Sunday 1 July 2018

Core de Force - 4 Weeks Later

   After four weeks, I'm usually quite sick of my workout. Either it's repetitive and mentally exhausting, boring and unenjoyable, or just downright difficult. Core de Force definitely falls into that final category. It's gruelling, with non-stop work but for 30-second breaks between every 3-minute circuit, of which there are either 6, 9 or 12 in a single workout; the combinations can get complicated, the resistance work burns, and there's nothing simple involved - no mountain climbers, butt kicks, or squats.
   Somehow, despite the heatwave, I used Core de Force every day this week - and I'm not remotely finished with it.

   All six workouts are 20-40 minutes long and feature such a variety of different martial arts that they're all completely different from each other while maintaining equal intensity and results. Seriously: boredom isn't a thing. Even the instructors are great fun.


   But, while I am in love with this collection of DVDs - and wait eagerly for something to knock it off of my number 1 spot, because whatever manages it will be nothing short of epic - I am, very reluctantly, moving on.
   Tomorrow I'm starting a new 3-month resistance plan using more free resources - videos and magazines - and I'm actually quite excited. It's going to hurt, I have no doubts about that, and I also know that the first week is going to hurt the most, but I'm still so excited about it.
   But, where my original plan was to return to the set-up of 4 resistance workouts and a little bit of cardio on the end, if I can fit it in, I've made an alteration, and Core de Force plays no small part.
   Where before I had increased the advised sets on the resistance workouts and subsequently eradicated any time for cardio (ie the bonus all-fat-burning finisher after a resistance workout), this time I'm sticking to the rules - marked sets, no extra - and I'm tacking on that all-important cardio. Resistance is great for long-term fat-burn, but throwing some cardio in at the end of a resistance workout - once your body has used up all its glycogen and has no choice but to turn to body fat for fuel, while your cardiovascular system has not yet been exhausted - can polish the session off and hike up that fat-burn even with only 15 minutes of work. And - you guessed it - that cardio is coming from Core de Force.
   But I'm also knocking off one of those four resistance workouts and turning directly to the MMA workouts for a long bodyweight HIIT session at the end of the week.


   Core de Force has been such a wonder - I wasn't expecting it to be such a gem. Especially because it was a gift from someone who isn't the fitness enthusiast I am, but who knew I loved combat workouts. Which was a risk in itself because I could - I should - have already owned it. But I didn't, and I'm immensely grateful because, good grief, it is something else.

   I'll be posting a DVD review in the next week or two. But for now, all you need to know is this: Core de Force is the MMA workout to end all. If you love boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai or Jiu Jitsu, you need this collection. And, truly, it's worth every penny of that immense price tag - but be sure to check Ebay first...



0 comments:

Post a Comment

I do read every single comment, and I will try to respond where I can. If you have an important question about my blog or my shop, however, then you might be better off contacting me directly by email. Thanks so much for reading my blog!