Change of Plans: I am my own trainer!

It has been 18 months since I first began working out at Fit Body Bootcamp regularly.  During that span I have lost 80 pounds!  (Last week I stopped by the high school where I used to teach two years ago and nobody recognized me.  I literally had to tell people that I worked with on a daily basis who I was. Crazy!)  Bootcamp has been instrumental in my continual weight loss and body composition change.  It has completely changed the way I exercise and think of exercise.  I, like most women, was a cardio junkie and rarely lifted any weights until I started bootcamp.  So you might be able to understand my panic and concern when my bootcamp membership expired at the end of October.  Financially it is not an option for us to renew my membership right now.  I went a full week without working out.  I felt guilty, worried about putting the pounds back on and losing muscle, and dreading lonely trips to the neighborhood gym..  Then a friend posted a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout on Facebook and it dawned on me that it was possible for me, after all I had learned at Fit Body Bootcamp, to be my own trainer for awhile.  

I printed out the workout, downloaded a HIIT timer app for my phone, and stepped out our front door for my first bootcamp workout sans trainer.  Dan joined me and Lena played in the park while we did our workout.  It went amazingly well!  Lena was even so intrigued that she came over and tried to do some of the exercises with us.  I was so inspired by that first workout that I did some research and developed a few more workouts based on the equipment that I have available to me and I ordered a few small items from Amazon.  Check out my equipment:

Resistance Bands - I had these already...time to put them to good use!

I got this $40 high speed jump rope on sale at Amazon for $5!

I ordered these furniture sliders instead of Valslide sliders.  They are great for working out on carpet inside the house.

Four Waxman furniture sliders cost around $10 while the Valslide workout sliders were two for $25.  

 Checkout this video that teaches you how to do some exercises with sliders:

I still need to get a kettle bell to add variety to my workouts.

My dad gave me an 8 pound medicine ball and I will save some money to buy a heavier one.

I am working on acquiring a pair of dumbells to add variety to my workouts.  I have access to some 8 pounders but I need some heavier ones.

One of the great things about bootcamp is that you can do many exercises with minimal or no equipment.  The video above has many of these "body weight" type of exercises to try.

Not being able to attend my regular Fit Body Bootcamp classes has been a huge bummer.  I miss my trainers who always push me, check my form, and introduce new exercises.  I miss the huge variety of equipment available to me.  I miss my fellow bootcampers, especially the 5 am crew, who pushed me and helped me find humor in a hard workout.   But there have been some great and unforseen side effects of being my own trainer:

1. Dan has started working out with me and he is a great partner.  I love that we can do this together.
2. Even though she is young, Lena gets to see us working out and I am beginning to be a good role model to her of staying physically active.
3. Neighbors and strangers have been asking about our workouts since we do them mostly in the park in front of our house.  Two moms in the neighborhood are going to try to join me in my workouts in the coming weeks.  
4. I don't have to drive anywhere to do these workouts which means I am more likely to do them and I can do them while I am staying home with Lena.  That makes my workout schedule much more flexible.
5. I have been able to help a few others get started with HIIT.  I love that I can "pay it forward" with all the great knowledge I have acquired during my time at Fit Body Bootcamp.
6. I have gained confidence that I am strong enough and knowledgeable enough to be my own trainer for now.  
7. Vacations have been a time of weakness for Dan and I as far as fitness goes.  We have gotten better over the last few trips being careful to stay active but these workouts are great because I can simple pack the sliders and one resistance band and have a whole army of exercises to do right in my hotel room!

Here are the workouts that I have created so far.  I modeled them after the HIIT workout that my friend posted on Facebook the other week.   I am not a professional so I can't vouch for their effectiveness or accuracy but I have tried them all out except the dumbbell workout and they make my body feel sore in the right way.  I am going to add 12 minutes of jump rope to the end of each workout starting this week and try to do one 3-5 mile run per week as well.  If you have any great HIIT workout tips or exercises for me to try let me know!  I still have much to learn!

You can do these workouts in two ways:

Way #1 – High Intensity Intervals

30 seconds per exercise with a 10 second rest in between / do 2-3 rounds

Way #2 – Tabata

For each exercise do 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest / repeat four times and then rest for 20 seconds while preparing to move on to the next exercise / do 1 round

Workout #1 (chair or bench)

1. Jumping Jacks -Total body 
2. Wall sit - Lower body 
3. Push-up - Upper body 
4. Bicycle crunch - Core 
5. Step-up onto chair - Total body 
6. Squat - Lower body 
7. Triceps dip on chair - Upper body 
8. Plank - Core 
9. High knees/running in place - Total body 
10. Lunge - Lower body 
11. Push-up and rotation - Upper body 
12. Side plank - Core

Workout #2 (resistance band)

1. Burpees -Total body 
2. Reverse Lunge - Lower body 
3. Lateral Raise with resistance band - Upper body 
4. Russian Twists - Core 
5. Mountain Climbers - Total body 
6. Jump Squat - Lower body 
7. Bicep Curls with resistance bands - Upper body 
8. Anti-rotation band - Core 
9. Star jumps - Total body 
10. Single Leg Hip Bridges - Lower body 
11. Tricep kick backs with band- Upper body 
12. Flutter kicks - Core

Workout #3­­ (sliders)

1. Slider jacks -Total body 
2. Side lunge with slider (right side) - Lower body 
3. Alligator Walk with sliders- Upper body 
4. Heel touch - Core 
5. Mountain Climber Sliders- Total body 
6. Side lunge with slider (left side) - Lower body 
7. Tricep push up - Upper body 
8. Slider ab roll - Core 
9. Knee tucks with sliders - Total body 
10. Leg curl with sliders - Lower body 
11. Spiderman Push ups with sliders - Upper body 
12. Pike abs with sliders - Core

Workout #4­­ (Dumbbells and Kettle bell)

1. Dumbbell or Kettle bell swings -Total body 
2. Sumo Squat ­­- Lower body 
3. Bent over row - Upper body 
4. Russian twists with dumbbell - Core 
5. Half Turkish get ups - Total body 
6. Squat with dumbbells - Lower body 
7. Renegade Rows - Upper body 
8. Triangle Press (right side) - Core 
9. Squat Thrusters - Total body 
10. Reverse Lunge with bicep curl - Lower body 
11. Half squat tricep press - Upper body 
12. Triangle Press (left side) - Core

Beginner Workout #1­­ (resistance bands / bench or stool / 1 heavy dumbbell)

1. Step onto chair -Total body 
2. Wall sit - Lower body 
3. Lateral raises with resistance band- Upper body 
4. Russian twists - Core 
5. High Knees (or march in place) - Total body 
6. Squats - Lower body 
7. Bicep Curls with resistance band - Upper body 
8. Anti-rotation band - Core 
9. Dumbbell swing - Total body 
10. Lunge ­­­- Lower body 
11. Tricep band pull- Upper body 
12. Hip bridges - Core