Fitness Friday| 10 Weeks until June!

 

Wednesday was the first day of spring, although here in England you would think we were still in the depths of winter! Now I’m not one for wishing my life away at all, but I am one for preparing so with spring arriving that only means bikini season is up and coming! In fact June is only 10 weeks away! So if you, like me, are aiming to look fit and toned in your bikini this year then if you haven’t already started your body transformation you had better start now!Because if the above imagery is anything to go by, you are already two weeks behind everyone else being able to notice your body changing!

Thankfully many people have clocked onto the fact that we will be wanting to up our health and fitness efforts in the coming weeks and the Tone It Up girls are no exception. If you have not heard of Tone It Up before, you need to go and visit their site as they are really motivational! They offer workouts, recipes, regular motivating emails and workout schedules… all for free! This year they have partnered with Self Magazine and have started the Drop 10 Challenge. 

For the Self Challenge Drop 10 Challenge all you have to do it sign up and you have access to 10 weeks of fun workouts! So this means you will become bikini ready in 10 weeks thanks to fitness videos, HIIT workouts, exercise schedules, online tools, daily motivation and tips and recipes and menus! Basically everything you could possibly need.

I have signed up for the challenge as I am moving out of home next week so I need to ensure that I keep my diet on track when I’m back picking my own meals and cooking for myself. Plus I really need to increase my toning exercises. I have lost alot of fat thanks to cardio exercise over the past three months, but need to get some definition in on my arms, stomach and bum! So hope by this challenge will help me achieve that.

So far this week I have completed a couple of strength exercises and know I am out of practice! I did the workout below with a medium sized weight which I used to lift with ease, and couldn’t move my arms properly the next day! Its a great short strength workout, that says it works all areas that you need to target, however I felt it most in my arms and bum! Give it a go!

Have you started your fitness and health regime in preparation for your bikini body? If not, are you going to start now? Do you fancy the Drop 10 Challenge, if so let me know!

Fitness Friday| P90x and BeachBody Review

I had promised to keep these Fitness Friday posts regular, as I was jumping back on the health and fitness wagon, that did not happen. However this time I promise it will, as the countdown for my bikini body is on! I go on holiday with two of my slimmest friends in 22 days, and I need to tone myself up.

I know I’m not going to make any dramatic changes to my body in 22 days, however I can make some noticeable changes! I aim to do this with a healthy diet, low in carbs and by working out at home with the help of my P90x DVDs from Beach Body. I have used the P90x DVDs before and was really impressed, as they are high impact and hard going workouts; think boot camp style. I only managed to follow the routine for 20 days last time before loosing my willpower, however in 20 days I lost around 10 pounds and I think 8 inches.

This time embarking on the Beach Body workouts came in perfect timing with an email received by Emily Coleman a rep from Beach Body. She noticed I had previously posted about health and fitness and asked if I would share some of their new and old products with my followers, the links are as follows;

New Programs;
P90X App for iPhone
P90X Certification
Ultimate Reset Body Cleanse
Body Beast Workout
Older (but just as good) Programs;
Insanity 60 Day Total Body Conditioning
RevAbs Workout
P90X2

Now I know my followers, and after looking through the information about these programs, I know programs such as Body Beast will not appeal to some. However based upon my experience with P90x and hearing information about P90X2 and Insanity I cannot recommend these enough.If you are like me and need a workout that pushes you hard, makes you sweat buckets and make you aches in the morning, then these are for you. I’m personally excited about the P90X iPhone app, as it means I could take my workouts wherever I go.

I will tell you a little bit about P90X, as this is the programme I am familiar with. At first, like many I was put off, as I don’t want to look like a body builder. However after learning about the advantages of girls building muscle, and learning that it significantly increase the calories you burn throughout the day, plus the fact it makes you lose inches just as quickly as burning fat, I decided to give the workouts a go. The nutritional guide you receive helped sway my decision, as it’s very informative; giving meal plans and recipes.

The P90X programme consists of 12 workout DVDs, which you do a combination of 6 times a week. The workouts vary significantly, there is yoga, great cardio exercises such as plyometric and a martial arts routine, along side arm, legs and abs routines. Now don’t get me wrong these DVDs are extreme! I admit when I first started them I could not do the entire routine, but the programme is about progress, you do what you can, and aim to improve. Due to the high intensity, you will see results quickly, which is why I am following the program for the next 20 days. I follow the lean program along with my boyfriend; which is obviously designed to burn more calories as it incorporates more cardio that strength workouts, so you will lose fat quicker and develop lean muscles. I enjoy the boot-camp style of the workouts as I need someone shouting at me, encouraging me to work harder. The Plyometric workout is one of my favourites, as from this 1 hour workout you can burn around 700 calories!

Have any of my followers participated in or heard of P90x or other Beach Body programs? Do you like Boot-Camp style workouts? What are you doing to prepare yourself for your bikini?

Note- Although contacted by Emily to talk about Beach Body, this review is completely honest and is based upon my own personal experiences. I bought the program with my own money.