Getting Fit

April 19th, 2010

If you know me personally or follow my tweets, then you likely know that I’m an active gal. I enjoy snowboarding, downhill mountain biking, yoga, gardening, cooking and a variety of other activities (too many to name). Unfortunately now that I am over 30 (sssh, don’t tell anyone) my metabolism seems to have begun its expected slow down. In addition, I had abdominal surgery in October, then tore my meniscus in February. I also quit smoking and changed my diet to being primarily plant-based. Unfortunately I have gained weight (fat) and have now been working it off for the last several weeks. While I haven’t seen a significant difference in my appearance yet, I am beginning to feel more fit, which is great. I am currently continuing with my normal activities, but adding videos to my routine as well. The gym costs more than I am willing to spend right now, and honestly I could buy a new video every week and still save money. I purchased the following videos:
Jillian Michaels – 30 Day Shred
Jillian Michaels: No More Trouble Zones
10 Minute Solution – Kickbox Bootcamp
Weight Loss Cardio Kick

I am loving all of them so far. The 30 day shred is my daily standby and features 3 levels of exercise. It’s a 20 minute workout that features Jillian’s 3-2-1 system: 3 minutes strength training, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of abs for 3 Circuits. You can start with level 1 and work your way up to level 3. She does have low and high impact versions of most exercise to allow you to really work your way up. I’ve hit level 3 now and I am still loving this video.

Jillian’s “trouble zones” video is tough! It goes straight to a level three as compared to “the shred”. It hurts every time I do this, but in a good way. I’m definately building muscle and getting some great definition as a result, but I can really only do it once a week or once every two weeks right now.

Both cardio kickboxing videos offer a variety of workouts that you can select and are high energy and fun. I enjoy these the most because they don’t feel like working out quite so much. I usually do one of these each week, usually on low energy days when I don’t feel like I can deal with Jillian.

Finally, I’ve signed up for FitDay.com’s free calorie and activity tracker. This system allows me to calculate my caloric burn by logging my daily activities and enter the foods that I eat to estimate my caloric intake. This will help me understand my nutrition in terms of carb/protein/fat balancing as well as ensuring that I continue to burn more calories than I eat. It also tracks my weight and gives me a graph so that I can measure my progress (or lack thereof).  So wish me luck on my journey to lose a few inches, maybe a few pounds and to get into race shape before the season is over. If you are interested, you can track my progress here.

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