Working Out Week 52 of 2014
This was the final week of 2014. I cannot believe another year has gone by already! Time seems to go faster and faster the older I get. For this last week of the year my workouts were mainly my new Cathe Ripped With Hiit workouts and then yoga at the end of the week.
- Sunday 12-21 – off
- Monday 12-22 – RWH Circuit Upper Body premix 4 timesaver – 34 min.
- Tuesday 12-23 – RWH Circuit Lower Body premix 2 scrambled express – 32 min.
- Wednesday 12-24 – RWH Low Impact Hiit One + Abs Two – 41 min.
- Thursday 12-25 Christmas Day – off
- Friday 12-26 – RWH Circuit Upper Body – 46 min.
- Saturday 12-27 – Yoga – Light Up sequence from Yoga Journal magazine – 20 min.
I think I have done all nine of the workout dvd’s on the Ripped With Hiit series now. Some of them were the shorter premixes since this was a busy time of year and I just didn’t have the time to do a full 45 or 50 minute workout every day. I will say I truly love this new series from Cathe Friedrich. The workouts are fun and challenging and you will sweat a lot and feel like you got a great workout in – even if you only do a 30 minute premix version. I like how some of the dvd’s are cardio based, some are cardio with weights and then there are a few that are just weight training. All of the dvd’s offer the two ab workouts so you can always add that at the end of your workout.
The above photos are some of the Hiit Circuit Lower Body dvd. This one is a combination of cardio and weights and uses the step for a lot of the exercises. The cardio exercises are done in between weight exercises and your arms also get in a workout since some of them use heavier weights. I really like this workout.
The middle of the week I did Low Impact Hiit One plus Abs two. This workout is all pretty much body weight exercises and uses some dixie cups for some lunges. For part of the workout you use your mat as a workout prop to jump around, over or straddle for various exercises that are fun and get your heart rate up. There was a ton of sweat after this workout. As you can see my faithful workout cat was present for most of these exercises – sitting on the corner of the rug. The rest of the workout he sat under the Christmas tree after finding his present under there – he sat right on the present.
The Ripped With Hiit Circuit Upper Body dvd is another fun and challenging total body workout. I used this dvd twice this week – the first time I did a shorter premix version but I did the entire workout on Friday. This workout focuses on upper body strength training with the weights but there are cardio exercises in between the weights and those are total body exercises. This is another workout I really like and will be using a lot.
I chose to end this week with yoga. I was planning to do the Lower Body Circuit again but decided some yoga would be better for my early Saturday morning. I love (I think I have mentioned this before) doing yoga on Saturday mornings.
Weekly Fitness Tip: Try doing some workouts at home before joining an expensive gym
– This is the time of year when people decide they are going to get fit and join a gym – personally I have never belonged to one and probably never will. I choose to workout at home on my own time and with my own schedule – I have been doing this for about 10+ years now. Once you develop a schedule (meaning write down your weekly workout plans and stick to them) it becomes a habit and you will soon make it part of your day. Also, you won’t have to worry about driving anywhere and won’t have that excuse as the reason you can’t workout -no time to drive to the gym.
– For the amount of money you are going to spend on a gym membership contract for a year you can buy some weights and bands to use at home. You could also invest in a good workout program and still have money left to buy the weights for what you would spend on a membership. Beachbody offers great workout programs – a few of which I own and have completed in the past couple of years. Also, Cathe Friedrich dvd’s are awesome – a lot of her older dvd’s (which are still good and I still use) are probably on sale right now, too. They may seem expensive at first but when you calculate the cost of the gym, gas money and your time for going there they are a bargain. The highlighted text are links to the site – I am not affiliated with either of them just wanted to share where to get the information I mentioned.
– Look into some of the fitness websites and YouTube channels like PopSugar Fitness that offer lots of free workout videos and some are only 15 to 20 minutes for those who are short on time.
– There are lots of ways to get in some exercise without joining a gym – check into some of them before signing that membership contract.
I mentioned last week in the fitness tips to think about some goals for the upcoming year. Well, for one of my goals I have decided to focus on some other topics for my blog this coming year. I will still be working out regularly but I will probably only do a monthly update and not a weekly one. I will be trying to focus a little more on my crochet, knitting and sewing for the year 2015 – which are things I truly love to do – there will be projects and I will also share some free patterns and tutorials.
I hope everyone has had a great year. Mine was filled with blogging, cleaning, cooking, crocheting, exercising, knitting, sewing; also keeping our home managed and raising our kids. I am looking forward to a great year for 2015!
Take care and Happy New Year!
– Kimberlee