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It’s been a tough week around here. Naps have been scarce, but I tried my best to fit workout in wherever I could. I realized that if I used proper form, taking clothes from the front loading washer and putting them into the dryer is a great bonus squat routine. I can do belly pulses at a red light. Even belly breaths while rocking a fussy baby is something.
I haven’t done this workout since I was pregnant, and it felt so hard then. I tried it with weights for the first time (which had been too difficult for me last time I did it) and it was difficult at times. I tried to focus on my core more than building muscles in my arms. But this is still a great all around workout. If you want something whole body, but don’t have time for something the length of Kelly’s Total Body workout, this is a great choice.
Hold It!
Neither cardio nor relaxing, it’s hard to classify this work out for you. If anything it forces you to focus on engaging your core in various postures with various levels of balance. While not a favorite of mine, it’s definitely worth trying now and again, if only to see how you’ve grown stronger since the last time.
Pilates in Pajamas
This was the first workout I attempted after a bit a break and it was a great way back in. It definitely has a relaxing component but still gets the body moving. I felt it especially helpful on my leg muscles, which in my case, is an area that needs some rejuvenation.
Daily Double
I was pleasantly surprised with this combination. Vertical Core isn’t one of my favorites, but it’s still a solid and short option to put a quick core focus into your workout. I’ve always loved Balanced and I remember it being fairly difficult on my upper body. But I actually really enjoyed it. I haven’t lost as much balance as I thought. I was only using three pound weights, but I was able to do the entire workout without any unplanned rests, though I need have to be very intentional about engaging my core. This workout has a nice combination of upper and lower body without being too challenging. I’ll definitely be putting it back in my regular rotation and increasing the weight as I’m able to.
Bonus cardio for 25-30 minutes on two additional days
For this week’s bonus cardio I tried new-to-me routines
I really liked this workout. It’s always nice to see another solid upper body workout with weights for the times when I get bored with Ultimate Upper Body or Insane Upper Body. Plus this is labeled an Easy workout, which means I can still do some weights which I focus on healing my core. That being said, the length makes it a bit prohibitive to do this regularly in my workout rotation. If I’m going to find 30 uninterrupted minutes for exercise (which rarely happens around here) I feel as though I should be working my whole body, not just my arms. That being said I liked it enough that I’ll probably try it again, even if I don’t do the whole routine every time.
First time with this workout, and it was really helpful to me. I felt like I do squats pretty well, but this workout helped me fine tune a few aspects of my squat form that needed a bit of correcting. I didn’t think it seemed too hard, until I went down my basement stairs afterwards. Wow, serious wobble in those leg muscles and a core working hard to keep me balanced. While I wouldn’t say it was one of the most fun workouts I’ve done, I definitely need to do this one again.
As the workouts start getting longer, this is getting more difficult. Even if it take me two works to complete a one week rotation of workouts, at least I’m moving forward. Onward to Week 5!
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