Week 5-Building Some Momentum

Good morning! I hope you're all having a fantastic Sunday.

I can't believe I'm another week down! This one seemed to fly by. It seems the further along I get in this process the faster it goes. Next week, I'll be halfway done!

This week was a transition week for me, both for this program AND in my professional life. I began a new job, which was incredibly exciting, as well as entered Phase 2 of the program. My first week at my new job went very well, and my first week in Phase 2 went MUCH better than I was expecting, but it wasn't without its challenges.

The strength workouts for weeks 5 and 6 are much harder than they were in weeks 3 and 4. There's a lot more plyometric training involved, which is just another word for jump training. Workout 5 is known by the people who do Body Revolution for being tough, and they're right. It is. It is, however, doable. This one almost brought me to tears Wednesday. In weeks 5 and 6 Jillian introduces "supersets", which are circuits that hammer away at the same muscle groups over and over. So instead of doing triceps, then quads, then shoulders in the same circuit, each exercise will hammer away at the same muscles throughout the circuit, even in the cardio intervals interspersed halfway through each circuit. This means that when your quads are on fire after doing jump squats, they'll hurt even more when you go in to a deep lunge and start doing tricep pulses. It definitely sucks, but I also know that it'll be effective. I can already see a change in my physique this week.

Workout 6 is slightly less painful than 5, but it involves a lot more balancing and several sets of single leg squats. For tall people like me, those are miserable! There are supersets targeting the back of the body in this workout, and there's one circuit where Jillian just hammers at your abs. I'm thankful for that because my stomach has always been my biggest problem area and this will help shred it. Overall, I love Workout 6! It's tough, and the cardio intervals are a bit more high-impact than what I'm used to, but it's fun! The one thing I wish she'd eliminate from it is the Running Man. I was hoping to see that one put to bed after Cardio 1 and was NOT happy when it popped up again. Oh well. Only two more times of doing it.

Cardio 2 is a LOT harder than Cardio 1. The exercises are much more high-impact and you have less "rest time." The first time through I literally thought I was going to die I was so exhausted, but the second time yesterday went much better. It is a fun DVD, it's just a lot more jumping around. Overall, I really like the workout. It pushes me and it'll be great for building up my conditioning. If I can get through this one without pausing the DVD even once, I'll be thrilled!

I stuck with Weight Watchers for my diet this week and saw ANOTHER loss! I lost 1.5 pounds this week, which is a great way to start phase 2. Even more exciting is the fact that I went shopping with my Mom for my birthday gifts yesterday and was able to buy clothes that I KNOW I wouldn't have been able to fit into a month ago. My legs are more toned my arms are skinnier, and my waist is shrinking. It's such an amazing feeling, and it's the motivation I need to keep going throughout this process.

As always, thanks to all of you who have been reading this. Some people think it's weird or awkward that I'm sharing my journey this way, but I think it's a great way to hold myself accountable for finishing this and sticking to my plan that I made for myself. If I need to post a blog each week and discuss my results, then I'll want to have POSITIVE results to share!

Until next week! xo Sarah