Posts Tagged ‘toned body’

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.

I have been training for a full week now. It has been interesting to see how I feel each day in regards to my progress as my emotions seem to change.The first two days I felt I was making good progress as I was quite sore. By the third day and forth day I didn’t feel very sore, but my muscles were tired and the amount I could work out tended to decline a little. I also started to have doubts about the progress I was making. Since the 5th day was the last of the week, I decided to push myself a little more and extend my time to about 45 minutes.

Overall, I feel much stronger after exercising for just a week. I can notice this not just in my workout routine, but in my everyday life as well. My balance has dramatically improved. This may not seem like a big thing, but it is the difference between bending your legs to pick up something vs bending your back. My shoulder pain from a past injury has also subsided.

Having a good workout each day has also helped me sleep better. Both sleep more sound and get to bed earlier. I tend to be a bit of a night person so this is a great benefit.

The one thing I haven’t noticed too much is in the shape or tone of my body. My shoulders have pulled back a little, but other than that I can’t really notice much. After only five days for training this is to be expected, but disappointing none the less. The pictures below are a before and after shot of the first week. The first I took the day I started, the second I took today after I finished.

Looking at these pictures, which completely embarrasses me, the first one almost looks better. I think that is probably due to the lighting. Now I wasn’t in horrible shape when I first started this project. After a month of relaxing in the states, I started exercising as soon as a got back for about a week and a half. The one slight difference I do notice between the photos is the posture. It’s not much, but it’s a sign I am headed in the wrong direction.

I don’t think I will have too much of a problem gaining muscle with the program I am using. Even in the short workouts I am doing I can feel it working. The hard part will be to lose the extra body fat allowing the muscles to show. As I put on more muscle, this should happen naturally as my body uses more energy. As long as my calories don’t change then I should start to lose body fat. Since I said I wouldn’t change my diet (I have been eating three full meals a day) then I should be okay. However, I have noticed that I tend to feel more hungry as my demand for energy is increasing. I have however, come up with a way to battle this.

A lot of the time people choose to eat, it’s because they are bored and not really hungry. We also use being hungry as an excuse to get out of doing something. It’s a way to get out of your work, writing your paper,  or doing your house chores. So instead of eating when I feel hungry, I will exercise. It doesn’t have to be much. Just a few sit-ups, pull-ups, or push-ups will be enough. The idea is that I will be burning calories instead of consuming them, while at the same time training my mind to avoid “faking” hungry.

I have a few days off to let my body rest so I will be putting that idea to work next week. I would love to hear any comments on what you have thought of this project so far and if there is anything else you might like me to include.

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You can also find the previous days here

• Getting Fit in 30 Days: Day 1
• Getting Fit in 30 Days: Day 2
• Getting Fit in 30 Days: Day 3
• Getting Fit in 30 Days: Day 4