January Cross Training: Week 3 #xtrainJan16

All but one of this week’s workouts were things I had never done before.  Lots of punching and kicking this week! Here’s how it went:

Friday, Jan 15 – Bob Harper’s Pure Burn Super Strength (Inside Out Method)

What can you expect from a workout that has lots of fitness buzzwords in its title? Lots of fitness, that’s what. The total run time of this workout is 1:09, but that includes a nice warm up and cool down because, as Bob says, “you’re gonna need it.” Hand weights are required – my 5 pounders got really heavy, really fast. At first I was intimidated by the impeccable human specimens that are Bob’s “backup dancers” in this video, but even they all sissed out a few times, which kinda made me feel better.  This workout is hard, but I loved it.  Perfect for an intense at home workout. I’ll be back for you, Bob!

Saturday, Jan 16 – Giam Pilates with a Body Ring

I bought a Body Ring for physical therapy about five years ago and completely forgot that there was a workout DVD that came with it until a few days ago when the kids found it. I gave it a try and found it to be the complete polar opposite of the workout I did yesterday.  Very, very tame.  It’s more of a stretching with some resistance type thing than a workout.  I didn’t even take a shower after I was finished.  I’m pretty sure this is nothing like actual pilates, but would be a good activity for a “rest day” or when you are feeling especially sore.

Sunday, Jan 17 – Rock Wall Climbing

My kids have been going to the rock wall at Ozark Community Center on a regular basis for the past few weeks, so I decided to join them on the wall rather than watching from the bench today. I actually used to climb semi-often back when I was in college, so I dusted off my climbing shoes and harness and gave it a go.  Funny the difference 10 years can make. Seems I might have a bit of an issue with heights now that I’m old. Nothing like having to have your 9 year old talk you into pushing off the wall once you get to the top.  After that first climb though, I had fun “racing” the kids up the wall and seeing who could get the fastest time. I had forgotten how much core strength is needed to climb. I plan to do this more often with the kids.

Monday, Jan 18 – P90x Kenpo

The kids had the day off of school today, so I talked my teacher friend and neighbor, Angela, into bringing her favorite P90x disc over. I’ve never done kenpo or anything P90x before. It was a lot like kickboxing. I liked it as it keeps moving and has a lot of variation. I would give it a medium on the intensity scale, but maybe that was because we were talking too much.

Tuesday, Jan 19 – Body Combat

My cousin Valerie invited me to join her in her favorite class at Genesis Fitness, Body Combat.  I’m pretty sure Body Combat -is- kickboxing, but I’m not an expert.  Valerie -is- an expert though, and she totally tore it up!  I was glad to have her with me for my first go at it, as I could see where it would be intimidating to try this class all on your own. Totally worth it though, as I was sore for the rest of the day and the next day too. The instructor for the class was awesome, even making little super hero-ish sound effects for when you should be punching or kicking.

I hadn’t been in Genesis before, and while I didn’t see the whole place, the room we had the class in and the locker rooms were both very nice, clean, and well outfitted.

Wednesday, Jan 20 – 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels

The snow day threw a wrench in my original workout plans, so I decided to dial up Bob’s buddy from Biggest Looser, Jillian. 30 Day Shred was one of the things suggested by multiple people when I asked for feedback on Facebook about favorite workouts.  Angela slid her way over to join me again. The workout is only about 25 minutes long and includes a warmup. In theory you are supposed to do this same workout every day for 10 days before moving up to the next level. Angela and I both agreed that it was kind of boring and very basic. I’m not sure I could manage it for 10 days. I also was a little disappointed since Jillian is known for being, um, tough. In this video she was very tame, and this workout was not as hard as I expected. However, for someone that has not exercised much and has limited amounts of time to devote, this might be a great place to start.

Thursday, Jan 21 – Fitness Blender Ultimate Belly Fat Burning Workout

Snow day #2 turned me to YouTube once again. I was looking for something that wouldn’t be heavy on the arms, as I’ve had a lot of that this week and my shoulders needed a break. I definitely have belly fat to burn, and I’ve done other Fitness Blender workouts in the past and really liked them. Once again, my friend Angela trooped over through the snow to join in the, ahem, fun. The Ultimate Belly Fat Burning Workout clocks at 38 minutes and is very straightforward (one of the things I like about Fitness Blender videos). However, it was way harder than I had anticipated!  I am not very strong in my abs anyway, and the mix of ab work and cardio had me grunting, groaning, huffing, and puffing.  Meanwhile, Angela was able to show off her core exercise prowess with perfectly executed butterfly jack thingies (I don’t know what they’re called, I was a bit delirious at the time). We both liked the cardio moves in this video, which included things that neither of us had ever done before.  Again, a fast mover, lots of variation, and a good burn. I’m definitely going to be sore tomorrow.

Friday, Jan 22 – Hot Barre

My schedule got moved around yet again, but that’s ok, because it gave me a chance to try out a Barre class, which was another suggestion from the Facebook query. I had no idea what to expect. I signed up online for a Happy Hour class through Physique Downtown.  First, I’ll just say that this is a very beautiful fitness studio.  It is in an old building in downtown Springfield. My class was in the basement studio, which was dark and cozy, on account of the red heat  lamps shining down from the ceiling. They also filled my water bottle up with some green chlorophyll water, which has some interesting health benefits. 

The workout itself was very good. Movements are small and slow for the most part, with lots of pulsing and getting up on your tip toes. Half way through the class my legs started shaking!  We started with stretching and used light weights for arms. We also used tension bands for legs and some ab work. There is also some hip circling and pelvis tilting in this class, so bring your inner diva if you go. It was such a good total body workout that I’m not even sure which of my muscles are going to be sore tomorrow, but I know something will be!

Next Week

I’m spending the next two weekends in a hotel, this time with less “free time”. So, working out is going to be a challenge, but I have a plan (sort of) and my trusty netbook in case I need to stream something from the internets!  My next post in this series won’t come out until Monday February 1st, as it’s the fourth and final week of the month.

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