Body Revolution - Phase 3, Cardio 3

Phase 3 cardio takes you through all four weeks of Phase 3, just like with the previous two phases. This one is pretty simple in which you do the circuit three times over, but the moves in general are HARD. Even Jillian herself says that this was probably the most vicious workout she's created and she wasn't lying. By the end of Cardio 3, I was dripping in sweat. It is the toughest Jillian cardio workout I've done personally (Workout 11 and Cardio 3 are about equal).

So, there are several different moves that last around twenty seconds or so. You start with windmills, and you quickly move from that to fast feet, knee thrusts on both sides, double jump jumprope, and jumping front kicks. She also has you drop down in plank for plank moguls. Then you do a purely evil few minutes of rockstar jumps, squat jumps, jumping lunges, and squat jacks. She has you do four high knees and then an up down/burpee. Standing mountain climbers, high knees with a rotation, long jump forward and two jumps backward, cannon balls. She has you drop down on the floor for plank taps, crab kicks (which I hate with a passion!), knee thrusts in plank, down dog thrusters, zig zag jumps, side burpees, single leg hops, and then finally, back in plank again for plank punches.

And you get to do this two more times!! 

It is tough. A ton of plyometric moves, lots of planks, lots of burpee variations. I did this workout in the summer months and also in the winter months when my home was pretty cold at night, and it didn't matter. I was dripping. But it's still a great cardio workout a super effective!

Body Revolution - Phase 3, workout 12

THIS IS YOUR LAST WORKOUT!! WOO HOO! You are a force to be reckoned with!

I'll be honest, after workout 11 I was scared for workout 12. Phew. But I really enjoyed it! Your warmup consists of plank taps, long jumps, and donkey kicks, which you do on each side.

Circuit one has you doing a lat pull on a one legged bridge, alternating plank rows, a tuck to a sprawl (which reminds me of boat pose spraws), and then alternating popups, which reminds me of surrender lunges to a degree. You repeat all this after doing your cardio, which is cannonball jumps.

Circuit two is a bit tough. She has you do what's called wheel pushups. I've never been able to get in wheel pose, let alone do a pushup, so I definitely modified. Then you do alternating dumbbell rows, which is sounds easy, but you go so fast that you definitely get your heart rate up and going! Next, get in plank, and get ready because you do reverse flies in plank, and then you do tricep kickbacks in plank. Repeat after zigzag jumps for cardio.

Circuit 3 has you doing sit up flies with your resistance band. Next you stand on our resistance band and go into a backwards lunge and then stand up and and do a shoulder press with your resistance band. You do that on the opposite side after you do squat jumps holding weights, which is super tough. You get to do it all again after you do your cardio interval, which is speedbag with kickouts. 

Last circuit in this last workout. I almost cried! Circuit four has you doing single leg squat jumps, and then bicep curls. Just simple bicep curls. Single leg squat jumps on the other side, and then dancing crab. Your cardio interval is side to side hops with weights. And then you repeat on the opposite side!

And then you cool down. What I loved about the cool down is once you're finish, Jillian bring the entire cast up. Everyone is clapping, and she congratulates you on completing the 90 days program, and reminds you that they're there whenever you need them.

I really love Body Rev. I loved seeing lots of Jillian 'regulars' in there like Natalie, Anita, Mimi, Kenta, meeting some new ones (I loved Teri Ann and Omar!) and just the whole workout in general. And to complete something that is three months long and build every week was great. I was never bored with Body Rev (except maybe the cardio's, since they did last the whole month, but that could be easily rectified) and while some of the workouts were SUPER TOUGH, it's my favorite program so far of it's caliber.

Body Revolution - Phase 3, Workout 11.

Okay. We're at workout 11. The first time I did Workout 11 for in Body Rev, I cried. Jillian is crazy. Evil. Demented. Pick your adjective and go! I will say that the second time I did Body Rev, I found workout 11 a little easier to manage (maybe because I knew what to expect and pushed myself harder on 9 and 10?), but it was still HARD. So far, I think workout 11 is the hardest Jillian I have ever done. So with that said, lets break it down!

As usual, you start with your warmup, which has overhead punches with your resistance band, down dog thrusters, fast squats, single leg mountain climbers, and high knees.

Your first circuit from hell has something calls reverse squats, where you get in a super deep squat, and then bring it up to a regular squat. Then you do scorpion pushups. And then you get into jumping static lunges with a shoulder press. My shoulders were burning! Oh, and that's not all. Your cardio is weighted burpees. What. Repeat on the other side if you're not dead. ;) It's only circuit one!

Circuit two has dive bombers, bear walks (which remind me of duck walk), and then tricep kickbacks in plank on both sides. Your cardio is crab kicks and you repeat on the opposite side.

Circuit three has jumping statue of liberty. Then she has you do pushups with your resistance band, so as you're coming up from that pushup, the resistance band is trying to keep you from coming up. Ohh the burn. You do statue of liberty jumps on the other side, and then she has you hold chaturanga. You cardio is standing mountain climbers and then you repeat all that on the other side.

And then circuit four is the circuit from Hell! This one is tough. First you go into dragon stance and do lateral raises. Then she has you do three part pushup. Where you're in pushup, and start with your hands fairly close together, and then you bring your hands wider, and then wider again. And then you bring it back up. So it's a pushup, a three part one. Phew. So tough! Then she has you do russian twists, and then as if that wasn't enough, you get in plank and do plank twists. Your cardio is long jump with two hops back, and then you get to do this fun, fun, fun circuit all over again!

And now, you may cool down. Oh man. Toughest workout in the whole program. I bet you did amazing!!

Body Revolution - Phase 3, Workout 10

On to workout 10, which is one of my favorites! Your warmup included rockstar jumps, which are favs of mine. It also has up downs with supermans, alternating push kicks, arm circles, 180 jumps (another favorite!) and butt kicks. You're good and warm to move on to circuit one with this warmup.

Circuit one has you in reverse plank with leg raises, which is a lot harder than it seems! Then Jillian has you do alternate jumping lunges with weights. As much as though suck, I got so excited because who would have thought that I would have been able to do that during week one?! She has you do another move which I really love, which is where you lunge backwards on one leg (lets say your right leg) and then as you come back from that backwards lunge, you push it forward and bring your left leg forward to kick it upwards. I loved this move because it felt extra dancey and kickbox-y. Your cardio is where you're doing lunge taps. I thought those would be pretty easy as you're in plank but moving your leg back and forth but it was tough. Anything that looks easy, especially in week 10, is an optical illusion! Repeat on the other side and you're on to circuit 2.

Circuit two has you doing a curtsey lunge with a fly using your resistance band. Then you get your dumbbell and do a woodchopping lunge. Then you hold a squat while holding your heaviest weight. You do woodchoppers on the other side, and then your cardio is dumbbell swings. Which is kind of like doing a kettlebell swing, jumping forward three times, and bringing it back three times. I actually used my kettlebell for this one the majority of the time, and I enjoyed it. And then, of course, you repeat on the other side.

Circuit three is a flying pigeon squat with a bicep curl. Next is a squat jump with an upright row, which I loved. You do pigeon on the other side with the curls, and then you get into superman with reverse flies. You repeat that after your cardio which is rockstar jumps with weights.

Circuit 4 is possibly my favorite. You do a yoga pose called half moon, you do single arm rows, and then you repeat on the opposite side, so you do each twice for the first half of the circuit on opposite sides. Your cardio is windmills with weights, which is one of my favorite cardio moves, and then you repeat both again. And guess what - you're done!

Enjoy your cooldown and beware - workout 11 made me cry. ;)

Body Revolution - Phase 3, Workout 9

Woot woot! You’ve got FOUR WEEKS LEFT!! :D Oh man, now we’re onto the last phase and things are really starting to heat up. I love weeks 9 and 10, maybe even more than 7 and 8! 

Like always, Jillian has you doing a quick warmup. You have speed rope, high front kicks, half squat with a round kick, jumping jacks, and then mountain climbers. Plank in the warmup? That’s when you know you’re getting stronger! 

Cricuit One has you doing something called pushup jacks. So in pushup position, you jump the feet out as you go down for your pushup, and then bring them back in as you go back up. Yeah, the girl is crazy. Then in plank, she has you doing plank flies on each side. Next is a really deep squat, where you go up on your tip toes as you go down. Your cardio is jumping jacks in squat, and then you repeat all that on the other side. 

Circuit two is something evil called dive bombers, which I had never heard of. It reminds me of creeping under a fence in a way, or diving down into a pushup from downward dog, and then into cobra, back into downward dog, when you go down again. Then you do sphinx pushups, which is as mean as it sounds. Then down dog series, where you bring your knee in to the left, center, and front. The you do frog into squats, which is kind of like a burpee. It reminds me more of bear into squat. Your cardio is side burpees and then you repeat all that again. 

Circuit three has a walk out into plank from standing all on one leg. Then you’re down in a chair pose, and then you’re doing boat pose into hollow man. Then you’re doing hip thrusts with your resistance band. You cardio is in plank and it’s plank moguls and then you repeat on the other side. 

Circuit 4 has some classic Jillian moves. You do a squat with a V Fly which I remember doing all the way back with the 30 Day Shred, and I still hate them :D. Then you do a curtsey lunge with a lateral raise. She has you get back down into crab and you do tricep dips and then into side plank for an oblique crunch. Your cardio is another classic Jillian move: Rock and Roll squats! I can do these, but they scare the crap out of me, so I usually modify. It sucks because I actually really love them, but I can see it ending badly. I feel like I need a pool of deep water near when I roll back up to standing! hah. And then you repeat circuit 4 on the other side. 

You’ve earned your cool down. Phew. 

Body Rev - Phase 2 Cardio

Phase 2 Cardio. 

The Phase 2 cardio workout takes you through all four weeks of Phase 2. So on your cardio days, you will do this workout, and you’ll do it a total of eight time during Phase 2. All other workouts you do four times.

So the cardio workout is pretty simple. There are 14 different moves that you do for approximately 30 seconds, and you repeat it three times. Get ready to sweat. Since it’s a cardio workout, you don’t need to warm up. The moves are jump rope, butt kicks, high knees, alternating knee thrusts, jumping jacks, fast feet, skaters, skiers, plié hops, cross jacks, half squat uppercuts, towel runs, hooks, and…boom! Thought you might escape those burpees, but they are ba-aaack! 

So, like I said, you do each of these moves for approximately 30 seconds each, and then you move on to the next one and repeat this circuit three times. The Cardio 1 workout is my favorite cardio from Body Rev, but this one is my second favorite (and then Cardio 3 is somewhere down in hell!). I did like having some uppercuts and hooks in there, and I'm all about those skaters, jump rope, and fast feet. There is one amusing moment during towel runs and Jillian is joking about how bad the workout sucks, and then she’s like, “Who’s the crazy person who came up with that? Hurts So Good, oh my endorphins!” I KNOW! John Cougar Mellancamp, and I love that song! Small towns unite! I always love when there are moments in a workout that I remember and look forward to getting to when it comes to doing them over again. 

Cardio 2 is definitely a step up from Cardio 1. I’m someone who likes cardio more than the strength training/HIIT training. 

Body Revolution - Phase 2, Workout 8!

Body Revolution - Phase 2, Workout 8!

All righty! On to workout 8. I really enjoyed workout 8. I liked the moves and I felt like we’ve really stepped it up to a better workout. You start this one with a brief warmup, like always. This one has side crunches (elbows to knees), cobra pose, and surfer getups on both sides to help get you warm and ready to work.  

Circuit 1 has you in a squat with a medium row, lat pulls while in bridge position, upright rows with your resistance band, and then a deadlift with hammer curls. You repeat that on each side after you have a one minute cardio interval that is butt kicks with hammer curls. 

Circuit 2 is pendulum lunges with a reverse bicep curl (so palms are facing forward) and pelvic thrusts with your resistance band. Those are the only two moves but you repeat them several times throughout this circuit (each side, totaling the up and down four times I think) and your cardio is jump rope with weights. 

Circuit 3 is evil. Live backwards is EVIL. Or is it love backwards? When you do this workout, that’ll make sense. It’s a Natalie moment. ;). You have been warned. You get in crescent pose, and bust out some lateral raises. As if your shoulders aren’t already on fire, she has you in Warrior 3, with your hands out holding the weights. You get to do it on the other side right away, and then you get to do rockstar jumps, and then you get to light another match for your shoulders. ;) 

Circuit 4 is a weighted good morning, a side lunge into a crossover lunge holding weights on both sides one one leg (you’ll repeat on the other both times), and then bicycle crunches with your band. Your cardio is suicide runs. 

So I really like workout 7 and 8. I really felt like I was finally starting to be challenged! I liked the previous six weeks, but I can’t help but wonder if I should have done the less intense workouts for a shorter amount of time, because at times it felt a little too beginnerish. Then other times I felt like I was really being challenged. That’s the beauty of Body Rev though! 

Body Revolution - Phase 2, Workout 7

You’re officially past the halfway point and now on to Week 7! I think Week 7 and 8 are my two favorite workouts in the program so far. Jillian really steps it up during the second half of Body Rev, and I really feel like I’m getting to push all those muscles I’ve been working the last 6 weeks to the max! 

Week 7 starts with a quick warmup with some side to side squats, lunges with stretch, and a few short cardio moves. Jillian warns that the warmup is deceptive and she’s right. I know I said I liked workout 7 and 8 the best sp far, but the first circuit is mean! Want to know why? It’s mostly in plank. Ugh! The first move is crow pushups. I hate those. Does anyone like them? Haha. Then walking plank. And then if your abs aren’t already screaming, you’re doing plank ups. She finally gives you a break while you roll over. ;) And then you’re doing jackknife crunches. But never fear! You get a break as you roll over to get back in plank position for your cardio interval. I bet you’re really looking forward to workout 7 so far! ;) 

It gets a little better. Circuit two has pike pushups, tricep kickback with your resistance band, and then w-presses on one leg as you extend your leg out. Cardio reminds me of DDR. You hop on one leg forward, backward, and to the side. I like to do up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, select start. ;) Or pretend I’m jumping on some arrows! I use weights instead of the band for my tricep kickbacks because my band is different than Jillian’s and it’s hard to do the move in the way she wants. 

Circuit three has you squatting with your elbows in a 90 degree angle while holding the resistance band, and then standing on the resistance band, bringing it behind your head and doing a tricep extension. Then on the floor you go to do a single leg pushup. It’s about as fun as it sounds, a pushup with one leg extended in the air! Then you get to hold boat post. Cardio is star jumps, and I’ve always enjoyed these :D 

In circuit 4, you do something that I’m going to call quad raises, because I can’t remember if Jillian had a technical term for them. You’re on your knees, and then you sit back, your butt touching your heels, and then you pop up, doing this while holding your heaviest weights up. You’re working your quads. Then you get on your back and you do chest presses. You can your feet on the floor with your knees bent, holding your legs 6 inches off the floor, or raising your feet up and down doing leg raises. Jillian says it all depends on what is hardest for you. I usually alternate between holding them 6 inches off the floor and doing leg raises. Next you do side plank crunches, and then you’re on your back doing the same thing, but instead of chest presses, you do chest flies. Your cardio is double under jump rope, and then you repeat on the other side. 

After a cool down, you are done! Woo hoo! After that terrible first circuit, this may be one of my favorite Body Rev workouts so far!  

Body Revolution: Phase 2, Workout 6

Body Revolution. Phase 2, Workout 6

On to week six. You’re halfway through now, so congratulations! After a quick warmup consisting of swing kicks, speed rope, and alternating knee thrusts, you’re ready to work the front of your body. Did I mention that on even workouts (2, 4, 6, etc.) you work the front of the body and on odd days (1, 3, 5, etc.) you work the back of the body? I don’t think I did, so that’s one little tidbit I am pretty sure I forgot to mention. 

You start out with with bent over, high and wide rows. You do crossover lunges to the front with a bicep curl, and then you do a move that is in almost every Jillian workout: plank rows. She has you do supermans with weights. You repeat that after doing rockstar jumps for cardio. 

Circuit two is a bit meaner. She has you in stork stance (or warrior 3) with low rows. Then she has you in reverse plank. She has you grab you resistance band and do heavy bicep curls. Since my resistance band is kind of crappy, I just used my heaviest dumbbells and sped it up a bit. You repeat this after doing cardio, which I don’t know the name of. I remember doing it in Ripped In 30. It’s kind of like doing a skater, but instead of swinging your leg back like you’re skating, you bring your knee up and stabilize (almost as if you’re going to kick). 

Circuit 3 had Statue of Liberty, which is a single leg squat holding one weight and flying the weight with your arm back. Then it’s time to do the lunge chop, which kind of reminds me of a baseball swing. You repeat each of these on one side so you do each side twice per circuit, and your cardio is running man. Have fun with that. (Personally? I love running man, but I hear so many people who hate it!)

Circuit 4 is actually my favorite circuit, which is kind of weird since it’s mostly ab work on the mat, and I usually hate ab work! On your back with your heaviest weights, do a lateral raise and a high crush (basically a sit up). Then you work your low abs with reverse crunch. Next you work your obliques with windshield wipers. Last move is you’re up doing kettlebell swings with a dumbbell. Since I have a kettlebell, I just use my kettlebell instead of a dumbbell. Your cardio is zig zag jumps, and I love these. 

Body Revolution Phase 1 Rundown

Jillian Michaels - Body Revolution - Phase 1

So here’s a rundown of Phase 1 of Body Revolution! Phase 1 covers the whole first month. There are five workouts in Phase 1 (P1) - four strength training workouts and one cardio workout. 

P1, Workout 1: Like every Jillian workout, you start with a warm up. This one has military march, arm swings, hip and knee circles. Once you’re warmed up, you’re ready to work! In Body Revolution, you have four circuits. In each circuit, you have three moves, you do a cardio interval, and then you repeat the three moves. Circuit one has squats, pushups, plank hold, and then chest flies. Cardio is something called towel run, which is where you pretend to run around a towel on the ground. I really liked this for some reason! Circuit two was sumo squats, tricep kickback, and standing abductions. Cardio was speedbag, which is a favorite of mine. Circuit 3 was chair squat with a front raise, standing tricep extension, standing in Warrior 2 Post, and then cardio interval was marching in place. Fourth circuit was leg extensions, bicycle crunches, leg extensions on the other side, and then lateral raises. Cardio interval was a squat out to the side. And then you cool down. 

P1, Workout 2: So again, you start with a warmup that has dynamic stretches to get your heart rate up. I think I remember skaters, arm swings, and toe touches in the warmup. Circuit one had you on your hands and knees, extending one leg back and opposite arm out (bird dog), pelvic thrusts with a resistance band, superman, and then pelvic thrusts on the other side. Cardio was alternating knee thrusts. Circuit 2 had static lunge with rotations, wide dumbbell rows, static lunge on the other side, and the bicep drags. Cardio was side to side kickbacks. Circuit 3 had deadlift with bicep curls, donkey kicks, crunches, and then donkey kicks not he other wide, with knee hikes for cardio. Last circuit has you doing seated rows with your resistance band, good mornings, hammer curls, and step ups. Cardio was uppercuts in squat.  And then it’s time to cool down!

P1, Workout 3: Quick warmup with a bit of cardio and dynamic stretching to get your body warm (jumping jacks, cat/cow stretch) and you’re ready to go! Circuit one has pushups, walkout planks, lunges, and downward dog with a leg grab. Cardio is jump rope and you repeat all the strength moves. Circuit 2 included sumo squats with a tricep extension, camel, squat presses, and cable presses, and you repeat these after your cardio interval, which is squat punches. Onward to circuit three where you do plank into crescent pose, crab, and side crunches, and repeating on the other side after plie hops. Finishing up with Circuit 4, you do tree pose with a lateral raise, plank up (which I despise), and inchworm. Your cardio is skiers. You finish up with a cool down - you’ve earned it!!

P1, Workout 4: You’re almost done with the first month! Woo hoo! So, after a quick cardio and stretching warmup, you start circuit one with alternating forward lunges, rows in squat position, and single leg deadlifts with upright rows, which you repeat after your cardio intervals of plyometric skaters. Circuit 2 has side lunges and bicep curls, bent over wide rows, surrender lunges, and weighted step ups, which you repeat after lateral/side to side hops. Next is thigh lifts, which I loved this little break. Lay on your side and put a dumbbell on the outside of your leg and lift them up! Alternating leg lifts in blank, and hollow man, and then you repeat all that after fast feet. In your final circuit of the final month, you do terry pulls, weighted good mornings, and something called squirms. You repeat that after your cardio interval that is a combo of jab, cross, and hook. I loved these! And then cool down! You’ve earned it! 

Cardio 1: So cardio starts quick and ends quick. Since it’s a straight up cardio workout, no warmup is needed. There are eihgt exercises that last a minute long, and you repeat it three times, making it about 28 minutes long, and then a cool down. The workout includes march in place, fast feet, half squat with punches, jogging in place, running man, speed bag, arm circle kickouts, and suicide runs. I’ve always been a cardio girl so this cardio was right down my alley. I loved it!

So, the first two weeks, I found pretty easy. In most Jillian workouts, she has you working two muscle groups at once. For example, while doing things like tricep extensions, you’re also doing squats and working legs and arms at the same time. With the first two weeks of Body Revolution, you’re not doing that, you’re only working one muscle group at the same time. I felt like I could have skipped the first two weeks, to be honest, but I also enjoyed it as it was a good way to rebuild myself up. Although I had started back up with Jillian workouts and repeated Ripped In 30 and played around with some other DVD’s, it was fun to start a new program from the beginning. If you’ve worked out with Jillian before, you may not need the first two phases. Personally, I still would squat or lunge while working my arms, and vice versa. Otherwise, it really was a bit too easy for me. (It doesn’t last though. Just wait! You’ve been warned!) The third and the fourth week were a little better, but I still revved it up. If you’re familiar with Jillian or done them before, you know that you can take it further. Just listen to your body, it’s your workout!

Introducing Body Revolution!

Hey guys! I did something that really intimidated me: I completed Body Revolution! Woo hoo! I was planning on blogging about it as I went but life happened. I’m still trying to decide on exactly how I want to break it down. Every two weeks you change your workout. Usually when I review a DVD, I break each workout down by levels, about about the majority of the exercises, but if that were the case, there would be a TON of entries. I initially thought I would break it down by weeks (week 1 and 2, week 3 and 4, and so on all the way up to week 11 and 12) but that would be a lot of entries on one program also, although shorter than one entry per exercise. Earlier today while thinking of how I was going to do the blog, I even thought about breaking it into phases. There are three (each month equals a phase) so that would cut it down to three entries about Body Revolution, not counting this one. If anyone has a preference, let me know! Lots of reading for you equals lots of typing for me and I’ve proven I can be a bit slow. ;)(That’s not that I don’t think of this blog all the time!!)

So Body Revolution. Ninety days. Oh man, guys, I just kept putting it off and putting it off. What if it progressed into something way too hard? What if I couldn’t do it? But…what if I could?? Ultimately I started Body Revolution because (not surprising!) I was scheduled to do an ab/core workout and uggggh! I still hate core workouts. They are a waist!! (Get it? Waist, waste, core workout…) Not wanting to do it, I remembered I had Body Revolution just sitting there and boom. I watched Week 1, really thought I would enjoy it, and that’s it. :)

So Body Revolution is different from any other Jillian DVD I’ve done. Instead of having two people in the background doing modified and advanced moves, there is a whole room of people! And this includes favorites of mine such as Natalie, Anita, Mimi and others from other DVD’s, but new people too! I really liked that there was a good mix of men and women in this program, because I felt like I might actually get a few guys to work out with me, and not feel that it was just a “girly” workout. This workout progresses, too! It really is a building block program. Each workout gets harder and harder. The great thing is that it changes every two weeks, so there is no getting bored. (Or if you’re like me, if there is a particular workout you despise, you only have to do it for two weeks, a total of four times!!! haha!) There is 15 workouts in total. Twelve strength training workouts, and three cardio workouts. It’s separated in three months, or phases. Month/Phase 1 is includes Cardio 1, Workouts 1, 2, 3, and 4. Phase 2 is Cardio 2 and Workouts 5, 6, 7, and 8. And Phase 3 is Cardio 3 and workouts 9, 10, 11, and 12. So for the first two weeks, you do workout 1, workout 2, cardio 1 each twice a week (Monday and Thursdays could be workout 1, Tuesdays and Fridays workout 2, and Wednesday and Saturday cardio 1), and have one rest day. Then on week 3-4, you do the same things except instead of workouts 1 and 2, changed those with 3-4 and continue with Cardio 1. It’s the same schedule as you progress to a new phase. Each workout twice a week (cardio remains the same for the whole month). I loved how except for the cardio (which did get a little bit boring by the time it came to switch) I was never bored!

The cast/background people are super motivating and it was great to see some of my favorites and get some new favorites! Mimi made me laugh just as much in this one as she makes me laugh in Killer Body. There were some moves that I had never done before in a Jillian workout so that was really cool! In all, the program was an amazing success! I definitely notice changes in my body that I could not see before, and that’s awesome, because I was beginning to feel a little stuck. I truly believe that a beginner could start with this (I felt that the beginning was a bit easy, but I will go into more details when I give a more detailed review) and be proud of what they’ve accomplished when they get near the end. I truly feel that way and I’ve been doing these type of workouts for a few years now!

Body Revolution may be my new favorite Jillian program and I am so excited to go further into detail soon! 

Finding the joy in fitness again

Hey guys! Wow, still can’t believe that I kept that last post up. I’ll be honest: It was kind of liberating in a way! Since then, I’ve been working very hard to try to find the joy in fitness again and not be so controlled by the need to get on the treadmill or do my workout. I want to enjoy my life, and if I start dreading all this now when I still have (hopefully) years and years to live, it’ll not be a fun life to live!

I recently bought a stand up paddle board (SUP), which is something I’ve wanted to try for a long, long time! I read about it in a book and it sounded interesting, especially after the protagonist in the book talked about how it was such a great workout. Haha. (Seriously though, I’ve always been interested in water sports, water skiing, jet skiing, swimming. I like to think it’s because I was born under the sign of the water bearer!) I googled stand up paddle boarding though, and beyond the idea of a great workout, it looked SO FUN. And quickly it became something I wanted to try, and then it became a major interest. So for the last couple of years, I’ve been hemming and hawing over buying a board or renting one and trying it somewhere nearby. I looked up all kinds of prices and different types, from inflatable to solid. It just so happened that I was at my local Walmart, and saw one, and like always, I went to look at it and dream about paddle boarding, and then I noticed the price. A good $200 cheaper than the cheapest one I had seen. What. I went home thinking it might be too good to be true, and did some research online again, when I learned that that paddle board was actually rated fairly highly at other places online. I watched a few review videos on youtube, and then double checked the prices again, on different sporting good websites, amazon, and on Walmart’s actual website, where the same exact paddle board was super high. What?! So, we went back, double checked, and the paddle board was legitimately being sold for under $70. The man who worked there said that they were definitely losing money on the boards selling them for that price, but they were just wanting to get rid of them. I somehow lucked out! I bought the last board except for the display. 

I’ve gotten it out on the water once and really, really enjoyed it! I only fell once, and that was after the first time standing up. Once I got standing again, I really did it! I only fell one other time, but that was purposely because I wanted to get back on the board in the middle of the lake just to make sure that wouldn’t be an issue. haha. I felt like I had a good grasp on it, and I’m actually going again tomorrow. I’m looking really forward to it. It’s something fun and active that doesn’t feel like a chore, and that’s wonderful. And it’s a good non-scale victory too. If I hadn’t lost the weight, would I be able to do this? Paddle boards have a weight limit, ya know! Plus, balancing, being fit enough to paddle for long periods of time, and so on. While on the board the last time, standing in the middle of the lake, I almost got emotional. I wanted to go back and thank the old me. It was her, after all, who decided to get up and jump on the DDR pad, and make it a routine.

On the subject of DDR, I MISS IT! I think I need to invest in a soft pad so I can play more often. I think that might help bring back some of the joy in fitness. I began a new Jillian program about six weeks ago. It’s Jillian’s Body Revolution (reviews to come soon - and there are a lot! It’s a 90 day, 12 workout program!) and I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to realize that football runs or fast feet is incredibly similar to DDR moves! I used to hate fast feet until I was able to find a way to relate it to DDR. Woohoo! 

How’s summer going for everyone?

Have you recently tried something you’ve wanted to try?