After Adrianna, my 3rd child, I had a hard time loosing the baby weight. Two months after she was born I went home, to Utah for my brothers wedding. With all the moving around I hadn't weighed myself in over 6 weeks, because we didn't have room for a scale. I borrowed his scale that told me my body fat % and I about died. The next 3 months with moving around I started with my eating (which we will cover during week 2.) Then when we finally got settled back in Utah it was time to get my butt in gear!
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| Me at my brothers wedding June 2011.
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The first class I fell in love with was Turbo Kick. Turbo Kick was created by Chalene Johnson. It is a choreographed cardio kickboxing class. It's very high intensity, lots of fun music, and very addictive. I found myself even waking up early some Saturday mornings just to go to a Turbo Kick class. This class helps burn over 500 calories, and helps strengthen too. I was surprised how sore I would be the next day after a cardio class.
Another great and very popular class is Zumba. You can find this Latin inspired class just about anywhere. The idea behind Zumba is to party yourself into shape. The class has fun international beats and lots of high energy. There are different types of Zumba classes, even a water Zumba. The more I tried out different instructors the more picky I got with my Zumba classes. I wanted to sweat and push myself. If you went once and didn't like it, don't give up. I recommend trying a different day or time. Zumba is a lot of fun if you find the right class for you.
I know Yoga is also very popular, but I personally prefer Pilates. Don't let this discourage you from trying a Yoga class, but I highly recommend also trying a Pilates class. I love Pilates so much I keep going back and forth on even becoming certified to teach it. Maybe I had a phenomenal instructor (who also happened to be my favorite Zumba instructor.) Pilates isn't high cardio but great for strengthening and flexibility. You will only get as much out of this as you put into it, so don't be afraid to push yourself in this class.
If toning up is your goal try a body pump type class. Cardio mixed with strength training is the best and fastest way to burn fat and build muscle. Plus these types of classes are great stepping stones to learning things to do when doing strength training on your own. Just be prepared to be sore afterwards, so make sure to drink lots of water after this or any work out for that matter.
One class I often dragged my dad or husband to was a cycling class. Now your legs may literally feel like rubber after your first class. That's a good thing, it means you worked hard. Don't let the amount you use your legs fool you either, cycling can be a full body work out. You can change your resistance on the bike to fit you and your needs. Ask your gym if they have an introductory or starter class. Most gyms will have a class once or twice a month to teach things like changing the resistance, adjusting the bike, and so on. I personally just jumped right in and asked lots of questions.
Don't be afraid to try something new. Through trying new things I found what I liked and who I liked. You may even be as lucky as I was to find an instructor that I didn't care what class she was teaching, I went just because she was teaching it. Stay tuned during week 2 as she will be one of our guest bloggers.
March 2012
These were the only jeans that fit me when my brother got married. Needless to say hard work and trying new things worked out great for me. All my hard work made my 4th pregnancy so much easier too. I was active and eating healthy. I was the same weight going home from the hospital with baby #4 as I was 4 months after having baby #3! People would say, "You look so good." That is because I worked out 5-6 days a week for 6 months pre-pregnancy. Then I still worked out 3-4 days a week through out my pregnancy, till the Dr. said I couldn't any more. Never thought I would be so sad to hear "No more exercising."
Try any of these classes or any others you see near you. If you can't get to a gym try renting a Netflix Pilates video, buying Zumba for the Wii or even searching on You Tube for video's. Tomorrow we will talk a lot more on what you can do to work out from home.
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