Goal: 6 LONG Fit2B routines in 6 days!
Final Week! This has been a tough few weeks for me, for so many reasons. But I wanted to push through it anyway. After this I’ll be stepping back to do some short routines with a focus on bumping up my intensity (heavy weights, etc) without necessarily working out longer. This week had a lot of long workouts, some of the longest on all of Fit2B. So the biggest struggle was literally finishing them.
I had some fun using my son’s toys for props in this workout. (He also added himself as a handy prop on several occasions. But a 27 lb, 21 month is makes it a little too difficult to do inclined planes in my opinion.) This workout is exactly what it sounds like, a combination of yoga and Pilates but done at a slightly faster pace using lightly weighted objects to bring up the difficulty.
This workout is divided into five segments that can be done altogether or one at a time. This was much harder than I thought it would be. The hands a knees portion, while effective was probably not tummy safe enough for me since my DR is still open. The whole thing was a little much for me to devote all to one muscle area, but definitely effective.
This workout is exactly as it sounds, peaceful, slow moving and yet appropriately physically demanding. Slow sustained work is often as hard, if not harder, than fast, intense work. Let me just say this about a 40 minute slow moving workout. It is almost impossible to do with small children around. With a faster moving routine (like Basic Step II for example), it’s easier to block out the whining, fighting and general chaos that ensues whenever I try to workout while my kids are awake and not in front of a screen. In this particular instance, I refused to pause and break up their fights, but the noise was definitely distracting from the gentle, relaxing tone of the workout. (My 21 month old was particularly interested in the kitty that made an appearance during the workout and after the cat walked off screen kept saying “bye bye, kitty” which was distracting but adorable).
If you can do this without distraction you will get so much more out of it. That being said, there is still a benefit even if you aren’t able to completely engage because of outside distractions.
This is one of the few workouts this week where I felt strong. I was able to do it, and it felt like work but it wasn’t totally unattainable. It’s nice to do something that feels possible, even if it is difficult. Despite it’s name, this workout actually works much more than just your backside. It even has a bit of upper body and there are plenty of opportunities to modify it to make it more challenging if needed. It starts standing but most if it is done on the floor. While this isn’t a favorite workout of mine, it was exactly what I needed this week.
While my stamina has improved a lot, this workout was still very difficult for me. The movements themselves actually aren’t too bad and the one of the best parts about any Tabata style workouts is the build in rests. However, I still found myself huffy and puffy by around halfway through. It is longer than I can usually manage all in one sitting, but it’s also a good one to break up into sections if needed because, again, Tabata lends itself to that. I’ll definitely be coming back to this one as I get stronger.
I had to break this up into two different sections because it is a pretty intense workout and it’s LONG! As in over 60 minutes. In my house, the chances of 60 minutes of uninterrupted workout time while the children are unconscious and not in front of a screen is virtually 0. But it is something fun to work towards as I get stronger and more flexible. I can see the appeal but as a general rule I think I’m more of a cardio & weights girls, which is totally OK.
This week was the toughest, but my biggest success was actually working out every day. So from that perspective, this pathway felt like a success. Now I have to decide how to move forward. I want to keep focusing on 6 days a week but I’m going to give myself at least one day a week to focus on just stretching. I’m also going to try cutting sugar in my diet to see how that affects my energy levels and cravings. I’ll be doing shorter workouts but still trying to keep my intensity up. The last few weeks have been harder than I thought they would be. I’ve discovered that I’m stronger than I thought in some areas and weaker in others. But it still feels good to be able to check this pathway off and call it done.
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