Slim in 6

I just started a new workout program - Slim in 6. Slim in 6 is a program by Beachbody that promises to reshape your body in 6 weeks. The foundation of the program is a set of 3 DVDs - you use one at a time, progressing to the next in the set every two weeks. (You use Start It Up! for the first two weeks, Ramp It Up! for the next two weeks, and Burn It Up! for the final two weeks.)

According to the promo material, this program can help you fit into a dress for an upcoming event or lose the weight that you've gained over the years in 6 weeks. The workout is made up of fat-burning cardio moves and some light resistance moves. The moves target your abs, hips, thighs, and butt.

I likes these workouts because they're very straight-forward and not too dancy. There's also no jumping, which I like because sometimes I worry about how my downstairs neighbor acts.

I've had time to go through all of the workouts on the first DVD:

• Start It Up! - this is the main workout on the DVD, it features squats, lunges, arm exercises with a band, ab mat work, and 16 count aerobic moves
• Slim & 6-Pack - a 15 minute ab workout
• Slim & Limber - this is a 15 minute stretch routine
• 2 Bonus Workouts
• Thin Thighs Guaranteed - Debbie Siebers leads the exercies, but she looks and sounds very different than she does in the other videos, so this is either older or newer. Each move is 45 seconds, but so hard!
• Cardio Core Express - this workout is from the Slim Series, a different Beachbody workout program. This workout is under 30 minutes and there's no floor work. It uses several of the same moves in Start It Up! but it's more upbeat.

All of the workouts have a countdown bar at the bottom that tracks how much of the workout has gone by. The bar either tracks - how much of the total workout is left, how much of the current exercise is left, or both.
 
Hope you liked my initial review of Slim-in-6! I'll check in every two weeks, at the end of each DVD, to let you know how it went. :)

~ Susan

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day, y'all! My dad and I ran a 5k this morning. It was a little rough - I usually run on a treadmill, but even when I'm outdoors, the trail near my house is pretty flat. The course today was full of hills. Quite meanly, the largest was right before the finish line.

I ran the 5k in 36 minutes, which is about 12 minutes per mile. I'd really like to run faster miles, so I'm going to start following Shape's 5 week running plan. I'm going to double it so it lasts 10 weeks and builds up to a 10k or 6 miles by the end.

I have trouble following plans exactly, but I like to have something to plan out my workouts. Do you like to make you're own plan or find one to follow?

I had a good time with my dad. We both like running and signing up for races ensures that we exercise regularly. I hope you had a great day too!

~ Susan

National Running Day

Today was National Running Day! Did you go for a run?

I went for a run after getting home from work - it was dark, and I saw tons of deer, and I scared the sh!t out of a bunny, lol.

I don't love running, but I do like how it makes me feel, plus it has all these positives:

• It doesn't take any preparation - just get dressed, stretch, and start running
• Running is a good workout - a lot of calories are burned in a little amount of time
• Running gets rid of my stress
• Running gives me a sense of accomplishment

~ Susan

HIIT

HIIT stands for High-Intensity Interval Training. A HIIT workout is one where you perform exercises at high-intensity for short periods of time that are interrupted by periods of rest. According to FitnessRX, three weeks of HIIT increased maximal oxygen consumption and power output of exercisers. Also, you're able to burn more calories in a shorter amount of time AND burn more calories even after your workout ends

Tabata is a type of HIIT workout. It follows a timing schedule; a Tabata workout is one that is made up of four minute sets of high intensity workouts. You preform an exercise at maximum effort for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds. You repeat this eight times for a total of four minutes. I believe you're supposed to do a bunch of different exercises, doing each for a total of four minutes.

I am working at incorporating variations of both of these types of workouts into my week.

I am definitely a jogger as opposed to a runner and I would like to increase my pace a bit, so I do a couple different speed workouts to try and improve my speed.

My favorite running HIIT right now is:

• sprint for 10 seconds
• run for 30 seconds 
• jog for 1 minute 

I warm up by jogging for about 5 minutes then repeat the above breakdown until I want to quit or reach at least 3 miles (whichever comes later). I cool down by walking for 5 minutes.

Sometimes, I really don't feel like going to the gym. Usually I'll jog outside or go for a long walk, but on days when it's rainy, I'll do cardio inside. I like doing this workout that I found on YouTube. (I love this guy! I think his voice is really encouraging. He also recently put up another version of the same workout.) All it is is 20 seconds of jumping jacks followed by 10 seconds of rest. You repeat this interval for a total of 10 minutes. I dare you to try it! Doing jumping jacks for a long period time is surprisingly hard - if you find it easy, you need to pick up the pace!

A good workout for me is:

• 10 minutes jumping jacks (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off)
• arm exercises
• 10 minutes jumping jacks (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off)
• ab exercises
• 10 minutes jumping jacks (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off)

 

I  use my Gymboss to keep track of when to switch. Their website also has some more ideas for HIIT workouts (check out the workout tab at the bottom of the page).

Do you do HIIT? What's your favorite workout?

~ Susan