Fitness Friday: Spring Shake Up

Hello!

The last few weeks I've been struggling to keep up the motivation and focus. The 'New Year' enthusiasm has definitely packed up and gone so I've been looking into new ways to get back into it.

Working long hours with training, sorting out house stuff for my mortgage and solicitors and travelling with work have all meant that my exercise regime has all but disappeared. Now things with the house is mostly sorted and my work trips are only 2 days long I've been trying to get back into it.

I've been catching up on my fitness magazines and finding new workouts to try out but noticed that there were a lot of new programs starting online soon or that are available on the internet for free.

Tone It Up: Bikini Series 2015 - the TIU girls are amazing, I have huge crushes on both of them and I would absolutely love to look like either of them! 

Look at their beautiful abs!

I signed up straight away for their latest Bikini Series, they do it every year and it's an 8 week challenge. You get a new timetable every week with exercises and they regularly post recipes too - worth signing up for to give you motivation into your inbox regularly!

Muscle and Fitness 6 Week Fat Blast Program - another program this time for 6 weeks. This program consists of 3 full body workouts a week with 2 days dedicated to cardio and 2 for resting. This allegedly maximises fat burning and muscle growth and the workouts are detailed on the website, 2 full body workouts that you alternate and also 2 cardio routines. 

For someone that needs everything given to them at once so they can get their head around it and plan, this is perfect!

Shape's No Fail Fat Loss Plan is also another 6 week program. This program is also given to you in advance, it contains 11 different programs detailed in separate pages with videos and demonstrations so you know exactly what you need to do. The good part about this program is that there is a good range of exercises to keep you entertained including tabata, cardio, stretches, HIIT and metabolism boosters. 

I haven't tried any of these programs myself but having had a quick browse they look pretty good to me, a good range of exercises and catering to those who need time to prepare and those who need regular contact via email to keep their motivation up.

I will be reading through more closely and choosing some routines to try out myself, changing things up will boost my metabolism and keep my body guessing, both of which will help the fat burn faster!

Which of these do you think would be best for you? Will you be signing up for TIU as well as downloading the other programs?

It's 2 months before 'bikini season' arrives, it might not be bikini season in the UK strictly, but holidays are definitely looming and baring my body isn't going to be a pretty sight at the moment!

Hopefully this will keep me interested!

L xxx

Fitness Friday: Balance and Stretch

Good morning!

After a few setbacks recently due to work requiring me to go away I have been making a massive effort to make up for my week off exercise. My first day back was hard, really really tough but I pulled through it and 'got back on the horse' so to speak. 

One thing I've really been enjoying recently is my Body Balance class. It was one of my fitness resolutions for the year, to try out a yoga/pilates type class and Body Balance is a combination of yoga based moves mixed with elements of Tai Chi and Pilates so fits this perfectly.

Les Mills Body Balance 56 Poster

Stretching after a workout is one of my favourite things - after a really tough workout there's nothing better than stretching into those muscles and feeling the burn. Not only that but it's also great to have 5/10 minutes to yourself at the end of a workout to just think about everything and nothing, holding some stretches requires minimal brain effort and you can just relax into them and allow any residual stress to float away.

I always stretch at the end of a class (it makes me really angry when people walk out before the stretching!) and sometimes when I'm working hard in the gym I look enviously at the people lying out and stretching on the mats having completed their own workouts.

I don't know why I didn't try a balance type class before but I've wholly embraced it, even though my flexibility is something that needs major work and my muscles shake throughout the whole class!

Aside from the Les Mill's Body Balance class that I now do every other week there are also many other classes dedicated to stretching. Yoga, pilates, tai chi, even combination classes such as yogalates.

Cassey Ho - Founder of Blogilates

YouTube is also great for finding videos when you can't make it to a class and channels from people such as Blogilates and Tone it Up are great for this.

The above image shows Cassey Ho the founder of Blogilates and she is beautiful! I can definitely see the benefits of having a strong core in everyday life but for fitness and exercising it's a must and I really need to work on mine!

Have you tried a Body Balance type class? Do you have any other classes similar that you would recommend?

I'm so glad I've finally tried it out and hopefully over time I'll see improvements in my flexibility and core strength, though maybe I'll need to start going more regularly!

L xxx