February - Ignite

Read also: 2 weeks later, 5 weeks later

& Kettlercise Ignite DVD Review

   This month I'm going back to an old favourite: Kettlercise. I've used three of their DVDs in the past and I've found them all exceedingly effective, so when they announced Ignite, their newest title in December, I pre-ordered it within seconds of receiving the newsletter. That's how confident I am in Kettlercise. That and it was almost Christmas and I was anticipating fresh fatness that would need sweating off.
   And because of my unfailingly positive experience with Kettlercise in August 2015, April 2016 and August 2016, I have particularly high expectations for this compared to the others because it was mentioned that 'if you've not used Kettlercise before, then it's not for you'. Well, I have used them before, and I've used Jillian Michaels' kettlebell workout DVD, Shred It With Weights. So I'm confident I'll be all right - though I don't expect in the slightest for it to be easy. I've never found kettlebells easy.

   Ignite consists of three 30-minute workouts - knowing Kettlercise, that's including warm up and cool down, which I admit annoys me. When I see '30 minute workout' I expect 30 minutes of work, not 20/25. But at the same time, Kettlercise - and kettlebells in general - is intense enough that 20 minutes of work should be enough not only to shed fat while working, but to continue doing so once I've finished.
   The three workouts are also different from another:

   'After Burn' uses complexes, which were introduced in Kettlercise's Lean In 14 program, which strings together two to three kettlebell moves into one sequence which is then repeated to complete a timed set. I hate them because they're so hard, but it challenges your body, ensures more muscles are utilised, and also makes your nervous system work by forcing you to think about the sequence rather than just mindlessly repeating a single move. It's designed to maximise the after-burn - when your body continues burning calories after the workout has ended to repair itself. Most kettlebell workouts give you this, but the complexes take it to another level.

   'Detonator' is a more traditional kettlebell workout, and while it uses the phrase 'EPOC' - or Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption - it's really just a more technical term for 'after burn' - but compared to the first 30-minute workout, this one should be comparatively lower-impact.
   'Melt Down', the final workout on the DVD, focuses on cardio, which makes me think it's going to be more explosive and powerful than it will be controlled, as kettlebells are already high-cardio tools due to the fact that most kettlebell moves are explosive. As an example, you tend to snatch or swing with a kettlebell, not do a steady bicep curl.

   I'll use this DVD three times a week for four weeks, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with Lastics on Tuesday and kickboxing on Saturday. By using it 3 times a week I'll give my muscles chance to recover, I won't get bored, I'll remain challenged, and I'll only have to use each brutal workout four times each.

   And while I promise it's not an intentional habit, I've got some more lovely new capris - this time from a new, high-quality Thai brand, WakingBee (though I obtained them via StyleWe). They fit perfectly, they've got such a nice, soft feeling, and while I usually go for quite loud, bold prints and colours, I'm glad to have something more subdued in my collection - plus the white mesh panels at the end of the leg is gorgeous!

   As always, I'll update on my efforts and give more info about the workouts themselves - and whether or not they're meeting my expectations - in two weeks, then again two weeks later, then a DVD review.

   ...I find myself scared to start this...