Posts Tagged ‘getting fit in 30 days’

It’s been way to long since I have written on this blog. But rather than get into the reasons why, I would rather like to talk about why I will be writing more often.

A couple years ago, I did a Get Fit in 30 Days Challenge. The challenge was to see how good of shape I could get into by exercising 5 times a week and not changing my diet. I also limited the amount I was able to exercise to 5 hours per week. I was actually surprised at how good of shape 30 days really made. The project was a lot of fun.

This April I will turn 30 years old. And since I am not in the best shape after the  holidays (not bad, but not great), I figure what better way to start off my 30th birthday than being in the best shape I have ever been in.

This year I am changing the rules a bit. Since I am going for max results rather than testing to see what simple exercise can do in 30 days, I won’t be limiting myself to a certain amount of hours/days per week.

However, all exercises will be something that anyone can do at home with minimal equipment. I don’t believe that a gym is necessary to get in shape. Though it might be helpful to get coached and stay motivated

THE RESULTS

For the last challenge I took pictures once a week and then posted them each week. This time I will take pictures every day and then turn them into time lapse video.

THE PROGRAM

I will be following two programs. One is a workout/ab program and the other is on dieting/eating. I will not be following these too tightly though as I will also be using my own exercises. I will write more about these later.

A lot of the exercises I do will be my own (not part of the program), and I will mention these as we go along.

COMING

In the next few posts I will talk about the programs and equipment I will be using.

GETTING STARTED

I believe the best time to start is always now. So I will be taking my first picture today and the end date is April 18.

Wish me the best of luck and feel free to follow a long and do your own challenge. Also feel free to comment and give me feedback. I am sure there will be times when I need the motivation.

Today was the last official day of Getting Fit in 30 Days. For those of you who haven’t been following along, I started a challenge 30 days ago to see if I could get my body well toned in 30 days (see below for pictures). Though I wasn’t able to get a body builder frame, I did start to see definition in my chest and the famous six pack started to take shape. Not too bad for 22 days of exercise. So here are pictures of the first day I started and a picture taken today.

I did a post on my progress last week that you can find here. Today’s post is focusing on my review of The Truth About Abs Program I used to help obtain my results.

The book is written by a certified personal trainer and nutritionist. It is total is 142 pages and covers everything from how to get the most out of the book, how and what to eat, the exercises with explanations, and exercise plans. Had I followed the program more closely, I probably could have achieved even better results. In addition to The Truth About Six Pack Abs book, the purchase also came with 9 other books focusing on similar topics such as losing weight, dieting, stretching, and other types of exercising (ex. staircase workout). To be perfectly honest, I never really got around to reading most of them and primarily focused on the exercises in the main book.

It seems now days that most exercise materials are produced in a video format. The advantage to this is that you can see the actual demonstration of the routine and also choose to work out along with it. For complex movements this may be necessary, but this book covers mostly simple, effective exercises. The thing I enjoyed about using a book was that I was able to go at my pace. I was able to go through the program and choose which exercises I wanted to do as I felt they were needed. Since it is an e-book, finding exactly what I wanted was very simple.

I think one of the important things about starting a program like this is to be honest with ourselves. And honestly, I probably wouldn’t watch the video all the way through again and again. The need to be in front of your TV also limits when you can exercise. The way I used to The Truth About Abs was to do a few exercises and then to look at the book to choose the next set I would do.

Overall, I think the book will get you get the results if you do the exercises. And in the end, when we are talking about getting in shape, that’s really all that matters. The key is to make sure that you stick with it. For those interested, you can purchase your own copy here.

Staying With It

Before ending this post I want to give a few tips that helped me make progress and stay on track.

• Don’t take too long of a break in between your exercise days. It was always harder to get started after taking two days off. Instead try breaking up your schedule so you only have one day off at a time
• Make sure your workout schedule is posted where you will be consistently reminded. Don’t let yourself get too busy and pass up your workout.
• The first week will be the most difficult. My body fought like crazy against me the first week and I didn’t really enjoy my workouts much. The 2nd week was much easier. Dedicate yourself to do at least a month and you will eventually get through the difficult parts.
• Don’t be depressed by the lack of immediate results. The first two weeks I saw almost no results. By the third, definition in my chest and stomach became visible.
• Concentrate on getting the most out of each exercise (not on getting them done). Try to do every exercise the best that you can.