Another 10 Minute Blaster

So tonight, even though my Kathy Smith aerobox and kickbox combo dvd showed up, I said that I was going to try the 10 Minute Solution Kickbox Bootcamp DVD. Wow, this one was actually a LOT of fun. The fitness guru for this dvd is Keli Roberts, an Aussie by the sound of her accent (I haven't checked her out yet), and she is a lot of fun to follow. She is also totally ripped, but not just her upper body, she is like body builder material.

So, this DVD was broken down into 5 segments. First was the beginning segment. Second was the buns and thighs. Third was the arms and shoulders. Fourth was fat blasting. Fifth and last was the washboard abs.

The first through third segments are the ones I did today. I saw a brief preview of the abs one, and I can tell you I am so not ready for those gumby moves. Jillian will have to do for the ab workouts until I am a bit more limber.

The first segment was fun. It ran through a series of kicks and punches just to get you used to the movements and the structure of the movement. Good way to start out. The first ten minutes flew by.

The second segment was all kicks. Rather fun and it also flew by.

The third segment was all arms, and while I know I'll be feeling it later, I didn't get the feeling that it was too hard at all. I felt like I kind of breezed through it - so perhaps it is time to get a heavier set of hand weights?

I know one thing for certain, my legs were still sore and feeling it from the first 10 minute solution day and Jillian, so I know they are going to be feeling it tomorrow. I need to do some extra stretching tonight so that I'm able to get out of bed tomorrow morning.

I'm actually having fun this time around. Mixing it up is good :-)

Oh, on other news, my hand held water bottle showed up today along with my 4 pack waist pack. I got these for 1 - shorter runs (hand held) and 2 - for longer runs (4 pack). The other waist pack I have only holds one bottle, so I wanted to give another one a shot . . . and considering how many folks I saw at the race with these I figured it was a good investment.

Now the only thing I'm waiting on are my shin/calf compression sleeves. Then I will be complete !!!

Needed a Baseline

So, when I woke up this morning I was exceptionally sore - particularly in my hamis and calves. I thought back to the moves from the 10 Minute solution and really couldn't pinpoint what required that much work, so I decided I needed to run a baseline today to see if it was me being out of it or if that 30 minutes yesterday was really just a lot tougher than I've been used to.

Guess who I turned to for my baseline - you got it. You can always count on Jillian. So, I did Level 1 of the 3DS to see if I was just that out of it, and I chose this workout because it's something we've done extensively and I know how I felt when we first started out and at the end of the second 30 days. It turns out it isn't me - the 30 minutes yesterday was just harder than I'm used to.

So, it looks like the 10 Min. Sol. is actually a good routine to add into the mix. It worked out muscles that normally don't see the time of day (btw, that instructor is totally ripped in her shoulders and chest - crazy ripped). I figured this was the case as I was able to make it through level 1 maintaining a decent HR (yeah I pulled out the HRM to make sure I was kicking my own ass) and finished with just the Anita modifications. Given this and my baseline from the first time we went through the 3DS, I know I didn't lapse all that much from my slacking off.

If you have a chance, this is just another reason to give 10 Min. Sol. a shot. I think tomorrow I'll try the kickboxing DVD from 10 Min. Sol. and see how that goes. My Kathy Smith stuff should be here by Friday at the latest.

Tried something new . . .

Ok, so I gave 10 Minute Solution 5 Day Get Fit Mix a try and here's the jist of the DVD. The workouts are broken down into 10 minute sessions. Fat Blasting Intervals. Belly Fat Burner. Lean Body Sculpt. Cardio Kickboxing. Power Yoga.

Fat Blasting Intervals - this is similar to the first 5 minutes of Jillian's 3DS where you combine cardio with weights for 10 minutes. She breaks them down into 5 intervals of 2 minutes a piece. It was rather enjoyable I must say. I was able to keep up with her the entire time.

Belly Fat Burner - um, ok so only Gumby would be able to do this workout. She combines a lot of yogaesque moves into the ab routines, and while they appear to be extremely effective, I am just not flexible enough to do about 4 minutes worth of the 10. Oh, btw, this totally kicks Jillian's ass. Talk about hard core fricking moves. If I get up the courage to try this one again I will do a play by play. The first several minutes are fun - they are standing ab moves with weights (so I used my kettlebell) and it was effective and a lot of fun. Then the routine moves to the mat and lets just say my body is not mat friendly when it comes to these kinds of moves. Here's an example - plank pose and then you move your right ankle around your right hand, hold and then back to plank and then do the same on the left side. Like I said, Gumby.

Lean Body Sculpt - I did not do this one today but it is basically pilates from what I gather. Simple moves intended to sculpt lean muscles.

Cardio Kickboxing - OOOH, this was my favorite. I love kickboxing, don't know what it is, but no matter how rough and tumble it gets I find it enjoyable ... maybe it's the constant motion?? I am not flexible enough to do the proper crescent kicks, but limiting the move to my knee works just fine (that is her modification). I don't know which is better - her's or Jillian's when it comes to kickboxing. Kathy Smith used to have a rather awesome aeroboxing and kicboxing VHS workout -- I LOVED those workouts and lost a ton of weight with them too. It really is too bad that the Aerobox never made it to DVD and the Kickboxing one is discontinued, so it's only available by greedy amazon sellers (can you believe the price tag??).

Power Yoga - I didn't have the courage to even attempt this one after doing the ab routine.

Overall impression of this DVD in the 10 minute series - this woman rocks. I really enjoyed working with her and she is a combination between Denise Austin and Jillian Michaels. My heart rate was up in the routines I tried, with the exception of my gaping mouth while watching the gumby routine, and I never felt like I wasn't able to continue. I think my HR got just as high as it did during 3DS (this is something I will have to check next time), but I think this one will definitely stay in the rotation. I recommend giving this one a try - especially if you want to really get an ab workout in that will leave you aching for days to come.

I think I am going to rotate through my workout DVDs and Jillian so that I don't hit a stalemate like I did in November and January.