BarreAmped Cardio Burn - 4 Weeks Later

   I've used BarreAmped Cardio Burn for just about four weeks now and just as I said in my 2-week update, I'm still surprised by how effective it is. I found the first workout higher impact than the second, and the second higher-impact than the third, but they were all well worth my time and attention. They all combined different kinds of resistance with different kinds of cardio, and all in different kinds of interval structures.
   I really feel leaner and slimmer, even despite my little holiday-at-home between the 10th and the 17th where I may not have eaten as well as I should have. Yeah...dessert every day, a few takeaways, and cooking up naughty things like a beefy, noodley stir-fry and okonomiyaki. And it was worth every calorie.
   And so, after that week, I had expected to feel like I'd gained - no surprises that I had a little - but what did surprise me was that it took me one week of nutritious eating and BarreAmped Cardio Burn to get right back to where I was. I get two weeks a year away from being a carer and having to cook healthy and easy-to-eat food, which means even just spaghetti/noodles/rice is only on the menu for that brief time, and so it's inevitable that I will indulge when given that opportunity, and though I still eat smart...well, I love food, so I always gain weight in these little 'staycations'. But it usually takes me about 2 to 3 weeks to get back to where I was before that week off, and this time it only took me 1. I was so surprised, but I think I can see how it happened:
   • I enjoyed the workouts, so it didn't sap my energy just thinking about it, enabling me to give it more oomf;
   • the workouts are different to what I'm used to - full-body, high-impact, full-range Jillian Michaels style workouts with big weights or kettlebells are really effective, but a workout like this is really different and really challenges the body in a different way when it's used to the former;
   • the workouts themselves were well-structured and genuinely effective.

   So at the end of this month I've felt slimmer and closer to where I want to be, and far more positive than usual. The cool-down, which is about 13 minutes long and features a wonderful stretching and relaxation sequence, has also left me feeling a lot calmer post-workout and it's the one time in my day when my mind is completely silent. I'm practically asleep in the shower afterwards. And as for results, my arms feel undeniably tighter and slimmer, and I'm getting to a point now where my last three wobbly bits are turning into two! A little bit of belly fat and my inner thighs are my last remaining concerns, but you can't target fat-loss, only muscles. And after all I've done, I know as a fact that my lower abs are strong and awesome, you just can't see them!
   I'm very confident that BarreAmped has contributed to that if just because it's not what I'm used to and has challenged my body in a different way than usual.

   I'll get a DVD review up soon, but in the meantime, I'm finally off on a real vacation tomorrow, though this one will be healthier and more active than my staycation! Seeg and I are off with his parents to Texel Island, and that means a number of things: no computer games and no sitting down all day, healthy and freshly prepared food that I didn't have to cook, lots of walking through dunes and forests, no more staring at computer screens and a forced rest from high-impact workouts. I'll be lucky if I get in 30 minutes of Pilates a day, but as I'll be somewhere new and pretty and I won't be a carer for a week, I'll be able to get out of the house and actually have somewhere to go, keeping me off my bum.

   So next month's workout won't start until October 10th, and my blog will be quiet until then, but my Christmas sock exchange sign-ups open on October 1st and I've scheduled the sign-up post to go up on that day without me. So be sure to come back on Saturday!