Kickstart Week* Phase 1, Day 1

Thoughts on Phase 1, Workout 1:

While this 30-minute didn't burn as many calories as I would have hoped, I definitely like that the circuits work all different muscles - upper body, lower body, and core/abs, within the same workout. After the P90X program, where each disc was an hour of basically the same muscle group over and over, I appreciated this more holistic approach. Still, I feel I'll definitely need to add 30 minutes of cardio on these days, because the 250 calories I burned doing this just won't be enough.

Thoughts on Cardio 1:

This workout was only 26 minutes long - but it definitely blasts calories. I burned 323 calories, which is great for such a short workout. There were a couple of moves I didn't like, such as hot feet and running man, but some that I loved - like punches and suicides (I know, everyone hates that one but I love it!). I don't like that it's the same circuit of 5 or so moves repeated over and over again, though. I would much prefer four or five circuits of different moves in each circuit... I'm wondering if the future Cardio workouts will follow this pattern? If so - I will probably gripe about it, as I find it redundant and I can see myself getting bored fast, particularly when we have to do the Cardio workouts so often.

Overall - Day 1 went well. I burned 574 calories and subtracted about 90 for what I would have burned at rest, leaving me at 490 for 60 minutes of work. In a traditional 60-minute cardio workout, I would burn about 600 - so given that this was 30 minutes of toning plus 30 minutes of Cardio, that burn ain't bad at all! I was DEFINNITELY in a flop sweat by the end.**

*I'm doing the Kickstart Week in terms of workouts - but I'm not following the meal plan; it's far too restrictive for me.

**I did my workouts back-to-back today. Going forward, I plan to do 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening.

Definitely going to be swapping out some of the Cardio workouts - probably throughout. I really can't imagine just doing the same Cardio over and over for 4 weeks - then a new one, but over and over again for 4 weeks. And some days twice? I really wanted to stick with JUST the program for 90 days to see how the results go, but I don't want to be bored or under-challenged, either.

I like the one half-hour workout per day in that it saves me a lot of time.... but burning 280 calories in the Workouts is making me nervous. My daily calorie burn from exercise is usually more around the 600 mark. How will I adjust to burning 300 fewer calories every day? That's 1800 cals per week... 2 pounds a month slow down?

Well - Kickstart Week / Week 1 is done! Tomorrow (Sunday) is rest day. I'll probably go for a 30-minute walk or slow jog, and do an hour of stretching.

All-in-all, I did like the Kickstart Week workouts, but I'll be adding extra Cardio AT LEAST 3 times per week. I might go to the gym in the morning and do the half hour Body Rev. workouts in the evening (I live on a 2nd floor apartment and don't like bouncing around so early in the morning - feel bad for the neighbors downstairs).

I do wish there were multiple cardio workout options each week - as that would keep me more motivated to just stick to the program. It is a butt-kicker, though. Even at just 26 minutes, I'm drenched by the end (especially now that I know the routine completely, so I really up the intensity).

This is a definitely a you get out of it what you put it into it kind of program. I could easily skim some of the workouts and take the modified options whenever available, and not get a great burn. But when I add weights (or make the weights heavier) and when I really push myself to get the knees higher, dash the suicides faster, pump the arms faster, etc... it gives some good results.

BUT. Here's the thing. I only lost 0.6 pounds this week. I've been averaging about 1.5-2.0 per week. A little scary.

Just think about how many muscles you are getting though! don't be scared this is good!

I'm not sure, though. I'm actually scared about losing muscle... I went through 3 rounds of p90x before this, which has much more intense strength building workouts in it (and more Cardio). I think it's a step backwards for me, really... but I'm going to see it through. I might just have to find a way to really buckle down on my nutrition, which is harder for me than working out.

Today was the last day in Phase One of Jillian Michaels' Body Revolution Program.

In four weeks, I have only lost 5 pounds - but that's actually not too bad. I just have to get used to this slower per week loss, as I'm nearing my end goal. 1.25 pounds per week is okay!

I will say, though, I know that I have also lost a lot of overall inches & built muscle / burned fat. I took my measurements at the start of the program, but the card I wrote everything down on has disappeared... hopefully I will find it soon so that I can re-measure and get a better idea of where I stand. I'm fitting in size Medium shirts now, though, and size 33" or 34" jeans - when I started the program I was in strictly size Large shirts and 36" jeans, so that's not bad - dropping a clothing size in 4 weeks is pretty good, right??

Anyway, some thoughts on Phase One:

Pros:

-Workouts 1 & 2 were good starter workouts for the program. They were not that difficult (and for someone who had done a few rounds of P90X actually felt too easy) - but difficult enough, especially for beginners. They also proved to be foundational moves for some of the later ones which appear in Workouts 3 & 4.

-I like that the Workouts are each done twice per week for two weeks, and then it's on to the next set, which is more advanced. So Weeks 1 & 2 included Workouts 1 & 2, then Weeks 3 & 4 moved on to Workouts 3 & 4 (which were MUCH more difficult).

-I like that Workouts 3 & 4, which really pick up the intensity, have a lot of moves that use multiple muscle groups - and moves which combine separate ones from the earlier workouts (such as taking Sumo Squats from Workout 2 and combining it with Overhead Tricep Extensions from Workout 1 - to make Sumo Squat Tricep Extensions). I think working upper & lower body simultaneously and/or working multiple muscle groups at the same time really kicks up the burn and is better for the body overall.

-The workouts were 25-35 minutes long - but packed enough of a bunch for me to (eventually) re-work my calories and stay in goal. I don't have to workout for 60-90 minutes per day anymore (although I do still throw in some bonus non-Body Rev. cardio workouts a couple times per week).

Cons:

-I don't like that there is only ONE Cardio workout per phase. That means it's the same Cardio routine twice per week for four weeks. What's more, the Cardio workout itself is three sets of the same circuits... so it gets uber-repetitive. It is a good burn (especially after I got used to the routine and could really push myself). Still, I would love more variety.

-Jillian sometimes loses track of time so we spend more time one one leg or one arm than on the other. It feels a bit unbalanced when this happens - but it doesn't happen all that frequently (and once you have the workouts down, you can adjust).

-The warm-up/cool-down are so basic and so short. I'm really a fan of longer warm-ups and cool-downs, but Jillian Michaels workouts never have this. I think the body would really benefit from more build-up and come-down time, especially since these workouts are so intense. Jillian doesn't want to "waste" time, though - she's trying to keep the workouts near 30 minutes, so she doesn't want to spend valuable calorie burn time with the lower-heart rate stuff, which is understandable... we can always throw in more if needed.

-I wish there was a stretching disc for rest day.