Monday 25 May 2015

Ripped In 30: 2 Weeks Later

   In the past two weeks I've spent doing Ripped in 30 (barring, of course, my week of spring cleaning) I've cleared Week 1 and Week 2. Obviously.
   As you all must have noticed by now, I'm quite accustomed to changing my workout every month. A lot of the DVDs I use have multiple workouts on them, usually 2-3, consisting of several circuits, so you're not generally using the same routine for a month straight, but each routine on a DVD is usually mostly the same, just different intensities. The beauty of the kind of mixed circuit workouts on Jillian's DVDs means that each workout is varied, and you rarely repeat moves in each different section.
   But moving on to a new routine after just 6 days of use feels very strange, and yet fulfilling. I like using a routine for 2 weeks before moving on to the next, it gives me a good chance to get accustomed to it but nowhere near enough for it to stop being effective. But moving on to a new routine after just one week kind of sends my mind into a spin. When I finished Week 1 I didn't feel at all ready for Week 2, regardless of my week off in between, and when I got around to beginning Week 2, I wanted to try Week 1 just once more, just one more day. I didn't, I jumped right in, and while the intensity had increased, I was able to do it. It hadn't jumped that far.
   I wouldn't say (so far, at least) that this workout is for advanced people like her Hard Body DVD is. Perhaps intermediate, but, to be honest, if you've completed the 30 Day Shred and are looking for the next level, this is it. That's not to say that I find it ineffective, because the fact is that there are so many different moves and by increasing the weights and keeping up with them, resting only at the end, it stays intense and effective.



   Having said that, Jillian did state that the first two weeks would focus on form, so I'm a little dubious about starting Week 3 today. But I can do it. I've realised recently that I've gotten too comfortable with the weights I've been using, so I've been upping them where I can. Unfortunately the highest weight dumbbell I have is just 2.5kg, so I've been holding onto my 1.5kg (3lb) and 2.5kg (5lb) at once, and the weight is a challenge again. I'm going to have to buy some more, of course, but they get suddenly expensive when you start buying them individually, and just one pair of 4kg dumbbells costs about as much as a beginner's set of four, which is a little off-putting. But it's a necessity. If your weights are too light you don't get as much out of it, and it's not big weights that create bulk, but lots of reps. Ideally, for maximum burn, you want a weight you can control initially but is so heavy that you can't keep perfect form on the final 2 reps of a set (a maximum, usually, of about 12 reps per set for advanced, 8 for beginners).

   Still, I'll begin Week 3 in about an hour and update again at the end of the month! Wish me luck!



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!