Jillian Michaels 6 Week 6 Pack

Well, I have an Amazon Prime membership and I LOVE it. Of course, I didn't initially get it to watch free videos and stuff (NetFlix style) but rather for faster and free shipping (I shop online quite a bit). But, bonus is that I get access to movies and TV! And, Jillian Michaels has several workouts free on Prime streaming. So, I decided to give this one a try on my laptop-- Jillian Michaels 6 Week 6 Pack. 

First, let me say that I will never have visible abs. I have a terrible mid-section and I am under no illusion that even doing this every day and eating lettuce that I would have abs pop out. But, she does state some obvious things like that you can't target fat burn the abs. You can TONE the abs and you can do cardio intervals at times to help burn fat (which will burn wherever you body sees fit) and if you burn enough on top of the hopefully well toned abs, then... 6 PACK TIME. Yeah, I never had a six pack. But, one can dream...

Anyway, it was a good workout. I was disappointed with my heart rate. I mean, I do lots of aerobic exercise and I believe my heart works pretty efficiently. I recover quickly, too. But, my average was only 115 bpm... for a 32 minute workout. SAD FACE. Only... that 115 bpm average heart rate is super misleading.  I was sweating like crazy. Seriously. SWEATING. Only 10 minutes of the 32 was I in my Polar monitor's "suggested range" for exercise, but she had cardio intervals interspersed and hopefully that will lend towards better metabolic burn despite the lower heart rate and increased emphasis on toning.

She has some modifications for those who need it. I went with the advanced gal most of the time, but I only did the first workout in the session, which is Level 1. It was (if you include the cool down at the end) around 35 minutes. I turned my HR monitor off when I realized we were sitting still during the cool down (I was at 79 before it was over). Active workout was around 32 minutes and that included a 3 minute warm-up that started pretty quickly. 

There wasn't much high impact. There was the option of a jump at the end of a burpee and there were mountain climbers. But, most of it wasn't much impact. She suggested a 3 to 8 pound weight. I used a 10 pound weight, but you use it only for maybe 8 minutes or so of the workout. Not much really at all.  You essentially just do a set of exercises and then repeat the entire set an additional time. So, it keeps changing and that's good.

I do suggest this as a workout if you have the time, though it's not going to give you great calorie burn (I think mine was just over 160 calories... and I can burn double that in 25 minutes on the treadmill). But, I think it was a good workout. 

Trampoline Workout --demo with pictures and video!

I rocked out another HOT trampoline workout today (seriously, it was 93 degrees with 70% humidity!). And, my average heart rate was above 160 bpm, which is really awesome. Jumping will do that for you!

So, if you are like me and have a kiddo or two with a trampoline and you are itching to get on there and exercise, totally DO IT. I wear a heart rate monitor to make sure my workout is effective. My range is always to shoot for over 145 at all times (after a few minutes of warmup jumping). And, I try to do 30 reps of an exercise and then just bounce for a bit in between. Since I am watching my heart rate, I make sure it doesn't dip out of range in between exercises. Time flies by!  Sometimes, since they are about 20 minutes long, I put my phone on my arms and listen to FitMuses (an app on my phone) where these two gals just talk about life while exercising (okay, maybe that's strange) or I download something from Steady130.

Some tips to elevate the heart rate:

• Involve your arms; raising arms above your head requires more effort and makes your body work harder
• Jump high; if you need a break, just do a sort of "jog in place" motion, which on a trampoline is more like jumping with one leg in front of the other and then switching with a lower jump than normal. 
• Experiment with raising your legs when jumping. I do various jumps that involve leg motions that really get the heart rate up high.

Some jumps:

Rocketship: Shoot your arms up as you jump high

Slalom: Think "skiing" and jump side to side with arms in jump rope motion.

Split jumps: Move arms down and legs out

Squat jumps: Raise those knees up and touch them with feet apart

Straddle: Jump and touch toes (cheerleader style)

Tuck: Narrow jump with knees together.

Prance: Think of it like a skip; raise one leg up as you jump and alternate legs

Air Jacks: Like jumping jacks

Hurdlers: Alternate legs with a bounce in between

Below is a short (less than 80 seconds) demonstration of the jumps that are shown above. If you try it out, let me me know! It's fun stuff! I read that 10 minutes of continuous jumping on a trampoline is equivalent to 30 minutes on a treadmill with 40% less pressure on your knees. I don't know how true it is, but I can say my heart rate for this workout was higher than my 4 mile run average today... so.... yeah. :)

Jane Fonda Walking Cardio Workout Level 2

I say any workout is better than sitting on the couch. But, this workout was pretty low key. If you are very new to exercise or just get winded if you go on a walk, this might be a good workout. And, it's excellent for older folks who are trying to stay active. But, it was NOT for me. Not. At. All. 

Here's the workout. It's essentially 18 minutes of walking in place, step touch, a little arm movement, some minor leg lifting... no jumping or anything high impact. Full workout video is 26 minutes as she spends the last 8 minutes doing stretches with a chair. 

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I am very "heart rate driven" and even with that, I just couldn't get my heart rate going. My average was pitiful-- 105 bpm with a top of 121 and that was probably because I was hopping when I was supposed to step touch.

I hate to be a workout snob, but unless you are not able to walk a mile without feeling tired, this workout needs a pass. I turned it off after the 18 minutes of active workout and didn't do the stretch. 

Sorry, Jane. But, hey, I burned 77 calories. So, there's that. ;)

I can't dance... but Lauren can!

I'll be honest. I am a terrible dancer. Terrible.

But, I happened upon some of Lauren Fitz' fitness warmup videos today and they are pretty fun. This gal is a super neat lady! They aren't crazy hard and they are repetitive so you can actually learn it and keep going (because, hey, I'm pushing 40 and I can't remember dance steps very well).

Her YouTube channel is here-->  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJYqB9IxpJsQl9mFmJd28JQ

She doesn't sell any fitness DVDs or anything. She is a certified Zumba and Hip Hop dance instructor in OKC, but that's not her full time job. She totally appears to LOVE her fitness classes and I dig her energy and enthusiasm.

I did several (like 10 or so!) of her fitness warmup videos today, including the two favorites of mine for the day-- Royals, Turn Down For What, and Flo Rida Low. They were fun. The videos are maybe 3 to 4 minutes long and I was only getting to about 120s heart rate, but that's better than walking and I think some of the poses (stretches, squatting, body rolls, booty shakes) probably are good for toning so it was combo workout. And, I think they would be excellent warmups before something more strenuous like a run or a cardio activity.

Royals is my fave-- great leg workout! :)


Overall, two thumbs up. Check her stuff out... I'd love to be in her class (as long as I wasn't in the video... I am SO VERY TERRIBLE... I tell ya!!!).

:) Cheers!

PopSugar At-Home Tabata Workout

Workout from--> http://www.fitsugar.com/-Home-Tabata-Workout-22825569

This was a relatively short, but difficult (for me, anyway) workout. I found it to be challenging. Of course, I'm sore from my three workouts yesterday but it did push me pretty hard!

Essentially, it's a tabata workout, 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off, repeat 3 times with a strength burst of 25 reps of something in between. My full workout came in at about 13 minutes:

Overall, I'm pleased with my heart rate (138 bpm average) considering the 20/10 pacing. I would certainly recommend this for someone, especially if you do a short run or something first.

Here's the list-->

PopSugar Standing Abs + Jump Rope Workout (20 minute interval training)

I follow PopSugar online and they post workouts about every day or so. I made sure to give this one a try since I despise most ab workouts AND I enjoy jump ropes.

Workout details are here (it's not a video, but just pictures and times):
http://www.fitsugar.com/Jump-Rope-Workout-20-Minutes-34635656

I did not use an actual rope for this; I just mimicked the jump rope and jumped in place. But, I enjoyed it. Essentially it's a no rest exercise with jump ropes for 1 minute followed by a standing abs exercise for another minute. It's five different standing exercises total and two rounds.

The outline is:
Jump Rope
Low to High Wood Chops (w/weight)
Jump Rope
Overhead Dumbbell Side Bend (w/weight)
Jump Rope
Kick Crunch
Jump Rope
Row with Twist (w/weight)
Jump Rope
Overhead Circle (w/weight)

I liked the workout. The overhead circle got my heart rate lower than I'd like so I would have preferred something different for the last exercise, but overall it was a good workout.

My heart rate floated between 120 and 150 most of the time, depending on the workout part. Average was 133 with high of 159 for a total time of 20 minutes.

As I put on about 5 pounds in the last 6 weeks with the busy school schedule, too much eating out, and too much ice cream (darn it) I have really got to focus and get back on track for summer!

Hope your summer is off to a great start!! Keep on moving!