I’m now a few months into my regular workout routine and am beginning to notice all kinds of positive physical perks; I’m down 15lbs, toning up and I feel better all the time but particularly while I’m exercising, my skin is looking good without foundation (but to be honest it was never really bad just not as clear and even looking pre-workout), and I swear my hair is growing faster.

Because I feel better while I exercise I have found myself looking forward to getting moving most days of the week- and a few people on Facebook have asked me to write about what I’ve been doing as far as workouts are concerned, so here it is;

This 2009 Pussycat Dolls workout has been the biggest thing I’ve been doing; because my daughter will go down into the room where I workout and jump around to the music and has fun and so it has been a major player in the rotation. You do feel this; by the end of it you’re warmed up and sweaty and you feel great, plus you’re not just mindlessly hopping all over the place you’re actually dancing.

Pros; It’s fun, guys. The girls in it are smiley and seem like they’re legitimately having a good time, and they are also healthy looking and muscular because they’re probably real dancers; the choreographer is apparently super famous and when I Googled her she was in ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ that dance movie from the 80s which only further sold me on this video. To me these women are true body goals- muscular, healthy, fed people who exercise. The moves aren’t so difficult that you can’t do them, either, even if you’ve never had any kind of training (I haven’t). Plus, the music isn’t terrible- it’s better than the elevator pop in a lot of workout videos, even if you don’t love The Pussycat Dolls music (which I don’t- full disclosure, I used to work at a Lush in the Dallas Galleria where the in-store music ran off our iPods and anytime PCD songs came on I asked if we could please skip them, that’s how deep and real it is for me and I still like this workout video enough that I plan to buy the one released in 2011 as well).

Cons; OK this may not sound like a con, but I will lay it out for you and some of you might understand it; the last segment, when you do the “performance” of a routine to the song ‘Buttons’ they bring out and introduce the lead singer of The Pussycat Dolls for “extra inspiration”- meaning she dances with the girls who have been in every other segment of the workouts. She does one run through of the dance and sneers while she fans herself “now that’s a good warm-up. That’s a good warm-up.” Now, at this point you’re 46 minutes into this video; you’re sweating bullets, probably sporting a giant sweat circle on your shirt and you’re a thirsty mess- this wasn’t your warm-up. You’re warm- you’ve been warm. This is irritating because it feels like a taunt, and it’s not the only annoying thing she says in the next few minutes, but, oh well.

Thank goodness she skips the cool down.

So, overall, it’s fun and I like it; I have noticed that it has definitely been beneficial to me, I’m toning up and I will continue to do this workout a few times a week. I will also let you know how I like the one released a few years later when I pick it up in the next few weeks. (Update; my hubs brought the newer one home for me today as an early birthday present! So. Excited!)

So I never watched The Biggest Loser; not even one episode. In fact, I only own this workout video because a former roommate gave it to me when she moved out because she hated it- for her, it was too hard. Well, it has it’s tough moments, definitely but it’s one of those circuit training videos that moves super quickly and at the end of it maybe you didn’t do all the moves without cheats (like me with my push-ups, I can only do 6 in a row and the rest are full cheat mode) but you still feel a huge sense of accomplishment. And your arms will look amazing right away.

Pros; It feels like you see results quickly because you’re doing strength training; plus, Jillian Michaels is a lot more fun than I realized before I actually used this video. She is encouraging, saying “we start where we start and go from there”, and reminding you to remember to eat consciously so you don’t waste all your effort and reminds you throughout the tough parts of the workout not to quit.

Cons; There’s a lot of ab work. This isn’t really a con, but ab work can be tough- it does get easier, though. Just keep going and stop and rest for a sec if you’re uncomfortable.

This one is fun and short and leaves you sweaty and feeling like a million bucks; plus, it gives you a whole bunch of energy to start your day and you can customize it to do just cardio or just the sculpt or both. This was another reject from my former roomie, along with a bunch of yoga and Pilates videos. Thanks, girl!

Pros; The ability to customize it so you’re just hopping around for 20 minutes to get your blood moving. I don’t always feel like I have an hour to devote to exercise (although in those moments I now remind myself that I can trim an hour from something else and to not make excuses) so this 20 minute cardio “burst” is perfect for those days.

Cons; I can’t really think of any, although on days when I’m exhausted the bounciness can be hard to turn myself over to. That’s a me thing though and nothing to do with the workouts- Denise Austin is just great.

And, my goodness, as a side note that woman is 59 years old!

Long-term life goals.

Other than those 3 I do mix it up with some yoga and Pilates, I lift free weights (2 and 5lbs- ain’t nobody over here trying to get huge muscles, just toned muscles), use a resistance band (so I can pretend I’m cool and have a bow-flex machine) and jump rope (which is really hard but I’m also working on my endurance so I will get there I just have to stick with it).

It’s slow going and the weight isn’t flying off me because I’m not hardcore dieting but the scale is moving in the right direction; as the Facebook meme so eloquently states, I’m not where I want to be but I’m not where I was either.

I’ll keep pushing forward; anybody who wants to be my workout buddy and we can hold each other accountable and build each other up, you just let me know.

I’m your Huckleberry.   😉

Until next time!

Love,

The Chick and Her Chickadee