My Fitness Challenge

Day one of my fitness challenge. To start with I took my measurements. When taking measurements, there are loads of different ways to do it. I take official measurements and I also measure areas of my body that are not my best feature.

Here are official guidelines for measuring your body:

Arms - measure at the thickest part of your bicep.
Waist - bend forward and note where your stomach creases. This is where you measure your waist.
Hips - the widest part of you body.
Thighs - the thickest part for upper and thinnest part for lower.
Calves - the thickest part

My starting measurements as at 01/04/2013:
Weight - 13st 11lbs ( maybe a few more added on after the weekend!)
Arms - 13.5
Waist - 31
Hips - 43.5
Upper thighs - 24
Lower thighs - 22
Calves - 16

Today I did day one of 30DS along with Banish Fat Boost Metabolism. I thought I would struggle with BFBM but I found the 30DS tough going. It took me bang on 30 mins to complete (not inc warm-up or cool-down). I was dripping in sweat. I am proud that I did it.
While I was doing it, I noted a few things. In circuit 1, abs, for the crunches, it is important to keep your hands behind your head. I found that I was not doing this and I was using my hands to pull myself forward. By keeping your hands behind your head, the emphasis is on the abs. The two parts that I hate the most in level 1 are, the static lunge and bicep curl in circuit 2 and the side lunge and front raises in circuit 3. They are very tough as you are using multiple muscle groups. They can also tend to last for ages as well. I find that the best way to push through them is to blank Jillian out and do them at your own pace. Count how many you are doing and try to improve on it. I tend to get about 22 reps in each go so that is a reasonable attempt. For the bicycle crunches in circuit 3, take your time doing them. They do not need to be rushed. The better the form, the better the result!

I never thought I would start BFBM let alone finish it. I was wrecked after 30DS but I decided BFBM is cardio so it will not be too bad. Boy was that a mistake. I felt physically sick doing it. I could barely do circuit one let alone the remaining six circuits. I persevered and I am proud to say I FINISHED IT!! Do not mistake it as a simple cardio workout because it is not. I have done cardio DVDs before, mainly Davina ones but that is nothing in comparison to BFBM. It is a mixture of cardio, calisthenics, plyometrics and core. It should only take 36 minutes (excluding warm-up and cool-down) but it took me just over 1 hour and 10 minutes. Long I know, but the important thing was for me to finish. It will be hard to rack up the motivation to do this one again knowing how hard it is but I think it will definitely pay off.

Day one of fitness challenge is complete. Tomorrow will be painful in work but I am glad I did it. My plan for tomorrow is to do 30DS. My plan is to do it straight away when I get in from work. If I sit down, I probably will not get back up to do it.