse lunge with a leg lift
  • Series 4 – Floor Weighted
    • single leg bridge
    • Press Up and Over (this is the weird ALO one with the weights on the back of your knees)
    • Camel (sit back on your heels, holding a large weight, then sit up straight)#

 

kettlebells
I own way too much home workout equipment

***

If you don’t currently have access to BOD, you can get a year’s subscription, a month’s supply of Shakeology, and all the accessories you need for 80 Day Obsession for just £180  here

If you’re already a Beachbody on Demand customer, you can get everything you need for 80 Day Obsession (workout calendar, resistance bands, strength sliders, portion fix containers) with Shakeology here, with performance supplements here, or with both here. 

There are a variety of different combinations of BOD access, 80 Day Obsession accessories, Shakeology and performance supplements available. Do drop me a line if you’re not sure which is right for you or if you’d like more information about this programme or anything else.

80 Day Obsession, Uncategorized

80 Day Obsession – Day 18 – Arms, Abs and Ass (AAA) – including AAA review, finally

sophiemunday

Today, I felt really exhausted all day. Not sure if yesterday’s morning workout caught up with me (I told you working out first thing destroys me!), if I’m coming down with something (please no!) or if it was just one of those days. Either way, I really had to push myself to press play. I quite possibly only managed it because it’s AAA day, which is a strong contender for my favourite of the six types of 80 Day Obsession Workouts.

I like it for several reasons. It focuses on the main body parts I want to work. It’s a nice mix of small, intense movements that really work an individual muscle and bigger movements that get the heart rate up. It’s a fun structure – two arm exercises, one ab exercise (mostly using the sliders), one booty exercise (using the bands). And repeat. So lots of variation on no time to get bored. It always leaves me feeling like I’ve got a good all-over workout as well as some really focused attention on the body parts that give it its name.

Like all the other strength-based workouts this week, today’s version involved repeating each exercise in a set three times back to back, before moving onto the next set of four.

Somehow, having done a short review and a move list for all the other Phase 1 workouts in the first week, I’ve kept missing AAA. So without further ado, here are the moves:

FIRST SET:

  • Upright row
  • Bent Over Fly
  • Frog Sliders (in plank position, pull legs in, bring them out in a circle, close, pull back in)
  • Glute bridge (does a day go by when there isn’t some variation on this?!)

SECOND SET:

  • push-up (the slow speed makes everyone’s favourite even more fun!)
  • skull crushers
  • weighted ab sit up
  • knee plank heel press

THIRD SET:

  • Bent over row
  • hammer curl
  • knee tucks (pulling knees in then straightening legs in plank on the sliders)
  • fire hydrant (brutal with sufficiently heavy bands)

***

If you don’t currently have access to BOD, you can get a year’s subscription, a month’s supply of Shakeology, and all the accessories you need for 80 Day Obsession for just £180  here

If you’re already a Beachbody on Demand customer, you can get everything you need for 80 Day Obsession (workout calendar, resistance bands, strength sliders, portion fix containers) with Shakeology here, with performance supplements here, or with both here. 

There are a variety of different combinations of BOD access, 80 Day Obsession accessories, Shakeology and performance supplements available. Do drop me a line if you’re not sure which is right for you or if you’d like more information about this programme or anything else.

 

80 Day Obsession, Uncategorized

80 Day Obsession Diary – Day 7 – Roll and Release

sophiemunday

Finally, we reached both a rest day, and the end of week one. And not a moment too soon. I had a much needed lie in this morning, but woke up with my legs in absolute agony. I tend to suffer quite badly from DOMS, but this week, while there have been some aches and soreness, it’s been the perversely pleasant kind, that lets you know you’ve worked hard without causing any real trouble or discomfort. This, on the other hand, while definitely not the work exercise-induced ache I’ve ever had, was the sort that makes it very difficult to sit down, stand up, or bend down. There’s clearly something about Autumn’s leg workouts, as I had the exact same reaction after ALO’s leg day. Ouch!

I turned, half in gratitude and half in trepidation, to today’s semi-official workout, Roll and Release. I say semi-official, because it contributes to the 80 day count, and today’s the only day it officially appears. But the idea is to do it whenever you feel the need. Going forward, both skipping it on rest days and adding it in during the week seem to be acceptable, in a programme that’s otherwise very prescriptive.

After 6 solid days of fairly intense workouts, the last thing many people would want to do is load up yet another routine. But the emphasis here –  unlike some supposedly active recovery videos, which seem unnecessarily active – really is on recovery.

The format is simple. It’s 19 minutes long. A quick warmup – the same one as for the rest of the week, which caught me slightly by surprise. A few extended stretches at the end. And inbetween, forming the bulk of the session, lots and lots of foam rolling. I’ve you’ve ever tried foam rolling before, there’ll be nothing here that comes as a particular surprise, but it was well-structured, well-explained and very efficient and effective.

If you haven’t tried it before, I wholeheartedly recommend it. But a word of warning. Don’t expect something akin to a gentle stretching session or a relaxing massage. First, the need to support yourself on the roller puts a surprising demand on your arms and core, particularly if they are already tired. But secondly, and more importantly, rolling sore, tight muscles is at best intense and uncomfortable, at worst, genuinely painful. And on my quads in particular, it definitely fell into the second camp for me today. I was literally whimpering. And also sweating to a strange degree, which I once read is a notable side effect of foam rolling that shows you really need it and you’re doing it right. So that was good, I suppose.

As soon as roll and release was over, I sneakily went straight into Stretch and Release, which is nominally next Sunday’s “workout” but which is similarly designed to be done whenever you think it might be helpful. And I knew I had to deploy every weapon in my arsenal if my legs were going to be in any condition to do Total Body Core again on Monday. I’ll talk more about that one next week, in the proper time and place, but it’s basically straightforward and very welcome stretching, as opposed to the complex yoga that sometimes makes its way into rest day workouts.

Once they were both over, I had a long, long soak in a bath full of epsom salts, as per Autumn’s recommendation. Something about the combination worked. My legs are still achy, and I’d be amazed if they are 100% fine by tomorrow, but they feel a lot better. Time is at a premium for me, but I’m going to try to make time for one or both of the recovery workouts over the course of the week if I possibly can.

On the nutrition side, things went relatively well, though unlike yesterday, when the workout, my driving lesson, and dinner out gave some structure to the day, most of today involved lazing round the house, alternated with chores, which, combined with getting up late, left me unsure what to eat when. I didn’t eat anything I shouldn’t, but I didn’t have all my boxes either. Probably fine as I was consuming far fewer calories than on a normal day (where there’d be a workout, a walk to work, and some activity during the working day) but something to watch on future weekends. I did make an amazing and healthy omelette for breakfast though (spinach, peppers, chilli, black beans and a blue box of Parmesan) so I was happy with that.

And that’s week one over and done with. I’m really pleased with how well I’ve stuck to it and how much I’ve enjoyed it. No astonishing changes yet – I wouldn’t expect them after a week – but I’d say I’m already, at the margins, looking a little less bloated and a little more toned. I really, really hope I can keep this up.

***

If you don’t currently have access to BOD, you can get a year’s subscription, a month’s supply of Shakeology, and all the accessories you need for 80 Day Obsession for just £180  here

 

If you’re already a Beachbody on Demand customer, you can get everything you need for 80 Day Obsession (workout calendar, resistance bands, strength sliders, portion fix containers) with Shakeology here, with performance supplements here, or with both here. 

There are a variety of different combinations of BOD access, 80 Day Obsession accessories, Shakeology and performance supplements available. Do drop me a line if you’re not sure which is right for you or if you’d like more information about this programme or anything else.

80 Day Obsession, Uncategorized

80 Day Obsession Diary – Day 5 – Legs

sophiemunday

So, it’s Friday, and it’s leg day.

I was obviously looking forward to the former, because who doesn’t love Fridays? But at the same time, I was worried about keeping my nutrition under control, because generally, the weekend means treats. ]

And inevitably, I was nervous about the latter, because Autumn’s leg workouts are always challenging. 21 Day Fix Legs was tricky, 21 Day Extreme Legs is probably one of the most exhausting workouts I can think of, and when I did A Little Obsessed’s legs workout, I could barely walk for several days.

On the nutrition side of things, everything went smoothly. My husband, who must not have been paying attention, suggested pizza for dinner, but I swiftly rejected that idea and made a chicken and vegetable curry (with a yellow box of rice on the side) from scratch. Otherwise, my diet was mostly as it’s been all week. I totally ran out of food yesterday, and had to do an emergency chicken, vegetables and fruit stop on the way into work.

There was the thorny issue of wine. Clearly, if you’re following the programme to the letter, it’s an absolute no no. And I’ve been so dedicated all week. But at the same time I promised myself I was allowed a 250ml glass on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays (I promise this is not me backsliding – check the Day Zero blog!). The weird thing was, I thought I’d be desperate for a drink, but I really wasn’t. As a result, I was massively in two minds about whether to have one or not, but decided to. I want to simultaneously give this programme my all, and fit it into my life in a way that’s sustainable for 80 days, and hand on heart, I can’t imagine a world in which I don’t have a single glass of wine for three months. Brownies, muffins, ice cream, yes, just about. Wine, no. And I stuck to my 250ml ration. Purists might freak out, but a victory for moderation.

And that brings me to the workout, which was basically everything I’d hoped and feared. Definitely the most challenging workout of the week, even though I’d deliberately gone relatively light on weights (10 pounds on each side throughout – Autumn alternated between 12s and 15s). It was a little less relentless than the ALO equivalent, as the longer running time, despite meaning more reps overall, allowed for slightly longer breaks between moves. But I really had to force myself through the second half.

The format is 9 moves of 15 reps each (some are done on both side), then the whole thing is repeated. There are no bands or sliders involved for once, just weights. The focus is very much on squats and lunges, though there are some interesting variations. One involving lunging on a diagonal angle really threw me. The main exceptions were “single leg good mornings” which I prefer to think of as “Warrior 3: Special Forces Edition” and some hip hinges. Nothing wildly innovative here, but a good, solid, challenging leg workout, that really blasted my lower body and kept my heart rate high throughout.

  • reverse lunges
  • squats
  • curtsey lunges (which you’re never allowed to stand up straight in – ouch!)
  • sumo squats
  • diagonal lunges – forward
  • diagonal lunges – backwards
  • one-legged good mornings
  • high hinges
  • buddha squats (basically kneeling down with one leg, keeping the knee next to the opposite ankle – very strange)

***

If you don’t currently have access to BOD, you can get a year’s subscription, a month’s supply of Shakeology, and all the accessories you need for 80 Day Obsession for just £180  here

 

If you’re already a Beachbody on Demand customer, you can get everything you need for 80 Day Obsession (workout calendar, resistance bands, strength sliders, portion fix containers) with Shakeology here, with performance supplements here, or with both here. 

There are a variety of different combinations of BOD access, 80 Day Obsession accessories, Shakeology and performance supplements available. Do drop me a line if you’re not sure which is right for you or if you’d like more information about this programme or anything else.

80 Day Obsession, Uncategorized

80 Day Obsession Diary – Day 4 – AAA

sophiemunday

Another day successfully completed, and this one really feels like I did it against all the odds. The week so far – but particularly today – has taught me two semi-contradictory things. Firstly, that when you really prioritise your fitness and nutrition, you can make it work in any situation. But secondly, that you can’t necessarily do that and just continue with your life as normal.

Every six weeks or so, my work organises an evening quiz. It’s always fun. People bring in lots of snacks and homemade cakes, and everyone provides their own wine and beer. Two problems with that today – firstly, any booze or the slightest nibble of most of the food provided was going to torpedo the nutrition plan.

quiz cakes.JPG
I don’t think any of that would fit in a portion fix container!

And secondly, by the time it was over, it would basically be too late to do today’s workout. The answer to the first issue was obviously just going to be one of willpower. The answer to the second was trickier. I decided I was going to have to work out in the morning, but I’m really not a morning person. And I’m really not a morning exercise person. Exercise isn’t a chore for me any more, it’s a treat – at least in the evening, when it helps take away the stresses of the day. So it always seems a shame to force myself through something that would be torture first thing and a pleasure 12 hours later. Worse, when I have tried it, I’ve tended to find that it leaves me feeling tired and unfocussed all day, which I just can’t afford in my job.

But I’m doing 80 Day Obsession, and I’ve swore to stick to it. So I set my clock to get up earlier than usual, reasoning that I’d try a morning workout once. If it worked, I could do it again later in the programme as a contingency option where necessary. If it really left me feeling awful, I wouldn’t force myself again.

And then, once I got up, I suddenly remembered I had an early morning meeting and there wasn’t going to be time to work out. It’s credit to how addicted I’ve already got to this programme that I felt infuriated rather than secretly relieved.

Skipping forward to 6.30 when the quiz started. The good part is that I was very well behaved. No wine. None of the hundreds of amazing baked goods. Just an attempt at a pre-workout meal, though I didn’t have quite the right things. The bad part is that it was a little depressing how less fun the even was without sugar and booze. I was hoping to have been able to say just the opposite. Hopefully, this was just due to it being in a work context or it being week one and my body and mind being a little thrown, combined with my frustration at the thought of missing a workout already.

Anyway, I left halfway through, partly because I wasn’t 100% feeling it, partly because I reasoned that would just about give me time to do AAA after all. My husband was stunned that I was a)back so early and yet b)planning to work out so late. I started the workout at 8.30. Quite a bit later than I’d normally attempt, particularly for something 50 minutes long. By the time I ate at 9.30, I was starving and a little dizzy (my meal timings were all off and I hadn’t eaten in hours by then, and my pre-workout meal had been a bit patchy anyway) but I felt extremely proud of my determination. And was I’d had some tasty homemade fajitas, I felt a lot better physically.

As a consequence of the quiz and the late workout, it’s getting late, and I’m ready for bed, so I’ll leave the detailed review of this one till next week. My review of the equivalent workout in ALO  gives a fair sense. This was longer overall, with two arm exercises (but still just one ab and one ass exercise) per round, but otherwise broadly similar in concept, difficulty level and effectiveness.

And one day during this programme, I promise I’ll attempt the early morning workout approach again!

***

If you don’t currently have access to BOD, you can get a year’s subscription, a month’s supply of Shakeology, and all the accessories you need for 80 Day Obsession for just £180  here

 

If you’re already a Beachbody on Demand customer, you can get everything you need for 80 Day Obsession (workout calendar, resistance bands, strength sliders, portion fix containers) with Shakeology here, with performance supplements here, or with both here. 

There are a variety of different combinations of BOD access, 80 Day Obsession accessories, Shakeology and performance supplements available. Do drop me a line if you’re not sure which is right for you or if you’d like more information about this programme or anything else.